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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b44a12 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63535 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63535) diff --git a/old/63535-0.txt b/old/63535-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index fd4d055..0000000 --- a/old/63535-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5244 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fairy Latchkey, by Magdalene Horsfall - -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 Fairy Latchkey - -Author: Magdalene Horsfall - -Release Date: October 23, 2020 [EBook #63535] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIRY LATCHKEY *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, Juliet Sutherland, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE FAIRY LATCHKEY - - - BY - - MAGDALENE HORSFALL - -[Illustration] - - R. F. FENNO & COMPANY - 18 EAST 17th STREET :: :: NEW YORK - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER I WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE, AND OTHERS - CHAPTER II WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE’S GODMOTHER - CHAPTER III WHICH TELLS OF A KEY-HOLE IN A WALL - CHAPTER IV WHICH INTRODUCES SWEET WILLIAM - CHAPTER V IN WHICH THE HEROINE DISTINGUISHES HERSELF - CHAPTER VI IN WHICH THE HEROINE TAKES ADVICE - CHAPTER VII IN WHICH MASTER MUSTARDSEED TELLS HIS STORY - CHAPTER VIII IN WHICH THE HEROINE MAKES THE FIRST USE OF HER LATCHKEY - CHAPTER IX IN WHICH SWEET WILLIAM TELLS A STORY - CHAPTER X IN WHICH THE HEROINE HAS A BIRTHDAY - CHAPTER XI IN WHICH THE HEROINE IS GIVEN A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION - CHAPTER XII IN WHICH THE HEROINE PRESENTS HER LETTER OF INTRODUCTION - CHAPTER XIII IN WHICH GREAT GOOD FORTUNE BEFALLS THE HEROINE - CHAPTER XIV IN WHICH THE MERMAN TELLS HIS STORY - CHAPTER XV IN WHICH THE TWIN SISTERS TELL A STORY BETWEEN THEM - CHAPTER XVI IN WHICH THE HEROINE HEARS SOME STARTLING NEWS - CHAPTER XVII IN WHICH SWEET WILLIAM TELLS ANOTHER STORY - CHAPTER XVIII OF WHICH THE SCENE IS LAID IN A SICK-ROOM - CHAPTER XIX IN WHICH QUEEN MAB TELLS HER STORY - CHAPTER XX IN WHICH THE HEROINE MAKES FRIENDS WITH A SPIRIT - CHAPTER XXI IN WHICH THE WHITE LÉTICHE TELLS HER STORY - CHAPTER XXII WHICH HERALDS A CHANGE - - - - - THE FAIRY LATCHKEY - - - - - CHAPTER I - WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE, AND OTHERS - - -There was nothing at all remarkable about her, excepting her name, which -was Philomène Isolde, and the fact that a knot of green ribbon had been -sewn upon her christening dress; but the dress had long since lain -folded in a drawer, and her father as often as not called her “Little -Miss Muffet,” because she was very fond of curds and whey, and very much -afraid of spiders. When he did call her “Philomène,” it meant that he -was too busy to have her in the room with him. Unlike most people, she -was satisfied with her own name, indeed she was proud of it; for Daddy -had told her that Philomène meant “beloved,” and as for Isolde, that was -Godmother’s own name. “And Isolde,” said Godmother, “was a real -Princess.” - -“I wish I were a real Princess,” said Philomène, and waited for Nurse to -add, “If wishes were horses, Miss, beggars might ride,” which she -forthwith did. - -Philomène was not a pretty child, but neither was she exactly plain, for -she had small hands and feet, and a trim little figure, hazel eyes and -plenty of soft mouse-coloured hair. And if there was nothing unusual -about her appearance, there was certainly nothing unusual about her -home, for she lived in a commonplace suburb of London, in a commonplace -villa called Sideview. The house undoubtedly had two sides, but scarcely -any view, unless the strip of back-garden counted as such. The -drawing-room and dining-room opened out of a narrow hall, and both had -about them the chill and mustiness of disuse, for since the death of -Philomène’s mother the drawing-room had seen no more parties, and her -father, who was a hard-working doctor, as often as not snatched his -hurried meals in the study, rather than in the dining-room. Philomène’s -own bedroom and schoolroom, on the upper landing, were large airy rooms -for the size of the house. - -At the foot of her bed stood a screen, upon which Froggy went a-wooing, -and Little Red Ridinghood carried her covered basket through the wood, -and on the wall opposite hung a picture of a young shepherdess, clasping -her crook, and kneeling in the shade of a spreading oak-tree. As there -was no flock in sight, Philomène at first supposed her to be Bo-peep -before her sheep came home, but Godmother had told her that it was Joan, -the Maid of Orleans, who died for love of France and of the truth; and -from that time forward, on winter evenings when the salamanders began -their torch-light revels on the hearth, Philomène would lie in bed and -watch the ruddy reflection brighten and broaden among the branches of -the oak, wrapping the frail young figure in a winding-sheet of flame, -and placing the hard-won wreath of martyrdom upon her hair. - -Over the mantelpiece in the schoolroom next door, hung another picture, -one which had belonged to Philomène’s mother. There was a road white -with dust in the foreground, disappearing amidst a clump of trees, above -which floated a wreath of blue smoke. Down to the road there sloped a -bank of grass, and here sat a woman with a child in her lap, while a -bird on the wing paused to peck from an ear of corn which the baby held -in his hand. Beside the two an old man with kind eyes and work-worn -hands was unsaddling a small grey donkey, and a little further down the -road stood a ruined shrine with a broken idol. Philomène liked the -donkey with its long ears and sad eyes, and felt grateful to the old man -for allowing it to nibble the grass at will. - -It was in the schoolroom that Philomène kept her toys. There was the -dolls’ house and the dolls’ kitchen, and the musical box, and the -paint-box with its palettes and saucers and brushes. Last, but by no -means least, came the book-shelf. It held all Mrs Ewing’s stories, and -all Mrs Molesworth’s, Grimm, and Hans Andersen, and many more besides. -Philomène used to act all the stories out of these books, but it is dull -work to be both players and audience yourself, and it needs an -imagination bordering on genius to ride alone upon a bed, and persuade -your heart of hearts that it is Pegasus, the wonderful winged horse. - -“And nothing ever happens to me,” mused Philomène, “as it happens to -people in books. I do not live in a chateau with a terrace and a raven, -like Jeanne in ‘The Tapestry-Room,’ and when I play with the reels in -Nurse’s work-box they do not behave in the least like Louisa’s reels in -‘Tell Me a Story.’ I suppose it is because I am just ordinary.” - -It was a depressing thought, but facts could not be shelved. Philomène’s -cuckoo clock certainly acted very differently from Griselda’s. So far -from inviting her to climb up by the two long dangling chains, and take -a seat opposite to him on a red velvet arm-chair, this disobliging bird -uttered his “cuckoos” in a hasty, perfunctory manner, and then shut to -the door of his house with a snap, as who should say, “That’s over till -next time.” - -In the schoolroom window hung a cage with a canary in it; he was of a -bright yellow, all but his head, which was green, and Philomène had -christened him Master Mustardseed, after one of the fairy pages in -“Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Now this canary had something of a history. -To begin with, he had had a predecessor, a canary that had been yellow -all over, and so tame that he would perch upon Philomène’s needle when -she sewed, or upon her book when she read. Then one day the old -maidservant, Lilian Augusta, had left the schoolroom window open and the -cage-door ajar, and the canary flew out, never to return, and there was -lamentation at Sideview. But a few days later a strange thing happened. -Through the open window, into the empty cage, flew another canary, this -time with a little head as green and velvety as moss; Master -Mustardseed, in short, who had remained with his new mistress ever -since. - -Besides her canary, Philomène had another pet, a white cat called Queen -Mab, with paws as soft as pussy-willow and a footfall as light as any -snowflake. Now this was how Queen Mab had first come to Sideview:—It was -Christmas Eve, and Philomène stood at the dining-room window, listening -to the waits, who were singing a Christmas carol: - - “He lies ’mid the beasts of the stall, - Who is Maker and Lord of us all. - The winter wind blows cold and dreary; - See, he weeps, the world is weary, - Lord, have pity and mercy on me. - Come, come, come to the manger, - Kneel ye now to the newborn King; - Sing, sing, chorus of angels, - Stars of the morning, o’er Bethlehem sing!” - -After that they moved on to the next house, and began the second verse. - - “He leaves all his glory behind, - To be born and to die for mankind; - ’Midst grateful beasts his cradle chooses, - Thankless man his love refuses. - Lord, have pity and mercy on me.” - -It was bitterly cold. Philomène closed the window, and as she did so a -mew caught her attention. In another moment she had the hall-door open, -and a gust of icy air met her, as though the very wind were trying to -force its way into the house for shelter. Upon the doorstep sat a white -kitten, draggled and shivering. Philomène picked it up at once, shut the -door, and ran upstairs to the schoolroom, all in a flutter of pity and -excitement. Nurse looked up from her sewing, and stared at her aghast. - -“Well, Miss Philomène,” she exclaimed at length, “I wonder what you will -be up to next? Put that dirty little cat down this minute.” - -Philomène obeyed. “I wanted it to have some of the milk that was left -over from supper,” she protested timidly. - -“And so it may,” retorted Nurse, whose bark was worse than her bite, “so -long as you don’t go on holding it against your dress.” - -So Philomène took a saucer, and busied herself with the kitten on the -hearth-rug. This was a bearskin, and had figured many a time in solitary -games of Beauty and the Beast, for it had served as the hero’s costume -till he finally became a prince and discarded it, when Philomène, whose -housewifely little soul disliked waste, had made the princess suggest -that it should be lined with red flannel, and turned into a useful rug -for the throne-room. The kitten lapped up the milk eagerly, and settled -itself comfortably in front of the fire. - -“And now you had better put it back where it came from, Miss,” said -Nurse. - -“The saucer?” inquired Philomène blankly. - -“No, child, the cat.” - -“But it came from the doorstep!” exclaimed Philomène, and seeing no -relenting in Nurse’s face, she burst into tears. At this moment her -father came into the room. - -“What? Tears, little maid?” he called out in surprise. - -“Oh, Daddy, it’s so cold outside, and it hasn’t done anybody any harm, -and it won’t have any Christmas, and perhaps it’s one of the ‘grateful -beasts’ in the carol,” sobbed Philomène. - -“It certainly seemed grateful enough for the milk,” said Nurse, who had -not listened to the waits, and was of a literal turn of mind, “but I -don’t much fancy a stray cat in the kitchen all the same.” - -The doctor sat down in the red-cushioned rocking-chair, and took his -child on his knee. He was a tall, well-made man with dark hair, keen -eyes, and a somewhat abrupt manner, but he was never anything but gentle -with his little daughter, and Philomène’s sobs subsided as he stroked -her hair and patted her cheek. - -“Look here, little Miss Muffet,” he said, “I will tell you what we will -do. We will ask Nurse to let us keep the pussy over-night, and later on -we will advertise in the newspaper, just as we did for Master -Mustardseed, and if it doesn’t seem to belong to anyone or to come from -anywhere in particular, you shall have it for your own, and Nurse won’t -mind it if it catches the mice in the scullery, will she?” - -Philomène’s face cleared, and she looked beseechingly at Nurse. “You are -master in this house, sir,” admitted Nurse, “and it seems useless to -fight against this love of dumb things. Cats especially do seem to run -in families.” - -So the white kitten stayed, and grew into a white cat, glossy and -well-liking, that followed Philomène about the house “like a dog,” said -the people who had never taken the trouble to befriend a cat. - - - - - CHAPTER II - WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE’S GODMOTHER - - -If Philomène had not actually a fairy godmother, she had at least the -nearest possible approach to one. To begin with, Godmother was -beautiful. She had the red hair that artists love, a wild-rose -complexion, and a gentle, even voice, which never scolded and never -sneered; she had cool white hands with twinkling rings, and her dresses -made a stately silken frou-frou on the stairs, bringing with them a -faint fragrance of lavender and old-world pot-pourri. - -She had a dear little country house called the Cushats, which stood -among pinewoods where pigeons cooed to each other all day long, and the -sea was not far off. Here the summer holidays were spent by Philomène, -“little cushat” as Godmother called her at times, for, as the Danish -proverb says, “a dear child has many names.” She would sit by the hour -in the oak-panelled drawing-room, strumming on the quaint old spinet, or -in the window-seat reading, while the bees murmured perpetually in the -blossoming lime-tree outside. The garden was full of what are usually -called old-fashioned flowers, though for my own part I should be slow to -connect anything quite so tiresome as fashion, with anything quite so -sweet as flowers. There the snowdrops came at Candlemas, and the -daffodils on Lady Day, and there was a whole big hedge of the rosemary -that Shakespeare loved. - -Besides the Cushats, Godmother had a house in London, where there were -broad flights of stairs with shallow steps, and vistas of reception -rooms with polished floors and beautiful pictures and cabinets filled -with eastern curios. Godmother’s own boudoir was a remote hushed corner, -where in midwinter forced lilac drugged the air with subtle sweetness. - -It was here that Philomène often took tea with her, and when full -justice had been done to the toast and cakes, Isolde would take her seat -in a low chair before the fire, and Philomène, curling herself up on the -hearth-rug, much as Queen Mab might have done had she been invited, -would lay her clasped hands in her godmother’s lap, and begin to “want -to know.” - -“Godmother,” she had said on one of these occasions, “I want to know if -it is cruel to keep caged birds. Do you remember when you took me to -church with you a few Sundays ago, and they went round singing the -Litany? Well, just as the choir-men passed me they were saying, ‘and to -show thy pity upon all prisoners and captives,’ and I thought at once of -Master Mustardseed.” - -“But Master Mustardseed came to you of his own accord,” replied -Godmother in her kind, low voice, “and I think a canary might find it -very difficult to fend for himself if you set him free in England. All -the same, when you are grown up, you need never keep any caged birds if -you do not want to.” - -“Well then, you know the picture in the schoolroom with the baby in it, -and the bird pecking at the ear of corn,” continued Philomène. “I had -just made up such a nice story about it all, when Miss Mills told me -that it was a ‘Flight into Egypt,’ and that I ought not to make a play -of it. But how was I to know? They hadn’t any halos. And, O Godmother, I -had just planned that the ugly idol had enchanted a prince and princess -and had turned them into the donkey and the bird, and that the grass and -the corn they were eating would turn them back again. Then I asked Miss -Mills what the idol and the bird really did mean, but she could not tell -me. She only said she supposed it must be some silly legend. Whenever -Miss Mills does not know the answer to what I ask her, she says it must -be a silly legend. What do they mean, Godmother?” - -“The picture is a modern one,” said Isolde, “that is why the Holy Family -are painted without halos, and Miss Mills was quite right about its -being a legend. Your mother once told me all the different things that -the painter had tried to express in his picture. The smoke above the -trees is supposed to come from an inn, where the inn-keeper and his wife -have just refused to give shelter to the travellers, and it is said that -their children’s children are the gipsies, who have now no settled home -or shelter of their own. Then there is another story that when the idols -of Egypt recognized the true God, they fell down and were broken. The -bird with the outspread wings is the human soul, and the Lord is feeding -it with the Bread of Life.” - -“Still you don’t think the Holy Family will mind my having made up the -other story about them, do you?” inquired Philomène anxiously. But -Godmother only shook her head and smiled. - -Philomène certainly asked a great many questions, but then Isolde was -never tired of answering them. Yet though she loved her goddaughter -dearly, it was not entirely for her own sake. For she was Rachel’s -child. - -Rachel and Isolde had known each other almost all their lives. As little -children they strung daisy chains and made cowslip balls together, as -school-girls they helped each other with their compositions on Simon de -Montfort and the pleasures of a country walk, and when they had grown to -womanhood, Rachel’s marriage in no way lessened their friendship. It was -while she lay dying that she confided her baby to the love of her -friend. “Be good to her, beloved, as you have been to me, and I should -like her to be called Isolde Philomène—Isolde.” - -A portrait of Rachel in her wedding-dress hung in Isolde’s boudoir, and -Philomène had grown to love the sweet face and the white folds of the -train. On entering the room her first glance was always for godmother, -and the second for her mother’s portrait. - - - - - CHAPTER III - WHICH TELLS OF A KEY-HOLE IN A WALL - - -Now when Philomène was still quite a little girl she had had some -playfellows whom neither Nurse nor Miss Mills knew anything about, and -these were her green dwarfs and Mrs Handy. - -The green dwarfs (there were six of them) lived in the wall beside her -bed; they wore pointed shoes and peaked hats, and they waited upon her -as pages. She could not remember ever having deliberately invented them; -she had gradually come to know them. No sooner had Nurse closed the -bedroom door and sat down to her sewing-machine at the schoolroom table, -than Philomène would knock upon the wall against which her bed was -placed, and the dwarfs would appear, not all together, but one by one, -peaked hats foremost. Then they would keep her amused, generally by -story-telling, till she felt herself growing drowsy, when she would wave -her hand right royally, and back they would disappear into the wall. - -Mrs Handy was her companion in the daytime, and she was a most useful -friend, equally good at inventing games and at helping with lessons. -Moreover, strange to say, she always came to live at Sideview when -Godmother was out of town, and as soon as Godmother returned, Mrs Handy -would take a journey to Troy or the Rocky Mountains, or some such place -of interest, promising to re-visit Sideview as soon as Godmother left -London, and to be sure and give Philomène an exciting account of her -adventures abroad. - -But as Philomène grew older, she gradually realised with sorrow that -neither the green dwarfs nor Mrs Handy were anything more than a -make-believe, and in her grief at having had to say good-bye to them, -she turned for comfort to the pleasures of story-writing, and to the -thought of the mysterious key-hole in the garden wall. - -The garden of Sideview was flanked on three sides by a wall, and on the -fourth by the back of the house. There was a lawn bordered by a path, -and at the end farthest from the house there was a large strawberry bed. -Flower-beds were laid out between the path and the wall, some young -fruit-trees that never seemed to bear any fruit grew near the strawberry -bed, and close to the house an iron staircase, with a pump at the foot -of it, climbed to the level of a garden door that opened out of the -schoolroom. - -“I wish a fairy caretaker with a red cloak lived in our garden wall, and -would tell me stories as she did to Mrs Molesworth’s children,” thought -Philomène regretfully, “but then that was in the ‘Enchanted Garden,’ and -I never did see a garden in all my life that looked less enchanted than -ours. It is so flat, and there is no water in it, unless you count the -pump, no pond or fountain, and it isn’t a bit neglected either, with the -man coming twice a week to mow the grass.” - -One large flower-bed, about half way down the garden, was Philomène’s -very own. It was divided in two by a tiny path, on either side of which -grew marigolds and London-pride, and her initials in mustard and cress. -The box-bordered path ended abruptly where it ran against the wall, and -it was in this wall that the unaccountable key-hole was to be seen. -Philomène reasoned that where there was a key-hole there must be a key -and a person to turn it, yet she had watched it by the hour, as a cat -watches a mouse-hole, but without result, so that at last she gave up -hope, and went back to her story-writing. - -It was an afternoon early in May, tea was over, and Philomène sat in the -red-cushioned rocking-chair, scribbling her latest novel. It was very -quiet in the schoolroom; only the ticking of the cuckoo clock, the click -of Nurse’s knitting-needles, and the scratching of Philomène’s pen were -to be heard. - -“There had come to the castle,” Philomène had just written, “an old man -who must have seen the snowdrops herald the Spring some ninety times, -with an aged woman to cook.” She was not altogether pleased with the -sound of this sentence when it was finished, but after making several -vain attempts to alter it, she added a foot-note: “Bad grammar, but -unavoidable.” - -“Miss Philomène,” said Nurse, “I wish you would go out into the garden, -like a dear good child. Only look at the fine weather, and it isn’t as -if you were writing anything for Miss Mills neither.” So Philomène rose -reluctantly, after having first written “To be con” at the end of the -page, for she had not as yet made up her mind whether the story was “to -be continued” or “concluded in our next.” Then she fetched her garden -hat, and went to fill her watering-can at the pump. - -It was still and sunny in the open, and the hum of insects sounded -louder than the hum of traffic. In the lilac bush a blackbird was -practising his grace-notes, so as to be in good voice for the many -concerts of the on-coming season, and a warm west wind passed through -the garden in long, happy sighs, as though the young summer were drawing -its first deep breaths of lazy contentment. Philomène began watering and -weeding her garden, and from time to time she looked up at the key-hole -in the wall. - -“If one is just ordinary oneself,” she said half aloud, “and lives in an -ordinary house, I expect fairy things simply can’t happen. Some day, -though, I must write a book about them, as if they really had happened; -I suppose that is the next best thing.” - -At that moment she caught sight of a dandelion about to seed, growing -between her box borders; she stooped to pick the beautiful thing, and at -once began to blow upon the “nursery clock,” so that the seeds took wing -in all directions. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - WHICH INTRODUCES SWEET WILLIAM - - -“If you could let me have the right time, I should be obliged to you,” -said a voice at her elbow. Philomène started, so that the now -dishevelled globe of seeds fell from her hand on to the gravel, and she -turned to see who it was that had spoken to her. By her side stood a -little man in a vivid green suit; in her first surprise she thought it -must be one of the six dwarfs come back to her again, but in another -moment she noticed that his shoes had rounded toes, and that his hat, -although pointed, had a red and white cockade in it. - -“That is not the proper way in which to treat a watch, child,” said the -mannikin crossly, and stooping to pick up the dandelion, he blew upon it -gently. - -“Five o’clock,” said he, “just about tea-time.” And then Philomène’s -heart gave a sudden throb, for out of his waistcoat pocket he took a -key, which he fitted into the key-hole. A little stone door swung -outwards in the wall, and the mannikin hesitated upon the threshold. - -[Illustration: - - “‘IF YOU COULD LET ME HAVE THE RIGHT TIME I SHOULD BE OBLIGED TO - YOU.’” - _Page 22_ - _The Fairy Latchkey._ -] - -“All things considered,” he remarked slowly, “and especially the green -ribbons, I think I may do myself the pleasure of asking you to step in.” - -He was speaking quite politely this time, and Philomène entered, her -pulse all in a flutter, like some bird that has flown in by the window -and cannot find its way out again. The door shut to behind her, and she -saw that she was in a little square room. The ceiling was of stone, as -indeed was only to be expected, since it was part of the wall, but the -floor was daintily if unevenly paved with shells of different tints and -sizes, while the walls were tapestried with catkins. In the middle of -the room stood a monster mushroom, serving as a table, with big -toadstools to match on either side for chairs. The lighting was supplied -by a will-o’-the-wisp, which hovered about near the ceiling till called -for, when it would settle wherever it was needed. Philomène accepted the -seat offered her on one of the toadstools, while the little man went to -a hollow, mossgrown tree-stump in a corner of the room, and began to -look for something inside it. - -“You must excuse my going to the cupboard and waiting upon myself,” he -remarked. “I do keep a tom-tit, but the weather was so fine that I -thought it only fair to give him an afternoon out, so I must lay my own -tea.” He placed one half of a walnut-shell, a few clover blossoms, and a -scrap of honey-comb upon the mushroom table, and sat down on the other -toadstool, opposite to his guest. - -“If you have not already had your tea,” he continued, “I can recommend -this dew, which is of the very finest quality, and kept cool by means of -an icicle. I get my honey from an excellent firm, Buzz, Bumble and Buzz, -Limited, and the clover was picked this morning. Plain fare, my dear, -for this luxury-loving age, but thoroughly wholesome, I assure you. Have -some?” - -“I have had my tea already, thank you,” said Philomène, “but I do like -the sweet ends of clover very much, if you could spare me one flower.” - -“Certainly, certainly,” said the mannikin, and he handed her two, one -white and one pink. - -“Would you mind telling me, please,” began Philomène, “what you meant -just now by speaking about green ribbons? Whose green ribbons?” - -“Yours, of course,” said the little man. “I shouldn’t need any. If it -hadn’t been for those green ribbons on your christening robe, my young -friend, you wouldn’t be sitting here now. It is only the children that -have worn green ribbons at their christening who can see the fairies at -all.” - -“Then you really, really are a fairy?” cried Philomène. - -“Should I be living in this house and eating these things if I weren’t?” -retorted her host. “I am a fairy, and my name is Sweet William.” - -“Am I to call you that?” asked Philomène, doubtfully. - -She could not help feeling that the name sounded very affectionate, and -that it might be forward for her to use it upon so short an -acquaintance. - -“I don’t know what else you’re to call me,” said the little man, “it -strikes me as a very good name of its kind. Perhaps I ought to tell you -that I am the fairies’ land- and house-agent for this garden; I chose it -for various reasons, partly so as to be near you, for it is the business -of the fairies to look after lonely children.” - -“I suppose I ought to thank him,” thought Philomène, feeling painfully -shy, but Sweet William rattled on and left her no time. - -“You have probably no idea how much work even a small garden like this -entails. I have to attend to the housing of all the live creatures, for -one thing, the bees and snails and birds and caterpillars and so on. The -flowers are not troublesome, for they stay in one place for quite a long -time, but the spiders, for instance, are for ever moving house.” - -“It must be very interesting work,” said Philomène politely. She had -often heard people make this remark to her father. - -“Not bad,” said Sweet William, “if one keeps one’s eyes and ears open. -From being the agent in a big garden, just about a hundred and fifty -years ago, I once pieced together a whole love-story. It was an old -manor-house, and had a very fine garden.” - -“That is the sort of place I should love to live in,” said Philomène, -“with oriel windows and avenues and things.” - -“It is a modern failing to find fault with one’s surroundings,” said -Sweet William pompously, “and young people are especially prone to it. -As I was saying when you interrupted me, it was a fine garden. The -family was very old and very proud, and they kept a peacock on the -terrace. On one side of the lawn ran a green walk and a clipped -yew-hedge, and it was here that my lovers used to walk, up and down, up -and down, at sunset. The hedge overheard every word of what they said, -for you see, being a hedge he could not very well help eavesdropping. -Well, one day they had to say good-bye, and he went away and left her -very sad, and I got to know all about that part of it from a red rose, -which he had picked that last evening, and the girl had pressed the rose -in a big book, and every day she would sit and read in the book, and -would look at the page where the red rose lay. ‘My beloved is mine, and -I am his.’ The rose told me that she had grown desperately tired of -having nothing but this one sentence to read, but the girl never seemed -to tire of it. Then at last her lover came back for her, and they went -away together to the little harbour near by, and one of Mother Carey’s -chickens told me that they were married in the church on the cliff. -After that I heard no more of them for some time, till one day I chanced -to pick up a sea-shell on the beach near the harbour. I had had no -tidings of the mer-folk for ever such a long while, so I put the shell -to my ear and let the sea tell me some, and amongst other things it told -me about those two, and how they had taken ship for the south. The last -news I had of them was from the wind, for he is such a great traveller -that he seldom loses sight of people, but the worst of him is that like -most travellers he is always in a hurry, so he could only stop to tell -me that he had seen them last in another garden, walking up and down an -avenue of cypresses with bits of broken statues on either side; only he -was not holding her hand this time, for she was carrying a white bundle -in her arms. The wind had not waited to find out its precise nature, but -he had overheard a few of their remarks as he went by, and would you -believe it, they were just exactly the same as those which the yew-hedge -had repeated to me.” - -“There is a nice big cypress tree at the Cushats,” said Philomène, “but -I have never seen a whole avenue of them. I wish I could. Oh, Sweet -William, I do get so bored sometimes living in a little house with a -little garden, and nothing exciting happening all day long.” - -“Boredom,” said Sweet William, “is a modern complaint to which the young -are peculiarly prone.” - -“I wish he would call something an ancient complaint to which old people -were prone,” thought Philomène. “And I’m sure it’s just as bad to be -always finding fault with the times in which one lives as with the -house.” But out loud she only said, “And may I come here sometimes, -please, and will you tell me a few more stories? Godmother tells me -beautiful stories which she makes up as she goes along, but she has so -many people to visit and so many things to do that I cannot see her very -often, and I know all my books nearly by heart, and Nurse can only tell -stories about the families she was with before she came to me, and all -those children seem to have been so dull and good.” - -“In these days,” replied Sweet William, “next to nothing can be done -without first passing examinations, so if you are willing to come here -to-morrow afternoon at about this time by a reliable clock (don’t go by -the nursery clock, for it is not very well regulated), I will set you an -examination paper all about fairies and fairyland. If you do well in it, -that is to say if your marks add up to 75 per cent, you shall have a -prize.” - -“What will the prize be?” asked Philomène, shyly. - -“A latchkey just like mine, so that you can let yourself in, whether I -am at home or not. And now,” said Sweet William rising, “I really must -be off. I have a lot of extra work in the spring time, with all the -swallows coming home.” - -Philomène rose also, and the little door swung open in the wall. She -stepped out upon the path, and the sunlight dazzled her, so that she had -to shade her eyes with her hand. “I am very glad to have met you, and I -will certainly come again to-morrow,” she was just beginning to say, -when she noticed that Sweet William was gone. For a minute she stood and -stared at the key-hole, which stared back at her. A warm west wind went -past her, the blackbird was still singing his heart out in the lilac -bush, and the air was full of the fragrance of green and growing things. -At her feet lay the dandelion stalk. - -Philomène picked up her watering-can and ran with it up the iron -staircase into the schoolroom, where she found Nurse asleep in her -favourite basket chair. “Oh, Nurse, do wake up, dear good old Nurse,” -she called out eagerly, “and tell me who put green ribbons on to my -christening dress!” - -“Bless the child,” returned Nurse drowsily, “who ever has been talking -that nonsense to you? It was your godmother, and a heathenish fancy I -thought it too at the time. And there’s no call for you to be speaking -so loud either that I can see; I wasn’t asleep, I was only resting my -eyes.” - - - - - CHAPTER V - IN WHICH THE HEROINE DISTINGUISHES HERSELF - - -The next day seemed a long time in coming, but come it did. So did Miss -Mills. Miss Mills was young and pretty, and she thought herself even -prettier than she was. During the past year or two, she had been giving -daily lessons to Philomène, but she was not fond of teaching, and her -temper was uncertain. - -“Tell me at once,” she said sharply, as the lesson dragged itself -towards its close, “what did Edwin and Morcar do?” - -“They ruled with rods of iron,” responded Philomène absently. - -“You are not attending properly, child,” said Miss Mills, “or you would -not repeat things parrot-fashion out of the book in that way. Do you -suppose that one took the poker and the other the tongs? And, you know, -you were very careless too about reciting your psalm this morning, -saying that the trees of the Lord were full of soup, when you know -perfectly well that they aren’t any such thing. What has come over you? -Take down your work for to-morrow.” - -It was no wonder that Philomène found it difficult to attend to her -lessons that day, for she could think of little else than the coming -examination, and when tea at last appeared she felt too much excited to -eat. - -“Now don’t begin to be faddy, Miss, like Master Harold,” said Nurse. - -“Who was Master Harold?” asked Philomène, “he wasn’t one of the -Ruthven-Smiths, was he?” - -“No,” said Nurse, “he was one of their cousins, and he came to stay with -them, and a mighty long visit he paid too. I never did like him from the -first moment I set eyes on him; he was all fads and fancies, and one -day, I remember, he made my poor dear little Miss Maisie cry by telling -her that her legs looked like two snakes that had swallowed oranges, and -they were no fatter than his own in the middle, for that matter. But if -you won’t get along with your tea, Miss, you had better say grace, and -run into the garden.” - -Outside the afternoon’s sad yellow sunlight lay all across the lawn; it -awoke diamond flashes in the wall, and even gilded the handle of the -pump. The metallic notes of the starlings were heard on every side, and -London was doing its best to forget that it was the largest pile of -brick and mortar in the world. Philomène ran to her own garden and up -its little pathway. A great fear was at her heart lest yesterday’s -experience should prove to have been a make-up also, and nothing more, -like Mrs Handy and the rest. Tremblingly she tapped upon the wall, and -prompt to her signal came the sound of a step inside, and the turning of -the key in the key-hole. Sweet William stood before her in his green -suit, with the red and white cockade in his hat. - -“Come in,” said he in his delicate high-pitched voice, “everything is -quite ready.” - -Philomène entered, and the catkin tapestries rustled in the draught of -the closing door. The little room looked cool and friendly. On the giant -mushroom lay a packet of satin-smooth lily petals, a swan’s quill pen, -and two snails’ shells, one filled with red and the other with violet -ink, distilled from red roses and from violets. There was also a little -pad of moss upon which to dry the pen. Philomène sat down upon the -nearest toadstool. - -“Well,” said Sweet William pleasantly, “have you been reading up much -for the examination?” - -“No, not much,” returned Philomène, “I really know all that’s in my -books already, but I have been trying to remember everything I ever -heard about the fairies.” - -“You see,” said Sweet William, “the Good People do not like letting -children into their secrets who have not first taken the trouble to find -out all they can about us for themselves. Now we had better begin, and -here are the questions. Number your pages, and pin them together with -this thorn when you have finished writing. There is a sun-dial in the -next garden, and he has promised to send word when the time is up.” - -For the next hour Philomène wrote busily; she did not even look round -when Sweet William opened a door opposite to that by which she herself -had entered, and spoke to someone outside. - -“It was a grasshopper,” said Sweet William, “and he came to say that the -hour is over. Poor fellow, he spends his time trying to reach the sun by -high hops, and his friend the dial keeps on assuring him that it is of -no use, but the grasshopper will not believe him. He thinks it is only -that the dial has lost heart and got depressed, from having had “Art is -long and time is fleeting” written across him for so many years.” - -Philomène was pinning her papers together. “I have done my best,” said -she, with a threatening of tears in her voice, “but I am afraid it won’t -be prize-standard.” - -“Well, let us see,” said Sweet William encouragingly, as he took the -neatly written sheets into his hands, “I will read aloud the questions -and what you have written, correcting your mistakes as I go along, and -then we will add up the marks. Perhaps you would like some refreshments -after all that hard work; here are some bee-bread and purest rainwater.” -So saying, Sweet William settled himself comfortably upon his stool, -dipped his pen into the red ink, and began. - -“‘I. Give the names of the King and Queen of Fairyland, of the King’s -favourite page, and of the Queen’s four chief attendant elves.’ - -“‘Oberon, Titania, Puck, Master Mustardseed, Master Peasblossom, Master -Cobweb, Master Moth.’ - -“Perfectly correct. The maximum for that is six marks; half a mark for -the King’s name, half a mark for the Queen’s, and a whole mark for each -of the five elves. Now then: - -“‘II. What events do you connect with the following dates; April 30th, -June 23rd, October 31st, and December 24?’ - -“‘April 30th is the Walpurgis Night, when the witches dance on the top -of a mountain called the Brocken. June 23rd is midsummer eve, when all -the goblins and sprites are abroad, and you light fires to keep them at -a distance; sometimes also you hang up a hatchet in a wood, so that they -can hew themselves timber if they will. On December 24th animals and all -lifeless things are able to speak.’ - -“I see you have left out October 31st. Didn’t you know it? It is the -great feast of Samhain, or of All Fairies.” - -“It is All Hallows’ Eve with us,” replied Philomène innocently, and then -remembered with a pang that fairies cannot bear the sound of church -bells, because it reminds them of a power that is stronger than their -strongest magic. “So I do not suppose they like the Saints much either,” -she reflected ruefully. - -“Well, it is All Fairies’ with us, at any rate,” said Sweet William, -speaking rather fast, “which makes three marks out of a maximum of four -for the second question. Now for the third. - -“‘III. Write all you know, (A) about Leprechauns; (B) about Brownies.’ - -“‘(A). Leprechauns are little men dressed all in green, who generally -live in Ireland; at least I have never heard of their living anywhere -else. They are the fairies’ cobblers, and are kept very busy because the -fairies dance so much that they wear out any number of shoes. They also -know where all the crocks of gold and other hidden treasures are kept, -and if you find a leprechaun, and don’t take your eyes off him, he is -obliged to give you anything you want, but he tries to startle you and -make you look away, and then you have lost your power over him, unless -you can catch him again. The best thing to do is to take him to running -water, for he is very much afraid of that, and will promise you anything -rather than stay near it.’ - -“‘(B) Brownies are little men who come into houses during the night, or -very early in the morning before anyone is up, and sweep and dust and -lay the fires, and make themselves very useful. You may put a bowl of -bread and milk for them, or even cream, if you want to show that you are -grateful, but you must never offer them new suits of clothes. Some -people have caught sight of them, and seen how ragged their coats were, -and have made new clothes for them, and left these near the bread and -milk, but when the brownies saw that they went away, and never came back -again. I suppose it offends them.’ - -“Quite right. You have full marks for that question, five for A and five -for B. That makes the whole ten for the third question. - -“‘IV. Write short notes on:—fairy ring; fairy-gold; witch-apples; -blackthorn; the rainbow.’ - -“‘A fairy ring is a circle of teeny mushrooms in the grass, and it marks -the place where the fairies have been dancing over-night. If you should -ever happen to fall from a height down into the middle of one of these -rings, you would not hurt yourself, not even if you fell from the -clouds. - -“‘Fairy gold is not very satisfactory, for when mortals touch it, it all -turns into withered leaves. - -“‘Witch-apples are very dangerous things, for if a witch gives you an -apple, and you eat it, it makes you restless ever after, so that you are -never able to settle down to anything again. - -“‘Blackthorn is the fairies’ tree, and they do not like its being picked -by us, or brought into our houses. That is why some people say that it -is unlucky to bring home blackthorn after a country walk, and other -people get a little mixed and think that it is hawthorn which is -unlucky, but it isn’t.’ - -“Ah! I see you have left out the rainbow. Do you mean to tell me you -don’t know what a rainbow is for?” - -“I don’t think so,” replied Philomène with some hesitation; Noah was in -her mind, but she fancied that Sweet William might find him as little -acceptable as the Saints. She therefore determined to run no risks this -time. - -“It is the triumphal arch,” explained Sweet William, “which is thrown up -whenever the fairy queen is expected to pass that way.” - -“I never heard that before,” said Philomène, “and I like the idea very -much (though I feel quite sure Nurse wouldn’t),” she added to herself. - -“It isn’t an idea,” retorted Sweet William rather huffily, “it is a -custom. Let me see, that makes four out of five marks for the fourth -question,” he continued, “and now for number five. - -“‘V. Copy three bars of music from the song, either of a mermaid, or of -the Lorelei.’ - -“Five marks for that question. But I see you have left it out -altogether?” - -“I have never had a chance of hearing the Lorelei,” answered Philomène, -“for no one has ever taken me to the Rhine, and I have not heard any -mermaids either, though the Cushats is near the sea.” - -“Well, perhaps it was not quite a fair question,” said Sweet William, -“but never mind, you have done very well so far, and you can well afford -to lose five marks at this stage. Let us see what you have made of -number six. - -“‘VI. Complete the following quotations, and state if possible, in what -work of which author each occurs. - - (A) All under the sun belongs to men; - - (B) Where the bee sucks, there lurk I. - - (A) And all under the moon to the fairies. - From Mrs Ewing’s “Amelia and the Dwarfs.” - - (B) In a cowslip’s bell I lie; - There I couch when owls do cry. - On the bat’s back I do fly - After summer merrily. - Merrily, merrily shall I live now, - Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.’ - From SHAKESPEARE’S ‘Tempest.’ - -“Very good indeed. Two marks for (A) and three for (B), which makes -five. You have full marks for that question. You must have a good -memory. - -“‘VII. (A). When did toads not turn into what, and if not, why not, and -what did they turn into?’ - -“‘(B). Supposing yourself to be escaping from an enchanter’s dwelling, -what three articles would be likely to prove of the most use to you, and -why?’ - -“‘(A). In the story of “Eliza and the Eleven Swans,” out of Hans -Andersen, the wicked stepmother throws toads into Eliza’s bath, wishing -to poison her. The toads were so ugly that they could not turn into -roses, which they would like to have done, and which less ugly creatures -might have been able to do, but they did manage to turn into poppies, -for Eliza was so good that they could not harm her. Miss Mills says -toads are not really poisonous.’ - -“‘(B). I should take with me’ (it would have been better to say,—If I -were escaping from an enchanter’s dwelling I should take with me—always -repeat your question in your answer, it saves the examiner trouble,) ‘I -should take with me a comb, a flower-pot and a tumbler of water, because -when the enchanter pursues you, you can throw the comb behind you, and -it turns into a ridge of mountains, and he has to waste time going back -and fetching a ladder so as to be able to climb up them; later you can -throw the flower-pot behind you which turns into a forest, so that the -enchanter has to turn back again and fetch a hatchet to cut down the -trees; afterwards you can throw the glass of water behind you, which -turns into a lake, so that he has first to get a boat. By that time you -have generally arrived at your own kingdom or wherever else you want to -go.’ - -“Yes, that is very well answered. You get full marks for that question -also, two and a half for (A), and two and a half for (B). Now there is -only number eight left. - -“‘VIII. Write in note form, and as concisely as possible, any story out -of Grimm’s fairy-tales.’ - -“I see you have chosen the story of the flounder. - -“‘Fisherman catches flounder. Flounder owns to being a prince; is let -go. Fisherman’s wife annoyed at wasted opportunity. Fisherman goes back -to beach, finds flounder, states wish. Fisherman’s hovel vanishes, nice -cottage instead. Fortnight later fisherman’s wife grumbles. Fisherman -returns to flounder, flounder rather cross. Cottage disappears, stone -castle instead. After few days fisherman’s wife grumbles again, sends -husband back to flounder. Flounder crosser. Sea rough. However, castle -vanishes, king’s palace instead. Fisherman goes home to find wife -already discontented because only queen, not empress. Has to return to -beach. Flounder angry. Sea very rough. King’s palace disappears, -emperor’s palace comes instead. Wife says she wants to be Pope, sends -husband back to beach. Flounder very angry. Sea stormy. Emperor’s palace -goes, Pope’s palace comes. Sunrise next morning. Wife sees it, says she -wants to be able to make the sun rise. Fisherman returns to seashore. -Sea running mountains high. No flounder, voice only. Fisherman returns -to find old hovel back again.’ - -“The maximum there is ten marks,” Sweet William said, after he had -finished reading the notes aloud, “and you have remembered the story -well, all but the rhyme.” - -“I did remember the rhyme though,” said Philomène eagerly, “and I had -meant to add it, but just then the grasshopper came. The first time the -fisherman says:— - - ‘Flounder, flounder in the sea, - Come, I pray, and talk with me, - For my wife, Dame Isabel, - Sent me here a tale to tell.’ - -And all the other times he says:— - - ‘For my wife, Dame Isabel, - Wishes what I fear to tell.’” - -“Capital!” exclaimed Sweet William with enthusiasm, “Philomène rightly -named, beloved of the fairies! It is not often we have the good luck to -come across such a child. Now we will add up the marks. Six for the -first question, three for the second, ten for the third, four for the -fourth, none for the fifth, five for the sixth, five for the seventh, -ten for the eighth. That makes forty-three out of fifty, which is -eighty-six per cent. I congratulate you, my dear, and have much pleasure -in presenting you with a latchkey, exactly like my own.” - -Philomène’s face lit up, her cheeks glowed and her eyes sparkled, but -“Thank you very much” was all she said as she took the key and slipped -it into her pocket. - -“I expect it will be a treat for you to come out here now and again,” -said Sweet William, watching her closely, “not indeed that there isn’t -plenty to amuse you indoors.” - -“Not indoors at home,” said Philomène, decidedly, “Daddy is out nearly -all day, and though Nurse and Miss Mills are very kind and all that, -they are neither of them any good at fairy things, or at plays, or at -story-telling. It seems to me it is often very dull at home.” - -“The very young,” remarked Sweet William, gazing into space, “and more -particularly the young of the present day, are apt to condemn the place -in which they live because they are themselves too stupid to find out -its attractions. Do you follow me?” - -“I can’t very well help following you,” said Philomène, almost losing -her temper, “but if you lived at Sideview yourself, perhaps you would -not find it so very amusing either. Even Daddy says it is an -uninteresting little house, though of course I try to be contented so as -to please him, but it is not at all so easy as you make out. It isn’t a -bit like the ‘House of Surprises’ in the story-book.” - -“A good many surprising things go on in it, notwithstanding,” retorted -Sweet William, “as Master Mustardseed could very well tell you, if you -only had the sense to listen to him a bit when you are alone together.” - -“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand you about Master Mustardseed,” said -Philomène, “why should I need to be alone with him specially?” - -“Because,” replied Sweet William calmly, “he is every bit as much a -fairy as I am.” - -“A fairy! What fairy?” cried Philomène, jumping off the stool in her -excitement. - -“What fairy? Why, Master Mustardseed, of course. Haven’t you been -writing about him only this very afternoon? Just you listen to a piece -of good advice. When next you are left alone for any length of time, get -as near as ever you can to his cage. And now good-bye for the present, -for I am still up to my eyes in work.” - -“Goodbye,” said Philomène, and she felt in her pocket to make sure that -the key was still there. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - IN WHICH THE HEROINE TAKES ADVICE - - -Philomène ran down the garden walk, her mind in a turmoil. Queen Mab was -trotting to meet her along the path, and as soon as she caught sight of -her pet, she knelt down on the gravel and held out her arms to it. “O -Queen Mab, Queen Mab,” she cried, “I am so happy! It seems it doesn’t -matter being ordinary, if only the Good People love one.” The cat had -scrambled upon her lap in an instant, and was rubbing a white velvety -head against her arm, and licking her hand with a little tongue as rough -as it was red. Philomène carried her pussy into the schoolroom, and set -it down on the bearskin hearth-rug; then she glanced curiously at the -canary in his cage, but he was pecking at the seeds in his seed-trough, -and took no notice of her. - -Before nightfall it rained. Nurse said it was because Lilian Augusta had -sung “Summer suns are glowing” that morning, which, she declared, -invariably brought on wet weather. The next day it went on raining, but -despite the downpour Miss Mills happened to be in a good humour, and -this was just as well, for it was the turn of what Philomène called “the -little speckled book,” and it is not easy to give your attention to -little speckled books when your thoughts are full of fairies. “The World -and All About It” was a very plump little volume, and the squatness of -its figure was only equalled by the omniscience of its author. It -explained at the beginning who had made the world and why; it gave the -exact date for the invention of pottery, and described the best way of -handling chopsticks. Philomène had just been learning all about the -chameleon, and of how by changing its colour it escapes the notice of -its enemies. - -“Does not this show the care which Providence takes of all its -creatures?” demanded Miss Mills. - -“I suppose so,” replied Philomène, thoughtfully. - -“Don’t say, ‘I suppose so,’” returned Miss Mills, “the answer in the -book is Yes.” But the rebuke was given gently and with a smile, and -Philomène was gladder than ever of this easy-going mood when it came to -the Scripture lesson, which was her weekly nightmare. For when Miss -Mills taught the Scriptures she succeeded in making them as dry as the -biscuit which the Red Queen gave to Alice. “Thirst quenched, I hope?” -said the Red Queen, and happily did not wait for an answer. - -Nurse declined to venture out of doors that day, and an interview with -Master Mustardseed was impossible, so when lessons were over Philomène -went down to the kitchen to help Lilian Augusta grate the chocolate for -a pudding. She found her singing to herself, “And now this holy day is -drawing to its end.” “But I don’t see that it is so very holy,” -reflected Philomène, “and it isn’t anywhere near its end either. Nurse -says it is just out of contrariness that Lilian Augusta likes to sing, -“The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended” while she is washing up the -breakfast things, and “When morning gilds the skies” over the -tea-things, but then I think Nurse is sometimes very cross to Lilian -Augusta, and perhaps she doesn’t mean all she sings.” - -Lilian Augusta and Philomène were good friends, and had quarrelled only -twice, once when the first canary had been allowed to make its escape, -and another time on Queen Mab’s account. Lilian Augusta had no love for -cats, and she was not pleased therefore when after some fruitless -advertising it was settled that Queen Mab should become a member of the -household. Philomène, bent on making peace, had carried her new pet into -the kitchen and had placed it on the table. - -“You know, Lilian Augusta,” she said coaxingly, “we really couldn’t have -put such a little, little cat out into the street again, could we? Only -see how small it is, and who would have fed it?” - -“God, I suppose, Miss,” replied Lilian Augusta unmoved, as she measured -out the curry-powder. But Philomène would not hear of this. - -“Poor Pussy!” she exclaimed resentfully, “poor, poor Pussy!” And -snatching up Queen Mab she walked straight out of the kitchen and did -not re-visit it that day. Lilian Augusta, however, had grown first -indifferent to the white cat, and then fond of it, for Queen Mab had -pretty endearing ways, besides which, devotion to Philomène was at all -times a passport to the faithful servant’s good opinion. - -For several days the steady rain continued; gardeners rejoiced, other -people grumbled. Philomène consoled herself with an occasional peep at -her tall silver savings-box, in which she now treasured her latchkey. -This savings-box of hers was never looked at, for her father wished her -to do as she pleased with her pocket-money, and she had therefore chosen -it as a hiding-place for the key. On these wet days, when she could not -play in the garden, it was a comfort merely to look at the key through -the slit in the lid of the box. Towards the end of the week the rain -abated, though it did not stop altogether. People were beginning to -cheer up all round, excepting, of course, the gardeners, who said that -the soil was sodden, and that the rain had brought the slugs. - -Nurse laid aside the pinafore she had been making, and shut her work-box -with a snap. “I want to get some insertion,” she announced, “the same as -is on your other pinafores. I must see if I can match it,” - -“Am I to come too, Nurse?” inquired Philomène anxiously. - -“I don’t see the necessity, Miss. You had your walk this morning. You -had better stay in and meet your father when he comes home, I should -say. He might be back within the next hour.” - -Philomène breathed more freely. “I would ask Lilian Augusta to do that -much shopping for me,” continued Nurse, “but it’s her time off to-day, -and what’s more she never can match things, not so much as a bit of -binding. I’m sure it’s very good of the Lord to make me as patient as I -am with Lilian Augusta every day of my life.” - -No sooner had the hall-door banged downstairs than Master Mustardseed -burst into song, so full of joyous trills and turns and crushing-notes, -that someone who knew no better might have supposed he was merely -showing what difficult music he could contrive to sing if he gave his -mind to it. Philomène cautiously put two fingers through the bars of his -cage, and at that the canary stopped singing as abruptly as he had -begun, cocked his little green head on one side, and perched upon her -hand. Then he spoke in a shrill, small voice, - -“No need to introduce myself, I suppose?” he said gaily. His manner was -good-humoured and easy, and Philomène thought, rightly enough, that he -would prove far slower to take offence than her friend the land-agent. - -“No,” she said, “Sweet William has told me that Master Mustardseed is -really your name; and oh! you cannot think what a difference it has made -to me during lesson time to feel that there is a real fairy in the -schoolroom. I used to think sometimes, when it was quiet and getting -late, that if I listened I might hear my toys talking, as they do in -nearly all the story-books, but that never came to anything. Perhaps I -didn’t wait long enough, or perhaps they knew I was listening.” - -“The story-books are not always as accurate on that point as they ought -to be,” replied the canary, “it is really not at all so easy to hear -toys talk as they make out. To begin with, the house has to be quite -empty; there must be no daylight in the room, only firelight or -moonlight; and there must be no time going on.” - -“How could that be managed?” asked Philomène, as Master Mustardseed -paused to take breath, for he spoke nearly as fast as he sang. - -“The clock must have stopped,” said Master Mustardseed, “so you see, it -is rather a difficult matter first and last. You have no idea, by the -way, what confusion you caused in the dolls’ house the other day by -making the dolls play at a wedding.” - -“I am sorry if I upset them,” said Philomène in distress, “I thought I -should like to have a wedding, because I had read in my history lesson -that morning about King Louis XII. of France, and how he over-ate -himself at his own wedding-banquet when he married Mary Tudor, and he -died, and she was ever so pleased, and went quickly and married someone -else.” - -“I daresay,” said Master Mustardseed, laughing, “but you married two -dolls who did not in the least want to marry each other, poor things, -and what was worse, the mistress of the house had invited the Gollywog -and the Father Christmas to lunch, and she had to tell them not to come, -as there were not enough plates to go round. How would you like to have -to do that if you were a hostess? The dolls’ own lives are constantly -being interrupted and interfered with by those who play with them, but -of course I see that it cannot be helped, and it isn’t your fault. It is -the fault of whoever made them dolls.” - -“I will look very hard at them next time I want to play,” said Philomène -remorsefully, “and perhaps I shall see from the expression on their -faces whether they have a funeral or a party or anything of their own -fixed for that day. Poor dears, I hope they don’t hate me. But, oh -please, will you tell me something about yourself now, and why you are -here?” - -“Well, as you have already heard,” replied the canary, “I am Master -Mustardseed, one of the fairy queen’s four favourite pages, so you made -a remarkably good shot at my name. As for why I am here—well, have you -never heard that once every hundred years fairies have to turn into -animals for a year and a day, and if they are killed during that time, -so much the worse for them, for you see, we haven’t what you call souls. -However, if we survive that year and that day, we can go back to -Fairyland for another hundred years. Now my friend and brother page, -Master Moth, of whom I daresay you have heard, had to put in his time -before my turn came, and he lived with you as your first canary; but -when his year was over he flew away, and knowing that I had shortly to -make up my mind what to change into myself, he recommended me to come -here, saying that you were a very kind little mistress, and that I might -go farther and fare worse. That is why I came, and as for my staying -longer than a year and a day, why, my dear, before I left Fairyland I -played a prank on the Man in the Moon. He had come to court for the -first time, and we pages thought him something of a country cousin. You -see, he did not know anything at all about court etiquette, and made -absurd mistakes. I thought out the prank all by myself, for I did not -want Puck or Moth or Cobweb or Peasblossom to know anything about it; it -does not do to have too many people in a secret. All would have gone off -well enough, had not the Man in the Moon complained to headquarters. It -appears he cannot take a joke; and indeed I might have guessed as much, -for I expect you have noticed even at this distance what a wry face he -can make. The king and queen were so much displeased that they banished -me from court for three years, and I thought I had much better stay on -here. But if one day I leave you, you must not be sorry, for I shall -only have flown back to Fairyland.” - -“Do many of the fairies turn into song-birds?” asked Philomène. - -“Yes, a good many of them,” replied Master Mustardseed, “and the court -musician always turns into a nightingale. As for the fairies who dislike -the bother of housekeeping, they become cuckoos, and lay their eggs in -other birds’ nests, which saves them a lot of trouble. Brownies become -bees and ants, for they cannot bear to be idle, and a court-lady as -often as not turns into a butterfly or humming-bird for the sake of the -fine clothes.” - -“Have you ever heard the Lorelei sing?” inquired Philomène, “I had to -leave out the question about her in Sweet William’s examination paper.” - -“No,” replied Master Mustardseed decidedly, “I have always avoided the -lady. You know, I suppose, what it is that she sings for? The boatmen -hear her, and listen and listen, and watch her combing her shimmering -hair, and forget to steer their boats, so that they are sucked down into -the whirlpools of the Rhine. The gnomes never did mortals a worse turn -than when they made that golden comb for her, and when all’s said and -done her hair is no prettier than your own godmother’s. But don’t let’s -talk about her any more; I know plenty of stories about much nicer -people. Perhaps you would like to hear one right away. Stop me if I talk -too fast; Moth says it is a failing of mine.” - - - - - CHAPTER VII - IN WHICH MASTER MUSTARDSEED TELLS HIS STORY - - -“In a mean, dingy house in the midst of a great city, there once lived a -cobbler and his apprentice, and together with them in that same house -there also lived a certain evil and malicious boggart. Now a boggart is -just the opposite of a brownie, for while a brownie tidies and sweeps -and puts things to rights, a boggart only works mischief and makes -confusion. He would break the crockery, and mislay the tools in the -workshop, and once he dropped so much salt into the soup that the -cobbler lay awake half the night with thirst. Now the cobbler, who was a -harsh, unreasonable man, suspected his apprentice of these pranks, and -soon took him roughly to task. - -“Master,” said the apprentice, “you do me wrong. It is not I who have -done you this harm, but a mannikin in tattered clothes and a peaked cap. -It must be that we are living under one roof with a boggart, for more -than once have I seen him at his tricks when twilight fell.” - -But the cobbler would not believe a word of what the apprentice said, -for he himself had never set eyes on the boggart, and though one day the -apprentice pointed him out, not even then could he catch so much as a -glimpse of him. It is true that the cobbler’s yellow cat, who lay -stretched upon the hearth, could see the imp plainly enough with her -green and glimmering eyes, but then it was not in her power to say so, -nor to put in a good word for the apprentice. - -“You had better stop making game of me,” said the angry cobbler, each -time that a fresh mishap occurred, “for my temper is but a short one, -and I am growing tired of your fool’s tricks, and of your fool’s tales -too, for that matter, about boggarts and what not, so mark my words, and -mend your ways.” - -Now one evening as the cobbler sat stitching at a neighbour’s shoes, he -said to the apprentice, “I am ready for my supper. Go and get me the -flitch of bacon from the corner cupboard.” But when the apprentice -opened the cupboard door, the bacon was nowhere to be seen. - -“Master, it is gone!” he cried, “I fear the boggart has played you -another trick, and this time it is an ill turn indeed!” - -“The boggart! The boggart! What’s all this talk of boggarts?” screamed -the cobbler, “so I have been teaching my trade to a thief, have I? -You’re a fine fellow to keep as an apprentice, eating a poor man out of -house and home! Get you gone from my door, or you shall have blows from -me, and not words alone.” - -Again the apprentice tried to defend himself, but his master would not -listen, so he sadly put together his few belongings in a knapsack, and -set out upon his travels, with none to wish him well save only his -friend the yellow cat, who came and rubbed herself against his legs -before the house-door closed behind him. All night he paced the streets -disconsolate, and at dawn when the city gates stood open he set forth -upon the king’s highway. - -As dusk fell, he entered a wild, bleak hill country, and he had not gone -far upon the lonely road when he heard a voice singing a plaintive -refrain. Eagerly he hurried onwards, wondering who the wayfarer might -be, but soon the singing ceased, and a sound of weeping took its place. -Then the apprentice caught sight of a maiden seated upon the grassy bank -by the roadside. She was beautifully dressed in silks and jewels, but -briers clung to her rich trailing robes, and the blustering wind had -disordered her golden tresses. - -“Madam,” said the apprentice, “if my poor services may assist you, they -are at your command.” - -“I thank you with all my heart,” said she, “let us travel on together -and seek a night’s lodging. But for you I should have been left -friendless upon this waste hillside.” So together they took the road -again, and journeyed on into the mountains. - -“I am a king’s daughter,” said the maiden, “and my father and mother -have accused me of witchcraft, and have driven me from my home.” - -“I too have been driven away on an unjust charge,” said the apprentice, -“and now I know not how I may earn my bread, for my master the cobbler -would not finish teaching me my trade.” After that they both fell -silent, for they were weary and sad at heart. - -Now when they had gone some considerable distance, they overtook a -shepherd who was driving home his flock, and of him they begged a -night’s shelter. - -“Come with me to my goodwife,” the kindly shepherd made reply, “and we -will do all in our power to serve you both.” So saying he guided them to -the sheltered hollow where his cottage stood. His wife came to greet him -at the doorway, and when she saw the strangers she welcomed them also. -In the kitchen a bright fire was burning, and supper was on the table, -broth, and bread, and a bowl of porridge. Far back in a shadowy corner -of the room sat an old, old woman, toothless and hairless, bent and -shrunken with her years. - -“That,” said the shepherd, “is my grandmother, and she is reputed one of -the wisest women in the countryside, but she is aged and weak, and -speaks but seldom.” - -Now as soon as supper was ended, the company drew around the fire, and -the shepherd begged his guests to relate the story of their wanderings. - -“My father is a mighty king,” the princess made answer, “and dwells in a -city many leagues distant. Not long ago a strange series of misfortunes -befell us. One night as I stood by my window and looked out upon the -palace garden, I saw that a fairy was pillaging the blossom of the -king’s favourite almond-tree, and I called in haste to my waiting-woman, -and pointed the strange sight out to her, but she protested that she -could see nothing, and the next morning she went and told my parents -what had taken place. The night following I stood again by my window, -looking out upon the terrace, and this time I saw a fairy luring away -the queen’s favourite peacock. Again I called to my waiting-woman, for I -was afraid, but again she declared that she could see nothing. The next -morning the faithless woman went once more to my parents, and told them -what had befallen, and this time she even dared assure them that I must -be a witch, for had there indeed been a fairy in the castle she would -certainly have seen it as well as myself. At first my parents were -unwilling to credit her charge, for, said the king my father, the -almond-tree had most assuredly been plundered, though none knew by whom, -and, said the queen my mother, that the peacock was lost there could be -no doubt. Nevertheless, they were both much disturbed, and bade the -woman watch me narrowly. Now as evening fell I was sitting in my bower, -when all at once I heard a sound behind me as of breaking flax, and -turning round I saw a fairy standing in the middle of my room, breaking -the flax that hung upon my golden spinning-wheel. Then I became -frightened, and pointed her out to my waiting-woman, but again she said -she saw nothing. The next day when my parents heard what had happened, -they summoned me to their presence and questioned me, and I could but -affirm that each time I had seen a fairy, though my waiting-woman had -seen none. Now the king my father lives in great dread of witches and -their charms, and forthwith he charged me with witchcraft, because I saw -things that were not good to see, and which were hidden from other folk, -and when my mother pleaded for me he would not listen, but said that -there was a spell upon the palace and that I must go, or else no one -could tell what might come of it, and he sent me away. But indeed, good -people, I am no witch, yet the fairies I did most assuredly see, three -several times.” - -After that the apprentice also told his story, and how the cobbler had -blamed him for the boggart’s pranks, and had driven him out. “Yet I am -unjustly accused,” said he, “for I myself saw the boggart at his work, -not once nor twice.” - -“These are the strangest tales that ever I heard!” cried the shepherd. - -“The old grandmother is learned in fairy lore,” added his wife; “it may -be that she can solve the riddle.” When she heard that, the princess -rose, and went to the dark corner where the old crone sat, and knelt -down beside her. - -“Tell me, I pray you, good mother,” said she, “how comes it that this -stranger and I both saw the fairies where others saw none?” But the old -crone only blinked at her with dull eyes, and made no reply. - -“It is a king’s daughter who kneels to you, granddame,” cried the -shepherd, “will you not give her an answer?” - -“A peaked cap and fernseed,” muttered the old hag, “the boggart put on -his peaked cap, and the fairies carried fernseed.” - -“But whoever carries fernseed becomes invisible,” said the princess, -“and in spite of that I saw them.” - -“Over those who are born on an Ember Day neither a cap of darkness nor -the fairies’ fern itself has any power,” said the crone; “both of you -must have been born in one of the four Ember Weeks.” And her voice died -away into indistinct mumblings. - -“It is a dower that none need envy,” quoth the apprentice, and the -princess sighed in answer. - -Now on the following morning the shepherd and his wife urged the -princess to remain with them, and she joyfully consented. “I will not be -a burden to you,” said she, “for I can spin, and I will learn to do all -manner of things about the house, and will take care of the old -grandmother.” - -But the apprentice set out upon his travels again, and this time he felt -even sadder than on the previous day, for it went to his heart to part -from the princess, whom already he loved for her fair face and gentle -ways. After journeying for some distance he left the hills behind him, -and at noon he entered a deep and shady wood. There, in a mossy glade, -seated upon a bank of primroses, he caught sight of a little man dressed -all in green, who was busily mending shoes. But as the apprentice drew -nearer, the mannikin flung aside his work, and snatching up a green cap -with a sprig of fern in the brim, he set it upon his head. - -“That much trouble you might have spared yourself,” laughed the -apprentice, “for I was born on an Ember Day, they tell me.” - -“Is that so?” said the mannikin, and he resumed his cobbling. - -“And who may you be?” asked the apprentice. - -“I am the fairies’ cobbler,” replied the little green man. - -“Then I pray you teach me my trade,” said the apprentice, “for I am a -cobbler’s apprentice, but I have not served my full time, since my -master has sent me away on a wrongful charge.” - -“Where did your master live?” asked the mannikin. - -“Over the hills yonder,” replied the apprentice pointing, but when he -turned round again the fairies’ cobbler was nowhere to be seen. On the -instant he felt himself pelted by a shower of acorns from above, and -looking up he saw a squirrel, perched among the oak boughs overhead. - -“You are a fine fellow for letting your opportunities slip,” said the -squirrel; “do you not know that when you meet the fairies’ cobbler you -should never take your eyes off him for a moment? So long as you keep on -looking at him, he is bound to give you whatever you may ask, though you -should demand of him all the crocks of gold in Fairyland, but he will -try to startle or deceive you, and then your chance is lost.” - -“I will remember your good advice another time,” said the apprentice, -and he went on into the wood. At sunset he came to another glade, and -there he once more caught sight of the fairies’ cobbler, seated upon a -tree-stump. - -“This time you shall not escape me,” he cried, and fixing his eyes upon -the mannikin he repeated his request, “I pray you, teach me my trade.” - -“The cobbler’s craft is not an easy one,” replied the little man -surlily, “the fairies dance so much and so often that it is all I can do -to keep them in shoes. Only look at this pair now—it was new at -moonrise.” - -“They are indeed much worn,” said the apprentice, but even as he spoke -he became aware that the fairies’ cobbler had once more disappeared. The -next moment he heard a soft chuckle behind him, and looking round he -noticed a large white owl perched upon a bush hard by. - -“He had you that time,” said the owl; “why ever did you look down at the -shoes? The safest way to make sure of the fairies’ cobbler is to steal -up from behind and catch hold of him, and should he seem unwilling to -grant your request you have but to hold him over running water, and he -will give you all you ask.” - -“I will remember your good advice another time,” said the apprentice, -and he went further into the wood. Now after a while he heard the sound -of a waterfall, and came upon yet another glade that lay all silvered in -the light of the moon, and he was just debating within himself whether -this were not a good place in which to spend the night, when for the -third time he caught sight of the fairies’ cobbler, seated upon a -toadstool. Softly he crept up behind him, and took hold of the mannikin -firmly by the lappets of his green coat. - -“You shall not escape me again,” said he. - -“That is as may be,” quoth the fairies’ cobbler morosely; “pray what -reason is there that I should teach the tricks of my trade to a mortal?” - -“We shall see about that,” said the apprentice, “for if I am not -mistaken there is a waterfall close at hand.” And with the mannikin -under his arm he made his way among the trees till he came to where the -cascade ran white over the rocks. Then the fairies’ cobbler began to -utter small, shrill cries of protest. - -“Come away! Come away!” he cried, piteously, as the apprentice held him -over the foaming torrent, “only take me back into the glade, and I will -teach you all I know.” - -Now the apprentice knew that the fairies are no promise-breakers, so he -carried the little green mannikin back into the glade, and all that -night the fairies’ cobbler taught him the utmost that may be known about -the art of making and mending shoes. Therefore as soon as the sun rose, -the newly-made cobbler said to the mannikin, “I am truly grateful for -what you have taught me, and if there be any favour which a poor -craftsman like myself can do to one of the Good People, I pray you tell -it me.” - -“There is one favour then which I would ask of you,” the fairies’ -cobbler made reply; “promise me that you will never break off any -blackthorn or bring it into your house, for it is our tree, and we are -offended when it is tampered with.” This the cobbler promised -faithfully, and when he had once more thanked the little green man, he -went upon his way. - -After some days’ journey he came to a great city, and here he remained -and worked at his craft. It was not long before he discovered that it -was in this city that the princess’s parents ruled as king and queen, -and he soon learnt from the talk of the people about him, that the -fairies were still wreaking their vengeance on the palace. Only the -other day, said the gossips, the king and the queen had made ready to -receive the ambassador of a foreign prince, but when the court entered -the throne-room in state, all the wreaths and garlands with which it had -been festooned were torn down, withered, and trampled upon. As soon as -he heard this, the cobbler hastened to the palace, and begged for an -audience from the king, but the haughty servants to whom he addressed -himself refused admission to so humble a suitor, and the cobbler had to -return to his cobbling, and bide his time till a better opportunity -should offer. - -All this while the princess had remained behind in the shepherd’s -cottage. The good man and his wife treated her as a daughter, and even -the old crone seemed glad of her company, and loved to finger with her -palsied hands the princess’s beautiful embroidered cloak and sparkling -gems, and more especially she fancied a certain jewelled cross that the -king’s daughter wore about her neck. “Keep it, good mother, since it -pleases you,” said the kind-hearted princess one day, and she laid it in -the old woman’s lap, who after that would sit contented by the hour, -counting the stones and holding them up to the light. - -Now among the mountains in the neighbourhood of the cottage lay a deep -and lonely tarn, where waterfowl made their nests, and bulrushes grew in -profusion, and often the princess would go and gather these rushes, -which she plaited into mats and baskets and sold in the hamlets near by. -One day when she was thus picking rushes by the lakeside, she heard a -plashing close at hand, and looking up she saw a beautiful black horse -standing knee-deep in the water, gazing at her intently. At first she -was frightened, but since the creature seemed gentle and harmless she -soon regained courage, and when it waded out of the water and came and -stood beside her, she began to fondle it and to stroke its glossy mane. -After that the beautiful black steed came to greet her every time that -she went to the tarn, but when she spoke of it to the shepherd, he said -that he had heard tell of no riderless horse in those parts. - -One evening when autumn was drawing on, the shepherd and his wife were -absent at a fair in one of the neighbouring villages, but the princess -had remained at home with the old grandmother and sat spinning in the -firelight. - -“Daughter, what ails you?” asked the crone from her corner by the -hearth, for she had heard the princess draw a deep, sad sigh. - -“I am troubled for my parents’ sake,” replied the king’s daughter; -“would that I knew the cause of ill-will which the fairies have against -them, and how they might be appeased.” - -“Samhain,” muttered the old woman, “Samhain.” - -“What is the meaning of Samhain?” asked the princess, but the crone had -fallen silent again, and nothing more was to be got out of her. Then the -princess went and stood in the doorway, watching for the return of the -shepherd and his wife, for it was growing late, and as she stood there -the nightwind hurried past her. - -“O wind,” said the princess, “you are the greatest of all travellers, -therefore if you know it, tell a forlorn king’s daughter what is meant -by Samhain.” - -“Samhain is the feast of All Fairies,” said the wind. - -“And when do they keep it?” asked the princess. - -“On All Hallows’ E’en,” the wind made answer. - -“And where do they keep it?” asked the princess. - -“In the brown bog country,” said the wind, “where you may see a myriad -pools, and each pool bathes one star.” And when he had said that he sped -away, for the wind is ever in haste. - -Therefore as soon as the shepherd and his wife returned, the princess -told them that she could remain with them no longer, but must set out -upon her quest, and though they were loath to part with her, the good -people let her go. So the next morning she bade them farewell, and as -she went along the road that led to the mountain tarn, the beautiful -black horse came trotting to meet her. - -“It may be that I shall have far to go,” said the princess, “and that -this gallant horse will consent to carry me.” So she mounted upon its -back and rode onwards, but when they reached the tarn the black horse -plunged straightway into the ice-cold water, and began to swim across, -and as soon as it gained the centre of the lake, it dived under. Then -the princess cried out and struggled, and the black horse threw her, and -in that moment she knew that it was no real horse at all, but a kelpie, -a wicked water-sprite that assumes at times the form of a horse. - -“All the summer through have I loved and watched you, king’s daughter,” -said the kelpie, as he stood before her in his proper shape, “and now -you must live with me in my palace, and be my wife.” - -Pearly white and very fair to see was the palace of the water-kelpie, -with its towers and minarets, and a great white dome in the midst, and -within, the walls were hung with iridescent tapestries. Here the -princess was held a prisoner, and day after day she would sit under the -magical milk-white dome, and weep till she had no more tears to shed. -But wed the water-kelpie she would not. Her happiest hours were when he -left her to roam the hills under the shape of the black horse, and then -she would pace to and fro in her beautiful prison-house and call to mind -the peaceful days in the shepherd’s cottage, and the young apprentice -whom in her secret heart she loved, though because she was a king’s -daughter she was too proud to own it to anybody but herself. - -Meanwhile the cobbler had won for himself a great reputation by his -skill in shoe-making, for those who wore his shoes could walk for -leagues or dance for whole nights together without growing tired, so -that before long his fame reached the ears of the king, who summoned him -to the palace. Now, as soon as the cobbler found himself in the presence -of the king and queen, he made haste to tell them of his meeting with -the princess, and of what the old crone had told them. - -“It may be as you say,” said the king, “and glad indeed should I be to -think that my child is no witch, but only dowered above other mortals, -for so great is my fear of witchcraft that I would sooner have my palace -pillaged from end to end than suffer any about me who have eyes for -uncanny sights.” - -“I fear we have done our daughter a great wrong,” said the queen -sorrowfully, “and none of us knows the cause of the fairies’ -displeasure, nor the remedy for it. We have called in the Prime -Minister, and the Lord High Chamberlain, and the Keeper of the Great -Seal, and the Lords and Ladies of the Bedchamber, but they are all -utterly at a loss.” - -Then an idea came to the cobbler. “Madam,” said he, “was there by chance -any blackthorn brought into the palace last spring?” - -“I do not know,” replied the queen, “but it shall be inquired into.” - -So the entire court and household were assembled, and a strict inquiry -was made. Then it was that the lowest scullery-maid in the royal kitchen -confessed that she had broken off a spray from a blackthorn hedge in the -foregoing spring, and had placed it in her attic room. So the king, at -the cobbler’s advice, published a proclamation, forbidding the breaking -of blackthorn throughout the realm, but to the cobbler himself he said; -“Do you go and fetch my daughter back, for we will receive her with due -honour, and if she be willing you shall have her hand in marriage. As -for the waiting-woman who accused her to me, she shall be dismissed the -kingdom.” - -Then the cobbler set out and made his way back to the shepherd’s -cottage, but when he reached it the good man and his wife told him of -how the princess had left them, and that they had had no tidings of her -since. “But if you are in search of her,” said the shepherd’s wife, -“take with you this jewelled cross and restore it to her, for she gave -it to the old granddame who is now dead, and it is not ours that we -should keep it.” So the cobbler took the cross, and continued his -journey. - -Now as he passed by the lonely tarn he heard a voice singing, and -recognised that same plaintive refrain which the princess had sung when -first he met her on the hillside. - -“Alas! Alas!” he cried aloud, “my dear lady is drowned in this desolate -pool.” - -“Would that I were, good friend,” the princess’s voice made answer, “it -had been better than this my sad captivity, for I am in the power of a -wicked water-kelpie who woos me for his wife.” - -When he heard these words, the cobbler fell to thinking how he might -deliver his princess from her sorrowful fate, and soon he bethought him -of the jewelled cross. This he took and flung it far into the tarn, and -as the saving sign touched the surface the evil, wine-dark water began -to seethe and boil in its depths, and the stately pearl-white palace of -the kelpie broke up and dissolved upon the instant. So the princess was -released and came forth from the tarn. Then the cobbler hastened to tell -her of the discovery of the blackthorn, and of how he had come to bring -her home to her parents. - -“Tell me first,” said she, “what day it is, for I have lost all count of -time.” - -“It is All Hallows’ E’en,” replied the cobbler. - -At that the princess began to lament bitterly, for she feared lest she -might be too late to reach the bog country where the fairies would keep -their feast. - -“Do not be sorrowful, princess,” replied the cobbler, “I promise you we -shall both see Samhain kept to-night, and to-morrow I will restore you -to your home.” - -“How is that to be?” asked she. - -“I will make shoes of swiftness,” said the cobbler, “which will carry us -more fleetly than the swallows.” And immediately he set to work and made -her a pair of fairy shoes, and next he began making a pair for himself. -But while he was still working at the second shoe, there came a sound of -hoof-beats far away. - -“O hasten, hasten!” cried the princess, wringing her hands, “for the -kelpie is returning.” Nearer and nearer drew the sound of the thundering -hoofs upon the road, faster and faster stitched the cobbler. - -“O make haste, make haste!” cried the princess; “see, he is in sight!” -Fleetly down the steep hillside the black horse came galloping, with -streaming mane and glaring eyes. - -“We are lost!” cried the princess, and indeed the horse was already upon -them, and had caught the fringe of her cloak in its mouth. But in that -same instant the cobbler slipped on his second shoe, and he and the -princess sped away together like birds upon the wing. But the -embroidered cloak they left behind between the horse’s teeth. - -Over land and ocean they went, yet felt no weariness, and at nightfall -they reached the brown bog country, studded with innumerable pools, and -every pool bathed a star. The moon was rising, and from all the four -winds the fairies came trooping, elves and gnomes and pixies, brownies -and hobgoblins, with the fairy queen and her retinue in their midst, and -at a little distance the cobbler and the princess stood and watched them -assemble. At last one dainty elf came towards them, in dress of pearly -gossamer, and in her yellow hair a wreath of starry white flowers, such -as you may see for yourself on the window-pane any frosty day. - -“I owe you thanks for many a past kindness,” said she to the cobbler. - -“Yet I have never seen you till this moment, elf lady,” he replied. - -“Are you so sure of that?” laughed she; “look well, look well at my -eyes.” Then the cobbler looked long and earnestly, and indeed they were -wondrous eyes, green and glimmering, nor were they like the eyes of any -mortal. - -“Every hundred years,” said the elf, “we fairies must take the shape of -some beast or bird or fish for the space of a year and a day, and if we -die during that time we perish, for we have no souls. Now I was the -cobbler’s yellow cat when my turn came, and you befriended me in my -exile. But follow me, and I will take you to the fairy queen, that you -may tell her on what errand you are come to-night.” - -Then she led them through a throng of fairies, amongst whom the cobbler -recognised his enemy the boggart, and the princess the three fairies who -had filched the almond blossom, and lured away the peacock, and broken -the flax. Presently they reached the steps of the elfin throne, and here -both knelt to the fairy queen. - -“For what purpose have you sought us out?” asked she. - -“I come to appease your displeasure, greatest of all queens,” replied -the princess, “for in the spring time a spray of blackthorn was -heedlessly broken and brought into our palace, and since that day the -fairies have borne us a grudge. How may we turn away their anger?” - -“Say to the king your father, and to the queen your mother,” the fairy -queen made answer, “that if at the next full moon they will deliver up -their throne-room to us for an elfin bridal, we shall bear them ill-will -no longer, for my people love nothing better than to feast and make -merry in a human dwelling.” Then the queen made them sit down upon the -steps of the throne, and commanded that the revels should begin. - -“You have done me credit, Master Apprentice,” piped a voice at the -cobbler’s elbow, as a train of fairies swept past, and looking round he -caught sight of the little green man, who nodded and smiled at him. But -when the cobbler and the princess had watched the dancing till the moon -rode high in the heavens, the fairy queen laid a hand upon both their -heads, and soon a great drowsiness overcame them. Soundly they slept, -and when they woke it was to find themselves stretched upon a patch of -heather, while all around them the brown bog country lay very still in -the light of the paling stars. Then they rose and made haste homewards, -and when they reached the palace there were great rejoicings to welcome -them back; the king and queen received their daughter with much -affection, and besought her pardon for the wrong they had done her, and -when the cobbler made bold to ask her hand in marriage, she willingly -consented. - -So the wedding was celebrated with great pomp and splendour; the city -saw nothing but festivities and illuminations for seven days and seven -nights, and from far and near the crowds poured in to share in the -merry-making. Amongst these came the shepherd and his wife, and the -cobbler’s former master, and upon all three the bride and bridegroom -showered gifts and benefits. - -Now the night after the wedding it was full moon, so the throne-room was -garlanded with fresh flowers, and left to the fairies till cock-crow. -None saw them come nor go, but in the morning there was found a little -golden casket, wrought by the dwarf goldsmiths of the elfin court, and -inside the casket was a clump of four-leaved clover. This was the fairy -queen’s wedding present, and the bridal couple planted it below their -window, and it grew and throve, and brought them untold happiness and -good fortune. - -Philomène had some difficulty in making out the last word of the story, -for Master Mustardseed had half turned it into a trill, and began -singing at the top of his voice. The schoolroom door opened; the doctor -had come home. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - IN WHICH THE HEROINE MAKES THE FIRST USE OF HER LATCHKEY - - -It was about this time that Philomène first began to remark a change in -her father. He was not at any time a man of many words, but he now -became unusually silent even for him. He was not unkind to his little -girl, but he saw less of her, and gave her only half his attention when -she spoke to him. She suffered acutely from his altered manner, but was -far too loyal to confide her trouble to either of her fairy friends, let -alone to Nurse or Miss Mills. Once when writing to her godmother, who -was abroad at the time, she put at the end of the letter; “_P.S._—I wish -I had a mother.” But she had no very clear idea as to how a mother would -have mended matters, and Isolde in her answer did not refer to the -postscript. - -It was in these days, when her father called her “little Miss Muffet” -less often than formerly, that Philomène grew doubly glad of the key in -the savings-box and of the bird-cage in the schoolroom. Master -Mustardseed was somewhat of a gossip, and told her many stories about -the children to whom the fairy queen stands sponsor, for Titania is very -fond of children, though she has none of her own. Then he would tell her -all that he had seen in the course of his flight through the air astride -of a shooting-star; he would sing to her, till she knew it by heart, the -serenade piped by a bulrush who was fast fading for love of an ivory -white moth that used to settle on a reed close by, but never came to -him. Master Mustardseed had been asleep at the time, curled up inside a -yellow waterlily on a pond, having asked a friendly frog to sway the -stalk of the lily gently to and fro, so as to produce a drowsy rocking -motion. The bulrush’s love-song, however, had waked him up, and having a -good musical memory he had learnt it then and there. - -The recent wet weather had altogether prevented Philomène from going -into the garden, so that May with its lilac was gone, and June with its -roses had come, before she had her first opportunity of letting herself -into Sweet William’s house by means of her own latchkey. On entering she -saw that the room was empty but for the tom-tit, who was trying, it must -be confessed without much success, to reduce it to order. The catkin -tapestry had to be taken down, shaken, beaten, and rehung; the -tree-stump cupboard had been emptied, and its contents littered the -mushroom table, while the tom-tit complained that the things had been so -closely packed inside it, that it was far easier to take them out than -to make them fit in again after they had been dusted. - -“I wish he would have a sparrow in by the day,” wailed the tom-tit; -“it’s more than I can manage single-handed.” So Philomène comforted and -helped him as best she could, and by the time Sweet William returned, -the room was as neat as a new pin, and a great deal bonnier. It was -after the tom-tit had got leave to fly away, that Philomène asked if -there had been any news of the grasshopper lately. - -“Nothing much,” replied Sweet William; “he is still trying to reach the -sun in high hops, and his friend the dial has given him up as a bad job. -Well, and has Master Mustardseed been making himself agreeable? Are you -any less bored than you used to be? Is the schoolroom quite as -commonplace as you were pleased at one time to imagine?” - -Philomène blushed. “I am afraid you must have thought me discontented,” -she said, humbly; “but indeed I am not at all bored any longer. How -should I be, with Master Mustardseed to tell me stories whenever we are -alone together? And, oh, you can’t think what lovely stories they are! -He began with one about a poor apprentice who was taught his trade by -the fairies’ own cobbler, and in the end he married a princess.” - -“Dear me! how enthusiastic we are, to be sure,” remarked Sweet William, -with his head in the air; “you talk as though there were nobody who -could tell stories but Master Mustardseed, which is very far from being -the case.” - -“Oh, I know you could tell beautiful stories too, if you tried,” said -Philomène hastily, “and indeed I wish you would, for there is nothing I -should like better.” - -“Very well,” said Sweet William, “but I’m afraid my story hasn’t a -princess in it, only a goose-girl who married a troll.” - -“Is it a true story?” asked Philomène. - -“I daresay it’s true enough as far as it goes,” replied Sweet William, -and Philomène wondered how far it went. - -“And where did the troll live?” she asked again. - -“He lived at home,” retorted Sweet William; “and really you must not ask -so many questions; it quite puts me off.” - - - - - CHAPTER IX - IN WHICH SWEET WILLIAM TELLS A STORY - - -There was once a goose-girl named Kora, who used to herd her master’s -geese in a certain field. Now at one end of this field there was a -grassy mound, inside which lived a very rich and wicked troll, who came -every day to his doorway to watch the goose-girl as she sat in the -shadow of a hollow tree, knitting and singing, and minding her geese. -“She is so cheerful and industrious,” said he to himself, “that -doubtless she would make a very good wife.” - -But one day when he stood at his threshold to look at her, he saw that -she had let her knitting fall into her lap, and that instead of singing, -she was weeping bitterly. Very cautiously he crept up behind her, and -touched her gently on the arm. Kora started and screamed when she caught -sight of the troll, for he was ugly and misshapen, and had an uncommonly -large head. - -“Why are you crying, my girl?” he asked. - -“Because one of my geese has strayed,” said she, “and I have sought for -it till I am tired out, and I know that my master will be very angry -with me.” - -“That is soon mended,” replied the troll, “for in my house I have a -magic crystal, which tells me where I may find all lost and missing -things. Come with me, pretty maid, and I will see what I can do for -you.” - -So Kora followed him joyfully into the little house within the knoll, -and looked with great curiosity at the wonderful crystal. She noticed -that it bore the following inscription:— - - “In all the world there is but one spot, - Unknown to men, by fays forgot, - Wherein my power availeth not.” - -But she did not pay much attention to the words at the time. - -“I can see your goose already,” cried the troll, as he peered into the -crystal; “it has strayed as far as the sand dunes.” - -“Then I must go and seek it immediately,” replied Kora, “and I thank you -most heartily for your courtesy.” - -“Not so fast, not so fast,” the troll made answer, catching her by the -arm; “you are pretty and neat-fingered, my girl, and have a sweet voice. -You shall stay and keep house for me, and be my wife.” - -Kora protested with tears and cries and wringing of hands, but it was -all to no purpose; so she pretended to resign herself to her lot, though -in reality she never ceased planning how she might escape from it. -Presently an idea came to her, and one day, instead of busying herself -about the house as usual, she remained seated by the hearth, her head in -her hands, the picture of dejection. - -“What is the matter now?” demanded the troll. - -“The matter!” cried Kora, with a great show of indignation; “when you -have never so much as given me a wedding-ring! When men take wives in -the upper world, they give them golden wedding-rings in token of their -troth.” - -“Is that all?” said the troll. “Dry your eyes then, my love, for you -shall soon have rings in plenty.” - -So saying he went into his own private closet, a dark little room at the -back of the house, and presently returned laden with sacks and caskets, -all full of gold and silver, jewels and trinkets. Kora began trying on -one ring after another, but none of them seemed to please her, and at -last she turned away with a gesture of impatience. - -“These are not the right sort,” said she scornfully, “for they are all -set with precious stones, while a real wedding-ring is only a plain gold -circlet. I will not do another stroke of work about the house till you -have brought me a proper wedding-ring.” - -“I will go to the goldsmith and get you one, my love,” said her husband, -and he set out that same day. - -No sooner, however, had Kora watched him out of sight, than she ran into -the wood that skirted the meadow, and kept on running till she was so -tired and out of breath that she had to sit down and rest. Then she -noticed that something underground was shovelling up the earth at her -feet, throwing it about in all directions. She expected to see a mole -emerge, but when the creature did at last appear it proved to be a -little brown gnome, with a sack flung across his shoulder. - -“Tell me, good gnome,” cried Kora, “how I may escape from my husband the -troll. He has a magic crystal by means of which he is able to find all -lost and missing things, so that I cannot think of a safe enough -hiding-place.” - -“You must take another shape,” replied the gnome, and he turned her into -a crystal that twinkled on the edge of a jagged rock. - -When the troll came home and missed his wife, he was very angry, and -went straight to his magic crystal; and there, sure enough, he not only -saw the sparkle in the rock, but also recognised his wife under her -assumed shape. Immediately he hurried into the wood, carrying a hammer, -and having broken away the splinter of rock, he took it home in triumph, -and no sooner had he crossed his own threshold than his wife stood -before him. After that the troll treated her very hardly, and Kora hated -him more than ever. - -[Illustration: - - “PRESENTLY AN ELF CAME PAST HER, RIDING ON A LIZARD.” - _Page 96_ - _The Fairy Latchkey._ -] - -Now one day the troll was going fishing, and this time he said to his -wife: “You shall play me no second trick, madam; I will lock you in till -I come back.” So saying he turned the key upon her, and went his way. -But Kora did not despair. She hurried into her husband’s private closet, -and took the keys of all the various caskets in which he kept his -treasure. Then with trembling hands she tried them one by one in the -lock of the door, and as good luck would have it, the last key fitted. -The next thing she did was to try to destroy the magic crystal. She -dashed it on to the floor and against the wall, but finding that she -could not break it, she went and hid it inside the hollow tree in the -field, beneath which in former days she had been wont to sit and watch -her geese. Then she fled into the forest, and ran as fast and as far as -she could. Presently an elf came past her, riding on a lizard. - -“Tell me, kind elf,” said she, “how I may escape from the cruel troll, -my husband, for I have hidden his magic crystal which tells him where to -find all lost and missing things.” - -“I will do the best I can for you,” replied the elf, and turning Kora -into a dockleaf by the brook, he rode on. - -When the troll returned home from his fishing, and found that his wife -had escaped a second time, he was much enraged, and made his way at once -to the place where he kept his crystal. But when he saw that this had -also disappeared, he was in a greater rage than ever, and began to hunt -for it all over the house. At last he thought of the hollow tree, and -there, inside the trunk, and smothered in dry leaves and moss, he found -his missing talisman. No sooner had he looked into it, than he saw the -dockleaf growing by the brook, and once more recognised his wife. -Immediately he went into the wood, and having picked the dockleaf, he -took it home in triumph, and when he had crossed his own threshold his -wife stood before him. After that he treated her yet more hardly, and -Kora hated him even more than before. - -Now it is customary that trolls should be the money-lenders of mighty -kings, and Kora’s husband had many a time lent gold and silver and -treasure of all sorts to a certain avaricious king, who loved wealth -above everything, and oppressed his people with unendurable imposts. It -so happened that just at this time the troll received an urgent message -from this king, entreating him for a large sum of money. So he called -his wife to him, and said to her, “I must now go on a journey which will -last several days, and I will take my crystal with me, so that should -you try to escape from me again, I shall be able to discover your -hiding-place in a trice. Bear this in mind, wife, and let me have no -more of these follies.” - -For some time after she was left alone, Kora made no further attempt at -escape. She did nothing but sit and brood over her troubles, and say to -herself that there was no way out of them, till she suddenly called to -mind the words of the inscription on the crystal, and understood that -there must be just one country under the sun where she would be safe -from her husband’s pursuit. - -“I will try to find it,” said she, “it is the one chance left me.” And -in this forlorn hope she went for the third time into the wood. Far, far -she went, through forest and field and heath, till at last she was -obliged to sit down by the roadside and rest. It had begun to rain, and -dusk was falling. Kora was worn out with her wanderings, and shed many -tears. All at once she felt a hand upon her shoulder. At first she -started and cried out, believing that it was the troll, but then she saw -that it was only an old crone with bent back and grizzled hair, leaning -upon a stick. - -“Daughter,” said the old woman, “what is your trouble?” - -“I am escaping from my husband, the troll,” said Kora, “and I am afraid -lest he should find me by looking into his magic crystal. I am in search -of an unknown land where the crystal has no power.” - -“You seem tired out,” said the old crone kindly, “come with me, for I -can at least offer you shelter.” - -Kora thanked her earnestly, and they walked on together. Heather and -bracken stretched to either side of them for mile upon mile, the last -curlew had gone to rest, and it was very still and eerie on the lonely -moor. Kora looked to right and to left, hoping to catch sight of a -shepherd’s cottage, or at least of some hovel which might prove to be -the old woman’s home, but she could see nothing save certain giant -boulders scattered here and there upon the heath. What then was her -surprise when the old crone hobbled up to the largest of these, and -struck it with her stick. Immediately the door was opened by a tabby -cat. - -“You are late, mistress,” said he. - -“I have brought a guest,” replied the old woman, “so you must all bestir -yourselves.” Then she led Kora into a snug little room, where a bright -fire of peat blazed invitingly on the hearth. - -“First you must eat and sleep,” said she, “and to-morrow you shall tell -me of your trouble. I am a Wise Woman, and may be able to help you.” - -Kora sank down by the fireside, too weary to make any protest. She -stretched out her cold hands to the ruddy glow, and began to dry her wet -dress and hood. Meanwhile the Wise Woman’s servants were busy preparing -the evening meal, which was soon ready. A black cat served the soup and -a white cat the fish, a grey cat the joint and a tortoiseshell cat the -sweets. Then a sandy cat lit a taper and lighted her to her room, where -she soon fell sound asleep. - -When the morning came, Kora at once sought out the Wise Woman, told her -her whole story, and begged for advice. - -“The unknown country to which no man has found the way,” replied the -Wise Woman, “is the country whither the cuckoos go in winter, nor do I -myself know the way, but if you will consent to be turned into a cuckoo, -you will at once be able to find it.” - -Rather than fall again into her husband’s hands, Kora willingly agreed, -and the Wise Woman thereupon, with a wave of her stick, changed her into -a cuckoo, which spread its wings and flew away, far across the pathless -sea. - -The troll meanwhile felt so sure that his wife would not again try to -escape, that several days passed before he thought it necessary to look -into the magic crystal. Great was his dismay, therefore, when he did at -last look into it, to see nothing but a blank. Never before had it -failed him. He hurried home with all speed, and finding his house -deserted, he at once resolved to set out in pursuit of Kora. But since -his heart was in his treasure, he would not start before he had gathered -together as much as he could possibly carry with him, and had loaded it -upon his back. He travelled a long way, through forest and field and -heath, till at last he came to the shores of a great ocean. Here he took -a boat, and began paddling himself out to sea, but the sack of gold -proved so heavy that the boat sank, and the troll was drowned. - -But Kora reached the unknown land in safety, and married the king of the -cuckoos, with whom she lived in great happiness and contentment, and -they reigned together over the most beautiful country in all the world. - - - - - CHAPTER X - IN WHICH THE HEROINE HAS A BIRTHDAY - - -As the weather brightened and warmed into midsummer, most of Philomène’s -free time was spent in the garden, and consequently with Sweet William. - -It was on a morning towards the end of June that she awoke with the -delightful sensation that her birthday had come at last. Had she not -waited a whole year for it? By her plate at breakfast time lay a big box -of wild flowers, sent by the gardener’s wife at the Cushats. Godmother -had taught her the names of all sorts of flowers during her last summer -holidays, so that she recognised almost all in the box, but a certain -little white, blue and red pyramid was quite a stranger to her; she -therefore christened it “N. or M.,” like the person in the Catechism, -and N. or M. it remained to her ever afterwards, though later she knew -it to be a kind of wild orchid. The doctor gave her a sketch-book and a -whole box full of beautiful new pencils, and Miss Mills a book called -“Legends from River and Mountain.” - -“I haven’t a notion what it’s about,” she said, apologetically, “but I -thought from the title that you might take to it, and it was written by -a queen.” - -“A real queen!” cried Philomène, “as real as Marie Antoinette, or Mary, -Queen of Scots?” - -“Quite as real,” replied Miss Mills, laughing, “and now you must look at -the beautiful pincushion that Nurse has made for you. Won’t it look nice -on your dressing-table?” - -“Yes, and I will put the date of my birthday on it in pins,” said -Philomène, but Nurse shook her head. - -“I wouldn’t put pins into it, Miss, if I were you,” she said, -reproachfully, “that would spoil it;” and Philomène with her arms about -the old woman promised, “I won’t, Nursie dear, indeed I never will.” - -The morning of the birthday was blissfully spent in the making of -toffee, a rather hot occupation for June, no doubt, but Philomène’s -wishes were law throughout that day. It did not turn out to be nice -toffee when made, but it was not wasted, for Lilian Augusta used it to -light the kitchen fire, and said it was as good as any patent -fire-lighter. At dinner Philomène was allowed to carve the chicken -herself, though her carving proved as unsuccessful as her cookery. “But -as it’s my birthday I can have the liver!” she announced, triumphantly, -“and I do know where to find that—it is somewhere under its arms.” - -All that afternoon Philomène sat sketching busily or reading in her new -story-book, nor did she forget before putting it away to make a note -both of its title, and of the names of its author and publisher, in a -little red leather pocket-book kept for that purpose. This custom had -been introduced by Godmother. - -“If you are at all like me,” Isolde had said, “you will be very sorry as -you grow older to find that some of the dearest books of your childhood -have been thrown away, or given away, with or without your knowledge. -Your wise elders will say, ‘She is getting too old now ever to want to -read this or that again,’ and they will forget that just now you may be -neither young enough or old enough for the book, but that in a few more -years you will begin to grow younger again and want to read it, and then -it will be too late to recover it. You will remember the exact colour of -the binding, and how your favourite story in it began half way down on -the right hand page, but you will not remember who wrote it or who -printed it. Perhaps you will not even remember the name of the book, and -if you want it back again, you cannot very well write to a shop and say, -‘Dear Sirs, please send me a thin green book with a picture of a lizard -as the frontispiece, and the last story but one is the nicest of all. -Yours faithfully—’ So here is a little pocket-book, and I want you to -make a note of the titles of all the books you are fond of, with the -names of their authors and publishers, and even if you find it a bother -now and then to remember to write them down, I think you will be glad of -it later on.” - -Just as Philomène was going to bed, a letter from Godmother arrived. - -“My own little cushat,” wrote Isolde, “I am afraid you will have to wait -a little while before you can have your birthday present, for it is a -trap and a white donkey, and though you had better leave them at the -Cushats as parlour boarders when you are in London, they are to be your -very own all the same. I want you to come and stay with me, my little -bird, for July and August and part of September. You and I will get on -very well together in the summer, I hope, and take out the new white -Neddie for lots of drives. We shall have a great deal to tell each other -when we meet, but I have no time for more now. Goodbye, my bairnie. Love -and all good wishes from Godmother.” - -It was when Philomène looked out of her bedroom window on the morning of -the day following her birthday, that she noticed a large fairy ring on -the lawn, and felt very much flattered, for by it she knew that the -fairies had not forgotten the occasion, but had given a ball in her -honour. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - IN WHICH THE HEROINE IS GIVEN A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION - - -During the remaining days of that gladsome rose-red June, Philomène went -about the house with a face as glad as any sunbeam and as rosy as any -flower. Nurse thought that the prospect of riding in a hay-cart and -digging in the sand with a new spade sufficiently accounted for these -radiant looks, but though the haystacks loomed large, they loomed only -in the background—it was Godmother’s figure which occupied the -foreground. - -The plan cast only one shadow. Philomène felt very sorry at having to -leave Master Mustardseed and Sweet William, and when the day for packing -arrived, she had tears in her eyes as she opened the cage-door, and put -in her hand so that the canary might perch upon her wrist. Unhappily -Nurse was present, so Philomène could only kiss the canary’s green head -tenderly, and whisper, “It isn’t for so very long, dear,” before she -again closed the cage-door. As for Queen Mab, she put a soft padded paw -into her mistress’s hand, and rubbed a soft whiskered face against her -mistress’s arm, as who should say, “Goodbye, and don’t get too fond of -any other pussycats.” - -Then Philomène went into the garden and let herself into Sweet William’s -house. He had been expecting her visit, and held out a lean little brown -hand with what was for him an air of unusual condescension. - -“Sit down,” he said, “you are a good child, and I shall miss you. But we -shall meet again in September, I understand. By the way, I have decided -to give you a letter of introduction to the fairy agent at the Cushats. -The garden must have one, though I do not happen to know him. I don’t -expect you will see very much of him, for you will not be as lonely -there as here, and so much left to yourself. Considering that she isn’t -a proper fairy godmother, yours seems to do very well by you. Still, it -would be nicer for you to have the chance of getting to know another -fairy if you could.” - -All this while Sweet William had been rummaging in his cupboard. He now -drew from it a white Japanese anemone, with its petals tightly shut up. -This he handed to Philomène. “Is it the envelope?” she asked, -wonderingly. - -“No, child,” he replied, “it is the letter. I have written all that is -necessary on the inside of the petals, and the anemone will open only -when you have found the person for whom it is intended.” Philomène -thanked him, and they took a friendly farewell of each other. - -It was Lilian Augusta with whom she travelled to the little country -station where Godmother was to meet her. She sat bolt-upright in her -corner of the carriage, looking at the daisied fields as they sped by; -she watched the miniature carts and horses as they toiled along the road -below the level of the train, and her spirits were so high that nothing -could chill or damp them, not even the drink concocted by Nurse for the -journey, a horrible mixture of tea and milk with far too much sugar in -it. - -The little station of Wyndham-on-Ferry, at which the travellers -presently arrived, was altogether too sleepy for this bustling age. The -fiery red geraniums in the station-master’s garden nodded drowsily in -the hot sun, the solitary porter seemed almost as drowsy as the -geraniums, and the only wide-awake creature about the place was a cock -that crowed from a neighbouring farmyard. Outside the station Godmother -was waiting with the new trap and the white donkey, and Philomène had -soon scrambled up on to the seat beside her. - -“O Godmother,” she cried, “he really is a dear, with just the same big -brown eyes as the donkey in the picture over the schoolroom mantelpiece, -and the same long ears laid back.” - -They had not driven far before the breath of the pinewoods met them, and -that sound which is older than all the world beside, the primeval -cadence of the league-long surf. - -The gate of the Cushats stood open, white and friendly. The pigeons were -cooing heart to heart in the woods, and the mingled sweets of -heliotrope, rose, and jasmine, streamed out in wordless welcome. The -lime-tree outside the bow-window of the drawing-room was casting a -tremulous shadow on the lush-green turf of the lawn, and the pale gold -of early evening was on the little old gabled house. - -The furnishing of Philomène’s room was as innocently white and as -hopefully green as any snowdrop; there was no carpet on the floor, only -some green and white matting in places. A copy of one of Watts’ -pictures, that of a knight standing lost in thought beside his white -horse, was hanging where Philomène could see it as she lay in bed. - -“The knight’s horse is very beautiful, Godmother,” she murmured just -before dropping off to sleep, “but I think I like a white donkey even -better.” Her hand was in Isolde’s, and the shoheen of the night wind in -the pinewoods sounded in her ears as the sound of the sea. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - IN WHICH THE HEROINE PRESENTS HER LETTER OF INTRODUCTION - - -Philomène’s first day at the Cushats happened to be a Sunday, and after -breakfast on the lawn Isolde took her goddaughter to the weekly -children’s service. These services were short and simple, and the vicar -of Wyndham-on-Ferry was acknowledged by everybody to be at his best when -addressing children. He was a tall, spare man, with a somewhat stern -expression of face, “and what his servant is about is more than I can -tell,” Nurse had once remarked, “for he has the look of a person who -lives on nothing but mince and hot water.” - -In the side-chapel of the village church hung a copy of an Italian -picture, S. Mary Magdalene, black-haired and crimson-robed, and to -Philomène the pale sad face, framed in its shadowy tresses, seemed like -the face of some sorrowful mermaid. Neither her father nor her godmother -had ever insisted upon her attending drearily long services which could -have held no meaning for her, and the result was that she was very fond -of going to church. She loved the sweet-voiced bells and the vibrating -tones of the organ, the rich colouring of the stained-glass and the -stately rhythm of the prayers. - -“It just makes me feel like a king’s daughter,” she had once confided to -Isolde, “and do you know, Godmother, I really think I like it better -than the theatre, because there is no tiresome clapping to interrupt in -the middle, and disturb one, and make one feel every-dayish again all of -a sudden.” - -“What would you like to do, little cushat?” asked Isolde, as the two -strolled home together across the fields. “I have some letters that I -must write, and I am afraid they will take me till lunch-time.” - -“I will look at your Granny’s big picture Bible first,” said Philomène, -“and then write to Daddy and play with the pussies, and after that I -will go and have a look at the dove-cot.” - -“There aren’t any doves, you know,” said Isolde, “I don’t particularly -want to keep any. There are quite enough in the woods all round.” - -“Oh, that doesn’t matter a bit,” said Philomène, “one can always -pretend.” - -So Godmother settled herself to write on the verandah, and Philomène -brought out the Bible. It was a very bulky book, for it contained not -only the Old and New Testaments, but the Old and New Testament -Apocryphas as well. Judging from the dog’s-eared pages thereabouts, it -would appear that Godmother’s Granny had looked oftenest at the picture -of Jacob blessing his twelve sons from a four-poster bed, and at another -of the Last Judgment, the grouping of which suggested nothing so much as -a prize-giving. But Philomène preferred Martha, cumbered with a -pepper-pot and a soup-tureen, because she reminded her of Lilian -Augusta, and Pharaoh’s daughter with the rosettes on her shoes, and best -of all she liked S. Anne by the laurel-bush, complaining to the sparrow -in its nest that she had no child. Again and again had Philomène peeped -over the edge of that nest to count the eggs, but the mother bird spread -wide its brooding wings, and baffled her curiosity. - -As soon as Philomène had had a look at her favourite pictures, she put -away the book and wrote two whole sheets to her father. After that she -began to play with Don Whiskerandos, Isolde’s black Persian, who sat -blinking in the sun at his mistress’s feet. Occasionally he roused -himself sufficiently to wash his front paws, which were like velvet -tassels for softness, but for the rest he was sleepy and -undemonstrative. Philomène had christened him Dives, because he fared -sumptuously every day and took no notice of his neighbours, and she soon -gave up trying to play with him, and went in search of Lazarus, the -gingery stable cat. Lazarus was certainly as plain and as under-bred as -it is possible for a cat to be, but as Philomène always loved anything -which other people did not consider it worth their while to love, his -very gingerliness and the bullet shape of his head cried out to her for -affection. - -By the time Lazarus had had his full share of attention, the bell rang -for luncheon on the verandah, and when lunch was over, Isolde gave -herself up to her godchild. She swung her untiringly in the swing -between the two horse-chestnut trees, she tucked her up in the hammock -and read to her, they played battledore and shuttlecock together on the -lawn, and at tea-time retreated to the shadow of a giant haystack in a -field close by, to eat home-made scones and strawberries and cream. - -It was here that the vicar found them. He was no stranger to Philomène, -for he often dropped in at the Cushats on a Sunday afternoon, and she -was not shy with him, but as soon as he and her godmother began talking -politics, she thought it was about time for the dove-cot. As she left -the field and came back into the garden, it occurred to her that it -might be as well to take with her Sweet William’s letter of -introduction. The tall silver savings-box stood on the dressing-table in -her room, and inside were the latchkey and the anemone. With the flower -in her hand she hurried towards the disused dove-cot, and upon reaching -it was very much surprised by a slight flutter of wings from inside it. -She put her hand into one of the pigeon-holes, and something brushed -past it and flew out into the open. Could it be a dove after all? she -wondered. But then she saw that the anemone was full blown, and in -another minute she became aware of a little creature perched upon the -dove-cot. It was a fairy; who but a fairy could have had such glistering -wings, and worn a dress of tussore-coloured silk from a caterpillar’s -cocoon? The elf rather reminded Philomène of Master Mustardseed, for she -had small, bright eyes like those of a bird, and her little head was -cocked on one side as she sat and looked at the intruder. - -“I am very sorry to have disturbed you,” began Philomène, “but I had no -idea that this was your house. I think I have a letter for you,” and so -saying she handed the Japanese anemone to the fairy, who buried her face -in its petals. When she looked up from the letter, she was smiling -kindly. - -“Did you have any green ribbons——” - -“Yes,” interrupted Philomène eagerly, “I did; on my christening robe.” - -“Ah, that accounts for it,” said the elf, still smiling, “and I shall be -very glad to do anything I can to amuse you while you are here. I only -wish I were not quite so busy, but the grounds are large, very large for -the size of the house, and my time is not my own. However, I will do -what I can, during the hours when you and your godmother are not -together. I do not know Sweet William at all, not even by name, but he -has written of you in the most flattering terms. I was asleep just now -when you put your hand into my bedroom, and I am sure I ought to feel -very grateful to you for waking me up out of my shockingly long noon-day -nap, for I have any amount of work before me, so that I am afraid I -cannot be of much service to you this afternoon.” - -“What is it that you are going to see to?” asked Philomène with -interest. - -“I am in great difficulties about housing a mole,” replied the little -agent in a troubled voice, “I let part of the front lawn to him, but the -gardener interfered. He is a most tiresome old man.” - -“Godmother says he doesn’t know much about gardening,” remarked -Philomène, “and I know that whenever I ask him the name of a flower he -just goes on muttering, ‘What’s this we call it now? What’s this we call -it?’ till either I remember it myself, or someone else comes up and -tells me. But Godmother keeps him on because he has been here a long -time, and I expect the other man and the boy really do all the work. -Besides, I once heard her say to my Daddy that the one thing he did -understand was grass, and that he makes her lawns as good as any in the -county. She seemed quite pleased about it.” - -The elf nodded her head sagely. “That is just the trouble,” she replied, -“I mean from the point of view of a land- and house-agent. He is so -careful of the lawns that he won’t allow any mole to rent them. However, -I must see what I can do for my tenant in some out of the way corner. -And now I must really say good afternoon, and ask you to put off our -next meeting till to-morrow. Oh, by the way though, before I go you had -better tell me your name—Sweet William has forgotten to mention it.” - -“My name is Philomène, Philomène Isolde,” said the little girl, “and -please, what is yours?” - -“Speedwell,” answered the other, and she spread her wings, nodded a -friendly good-bye, and flew away. Philomène stood watching her flight -till the glittering wings disappeared behind the rosemary hedge, after -which she made her way to the wilderness of currant and gooseberry -bushes behind the house. Here stood a tub, and a see-saw, and a shed, -but before she had made up her mind whether to go to sea in the tub, or -turn the shed into a Red Indian wigwam, her attention was distracted by -what sounded like the twittering of two birds at once in a currant bush -near by. - -“And yet it doesn’t sound quite like an ordinary bird either,” thought -Philomène, and she went close up to the bush. One bird there certainly -was, perched on a leafy twig and twittering shrilly, but it was -Speedwell who was sitting upon another branch, and arguing with the -bird. As Philomène came up both stopped talking, seemingly quite out of -breath. - -“What have you done with the letter?” asked Philomène smiling, “did you -throw it away when you started house-hunting for the mole?” - -The elf cocked her head on one side, and looked up with small bright -eyes; her shimmering wings were folded, and her little green shoes -peeped from beneath her dress of tussore-coloured silk. “I do not -understand you,” said she, “I don’t even know who you are. Oh, yes, I do -though, you must be the little girl who was to arrive yesterday; the -stable cat told me you were expected. But we have not met till this -moment.” - -“But I was speaking to you only a few minutes ago at the dove-cot, and I -gave you Sweet William’s letter of introduction!” exclaimed Philomène in -amazement. - -The elf laughed. “It must have been my twin sister whom you saw just -now,” said she, “I am Spirea. However, I don’t wonder at your mistake, -for when we were babies and cradled in the same pod, our own mother did -not know us apart. We will settle about your lease some other time,” she -added, turning to the bird, who had been preening his feathers to -conceal his annoyance at the interruption, “and you had better not -mention it to the people at the Rookery till you hear something more -definite from me. Now I am at your disposal,” she continued to -Philomène, “where shall we go? To the swing? You might sit in it, and I -could talk to you from a mossy settee between the roots of one of the -horse-chestnuts.” - -The place was soon reached, and the two remained chatting there very -pleasantly, till Philomène thought it must be getting late, and that she -ought to find out if her godmother intended to go to evensong; so she -said good-night to Spirea, who promised to see her again the following -day. - -Isolde was still sitting in the hayfield, and the vicar stood before -her, abusing modern operas. “What dreadfully dull things they do talk -about,” thought Philomène, “when they might have been making friends -with twin fairies all this time! But perhaps they couldn’t, even if they -wanted to, not without the green ribbons.” - -“You’re fond of music, aren’t you?” asked the vicar, sitting down and -drawing Philomène towards him into the lengthening shade of the hayrick. -Philomène nodded. - -“Yes,” she replied, “some music. I don’t like Lilian Augusta’s hymns -much, but I do like it when Godmother sits by herself at the spinet and -sings: - - ‘I would I were on yonder hill, - ’Tis there I’d sit and cry my fill, - Till every tear should turn a mill.’” - -Isolde blushed. “It is only a little Irish song,” she explained in some -confusion, “a very plaintive little love-song; I believe Hændel is -supposed to have said that he would rather have written that one air -than the whole of the ‘Messiah.’” - -“Are you going to church, Godmother?” asked Philomène, as she lay full -length on the hot grass, looking up at the clouds that were drifting -white, fleecy, and unshepherded, across their native pastures, and -asking herself whether in the long run she would prefer blue fields to -green. - -“I think so,” said Isolde, and she got up as she spoke. - -“Then I will too,” said Philomène, “and of course you will come anyhow, -because you have to,” she added in her serious, understanding way to the -vicar. He laughed good-humouredly, and walked by her side, swinging his -cane, and repeating half aloud as he went: - - “The sun, above the mountain’s head, - A freshening lustre mellow - Through all the long green fields has spread, - His first sweet evening yellow.” - -“Capital,” murmured the tall, gaunt vicar, “the very words for it, the -only words for it! ‘His first sweet evening yellow’—what wouldn’t I give -to have written that myself?” - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - IN WHICH GREAT GOOD FORTUNE BEFALLS THE HEROINE - - -Sweet William had been right when he foretold that Philomène would not -see much of the fairy agent at the Cushats, for Isolde devoted herself -whole-heartedly to the amusement of her godchild, and the days chased -each other in their eagerness to turn into to-morrow, with its fresh -succession of walks and talks and drives and picnics. Yet there were of -necessity times when Philomène was left to amuse herself, and it was -then that Speedwell and Spirea came skimming towards her through the -air, or peeped up at her out of the flowers, or hopped down to her from -the trees. It was not, however, till August that anything of importance -befell. - -Philomène was in the stable, feeding the white donkey with sugar, and -begging him to talk to her if he could. “If Balaam’s donkey talked to -him when he was unkind and stupid and hit it,” she reasoned -persuasively, “I think the least you can do is to talk to me when I am -giving you all this sugar. Of course if you really can’t, that is -another thing, but I never feel sure of that these days. Oh, you there, -Spirea?” The last exclamation was due to the sudden appearance of one of -the twins between the donkey’s glossy ears. - -“I’m not Spirea, I’m Speedwell,” replied the fairy, “but it’s of no -consequence. Is your godmother likely to want you within the next hour -or so?” - -“No,” said Philomène, “she has driven off to pay a call, and won’t be -back till nearly supper-time.” - -“That is really very fortunate,” said Speedwell, “because it would have -been a pity for you to miss this chance. There is an old merman in a -little creek about half a mile from here, and if you come with me -quickly, I will introduce you to him.” - -[Illustration] - -For a moment Philomène’s heart seemed to stand still with the very joy -and marvel of the thing, but the next she had begun to run, and the elf -half ran, half flew, by her side. The beach was of yellow sand, hard and -smooth, stretching for mile upon mile along the coast; the tide was -coming in, blue fringed with white by the shore, but a vague, sad purple -farther out to sea. The little creek was soon reached, and as the sea -ran up into it, smooth and shallow, Philomène took off her shoes and -stockings, and began to paddle; and there, sure enough in the shelter of -a projecting rock, screened from the steady August sunshine, and with -his tail in the water, sat the old merman, gazing out to sea. - -“This is Philomène,” said Speedwell, and turning round, she half ran, -half flew, back across the sands, as fast as glistening wings and little -green shoes could carry her. - -Philomène sat down on a low boulder, her feet dangling in the warm -caressing water, her wide eyes fixed upon the merman. She had neither -the breath nor the courage to start a conversation. The merman raised -his head and tossed back his sea-green hair from his sea-green eyes; -then passing his fingers through the matted locks, where tiny shells -hung tangled, he turned upon Philomène a rugged, weather-beaten face. - -“I am glad to see you,” he said in a deep, musical voice, “the fairies -seem to be your very good friends.” - -“I should be very much obliged if you would tell me about the sea,” -suggested Philomène timidly. - -The merman laughed a deep, musical laugh. “That would indeed be a long -story,” said he, “it is as if some one were to say to you, ‘Tell me -about the land.’ So you love the sea, do you?” - -“Yes, I love it,” replied Philomène, looking away over it towards the -horizon, “it is beautiful in the same sort of way as the deep red of S. -Mary Magdalene’s dress in the chapel, burning red like cherries with the -sun on them, and like the third chord in ‘Lead, kindly Light,’ and like -the smell of the garden early in the morning, and they all make one hurt -inside in just the same way, though they are such very different -things.” - -Philomène was wondering if anything were making the merman “hurt -inside,” he was so silent and grave, but then she remembered that the -mer-folk are said to have no souls, and must feel that everything -beautiful is but for a very little while. - -“I don’t expect he would marry me even if I asked him to,” she -reflected, “and that is supposed to be the only way of helping a -merperson to a soul. Oh, I do wish I could get one for him! But perhaps -there is another way after all, though no one has found it out yet. I -must not forget to think of him next time I go to church.” - -She was not quite sure what particular prayer could be made to fit him, -but at last decided that he might very well count as one of the people -in the Litany who “travel by water.” She had just arrived at this -conclusion, when the merman roused himself from his reverie, and turned -towards her. - -“I cannot tell you all about the sea in one conversation,” he said, “but -a little is better than nothing at all, so I will tell you a story. It -is the way of the land-folk to speak of the sea as treacherous, but this -story will show you that she keeps faith with her own.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - IN WHICH THE MERMAN TELLS HIS STORY - - -There was once upon a time a poor fisher couple who lived together in a -hut upon a lonely beach, and while the husband was absent fishing upon -the high seas, the wife earned a scanty livelihood by spinning. - -Now one stormy winter’s night a little daughter was born to them, and -because the mother would have it that the child was ailing, the -fisherman struggled forth into the howling gale to fetch a priest for -the christening. The path was narrow between the cliffs and the sea, and -the waves were so violent that he feared lest they might overwhelm him -at any moment. All at once he caught sight of a merman mounted on one of -the crested billows. - -“Whither away, good neighbour, in the wind and dark?” quoth he. - -“My wife lies at home with a newborn child,” replied the fisherman, “and -I go in search of a priest that he may christen it.” - -“I pray you, let me stand sponsor,” said the merman. - -“That shall never be,” the fisherman made answer, “what part or lot have -you in any christening?” - -At that the merman grew very angry. “You fool!” he cried, “is the -good-will of the sea nothing to you? Has she no treasures in her depths -for those whom she favours?” - -Now the fisherman had no mind to set the sea against him, moreover he -was in haste; he therefore gave his consent, and hurried on. That same -night a priest came to the little hut on the beach, and christened the -baby, and they called her name Carey, because, like one of Mother -Carey’s chickens, she had made her nest in the storm. And all the while -the sea roared around the hut, and the fisherman, casting a furtive -glance at the window behind him, saw that the merman was looking in. -From that time forward things went well with him; his fishing prospered, -and the tempest spared his boat. Nevertheless he resolved to say no word -to his wife about the merman’s sponsorship. - -Now when Carey had grown to be a little maid of some seven years old, -she was playing by herself late one summer’s afternoon upon the yellow -sands that sloped to the water’s edge. All of a sudden a voice called to -her. “Carey!” it said, and again, “Carey!” Then, turning her head, she -became aware of a merman, seated under a rock near by, and basking in -the hot afternoon sunshine. He had a rugged, somewhat world-weary look, -and the hair hung about his face like ribbons of brown seaweed, while -his eyes were brown and gentle like the eyes of a seal. - -“So we meet at last, goddaughter,” said he. - -“Are you my godfather then?” asked Carey, and she came fearlessly and -sat down beside him on the rippling sand. - -“That I am indeed,” the merman made answer, “and here is a belated -christening gift.” And so saying he hung about her neck a necklace of -sea-shells. “Do not despise it,” he added, “though it looks but a poor -thing. It may be that some day you will learn its worth, for so long as -you wear it the sea will know you for her own.” Then he told her how it -happened that he had come to be her godfather, after which little Carey -said she must go home, but she promised to return to that same creek on -the following day, and to say nothing to her parents of the meeting. - -So the next day she came again, and the day after, and every day -throughout the summer she ran to the little creek to see her godfather, -and hear from him strange songs and stories of the sea, to which she -loved to listen, for all they were so sad. And in the winter, when the -rough weather kept her indoors, she would sit contentedly by the fire -while her father was mending his nets and her mother span, and would -tell over the wondrous tales to herself till she had them by heart. Nor -was it long before the summer came again, and then another winter. - -Now one Christmas night Carey lay broad awake, and listened to the bells -from the grey church on the wind-swept cliff, chiming far and wide -across the sea, and on the following morning she slipped out unnoticed -and ran to the sheltered creek. This time her godfather was nowhere to -be seen, but nothing doubting she called to him, standing barefooted -where the waves broke, and at her call he rose straightway out of the -sea. - -“Last night I heard the church bells, godfather,” said Carey as she sat -beside him under their favourite rock, “were they not beautiful?” But -the old merman’s face darkened as she spoke. - -“They are not beautiful to me,” he made answer, “I know that your race -has a love for the sound, and soon grows homesick for the want of it, -but with my people it is not so. I will tell you what befell me long -ago. There stood a little chapel on a rocky islet, and one Christmas -night the bells rang out so joyously and with such a note of welcome in -their voices, that I pressed as close as I might to the window of -many-coloured glass, and within there was light, and the sound of -chanting. But when the monks came forth, they drove me away with hard -words, and called me an evil spirit.” - -Then Carey put her arms about him, and kissed him many times, saying, -“Never mind, dear godfather; I know that you are not an evil spirit, and -I will always love you.” And at that the smile came again to his face. -These were happy years for them both, and they sped past unheeded, till -Carey was no longer a little maid, but a fair tall maiden with many -suitors. - -Now it happened that one Shrovetide Carey went to church, and as she -followed the straggling path along the top of the cliffs, a stranger -joined her, clad like a huntsman all in green, with a horn by his side, -and two great hounds at his heels. - -“Where are you going, fair maid?” asked he. - -“I go to church,” she said, “because it is Shrovetide.” - -“May I walk by your side?” he asked. - -“That you may, if it so please you,” said she. So they walked on -together, talking as they went, but when they reached the little grey -church he stopped short. - -“Do you go in alone, mistress,” he said, “and I will wait for you here.” - -So Carey entered the church alone, but as soon as she came out the -huntsman joined her again, and they walked homewards together. Now he -was a fair-spoken man, with much to tell of distant climes and strange -adventures, so that Carey contrasted him in her thoughts with the -uncouth, tongue-tied fisher lads, her wooers, and was sorry when the -moment came for parting. - -“Here I must bid you farewell,” said she, when the pathway was reached -that led down to the shore, “for my home lies yonder.” - -“Will you not first appoint me a trysting-place?” quoth he. - -At that Carey’s heart took fright in her breast, nevertheless she made -answer, as though compelled thereto; “To-morrow I go cockling down upon -the sands.” - -“And may I seek you there?” asked the huntsman. - -“That I did not say,” said she, and she turned and ran from him down the -winding path, her thoughts all in a turmoil of fear and joy and wonder. -But when she reached home she found sorrow awaiting her, for her father, -whom she dearly loved, had fallen grievously sick. All night she nursed -him, but on the morrow her mother took her place, and bade her go -cockling. - -So Carey took her basket and made her way along the yellow sands, with -joy and grief at war in her heart, and as she went the waves cast up a -large sea-shell at her feet. Stooping she picked it up, and put it to -her ear, for the sake of the music that it held. “Turn back, turn back,” -murmured the voice of the sea, “have nothing to do with this stranger.” - -“This is surely a message from my godfather,” said Carey to herself, and -for a while she stood irresolute with the shell in her hand, but at last -she threw it from her, back into the tumbling foam. “I will go to the -trysting-place all the same,” said she, “for I have pledged my word.” -But it was not the thought of her promise that moved her, but her fancy -for the stranger, which she mistook for love. Not many minutes later she -saw him coming towards her, and at first they talked together as on the -previous day, but soon he began to court her with words and caresses, -and besought her to follow him to his home. - -“That I cannot do,” said Carey, “for my father lies dying.” - -“Appoint me at least to-morrow’s trysting-place,” said he, “and then I -will let you go. Know you the inland woods, and the green ride in their -midst, with a fallen tree-trunk at the end of it?” - -“I know it well,” replied Carey, “it is where the early primroses blow.” -So saying she turned away from him, and made haste homewards. - -Now the next day, when the fisherman lay at the point of death, he said -to his wife; “Wife, I have something on my mind; it is a secret I have -kept from you these many years.” And thereupon he told her of Carey’s -godfather, the merman, and of how he had been present at the -christening. “I charge you,” added the dying man, “not to deal harshly -with our daughter on this account, since it was none of her doing. -Moreover, it has brought us good fortune.” And having said these words, -the sick man breathed his last. - -But that very hour the fisherman’s widow said to Carey; “This is no -light matter that your father has confessed to me. Swear to me that you -have had no intercourse with this sea-monster.” - -“That will I not,” said Carey staunchly, “for I have known him since I -was a little maid, and he is no sea-monster at all, but the kindest -godfather in the world.” - -At that her mother flew into a frenzy of rage. “You deceitful hussy!” -she screamed, “so behind my back you have had dealings with a wicked -sprite that is without an immortal soul! Get you gone this instant!” And -so saying she drove her from the house. - -Then Carey went sadly along the beach till she reached the familiar -creek, and there she sought her godfather in his wonted haunts, and when -she could not find him she called to him many times, but he neither came -nor answered. The sea was running high, and the weather was dark and -lowering. - -“He is angry with me because I did not heed his message yesterday,” -thought Carey, “he too has forsaken me. I will go to the wood and meet -the huntsman there, for he alone is left to love me.” - -Now it happened that on her way inland Carey came across a horse-shoe, -which she picked up and took with her for good luck. As soon as she had -reached the green ride in the midst of the wood, she saw the stranger at -the farther end of it, standing by the fallen tree-trunk, with a great -coal-black steed at his side, and the two hounds with him. She held up -the horse-shoe in token of welcome, and when she had drawn nearer she -called to him merrily, “Only see what I have found! It will bring us -good fortune!” - -But even as she spoke, the horse reared and pawed the ground, the hounds -whined and cowered at their master’s feet, and the huntsman himself held -out both hands before his face, as though to avert a danger. - -“Maid, if you bear me any love,” cried he, “throw the thing from you! I -come of a race that is at enmity with iron!” - -So Carey, though she understood him not at all, tossed the horse-shoe -into a thicket hard by, and approached her lover. But he on a sudden -sprang upon his horse, and caught her to him, and set her on the saddle -before him. Then the great black steed rose up into the air, and the -hounds with it, and Carey screamed aloud in her terror. - -“You are no other than the Wild Huntsman!” she cried out, “woe worth the -day that I met you!” Then it was that she remembered how all evil -spirits stand in great fear of iron, and knew too late that had she but -kept firm hold of the horse-shoe, he could have done her no harm. - -Over the tree-tops they soared, and on through the air like a whirlwind, -away and away over forest and field and morass, till they came to the -mountain fastness where the Wild Huntsman had his home. Bleak and grim -was his castle, and it stood amidst sombre, impenetrable forests. Here -he held Carey a captive, but whenever he rode forth in the night he -would take her with him, and set her before him on his mighty, -coal-black steed. Then when the storm blast shrieked overhead, the -forest folk would cower together in their huts, and say trembling one to -the other; “The Wild Huntsman passes on his way. Hark to the baying of -his hounds!” - -But on midsummer’s eve Carey saw from the battlements that there were -beacon fires burning on all the hill tops far and near, and she rejoiced -to think that he could not venture forth that night, for the fires one -and all were lit to keep evil spirits at a distance. - -Wearily, wearily, the nights and days wore away, and Carey soon lost all -count of time. The trees grew leafless and the winds more blustering, -and the Wild Huntsman rode abroad more often. Only one day as Carey sat -by her casement, she saw a long procession of gnomes, bent and brown and -wrinkled, filing through a cleft in a rock, and disappearing one by one. -By that she knew that it must be Martinmas already, when the dwarfs bid -farewell to the bleak upper world, and retreat to their warm winter -quarters in the heart of the earth. - -Drearily, drearily, the days and nights wore on, and when Carey rode -forth with the Wild Huntsman, she could see nothing below her but -pathless wastes of snow, and forest trees groaning beneath a grievous -burden of icicles. Then she called to mind the cheery winter evenings in -her father’s hut, and she would have wept save that all her tears seemed -frozen, even as the world. - -At the last came Yuletide. Carey sat alone in the great hall of the -castle, and the Yule log sputtered on the hearth. - -“Ah me, how bitter cold it is,” chirruped a cricket, breaking silence, -and Carey, rousing herself from her sad musings, remembered an old -wife’s tale that birds and beasts and even stocks and stones gain speech -on Christmas Eve. - -“If you are cold, friend cricket,” quoth the Yule log in a crackling -voice, “I pray you draw a little nearer to my blaze.” And he burst -asunder into such a lively flame, that it would have done any heart good -to see it, and warmed even the sad heart of Carey. - -“This is no proper house for the keeping of Yule,” muttered the -hearthstone morosely, “never so much as a sprig of yew or holly, let -alone a goodly show of mistletoe, with tankards of brown ale and a -boar’s head all a-smoking.” - -“It is indeed a desolate hearth, my friends,” said Carey sorrowfully, -“and I have greater reason for complaint than you all.” - -“Take courage, mistress,” said the Yule log cheerily, “things may take a -turn for the better with you, just as they did with me. Look you, I -stood a long while in the forest, perished with cold, snow upon my head -and snow at my feet, but now I am a merry Yule log, and warm to the -inmost heart of me.” - -“Then I too will take courage,” said Carey, though she sighed as she -spoke. - -Now between Christmas and Twelfth Night the Wild Huntsman rode abroad -every night, and Carey rode with him. But on Twelfth Night itself, as -she sat before him on horseback, she caught a glimpse of a far silver -streak upon the horizon, and as the Wild Hunt swept onward through the -frosty air, the streak broadened and broadened till it grew to a shining -expanse, and Carey knew that at last she was within sight of the sea. -Tremblingly she put up her hand to her neck, and felt for the necklace -of shells that was still securely clasped about it. - -“I will throw myself upon the mercy of the sea,” said she to herself, -“am I not its godchild? And if I die, death will be better than my -present lot.” Already the waters were rolling beneath her, ashen grey in -the moonlight. Therefore, on a sudden, she sprang down from the Wild -Huntsman’s horse, and plunged into the wintry sea. Coldly, darkly, -thunderously, the waves closed overhead, and her senses forsook her. - -When she came to herself she was lying stretched upon an immense plain, -with strange trees waving above her and strange flowers round about; -strange, many-eyed creatures slipped past her, gazing curiously, and -over her hung the still waters, green as twilight skies. Carey got to -her feet, all lost in wonder, and as she stood looking about her, a -mighty shadow purpled the water, and towards her a monstrous serpent -came swimming. - -“Fear nothing, Carey,” it said, “for we are all your friends.” - -“Then I pray you take me to my godfather,” she begged, “I am afraid to -linger in this strange country all alone.” - -“Mount upon my back then,” quoth the sea-serpent, “and cling to my -shaggy mane.” So together they sped away over mountain and valley, -through forests of branching coral, past cities and hamlets where the -mer-folk dwelt, and sunken ships in the midst of forgotten treasures. - -At last they reached a cave in a hillside, and here the sea-serpent set -her down and left her. On the instant her godfather came to meet her; -tenderly he kissed away her self-reproaches, and bidding her rest and -refresh herself, he led her to an inner room, where the roof and walls -were all of amber, while the floor was strewn with pure white sand. Then -he sent his servants to her, swift and silent fishes, who waited upon -her with the choicest dainties of the sea, and prepared for her a bed of -seamew’s down, upon which she lay and slept for many hours. - -As soon as she was awake again, the noiseless fishes returned, and -deftly robed her in a fair green dress of feathery seaweed, more -delicate than any lace; also they adorned her with chains of lustrous -pearls, and wound red sea-anemones in her dark hair, and when she was -ready she went in to her godfather, who greeted her with all affection. - -“I have been lonely without you, Carey,” said the old merman, “have you -come to stay with me now, and to be my little maid as in the former -days?” - -“If you will have me, godfather,” said Carey, “I will remain with you -here, and be as a daughter to you.” - -So for nearly a year these two lived together in great contentment, but -on New Year’s Eve Carey said to her godfather; “There is a longing -within me to-night that will not be stayed; I must needs rise to the -surface once again, and hear the midnight chimes from our little grey -church on the cliffs.” - -At these words the merman grew very sad. “I knew it would come sooner or -later,” said he, “go, my child, since you must. You are free.” - -Thus it was that when midnight drew on, Carey rose out of the waves hard -by the familiar coast, and sitting down under the rock where first she -had seen her godfather, she held her breath and listened. - -All in a moment the bells burst forth, ringing in the new year; merrily -they chimed, yet with an undertone of sadness for the year that was -past; over sea and land they clashed and pealed, rushing, swelling, -dying, and as Carey heard them her heart-strings nigh snapped with -homesickness. Nevertheless when the golden tongued bells had fallen -silent once more, she went back into the breaking seas. - -At home in his cave the old merman sat and mused. “It were better to die -at once and dissolve into foam,” said he to himself, “than to live on -through the unnumbered years without her.” Yet even as he thought it, -Carey entered, whom he had never hoped to see returning, and put her -arms about his neck. - -“So, Carey, you have come back to me after all,” he said wonderingly, -“back from your own kind and the free upper air, away from the memories -and the bells?” - -“There are none left upon the shore to love me now,” she made answer, -“my father is dead, and my mother has cast me out. I will remain here -with you.” - -At that the old merman rejoiced greatly, for he knew that he would now -be lonely no longer. As for Carey, his goddaughter, she left off from -her homesickness, and lived among the mer-folk as one of themselves. - -“And is she living there still?” asked Philomène. - -But the merman had forgotten her, and was looking out to sea again. So -she rose quietly, and paddled out of the creek; the tide was all but in -now, and she ran home barefooted along the yellow sands. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - IN WHICH THE TWIN SISTERS TELL A STORY BETWEEN THEM - - -It was August still, and early evening; an evening of balmy airs and -dappled skies. Philomène, bedded in bracken, lay nestling at the foot of -a mighty pine-tree on the outskirts of the woods, separated only by a -haha from the garden of the Cushats, and the twin fairies were with her. -Speedwell was seated in a swinging hammock of green tendrils, in among -the undergrowth, and was busy making herself some intricate spider’s web -lace, while Spirea, on a fallen pine-cone, stitched away industriously -at a dainty patchwork coverlet of sweetpea petals for the bed in the -dove-cot. - -“I do wonder,” Philomène was saying, “whether my merman knew the merman -who was Carey’s godfather. Perhaps they were old friends, like Godmother -and my mother, only of course at the bottom of the sea.” - -“That reminds me,” said Speedwell, “that neither of us has ever yet told -you a story. We seem always to have had so many other things to talk -about. Would you like one now?” - -“Why, yes, I should, ever so much,” replied Philomène, “and I think I -should like it to be about water, and about trees and ferns and mosses, -just like these here, if you don’t mind.” - -“If it’s a fresh-water story she wants,” observed Spirea, “you might as -well tell her the one about the pixie’s nursling.” - -“So I might,” said Speedwell, and she began:— - -“In the heart of a certain forest there was a deep pool, still and -green, where waterlilies rocked in the summer time. Now it happened that -a woodcutter had daily to pass this pool as he went to and fro from his -work, and one evening as he came by he heard a sweet voice calling to -him from the water, saying; “Good master woodcutter, I pray you make me -a cradle.” Then, because he was under the spell of the sweet voice, the -woodcutter went home and sat up all night, making an oaken cradle. - -“What are you about?” asked his wife, “why will you not come to bed?” - -“I met a stranger in the forest,” replied her husband, “and she begged -me of my charity to make her a cradle for her newborn child.” - -When morning broke, the woodcutter went back to his work, and as he -passed the pool he set down the cradle upon its mossy bank; and that -same evening when he came by again, he heard the cradle rocking under -water, and the sweet voice called to him a second time, and said; “Of -what use to me is a cradle except I know a lullaby also? Good master -woodcutter, I pray you teach me a lullaby.” So the woodcutter went home -and said to his wife; “Tell me now, wife, what are the words of the -cradle-song which you sing to our little son?” - -“They are but an idle jingle,” returned his wife. - -“Tell me them notwithstanding,” persisted her husband, “for the tune -runs in my head, but the words I have forgotten.” - -“These are the words then,” said she. - - “The hermit has tolled his bell, - And the wizard moon rides high; - Ah me, the bell and the moon! - Bye, bye, little sweeting, bye, bye; - Sing-song; ding-dong; - And so good-night to the moon.” - -“It is but a meaningless jingle, as you said,” quoth the woodcutter. - -But the next day when he went to his work in the forest, he stood still -among the rushes by the pool, and sang the lullaby aloud; and that same -evening as he came by he heard the cradle rocking under water, and the -sweet voice singing the cradle-song; but as he drew nearer it broke off, -and called to him the third time, and said; “Of what use to me are a -cradle and a lullaby, except I have a baby also? Good master woodcutter, -I pray you bring me a baby.” Then, because he was bewitched, the -woodcutter went home and said to his wife, “Wife, there is a fair -to-morrow at the town. Would you like to go?” - -“I should like nothing half so well,” said she, “but I cannot leave the -little one.” - -“Give the child to me,” said her husband, “and I promise you that no -harm shall befall him.” - -So when it was morning the woodcutter took his little son, and went and -laid him down on a bed of sorrel by the pool, and hurried on into the -forest; and that same evening as he came by again, he heard the cradle -rocking under water, and the sweet voice singing the lullaby and the -happy cooing of a baby. But when he reached home he told his wife that -as he had been hewing timber in one of the forest glades, a kite had -swooped down and carried off the child. Then the poor mother wept -bitterly, and would not be consoled. - -Now within the pool there dwelt a beautiful pixie, fair and white as any -swan, with radiant golden hair, and eyes clearer than crystal. Yet for -all she was so fair, and had her home in among the white and yellow -waterlilies, the pixie hated her life and was weary of it, for she had -lived already through unnumbered years. - -“Did I not know the world when it was young?” sighed she to herself, -“ah, would that I might grow old along with it.” - -[Illustration: - - “KISSED IT SO THAT IT MIGHT BE ABLE TO LIVE UNDER WATER.” - _Page 153_ - _The Fairy Latchkey._ -] - -Now it had been told her that a draught of the elixir of death could -alone release her, and that both the elixirs of death and of life were -in the keeping of a mighty wizard, who lived in a great castle -surrounded by a golden wall. In this wall was a golden gate which would -open only to one who had no love for gold, while the little glass -postern door that led into the castle would open only to him who had no -love for lies, and across the doorway of the wizard’s chamber hung a -silken curtain which could be drawn aside only by one who had never -loved a woman. Now the pixie knew very well that it would be all but -impossible for any man brought up among his kind to stand these three -tests, so she resolved to rear a human child in the safe, secluded pool, -and send it forth upon her quest. Already she had had three nurslings, -who had grown to manhood and gone forth into the world, but not one of -them had returned to bring her the elixir. - -“Three generations have failed me,” said the pixie to herself, “but I -will try yet once again.” So she cast a spell upon the woodcutter, and -took his child and kissed it, so that it might be able to live under the -water, and drew it down into the pool; and she gave it the name of -Sorrel because of the bed of wood-sorrel upon which she had found it. -Every night she sang to him his mother’s lullaby, and little Sorrel -would look up through the crystal clear water at the mirrored moon, and -would bid it good-night. Then when he grew older, the pixie taught him -to play most sweetly upon a bulrush pipe, and many a wondrous story did -she tell him of the early days before men lived upon the earth. - -At last when Sorrel had grown to be a tall, strong youth, the pixie said -to him; “The time has come, my son, when you should go forth into the -upper world for my sake, and ask the elixir of death from a great wizard -who lives far from here, for I am weary of my long, long life.” - -At first Sorrel was much grieved at her words, for he loved the pixie -dearly, as though she had been his own mother, but when he saw that it -was indeed her heart’s desire, he promised that he would not rest till -he had found the elixir. Then he bade her a tender farewell and set out, -and as he walked through the great forest that was a new, strange world -to him, he played a sweet air upon his bulrush pipe to keep up his -spirits. - -Beyond the forest lay a populous city which Sorrel reached at sundown, -and as he wandered through it he gazed curiously at the many streets and -houses, and at the fountains that played in the great squares. Now it -happened that the king and queen of the country lived in that city, and -as they sat together at one of the windows of their palace, they caught -the strains of Sorrel’s pipe as he passed in the street below. So -enchanted were they by its music, that they at once gave orders that he -should Be brought before them. - -“Who taught you to play so melodiously upon a bulrush pipe?” asked the -king. - -“Sire, it was my mother,” replied Sorrel. - -“Will you remain with us and be our court musician?” asked the queen. - -“Madam, that I cannot,” returned Sorrel, “for my mother has sent me upon -a very urgent quest. But I will gladly play to you now, it if so please -you.” So Sorrel played to the king and queen, and after that they led -him into the great banqueting-hall, where there was much feasting and -merry-making. - -Now it was in this very palace that all the pixie’s former nurslings had -loitered and remained. The first had soon grown covetous of money, and -became so skilful in the management of it that he was made Lord High -Treasurer. He was now a very old man, and his one delight was to handle -the gold pieces in the royal exchequer, which he did every day. The -second had quickly learnt the art of lying, and soon flattered so -adroitly that he was appointed court chaplain, and in every one of his -sermons he told the king and queen what an excellent influence they -exerted upon the court. “My dear,” said each to the other, “we are -indeed fortunate to have secured so eloquent a preacher and so wise a -man.” As for the third, he had fallen in love with the king’s daughter, -and had married her, and now lived in the greatest pomp as the king’s -son-in-law. Thus it came about that not one of the three nurslings had -given another thought to the pixie, who had longed hourly for their -homecoming. - -But Sorrel took no delight in the splendours which he saw about him, for -it seemed to him that the yellow gold was not half so pleasant to look -at as the yellow waterlilies at home. The courtiers paid him well turned -compliments upon his skill in music, but he noticed that for all their -flattery they looked at him askance as soon as he began to speak about -his mother and his life in the forest pool. As for the court ladies, so -far from falling in love with any one of them, he thought them all quite -ugly when he compared them with the beautiful pixie. The very next day -he again set out upon his travels, and would not linger at the palace, -because he had his mother’s quest at heart. - -“And now, sister,” said Speedwell, breaking off suddenly, “I have come -to the most difficult part in all my pattern, where one mistake would -spoil the lace, so you had better tell the rest.” - -“Willingly,” said Spirea, and she continued:— - -“Beyond the city lay another great forest in which Sorrel wandered all -day long without finding a way out. At last night fell, and he was just -wondering whether he would have to seek shelter under a tree, when he -heard the sound of a bell tolling near by, and soon came upon a -hermitage which stood upon the edge of the forest, with a bare and -lonely heath stretching away in front of it. Sorrel knocked at the door -of the hut, whereupon an old hermit at once opened to him, and greeted -him kindly. - -“Come in,” said he, “all strangers are welcome here.” And he made Sorrel -sit down, and gave him some rye bread and salt fish for his supper, with -a mug of sour wine to drink. - -“Have you come from far?” asked the old man. - -“My home is in the forest on the other side of the city,” replied -Sorrel. - -“Are you a forester’s son then?” asked the hermit. - -“No, good father,” replied Sorrel, and he began telling the old man all -about his beautiful mother and his home, but no sooner had he uttered -the first word about living under water, than the hermit started to his -feet, and trembled all over with rage. - -“You must be the son of a witch!” he screamed, “get out of my house!” -And he took Sorrel by the shoulders and thrust him out into the night. - -“These men are a strange race,” thought Sorrel, greatly bewildered, “I -was happier under the water.” And feeling somewhat disconsolate, he went -out upon the waste heath and stood looking about him. Just then the moon -broke through a cloud. - -“Good-night,” said the moon. - -“Good-night,” said Sorrel. - -“It is not everyone who bids me good-night as regularly as you did when -you were a child,” said the moon, “is there anything I can do for you?” - -“You can light me across this heath if you will,” replied Sorrel. - -“With all my heart,” the moon made answer. - -So Sorrel set out across the wide expanse of heath, and all the while -the moon went on before him and showed him the way, till at last they -came to a deep ravine, at the bottom of which stood the wizard’s -splendid castle, while on either hand there rose steep walls of rock, as -sheer as the side of any house, so that Sorrel looked down into the -chasm with dismay. - -“Catch!” cried the moon, and flung him a ladder of moonbeams, by the -help of which he descended the precipice in safety. - -No sooner had he reached the golden gate of the castle than it opened of -itself, and crossing the great courtyard, he saw that the little glass -postern door stood open already. Then Sorrel mounted flight upon flight -of marble steps, till he came upon an arched doorway. He drew aside the -silken curtain that hung across it, and with a bold step entered the -room where the mighty wizard sat, among his phials and talismans and all -manner of magical appliances. - -“What is your errand?” asked the wizard in a harsh voice. - -“I seek the elixir of death,” replied Sorrel fearlessly. - -“Many desire the elixir of life,” said the wizard, “the other is sought -but seldom. Here they are, both together. Choose.” So saying he handed -Sorrel two tall crystal vases, each filled with a clear colourless -fluid. - -Then Sorrel dipped his bulrush pipe into one of the vases, and it -blossomed, but when he dipped it into the other it withered and died. So -he took the elixir of death with him, and left the castle, and scaled -the steep cliff by the help of the ladder. His friend the moon was still -high in the heavens, and lighted him back across the trackless heath. - -With all possible speed Sorrel hastened onwards, but when he reached the -forest in which his home lay, he became very thirsty, and wandered to -and fro among the thickets seeking for a brook or a spring. At last, -faint and weary with his fruitless search, he lay down under a spreading -tree, but the crystal vase he placed beyond his reach, lest in his great -thirst he should be tempted to drink the deadly elixir. Soon there came -by a fair young pixie, gathering mosses and ferns for her grotto, and -Sorrel begged her for some water. - -“Water is close at hand,” said she, “for we pixies may not stray far -from our springs,” and she went and fetched some water in a shell and -gave it to him. - -“But tell me now,” she said, “is there not water in yonder vase?” - -“That is the elixir of death,” replied Sorrel, and he told her of his -quest, and as they sat together under the tree, they loved one another -and plighted their troth. - -“Only first I must go back to my mother,” said Sorrel, “and after that I -will return to you.” - -So she brought him to a mossgrown path which led him at last to the -pool, and when the pixie saw him she rejoiced. “O Sorrel, you were -rightly named,” said she, “for does not wood-sorrel betoken mother’s -joy?” - -Then she drank the elixir of death and straightway dissolved into a -brook which gushed forth out of the pool, and flowed babbling through -the forest. But Sorrel sat down by the brookside and lamented. Now it -happened that the woodcutter’s wife was passing that way, and she -stopped to ask him the cause of his sorrow. - -“I am mourning for my mother,” he replied. - -“As for me, I have mourned a son these twenty years,” said the -woodcutter’s wife. - -But Sorrel was not attending to what she said, for his thoughts were -full of his own grief. Yet because he was young, he soon called to mind -the starry eyes of his newly betrothed, and when he had gone back to her -he found her waiting for him by the same spreading tree. Then they made -their way to a bubbling spring close at hand, and together they went -down into her grotto. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - IN WHICH THE HEROINE HEARS SOME STARTLING NEWS - - -It was towards the end of September that Philomène returned home. Her -godmother was coming up to town also, and they travelled together, so -that on that journey there was ginger-beer to drink, and not cold tea. -She had not been at home more than an hour or so before she found an -opportunity of taking her latchkey and running out into the garden, -though the day was wet and windy. Sweet William was at home, and -received her cordially. - -“I came as soon as ever I could,” she cried, holding out both hands to -him, “I only waited till Nurse began unpacking for me next door, because -I was afraid she would say I ought not to be out in the rain. And now I -must tell you all about the Cushats, and Speedwell and Spirea, and the -merman, and they both said it was the chance of a life-time, having him -all to myself as I did.” So Philomène told him all her adventures, and -Sweet William listened very attentively. - -“Is the Cushats haunted?” he asked suddenly. - -“Oh, no,” replied Philomène indignantly, “certainly not. Lilian -Augusta’s sister-in-law once saw a ghost,” she continued, “and Lilian -Augusta said she was as proud as a cat with two tails ever after; but I -shouldn’t be proud, only desperately frightened, if I thought a ghost -was anywhere near me.” - -“That is a pity,” said Sweet William blandly, “considering that there is -a little spirit waiting to make friends with you in your very own room.” - -Philomène started up from her toadstool, and went quite white. “In my -room?” she exclaimed, and her breath caught, “in my bedroom here at -home?” - -“Sit down, child,” said Sweet William, “and don’t be theatrical, for -pity’s sake. There’s nothing at all to make a commotion about; it’s only -a White Létiche.” - -“And what is that, please?” asked Philomène, sitting down again and -trying to steady her voice, though she was still rather pale. - -“A White Létiche,” said Sweet William, “is the spirit of a child who was -never christened, and visits, unseen, the rooms of children.” - -“Is my Létiche a baby, then?” asked Philomène. - -“Oh, no,” said Sweet William, “she was about twelve when she died, and a -very sweet little girl she was too. She won’t even appear to you unless -you want her to, and then only on the 31st of October.” - -“Only on All Souls’ Eve if I want her to,” thought Philomène, “oh, well -then, it isn’t nearly as bad as it sounded at first.” - -“I was meaning to tell you something more about the people in your -house,” Sweet William continued, “the same house which, if I may remind -you, you at one time considered so extremely uninteresting, but you -seemed so much upset when I told you it had a White Létiche, that -perhaps you will leave me altogether when I tell you that there is a -white witch living in it too.” - -“I certainly shouldn’t be rude and ungrateful enough to leave you,” -returned Philomène stoutly, “and I will try not to get frightened again, -but I am afraid I don’t know what a white witch is either. Godmother -told me lots about fairies, but I think she did not want me to know a -great deal about witches, perhaps because she thought it might make me -nervous when I went to bed.” - -“And judging from the exhibition you made of yourself just now,” -retorted Sweet William, “your godmother seems to have proved herself a -woman of sense. Well, you must know that there are black witches and -white witches, and that black witches often turn into black cats, and -white witches into——” - -“Queen Mab!” interrupted Philomène excitedly. - -“Into white cats,” resumed Sweet William, “such as Queen Mab. Here again -there is nothing to be alarmed about, for white witches are a kindly -race, and help people by white magic instead of injuring them by black -art. I thought that as winter was coming on, I had better tell you that -you will have another comrade in the house besides Master Mustardseed, -for in the cold weather you are not likely to see much of me. But you -still look so disturbed, that I think I must distract your thoughts a -little by telling you a story, not about spirits or witches, but about a -poor little foundling whom the Good People befriended. I hope this may -quiet you down a bit before you have to go indoors.” - -“I should like to hear about the foundling very much, thank you,” said -Philomène, and set herself to listen. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - IN WHICH SWEET WILLIAM TELLS ANOTHER STORY - - -Once upon a time there lived a miller, who because he was a kind-hearted -man and as well off as anyone needs to be, had taken pity upon a poor -little foundling and had given him a home in the mill. On a bitter -winter’s night the child had been laid at his door, and the miller -therefore christened him Jack Frost. - -Some years later the miller took a wife, a young woman of a shrewish -disposition and over-fond of money. She was not kind to little Jack -Frost, and made him feel that he was a burden both to her husband and -herself. Times were hard, she said, and he was too slow-witted to be of -any real use about the mill. In the course of time a son was born to the -miller’s wife, and then things went from bad to worse with the -foundling. - -Nevertheless Jack Frost felt that he had good friends near at hand, and -these were none other than the Little People. In a field beyond the -mill-race there was a fairy ring, in the centre of which grew a -thorn-tree, and under this thorn-tree Jack Frost would sit by the hour, -thinking and dreaming and talking to himself. More than once it had -seemed to him that the fairy ring had brought him good fortune. - -The first occasion was on an evening not long after the birth of the -miller’s son, when Jack Frost had been set to mind the baby, while the -miller’s wife cooked the supper. But being somewhat feather-headed, he -forgot to rock the cradle, so that the baby woke up and began to cry. At -that its mother grew so angry that she boxed the ears of Jack Frost and -thrust him out of doors. But the miller felt sorry for him, and when his -wife was not looking he went up to the table where a savoury dish had -been set for his supper and hers, with a stale crust and a bowl of -skimmed milk for the foundling. These he took, and stealing out of the -mill by a back door gave them to the child, so that at least he might -not have to go supperless to bed. Jack Frost thanked him, and went off -to the field with the fairy ring in it, but no sooner had he sat down -under the thorn-tree to eat his supper, than he discovered that he no -longer held a crust and a bowl of skimmed milk, but a little new loaf -and a bowl of cream. - -Again, a few years later, when it was winter-time, the miller’s wife -sent Jack Frost into the neighbouring town to do some errands for her. -It was very cold, and the skies were overcast. - -“It is going to snow,” said the miller, as he stood by the window, “you -should not have sent the boy out so late, my dear.” - -“A little snow never hurt anybody yet,” replied his wife, and she drew -her shawl closer round her shoulders and poked the fire. - -Meanwhile Jack Frost was making his way home from the town, but before -the mill came in sight it began to snow, and soon it was snowing so fast -that he could not see a yard ahead of him. Thicker and thicker fell the -flakes, blotting out hedge and stile and milestone. Jack Frost stumbled -on a little farther, but he was cold and tired, and soon his legs began -to give way under him. Then a great drowsiness overcame him, and he lay -down to rest. As he fell asleep, it seemed to him that he was pillowed -on a bed of down, and that a rich green canopy was spread above him, yet -when he awoke in the morning, warm and well and light at heart, he saw -that he had slept all night upon the snow, and that there was no canopy -overhead save the little stunted thorn-tree. - -Now when Jack Frost had grown to be a youth, a great calamity befell the -country. Not long before, the queen had given birth to a son, and -throughout the land there were great festivities to do honour to the -heir. But on Roodmas Eve, when the fairies are abroad, they stole away -the little prince, and put a changeling in his stead, so ugly and -malicious that he soon became the plague and terror of the whole court. -The king at once summoned all his wisest counsellors, and inquired of -them what should be done in such a case, and they all with one accord -assured him that there were but two remedies; either the fairy -changeling must be made to laugh, or to refer in some way to his real -age. Unfortunately, however, the new prince was far too cross-tempered -to laugh under any circumstances, though the court jester and all the -wits of the land did their utmost to amuse him; and though every device -was tried to make him say that he had many and many a time seen the -acorn turn to an oak and the oak to a cradle, the impish creature could -not be induced to say anything of the sort. Then the king issued a -proclamation, promising untold riches as a reward to anyone who should -restore his son, but it was all to no purpose. - -At last it came into the mind of the foundling at the mill to test the -good-will which the Little People had to him. “I will set out in search -of the king’s son,” said he, “who can tell but that I may persuade the -fairies to give him up, for surely the People of Peace have shown -themselves my friends?” - -“A likely thing indeed,” sneered the miller’s wife, “that you should -succeed where the wisest of the land have failed! I suppose it is the -king’s proclamation which has put this nonsense into your head, but what -would you do with all those riches, even if you had them, I should like -to know? A great stupid loutish fellow like you!” - -Jack Frost was not to be discouraged, however. He took a knapsack with -him for his travels, and bidding good-bye to all at the mill, he set -out. But first he thought he would like to go once more to the field -beyond the mill-race, and take a last look at his thorn-tree; and no -sooner had he stepped into the fairy ring, than he saw the fairies -dancing in a circle round him. - -“Whither away, Jack Frost?” asked they. - -“I go in search of the king’s son,” replied the foundling. - -“It is the fairy queen herself who has stolen him away,” said the elves, -“for he was very fair of face.” - -“Then I fear she will be loath to give him up,” sighed Jack Frost. - -At that one of the elves stepped forward, and said; “Listen to me, Jack -Frost. You have just one chance of success. Not so very long ago our -queen was choosing a christening gift for a poor charcoal-burner’s child -to whom she had promised to stand sponsor; all her choicest treasures -were spread out before her, when suddenly a magpie swooped down and -carried off a certain magic ring to its nest in a belfry. Now this ring -was one of the queen’s most priceless gifts, for it conferred on him who -should possess it the good-will of wind and weather, the friendship of -all the dumb creatures, and the power of making himself beloved wherever -he might love. The queen is much grieved at its loss, and since no fairy -may enter a belfry, none but a mortal can recover it. Now if you should -find this ring, it may be that in her gratitude the queen will consent -to grant your request, to take back the changeling and to restore the -king’s son.” - -“How shall I find the belfry?” asked Jack Frost. - -“Go by forest and road and sea, and you shall find it,” replied the elf, -“but first, Jack Frost, tell me what it is that you see in our -thorn-tree?” - -“I see a nest,” replied Jack Frost, “and in it are seven speckled eggs.” - -“Take three of them,” said the elf, “and you will find them useful. A -bird does not build in the fairies’ tree for nothing.” - -So Jack Frost took the three speckled eggs, thanked the Little People, -and went his way. He soon came to a dense forest in which he wandered -till nightfall without seeing any trace of a human dwelling. He was -therefore very glad when at last he caught sight of a ruddy glint among -the trees, and came upon a smithy in a clearing of the wood. Now this -smithy belonged to a very wicked hobgoblin, who forged upon his anvil -all the weapons that are wielded in unrighteous wars. Whoever fights in -a wrongful quarrel or in defence of a bad cause, may be quite sure that -his steel was forged at the hobgoblin’s smithy. But Jack Frost did not -know this, and felt very thankful at having come across any kind of -shelter, so approaching the smith he asked him for a night’s lodging. - -“You shall have supper and a bed,” replied the hobgoblin, and leading -Jack Frost into his house he gave him some broken victuals, and motioned -him to a bed of straw. The foundling fell to with a good appetite, and -then lay down upon the straw and fell fast asleep. In the morning he -thanked his host for his hospitality, and prepared to continue his -journey. - -“Wait a bit,” said the hobgoblin, “you have not yet paid me for your -supper, nor for your bed over-night.” - -“Alas,” replied Jack Frost, “I cannot pay you save in thanks, good sir, -for I have no money.” - -“I have no need of money,” replied the wicked sprite, “but you must pay -me in service. All who break my bread are bound to serve me for seven -years. Make haste therefore to sweep my room and cook my breakfast.” - -And so saying, he went out to his forge. As soon as Jack Frost was left -alone, he took out the three speckled eggs, and broke them one after -another, hoping to find inside either something which he might offer to -the hobgoblin in payment of his debt, or at least some means of escape. -But in this he was disappointed. The first egg contained a pod with -three seeds in it, the second a gossamer lasso, and the third a tiny -packet of eye-salve. - -“These things are of but little use to me at present,” reflected the -foundling sadly, and he submitted to his lot with as good a grace as -might be. Seven years long he served the hobgoblin, who made him a hard -master, but when the time had expired allowed him to go on his way -unmolested. - -Onwards through the forest went Jack Frost, sad at heart at the loss of -time and the thwarting of his quest, and after some days’ wanderings he -came upon a path which at last led him out of the wood and into open -country. Soon, however, he reached a place where four roads met, and -stood still in some perplexity. Then he bethought him of the pod with -the three seeds, and cast one seed upon each of the three roads before -him. Straightway three young trees shot up, all bearing leaves, while -the tree on the right bore blossoms and fruits as well. He therefore -took the right hand road, and walked along it for some considerable -distance, till at length it sloped down to the sea shore and came to an -end. Now upon the strand Jack Frost caught sight of a beautiful white -horse, with streaming mane, and riderless, pacing to and fro. - -“What is your name, fair steed?” asked he, “and who is your master?” - -“My name is the wind,” the beautiful white horse made answer, “and I -have no master.” - -Then Jack Frost bethought him of the gossamer lasso, and threw it -deftly, and caught the fleet-footed wind. - -“Carry me across the water,” said he, “for there is neither boat nor -bridge.” - -“Then mount upon my back,” returned the wind, “and lean your head -against my long mane, and shut your eyes, for should you look downwards -you would surely turn giddy.” - -So Jack Frost did as the wind bade him, and together they sped away -across the waste of rolling billows that rocked and foamed far below -them. Upon the opposite shore the wind set him down safely, and Jack -Frost put his arms about the neck of the beautiful, swift steed, and -kissed it between the eyes, but even as he did so the wild creature -started away from him, and fled back across the sea. - -Then Jack Frost turned and went on his way, glad at heart, for already -he had caught a glimpse of an old ivy-clad belfry among thick-standing -trees. Into the low-browed porch he went, and up the winding stair, till -he found the magpie’s nest, and in among the sticks and straw he saw the -gleam of the magic ring. - -“And now it but remains to find the fairy queen,” said Jack Frost to -himself, as he stood again in the open, “yet I know not where she holds -her court.” - -Then he bethought him of the tiny packet inside the third egg, and -rubbing some of the eye-salve upon his eyes, he at once became aware of -the fairy queen and her retinue, assembled in a grove close at hand. -Then Jack Frost went and knelt to the queen, and offering her the magic -ring, begged for the king’s son in exchange. - -“So, young sir, you would rob me of my bonny page?” said she, with one -fair hand held out for the ring, and the other resting upon the curls of -a beautiful seven-year-old boy at her side. But she smiled very -graciously as she spoke, for she was rejoiced at the recovery of the -ring. - -So the changeling returned whence he came, and the little prince was -restored to his parents. As for Jack Frost, the foundling, he sat him -down among the fairies in the grove, and having eaten and drunk in their -midst, was seen of his own kind no more. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - OF WHICH THE SCENE IS LAID IN A SICK-ROOM - - -No sooner had Philomène returned to the house than Nurse began scolding -her for having gone out into the wet. “As if you couldn’t have waited -till to-morrow to have a look at your garden,” she said impatiently, -“and the air as raw this afternoon as it might be November.” - -The next day Philomène was in bed with a bad chill, and was very far -from well for several weeks, but she made a good little patient, -swallowed her medicines without a grimace, and bravely hid her -disappointment when Nurse refused to let her have Master Mustardseed in -the room with her, on the ground that his loud singing would give her a -headache. - -“If I could only explain to her,” she thought sadly, “that he doesn’t -speak nearly as loud as he sings.” - -Philomène therefore had to do the best she could by herself. She crowned -herself queen of her bed-kingdom to begin with; the sheets and blankets -were her subjects, her Prime Minister was the quilt, and the pillows -made up her body-guard under the leadership of their captain the -bolster. The eider-down she raised to the rank of Prince Consort, -because he was arrayed in royal satin, and being wadded and yielding, -was not likely to stand in the way of any of his wife’s plans. - -She also had the big globe out of the schoolroom placed on the chair by -her bed, and proceeded to invent a geographical game worthy of a student -of “The World and All About It.” “Lady World is the mother,” she said to -herself, “and the continents are the governesses. I like Miss Europe -best, and trust her most, because I know the most about her. The -countries are head-nurses, and Mrs England is the headest of them all. -Provinces and counties are under-nurses, and the towns are the children. -Then I think mountains had better be coachmen and grooms and gardeners, -and people of that sort, and the rivers can be maids, because they keep -things clean, and gradually grow more important. The Isis only starts as -a scullery-maid, but by the time it has got to London it is an upper -house-maid, and is called the Thames. I think the Atlantic is to be the -big playground for the children, and the Indian Ocean is Lady World’s -drawing-room, because it has coral reefs and flying fish and phosphorus -and exciting things in it, like the curios in Godmother’s cabinets. The -little seas like the Caspian and the White Sea are rather dull, so they -can be used as store-rooms, and the five great lakes in North America -are turned into sick-rooms when any of the towns get ill. Let me see, -the Pacific had better be the kitchen, because there are so many islands -in it which will do as cooks. The Arctic ocean is the bathroom, so that -the children may get used to cold baths, and the Antarctic can be the -lumber-room, because nobody goes there much.” - -It was on a dark and foggy afternoon that Philomène lay in bed, watching -a goblin castle in among the coals, with twinkling battlements that -would presently fall ruining, till drowsiness overcame her, and she -closed her eyes. She had been wandering in the vasty entrance-hall of -the play-house of sleep, though the spectacle of dreams had not as yet -begun—(as she herself would have expressed it, the Dusty-Man in the -theatre-office was just going to give her the tickets, so that she might -go in and see the show), when a strange yet strangely familiar voice -purred into her ear; “Wake up, Philomène, wake up, beloved of the Little -People.” - -Philomène started up, and looked straight into the green, affectionate -eyes of Queen Mab. “Oh, Queen Mab, you dear thing,” she stammered, -“Sweet William told me about you, and I am only a very, very tiny bit -afraid of you.” - -“There is no reason even for that tiny bit,” replied the white cat, -putting one of her paws into Philomène’s hand, “have I ever thought of -scratching or biting you, even when you put me to bed in a doll’s -cradle, and tried to make my ears fit into a doll’s nightcap? Do you -suppose I have forgotten how on that Christmas Eve when I first came to -you, you as a little, little girl clung to Nurse, and told her how very -little trouble I should be, because I would eat up the scraps and take -in my own washing? No, Philomène, white witches are not ungrateful; I -would not harm a hair of your dear little head.” - -Philomène lay back among the pillows. “Will you teach me how to work -spells?” she asked, “so that I can spirit away the little yellow book -all about quarts and bushels and perches which Miss Mills loves, and the -green dress that I can’t bear because it hooks all up the back, and has -such a vulgar broad stripe in it?” - -“I wouldn’t advise you to meddle with spells, my dear,” returned Queen -Mab, curling her tail right round her till it met her chin, “they are -rather tricky things, and apt to go off at the wrong time, like -chemicals. But if you like I will tell you a story which I think will -make clear to you, better than anything else, the difference between -black and white witches. Is the very, very tiny bit still there?” - -“No,” said Philomène, “you are my own dear Pussy, and I am sure you love -me, and I am very glad that I can have you to talk to me in the -winter-time when I sit nursing you by the fire. And now please begin the -story.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - IN WHICH QUEEN MAB TELLS HER STORY - - -On a bleak and rocky coast there once stood a little fishing town, and -on the high cliffs above it, looking seaward towards the sunrise, rose -the stately pile of an old Abbey church, which was the pride of the -place, for the folk in the little red-roofed town were poor and -struggling, and had not much in their midst that was beautiful. - -Legend said that long ago a certain wicked king had set his heart upon -the Abbey treasures, and that at his command a ship had left the harbour -laden with the choicest of them, but a great storm had arisen, so that -the ship foundered, and the treasure went all to the bottom. Some said -it might still be recovered if men would but dive for it outside the -harbour bar, others declared that at night you could hear the buried -Abbey bells chiming out at sea, others again did not believe in the -story at all, and had never heard any bell ringing below water save the -bell of the buoy. - -Now just beyond the harbour bar there was a great rock, and this was -said by some to be the haunt of a very evil black witch, but the people -who said this were the same people that had heard the Abbey bells by -night, and so got laughed at for their pains. - -On the outskirts of the fishing town lived a poor man with one daughter, -named Yolande, who was so beautiful and gracious that the richest farmer -in all that countryside had asked her hand in marriage, but being very -avaricious, he would not take her, fair as she was, without a dowry. -Yolande herself had no wish to marry the old man, for all his fat cattle -and his comfortable farmstead, for she loved his goatherd, a youth as -poor as herself. - -Now it so happened that on midsummer eve Yolande’s father went fishing, -and as he passed the witch’s rock, that towered above him like a great -black house, he thought he heard the sound of muttering, but he rowed on -quickly, and paid no heed. He caught no fish that day, and cursed his -bad fortune as he hauled in his empty nets. - -“If only Yolande might marry a rich man,” he said to himself, “I should -have no more need to work for my living,” and he made his way home with -a heavy heart. The night was hot and still, and the lights of the town -winked at him from the shore like gleaming, sleepless eyes. He had to -pass below the rock outside the harbour, and as his boat entered its -shadow, he again heard mutterings up above him, only this time he caught -the words: “Amen. Malo a nos libera sed, tentationem in inducas nos ne.” -At this the fisherman grew very much afraid, for he knew that this could -be no other than the black witch, who was saying the Pater Noster -backwards, as all black witches do. - -“Stop a while, friend,” cried a hoarse voice from the rock, “I know your -trouble, I know all about your daughter and the rich farmer who has -asked her in marriage. What should you say to the old Abbey treasure as -a dower for your girl?” - -The black witch sprang from the rock, dived, and came up again, and -before the fisherman could so much as cross himself or utter a cry, she -was sitting opposite to him in the boat, her hands and the lap of her -dress full of the Church’s treasure. - -“Ha! ha!” she laughed, “you are wondering, friend, how it is that I can -handle these holy things? Have you forgotten that it is midsummer eve, -when evil spirits are abroad, and the devil has it all his own way? See, -would not these be a fitting dower for a princess?” And she held up to -him golden cross and golden crozier, rosaries of amber and pearl and -coral, censers studded thick with gems; one precious thing after another -she flashed before his eyes, fondling them with her wicked webbed hands, -as though the shining vessels had never held the oil and wine of the -altar. - -“What answer do you give me?” cried the witch, tossing them back into -the sea, “shall your daughter wed or no? Speak man, and do not stare at -me with eyes like a dead fish! I tell you the treasure shall work her no -harm; I have not strung unanswered prayers on the rosaries, I cannot -curse what was once blessed, I have but made you an offer fair and -square, and the bargain is between you and me.” - -“Give me time, give me time,” cried the fisherman, sorely tempted, yet -afraid to yield; “give me time, and let me pass.” - -The witch leapt laughing from the boat, and sat looking at him from the -summit of her crag. “You shall have nine months,” she called out to him. - -“Ten, give me ten,” pleaded the fisherman, for he knew that he had no -right to the treasure, and that his soul was at stake in this bargain. - -“Ten, then,” replied the witch with a loud laugh, “but I promise you -they shall slip through your grasp as quickly as the ten pearls that lie -side by side on a rosary.” - -On the morning of the day when the fisherman had to make his decision, -it happened that Yolande rose very early and went into the woods to -gather cowslips. Her father had lain awake all night, turning the whole -matter over and over in his mind as he had done for months past. The -winter gales had injured his boat, he was poorer than ever, and the -farmer was growing impatient. Yolande was the fairest girl in the -countryside, said he, but even she was not worth waiting for more than a -year. - -Yolande herself had slept serenely, and as she went with her basket -deeper and deeper into the woods, she was glad with the gladness of the -April morning, for her thoughts were with the poor goatherd, and she -sang of love. In the heart of the forest lay a wide clearing called the -golden meadow, for every spring it was golden with cowslips, which grew -here in greater sweetness and profusion than in any other field. Yolande -picked and picked till her basket was full, and then sat down to refresh -herself with the bread and cheese and the flask of milk she had brought -with her. - -She had no sooner begun eating than a little field mouse popped up out -of its hole, and watched her with bright fearless eyes. “You dear little -tame thing,” said she, “you shall have some of my bread, because you are -so venturesome for your size.” The mouse took a few crumbs of the bread -which she scattered for it, and disappeared down its hole. - -Not long after, a robin hopped up to where she was sitting, and preened -its red breast with its beak. “You shall have your share too,” said -Yolande, “because you were moved with pity on Good Friday, and tried to -pluck away the nails, so that your little breast is now all stained with -red.” And since she had no more bread left, she threw a morsel of cheese -towards it. The robin pecked at the cheese, and then flew away, carrying -the rest in its beak. - -Then Yolande poured out some milk into a pewter mug, and was about to -drink, when she noticed a white adder coiled at her feet. She gave a -stifled cry and drew back, but the creature did not stir. - -“Poor thing,” said Yolande, “I wonder is it thirsty? I will give it some -of my milk, because it is so ugly, and people hate it, and never have a -good word for it.” The white adder drank the milk, and then coiled -itself round Yolande’s arm. At first she was afraid to move, but knowing -that she must not be late for the market where she hoped to sell her -cowslips, she at last got up and went back into the wood. She had not -gone far before she passed a spreading sycamore, beneath which stood a -small shrine. Here she placed some of her cowslips, and sprinkled -herself with water out of the holy water stoup. A few drops lighted upon -the adder, and in an instant it uncoiled itself, slipped to the ground, -and turned into a white witch. - -“Do not be frightened, Yolande,” said she in a gentle voice, “I am a -white witch, and practise only white magic, which is helpful and not -hurtful to men. Listen to me; the black witch who dwells on the great -rock beyond the harbour tempted your father last midsummer eve to accept -at her hands the buried Abbey treasure, so that you might have a rich -dowry, and marry the farmer who has asked you to be his wife. To-day -your father has to make his decision. But I will give you a better -dowry, since you have given me food and drink, and are a good girl, -Yolande, worthy of my help. Come back with me a few steps into the wood. -Tell me, why do you suppose that this clearing is called the golden -meadow?” - -“Is it not because of the yellow carpeting of cowslips?” asked the girl. - -“No,” replied the witch, “there is another and an older reason.” She -made a movement in the air with her hand, and immediately the ground of -the meadow became transparent, so that Yolande looked through it as -through glass, and saw below it a mighty treasure rich in all manner of -jewels and trinkets, gold and silver, jade, ivory and crystal. - -“This is the dwarf’s treasure,” continued the white witch, again making -the magic sign so that cowslips covered the ground as before, “but -generations ago, when man first came to live upon this coast, and built -the Abbey and the town, the dwarfs fled further inland towards the -mountains, to escape from human dwellings. And since they had more -treasure than they could carry with them, they buried this great hoard -here. I will give it to you as your dowry, so that your father may do no -hurt to his soul.” - -Yolande fell at the witch’s feet to thank her, but when she had spoken -her thanks, she confessed with a blush that it was not the rich farmer -whom she loved, but his poor goatherd. - -“I know that,” said the white witch smiling, “but this treasure of the -dwarfs is more than the old farmer’s riches multiplied a thousandfold, -so that your father will not stand in the way of your marriage with the -man you love. But you must make haste. Go to your father, and tell him -all that I have told you. Then when the black witch comes to market to -hear his answer, he will be able to say that he will have nothing to do -with her and her treasure.” - -“How shall I know her?” asked Yolande. - -“She will come to market,” said the witch, “riding on a donkey that has -no cross upon its back. Moreover, when she reaches the brook that flows -hard by the market-place, she will turn and go round by another way, -since it is not lawful for an evil spirit to cross running water. Take -these two straws, and when you and your father return home together, lay -them on the ground behind you, across and across—so—and then she will -not be able to bewitch you. If you should need my help again, call your -name to the sevenfold echo on the beach, and I shall hear it and come to -you.” - -All fell out as the white witch had said, and great was the joy of the -fisherman on hearing that a rich dowry was to fall to his daughter -without his having to call the black witch to his help. He was glad of -the two straws, however, for when she rode up to him and heard his -answer, she was so angry that he quailed before her; but Yolande had -seen and spoken with her lover, and both were so happy at the thought of -their approaching marriage that they felt no fear. - -But the black witch lost no time in setting about her revenge. She came -to the goatherd in the guise of a peddling gipsy, and offered him for -sale the picture of a beautiful maiden. Now over this picture the black -witch had pronounced a charm, so that the goatherd could see nothing in -it aright, but fancying it as fair as it seemed, fell so deeply in love -with the beautiful face that he straightway ceased to love Yolande. The -days went by; the goatherd did not keep his trysts with his betrothed, -and when he met her he was cold and careless. Yolande wondered and wept, -but could not solve the mystery. - -At last she bethought her of the kindly white witch, so one day she went -alone to the beach, and raising her voice, she called out “Yolande! -Yolande!” in the hope that the white witch would befriend her a second -time. The echo from the rocks caught up her cry and passed it on, one -echo echoing another, till it reached the ears of the white witch, who -came flying towards the coast in the form of a gull. High above the old -Abbey she soared, on strong white wings, and flew to Yolande’s side. - -“Tell me your trouble, child,” said she, assuming her own shape. So -Yolande told her all that had happened. - -“It is black art,” said the white witch, “your enemy has bewitched your -lover. She has shown him the picture of a maiden whom he now loves -instead of you. Look, Yolande, here is a mirror; what do you see in it?” - -“I see the reflection of a maiden’s face,” replied Yolande, “and she is -very fair, fairer than I.” - -The white witch then turned the other side of the mirror towards her. -“Look again, Yolande,” said she, “what is it now that you see?” - -“A hideous, terrible wolf’s face!” cried Yolande, shrinking back, “old -and grey, with grinning teeth, and a mouth red and gaping, and hungry -eyes.” - -“It is the face of a were-wolf,” replied the white witch, “and we must -force the black witch to remove her spell from your lover.” She stood -and considered for a moment. “Wait for me here,” she said at last, and -took flight in the shape of a gull. As twilight fell she returned. “I -have found out,” said she, “that the black witch is brewing a charm for -which she requires many herbs, and none so much as myrrh. She will -therefore go to church this evening, in the hope of snatching a little -myrrh out of the censer as it swings. If only pure prayers mount with -the incense, she will be foiled in her attempt; but if a single vengeful -or presumptuous prayer is offered, the myrrh will be within her power to -take. You must slip into the Abbey after vespers have begun, and kneel -by the north door, taking with you some dragonwort. Now evil spirits can -only leave, just as they can only enter a church, on the north side, -which is the devil’s side, and as soon as the church is empty the black -witch will hurry to the north door and try to get out. But you must -stand within a circle of dragonwort, which will protect you from her, -and not allow her to pass till she has promised to remove her wicked -spells from your lover, and to molest you and yours no longer. She will -be the more ready to promise anything you may ask, as to-night is -Walpurgis Night, and she will be in haste to join her sister witches on -the summit of the Brocken.” - -The lights were low in the Abbey church when Yolande came to kneel by -the north door. The censer swung to and fro, and the prayers of the -faithful rose heavenward with the incense. There were many holy prayers, -but one evil prayer rose with the rest. Straightway a magpie swooped -down from the rood-screen, and, snatching a grain of myrrh as the -acolyte swung the censer to right and to left, flew back to its perch. -When the service was over and the church empty, the magpie fluttered to -the north door, and with a hoarse cry turned into the black witch, who -stamped and raved, coaxed and cursed, but Yolande stood firm within her -sheltering circle of dragonwort, till the witch at last, afraid lest she -should miss the tryst on the Brocken, angrily promised to molest the -young couple no more. Then Yolande stood aside, and the black witch -hurried out of the church. - -So Yolande and the goatherd were married, and at their wedding a -snow-white gull hovered about the porch of the Abbey, waiting till the -bridal procession should pass out, and when it came, the bird flew on -before it to Yolande’s new home, and perched upon the roof in token of -welcome. And that same night she fancied she heard the ringing of -joy-bells, far out at sea. - -“Do you know, Queen Mab,” said Philomène, “though I was a little bit -afraid when I first heard about you, having thought of you all these -years as just a pussy, I was really more frightened when I heard about -the White Létiche. Sweet William told me that she would appear on All -Souls’ Eve, if I liked, but after that I don’t quite know what to do. -Will she speak to me?” - -“No, certainly not,” replied Queen Mab, “a spirit never speaks first. -You must begin.” - -[Illustration: - - “THE FAIRIES HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO ASSEMBLE.” - _Page 198_ - _The Fairy Latchkey._ -] - -“I suppose Sweet William will be keeping Samhain that evening,” said -Philomène, and her eyes grew wide with longing. “Oh, I do so wish I -could go with him, and yet I don’t want to miss the White Létiche.” - -“Well, be a good child then,” said Queen Mab, “and go to sleep, and I -will see what I can do for you in the way of a dream, so that you may -know how All Fairies is kept. White magic is not much talked about, but -it has its uses.” - -So Philomène slept, and in her dream she saw a wide, waste bog land, -studded with numberless little pools, each a round, bright mirror framed -in rushes, large enough to bathe the reflection of just one star, so -that the bog was called the Bog of Stars. The fairies had already begun -to assemble; elves and goblins, leprechauns, kobolds and dwarfs. There -were so many little men dressed in green, and so many elves in cocoon -silk, that from a distance Philomène failed to distinguish the twin -sisters or Sweet William, but she recognised Master Mustardseed in his -bright yellow coat, with a moss green cap upon his curls, for he, with -Moth and Cobweb and Peasblossom, surrounded the fairy queen. - -“How glad I am,” thought Philomène, “that they have allowed him to go -back to Fairyland just for to-night. I am sure he would have hated to -spend Samhain all by himself in his cage.” - -In her dream he nodded to her, and she nodded back and smiled. At first -the fairies danced, and mystic, fantastic dances they were; Philomène -tried to follow their mazes till her eyes ached, so rapidly, so airily, -did the groups dissolve and re-unite and dissolve again. And all the -while sweet joy-peals chimed from unseen foxglove bells. But when the -moon was near its setting, a herald blew upon a trumpet-daffodil, and -after that there was silence, and Puck was bidden by the queen to read -out the roll of the names of those who still kept their faith in the -fairies. - -“The number lessens,” said Oberon, “but there is still a goodly company -left, and we have many secret believers.” - -Then Puck began to read; name after name, name after name. Philomène was -already growing confused and wearied when her own name rang out, clear -and unexpected, “Philomène Isolde.” - -She sat up in bed, dazed and wondering, but no one had called her. The -firelight was playing upon Joan of Arc’s picture, and the red glare -brightened and broadened among the branches of the oak-tree. Queen Mab -lay curled up at the foot of the bed, but she seemed to be fast asleep, -so Philomène turned on her side and fell fast asleep also, and this time -her sleep was deep and sound, and uncoloured by dreams. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - IN WHICH THE HEROINE MAKES FRIENDS WITH A SPIRIT - - -“Nursie, do you believe in ghosts?” This question was put by Philomène -as she sat at her dressing-table on the evening of the last of October, -while Nurse brushed out her hair. She was almost well again now, though -not quite. - -“There are ghosts and ghosts, you know, Miss,” replied Nurse decidedly. -“I don’t hold with modern ghosts myself, your pencils and tumblers and -noises made by tables. But in the house where I first went into service -there was a most undoubted ghost. He was of the good old-fashioned sort, -and pulled your bedclothes right off you. There was no mistaking him.” - -When Nurse had left her, Philomène stood for a moment irresolute in the -middle of the room. “I will say some prayers first of all,” she -reflected, “and then——” - -[Illustration: - - “BY HER BEDSIDE THERE STOOD A SMALL FIGURE.” - _Page 202._ - _The Fairy Latchkey._ -] - -The prayers did not take long. From the tower of a church near by came a -rushing sound of bells, and Philomène went and knelt on the chair by the -window. It was a wild night, and she was afraid to push up the sash lest -she should catch cold, in spite of her warm red dressing-gown and -slippers, but she pressed her face close to the glass, and listened with -strained attention. Fitfully upon the gusts of wind the fragmentary -music reached her, rising and falling with the gale. The beautiful -mellow-throated chimes seemed to be sending some message through the -storm, to be ringing out some good news across the mighty, toilworn, -unheeding city that lay beneath them. At one time Philomène fancied that -she could almost make out the words: “O ye spirits and souls of the -righteous, bless ye the Lord, praise him and magnify him for ever!” - -“I think if the White Létiche came now,” she thought, “I should not -mind.” - -Timidly she looked behind her. By her bedside there stood a small -figure, bright-haired and all in white; it was leaning against the -bed-post, and the little, transparent hand rested upon the burnished -brass knob at the top. Philomène got down from the chair and approached -it softly. The White Létiche turned, and looked at her with eyes as blue -as a midsummer sea; they were not merry eyes, but there were happy -lights in them, as when the sea mirrors blue heaven. - -“I hope you noticed that I sang, ‘I’m sitting on the stile, Mary,’ while -I undressed,” said Philomène, rather shyly, remembering that Queen Mab -had told her to set the conversation going. “I once read somewhere that -it was the kind thing to do on All Souls’ Eve, to sing or whistle, so -that the souls who are hurrying to keep their feast need not brush up -against one on their way, which is supposed to hurt them. I didn’t ask -Nurse to do it too, because she can’t sing, only in church.” - -“It was good of you to think of it,” said the White Létiche smiling, -“though indeed many is the time you have brushed past me in this room -without its hurting me.” - -Philomène was now sitting on the bed, feeling quite at her ease with her -strange little companion. “And do the unchristened children really live -among the water-babies?” she asked curiously. “Is it nice where you come -from?” - -“I can’t tell you about where I come from,” said the White Létiche, “it -is against rules. But I could tell you other things, things which I did -not know when I slept in this room.” - -“What sort of things?” asked Philomène; “stories?” - -“Why, yes, some of them are stories,” said the White Létiche. “I wonder -now would you care to hear the story of the very strangest christening -that ever befell?” - -“What made it so strange?” asked Philomène, eagerly; “and what was the -baby’s name?” - -“Wait a bit,” said the White Létiche. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - IN WHICH THE WHITE LÉTICHE TELLS HER STORY - - -Upon the outskirts of a village there once lived a weaver, who was very -skilful at his loom, and wove many fine and beautiful stuffs, while in a -wretched cabin out in the fields beyond the village dwelt a certain poor -widow woman, who had to earn her livelihood by spinning. It was from her -that the weaver bought his flax, but indeed he often went to the cabin -when there was still a plentiful store of flax at home, in the hope of -seeing the widow’s only daughter. - -Now the maiden was not the widow’s own child, for the poor woman as she -came home one evening through the fields had found a little baby lying -among the stubble, and having no children of her own, she had brought it -home with her and adopted it. And because she had found it under the -Michaelmas moon, she had it christened Micheline. - -Micheline was very beautiful, and in the spring time when the weaver -would walk by her side, and watch her break a sprig of blackthorn from -the hedge to place it in her hair or in the folds of her ragged green -dress, it seemed to him that all the world could not hold another maid -so fair as she. But she was indifferent to his suit, and this made him -very sad. Also there was a mystery about her which he could not solve, -for often she would disappear from home altogether, sometimes for a few -days only, sometimes for months at a time, and when he questioned her -fostermother she only made excuses and gave evasive answers. - -One day the weaver went into the neighbouring city to offer some of his -stuffs for sale at court, and it happened that just as he entered the -gateway of the palace, a gallant prince came riding forth, with a plume -in his hat and a sword by his side, mounted upon a splendidly accoutred -horse. - -“It must be a fine thing to be a prince,” thought the weaver. - -Good luck befriended him, for the queen and her daughter bought all his -beautiful woven stuffs, and he left the palace with his pockets full of -gold. On his way home he again saw the prince, who was watering his -horse at a roadside trough. - -“Are you not the poor weaver who trudged past me under the palace -gateway but an hour ago?” asked the prince. - -“I was poor enough then,” replied the weaver, “but I am rich now, for -the queen and the princess her daughter were graciously pleased to buy -my whole store of stuffs.” - -“Then you had better fortune than I,” returned the prince, “for I have -been courting the princess this year and more, but she will have none of -me. She is so cold and listless that she cares for no man’s addresses.” - -“Alas, we are then brothers in misfortune,” quoth the weaver, “for I too -love a maid who does not love me in return.” And with that they parted, -and the weaver went home, only to find that Micheline had once more -disappeared, he knew not whither. But the prince mounted his good steed -and rode forth into the world, to seek adventures and forget his sorrow. - -He soon came to a dense wood, and when night fell, seeing a great castle -before him, he knocked at the gates and asked for shelter. Now in this -castle lived a mighty magician, who received the prince with all -hospitality, and bade him sit down with him to supper. But as the prince -sat at table, he often turned his head and listened intently, for it -seemed to him that ever and anon he caught a sound like the ticking of -innumerable clocks. - -“What may that be?” he asked at length. - -“It is the beating of many hearts,” replied the magician, “for I have -the hearts of all men in my keeping.” - -“Is the cold, proud heart of my dear princess amongst them?” asked the -prince. - -“Most certainly,” said the magician, “and if you would know what is her -heart’s desire, you need only go and see wherein her heart lies.” - -“I go upon the instant!” cried the prince, starting to his feet. Then he -entered a great hall adjoining, and there he found the hearts of all -men, each beating in its own chosen place. Some lay within coffers of -gold, some upon altars, others between the leaves of a book, others -again were half smothered beneath a pile of fripperies and tinsel. But -the heart of his princess lay within a certain gold crown of strange -workmanship. - -As soon as he had caught sight of it, the prince drew his sword with its -jewelled cross-hilt, and waving it above his head, he cried: “Though I -should first have to conquer all the kingdoms of the world, I will win -that crown for my lady, no matter whose it be. And then perhaps her -heart will turn to me, and she will love me.” - -The next day he set forth upon his quest, but as he rode out of the -castle gates, he remembered the weaver who was a lover like himself, and -meeting a doe in the forest, he said to her: “Run swiftly, pretty doe, -and carry a message to my brother the weaver. Tell him of this castle, -that he too may come, and learn what it is on which his lady has set her -heart.” - -So the fleet-footed doe ran till she reached a brook, where she stooped -to drink. “O brook,” said she, “hidden in a thicket I have a baby fawn, -and I dare not leave it long alone. Bear you the prince’s message to the -weaver.” - -So the brook took the message, and flowed on through the forest till it -became choked with sedges. “O dragonfly,” it said in a stifled voice to -a dragonfly that hovered among the flags, “bear you the prince’s message -to the weaver.” - -Then the dragonfly flew to the weaver’s house, and gave him the prince’s -message, and that same day the weaver set out. But when he had reached -the castle, and had sought for the heart of Micheline among the rest, he -could not find it. - -“Since that is so, it means that she is not a mortal,” said the -magician, “you must go seek for her in Fairyland.” - -“I pray you tell me the way,” said the weaver. - -“That I cannot do,” the magician made answer, “each must find the way to -Fairyland for himself.” - -Then the weaver set forth upon his travels, and sought Micheline at -every fairy ring and haunted pool, by cairn and by waterfall, but -nowhere could he find her. At last one day as he went along the road -feeling much disheartened, he thought he recognised the rich trappings -of a horse that was cropping the grass by the roadside, and the next -moment he caught sight of the prince standing near by. - -“Fortune has again brought us together, friend,” said the prince, -“therefore let us continue our journey in each other’s company.” - -And as they went along they told one another all their adventures. The -prince too had been in many lands, but his quest had led him into courts -and palaces, where he had been sumptuously feasted; kings and queens had -put on their crowns in his honour, but that one crown of strange -workmanship he had nowhere found. Presently the two travellers reached -the entrance of a narrow, gloomy gorge. - -“Let us press on,” counselled the prince, “it may be that on the other -side we shall find some shelter for the night, for already it grows -dusk.” - -But no sooner had they entered the gorge, with steep hillsides to either -hand, than the prince’s steed took fright, and reared and threw his -rider, and galloped madly back by the way they had come. - -“What can have startled the horse?” cried the prince, as he sprang up -unhurt. - -“Hush,” said the weaver, “listen.” Then, as they stood and listened, a -sound of laughter and revelry reached them from within the hillside to -their right. - -“We have found the way into Fairyland,” cried the weaver, “and I must go -and seek Micheline among her own people.” - -“Be wary, friend,” cautioned the prince, “for if I am not mistaken the -hill fairies have a bad reputation, and have worked harm to wayfarers -before now.” - -But the weaver would not be dissuaded. “How shall we enter, prince?” he -cried, on fire with impatience. - -Then the prince drew his sword, and smote the hillside, so that it cleft -asunder by reason of the cross-shaped hilt, and together they entered a -hall dim and vasty, where the hill fairies were holding their revels. -The elfin king the while sat moodily watching the dance, but upon the -entry of the strangers he descended the steps of his throne and came -forward to greet them. The weaver then saw that his eyes were -treacherous and cruel, but the prince saw only that upon his head he -wore the crown that was the desire of his lady’s heart. The king placed -them on either side of his throne, and made them welcome. - -“Tell me, I beg of you,” said the weaver, impatient of delay, “is there -at your court a maid of the name of Micheline?” - -“The maid is indeed at my court,” replied the king, “though among us she -goes by another name.” - -“How came I then to meet her among mortals?” asked the weaver. - -Then the king made answer: “The widow who is now her fostermother found -her among the stubble under the harvest moon, and the next night she -heard a tapping at her window, and went, and saw a fairy nurse standing -by the sill. ‘Give me back my child,’ said the fairy nurse, ‘the child -whom I laid to sleep among the stubble.’ ‘That will I not,’ quoth the -widow woman, ‘for she is mine now, and I have had her christened like -one of ourselves.’ ‘I love her too well to take her against her will,’ -answered the fairy nurse, ‘in years to come she shall choose between -us.’ ‘I love her too well to keep her against her will,’ said the widow -woman, ‘so it shall be as you say.’ Thus it happens that the maid is -sometimes with us, and sometimes with her fostermother.” - -Then the weaver turned and saw a troop of fairies coming towards him, -and Micheline was of the number, fair as ever in her dress of green, -with a blackthorn wreath in her hair. Forthwith he sprang to meet her -and caught her in his arms, and at once was whirled away into the midst -of the dance. But all this time the prince sat silent and thoughtful, -pondering by what means he might obtain possession of the elfin crown. - -Louder and louder grew the bursts of song, madder and madder reeled the -dance. The weaver’s senses swam, his feet seemed to become leaden, and -the sweat stood out upon his forehead. The fairies pressed hard upon -him, and strange evil faces peered into his, like the faces of ape and -wild cat, bear, and bat and viper. Now as the rout swayed backwards and -forwards before the steps of the throne, the prince awoke from his -musing, and caught sight of the weaver, who with blanched face and -dishevelled hair was stretching out his hands in a prayer for help. Then -the prince started to his feet, and with a cry drew his sword from its -sheath. The fairies fell back before the cross-shaped hilt, and the -elfin king himself quailed upon his throne. Micheline alone stood her -ground. - -“Little care I for your holy sign,” quoth she, “have I not been -christened even as you?” So saying she stepped forward, and touching the -prince and the weaver upon brow and breast, she turned them both into -nightingales. - -“So shall you remain,” said she, “until I die.” And with that she burst -out laughing, knowing that fairies are immortal. Then the nightingales -took wing and flew away out of the cleft in the hillside by which they -had entered. - -“It seems we are still to be brothers in misfortune,” said the prince, -“let us therefore remain together, good friend.” - -“With all my heart, prince,” replied the weaver. “Whither shall we go?” - -“Let us go to the palace garden,” said the prince, “so that I may sing -my sweetest beneath my lady’s window.” - -So day after day they flew over mountain and valley, till they reached -the city where the princess lived, and that same night as she leant -forth from her casement, she heard two nightingales singing, more -sweetly and more sorrowfully than any hitherto. The weaver sang of his -lost love, and the prince made known to her all the toil and peril he -had suffered for her sake. - -“Ah me, poor prince, would that I might disenchant you!” said she. - -“Your love would disenchant me!” cried the prince. - -“Not so,” the princess made answer, “remember the fairy’s curse. Alas, -it was just on such a night as this that I stood at my window and -watched the fairies making merry on the greensward. Then it was that the -desire took hold of me to become queen of their revels, so that I too -might wear the blackthorn and the fatal green, and till that desire is -laid to rest there is no room in my thoughts for love. I know no peace -of mind through the longing that I have for the elfin crown, and it may -be that I also am enchanted, even as you.” So saying she wept bitterly, -and the nightingales hushed their singing for very sorrow. - -Now the next night the princess could not sleep for thought of the -crown, so she went down into the dewy, dusky garden, and wandered in and -out among the flowers. She was all in white, with a jewelled dagger in -her hair, and as the prince watched her, his heart nearly broke for love -of her beauty. - -All at once the trumpets of the honeysuckle blew a blast, and over the -greensward the fairies came trooping, with the elfin king and his train -in their midst. For a while the princess stood apart, sadly and silently -watching the revelry, but at last she stepped forward with clasped hands -and beseeching eyes, and, as it chanced, it was to Micheline that she -spoke: “I pray you, sweet fay, teach me to dance as beautifully as -yourself.” - -“And if I do,” said Micheline, “will you give me in exchange the -precious thing that sparkles so royally in your hair?” - -“That will I gladly,” quoth the princess, and she drew forth the -jewelled dagger, and gave it to the fairy. “Only see that you handle it -carefully,” said she, “for it carries death at its point, for all it is -so bright and beautiful.” - -“Death!” laughed Micheline, “we fairies have no fear of death. See, it -will do me no hurt!” And so saying she stabbed herself in reckless -frolic. But as she did so she grew white to the lips, and sank upon her -knees. - -“Ah, the waters of my baptism!” she cried out, “they have stolen my -immortality from me!” And she fell lifeless to the ground. - -At that the spell was broken, and the prince and the weaver resumed -their proper shapes. Then once more the prince’s sword flashed from out -its sheath. - -“I have nothing to fear from the rest of you!” he cried, “therefore now, -O fairy king, yield up your crown, for my lady will know no rest till it -is hers!” - -Then the king stepped forward, smiling strangely, and set his crown upon -the brow of the princess. But even as he did so it turned all to -withered leaves, which lightly kissed her waving hair and then fluttered -to the ground. - -“See, my beloved,” said the prince, “this fairy gold is not for us. At -the touch of a mortal it decays, therefore cease from your desire.” - -“It was but an idle dream,” said she, “love is the better diadem.” - -Then they turned and looked again upon the greensward, but the king and -his court were gone, and from far away, borne to them fitfully upon the -nightwind, there came a sound which none had ever heard before, of -fairies keening their dead. - -Now that same night, when the fields lay grey in the moonlight, and the -shadows were long between the haycocks, the widow woman sat in her -lonely cabin, and it seemed to her that she heard a tapping at the -window. So she went and looked, and there stood the fairy nurse beside -the sill. - -“Micheline is dead,” said she, “and will return no more, neither to you -nor to me. Go back to your spinning and forget her.” So saying she moved -away, and passed in and out among the haycocks till she was lost to -sight. - -But the prince and princess were married, and in the course of time they -became king and queen and reigned long and prosperously. As for the -weaver, he was made court weaver, and remained the prince’s friend all -his days. - -Philomène drew a deep breath. “Well, I am sure I like you ever so much -better than Micheline,” said she, “though Micheline was christened and -you weren’t. Oh, I wonder will you be able to tell me another story next -All Souls’ Eve, you dear little White Létiche?” - -“I wonder,” replied the White Létiche, thoughtfully. - -“And I shall not see you till then?” - -“No, we do not show ourselves. And now good-night.” - -Then the White Létiche kissed her frail little hand to Philomène. “Shut -your eyes,” she said softly, “you did not see me come, and you must not -see me go.” And when Philomène again opened her eyes she was alone in -the room. - -The gale rattled at the window, and the curtains waved in the gust; the -night was stormy, and the bells were silent. Philomène hurriedly took -off her dressing-gown and slippers, and crept into bed. - -“After all,” she thought as she dropped asleep, “I don’t think it can -matter such a lot about being christened; the holy Innocents couldn’t -possibly have been christened, not a single one of them, and yet I know -they have got a collect all to themselves.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - WHICH HERALDS A CHANGE - - -“Daddy is calling me, Nurse. Do remember to take the price off the -herald angels, and the cornflower calendar with the ten commandments on -it will go for a halfpenny. I thought the commandments might make it -over-weight, but they don’t. Coming, Daddy!” It was the afternoon of -Christmas Eve; Philomène was busy with all sorts of cards and parcels, -and later on she was to go to her godmother’s for tea and presents and a -Christmas tree. - -Her father was waiting for her in the study. He took her on his knee, -and stroked her hair for a little while before speaking. Then he said -tenderly; “I have not been a very good Daddy to you these last few -months, little maid, and I am sorry, and I want to explain.” - -Philomène opened her eyes wide. “You know, little Miss Muffet,” -continued her father gently, “if one cares very, very much, ever so -much, for someone, and doesn’t know if that someone cares back, it makes -one very unhappy.” - -“But why don’t you ask and find out, right away?” said Philomène. - -“I have asked, and I have found out, but it took me a long time to make -up my mind, and meanwhile I was so much worried that I’m afraid I was -often cross to my little girl. Has she forgiven me, I wonder?” - -Philomène hid her face. “Oh, Daddy,” she whispered, “don’t talk so; it -doesn’t sound quite proper, somehow, for you to put it that way round.” - -The doctor laughed. “My dear,” he said, “if it sometimes occurred to -parents that their children might possibly have something to forgive in -them, they would have a good deal less to forgive in their children.” - -He gave her a fond kiss, and she flung her arms round him, declaring -that he was the best Daddy in the world, and got down from his knee. Not -long afterwards he was standing in Isolde’s boudoir, holding both her -hands in his. - -“I have loved you,” she was saying slowly, “ever since I first met you.” - -“And did Rachel know?” - -“No, it was the only secret I had from her.” - -“I waited,” said the doctor, “I waited, dear, because I was a coward. -Two things held me back. Your riches, for I found it hard to take so -much from any woman, and my fear lest you should think that it was only -for the child’s sake, just because I could not bear to see her -motherless any longer.” - -She looked at him wistfully, knowing that what he had given to his first -wife he could not give again, but she knew also that his love for her -was deep and true. She smiled at him, and was about to answer when -Philomène’s voice was heard outside. - -“You had better go now,” said Isolde hastily, “I would rather be alone -with her when I tell her.” - -In another moment Philomène had entered. The cold wind had heightened -her colour, and her hazel eyes shone with eager expectation. “O, -Godmother,” she exclaimed, running up to Isolde, “I have been thinking -all to-day how very, very sorry one ought to feel for the poor people in -the Old Testament who never had any Christmases. I do so wonder how they -got on without them.” - -“I daresay they had a great many more birthdays than we have, little -cushat,” Isolde replied merrily, “you see, they are supposed to have -lived so very very long. Only think how many birthdays Methuselah must -have had, and they would more than make up for the Christmas presents he -didn’t get!” - -“I suppose so,” said Philomène, thoughtfully, “and of course they had -the Passover; not that they got anything then, except dull roast lamb -and parsley, but at least it must have been rather fun striking the -hyssop on to the door lintels.” - -The Christmas tree was standing in the bow-window, decorated with fir -cones and lighted candles, and below it was a little crèche, with the -Madonna and the Christchild, and the ox and ass standing by the manger. -Beside it was a table, on which Philomène’s Christmas presents had been -spread, and it was when these had been looked at and admired, that -Isolde sat down on the floor close to the crèche, and drew Philomène -towards her. - -“Little cushat,” said she, “on this night, of all nights in the year, -when we are thinking of the best and dearest mother that ever was or -will be, I want to tell you that Daddy has asked me to be your mother. -Are you a little bit glad?” - -Philomène was very glad, too glad to speak at first. Then a shadow fell. -“Godmother,” she whispered, “there is just one thing I should like to -say, but I’m afraid it may hurt you. I was thinking that you would want -me to call you “Mother,” as though I were really your own little girl, -and I wish I were, or at least I wish I had been to start with, because -you know how I love you, Godmother dear, and I should have been ever so -glad if you had been my real mother properly from the beginning. But you -aren’t, you see, and it seems to me it would be better not to call you -‘Mother,’ nor to make-believe, but to go on calling you Godmother just -as I used to do, and to keep ‘Mother’ for when I meet my own mother -later on. Don’t you think she might feel a little bit sorry and left out -if I had used up that name for someone else, even for you?” - -“You are right,” said Isolde in a very low voice, “we will not defraud -the dead.” - -The next day Philomène went to announce the news to Sweet William. She -sat opposite to him on the toadstool which she had come to consider her -own, with her elbows propped on the mushroom table between them, as she -had sat many and many a time during the past year. - -“I quite see that it cannot be helped,” said Sweet William, when she had -finished speaking, “but I am sorry.” - -A startled look came into Philomène’s eyes. “What do you mean?” she -asked uneasily, “why should you be sorry?” - -“For one thing, you will not live at Sideview any longer,” replied Sweet -William, gravely. This had not yet occurred to Philomène, and now that -she realised it she put her head down on the mushroom, and cried -bitterly. - -“Oh, and I used to think it such a dull little house,” she sobbed, “and -now I shall be ever so sorry to leave it. I have found a fairy in the -garden, and another indoors, and a witch and a White Létiche as well, -such a dear, pretty little White Létiche. Are the fairies going to leave -me, Sweet William, all because Daddy wants to marry again?” - -“You are not putting the matter quite fairly,” replied Sweet William, -with a momentary return of his severest manner, “it is not your father’s -marriage in itself which will oblige us to leave you for the present, or -rather, you to leave us. It is that the Good People are only the -comrades of lonely children, and now you will not be lonely any more. -Your godmother will make you a good mother, and a good friend, and you -will need us no longer. Remember, Griselda never went up into the cuckoo -clock again after she had found a playmate.” - -“But even if I have to leave you behind me,” said Philomène, fighting -with her tears, “I shall have Master Mustardseed and Queen Mab with me -still, and Speedwell and Spirea live at the Cushats.” - -Sweet William shook his head. “That makes no difference,” he said, “you -will still have a canary and a cat, but not a fairy and a white witch. I -daresay you may catch a glimpse of the twins now and then when it is -growing dusk, but it will be of no use trying to get them to speak to -you, unless they make the first move. Of course I don’t for a moment say -that you and I will never meet again; I may very possibly turn up years -hence in some other garden. After all, you had the green ribbons on your -christening robe, and that will always count for something.” - -Philomène dried her tears, but she was far from feeling comforted. She -looked sadly all round the little room, and had hard work to prevent -them from flowing afresh as she wished Sweet William good-bye. She was -half way down the garden path before she remembered that she had left -her latchkey sticking in the lock. She went back at once, but it was -gone. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - DADDY TAKES US CAMPING - - -“Oh, Hal!” cried Mabel Blake, as she ran down the garden walk. “Guess -what’s going to happen.” - -“I don’t know,” answered Hal, who was making a kite. “What?” - -“Daddy is going to take us camping!” went on Mab. - -“Oh, joy!” cried Hal. - -Camping in the woods, living in a tent, and having many wonderful -adventures, are only a few things Hal, Mab and their father did. You -liked to read the Bedtime Stories, and you will like these new books by -the same author, Howard R. Garis. - -Send to your book store, and get the volume “Daddy Takes Us Camping.” -The book tells of nature, outdoor life and animals in a way children -like. - -R. F. Fenno & Company, of 18 East 17th Street, New York City, publish -the Daddy books, of which there are several. They will mail any volume -on receipt of price, if your store does not have it. The books are -prettily gotten up, with pictures. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. P. 65, changed “fairy in the case” to “fairy in the castle”. - 2. Table of Contents added by transcriber. - 3. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - 4. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. - 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Fairy Latchkey, by Magdalene Horsfall - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIRY LATCHKEY *** - -***** This file should be named 63535-0.txt or 63535-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/5/3/63535/ - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, Juliet Sutherland, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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margin-left: auto; margin-right: 0em; - max-width: 50%; } - </style> - </head> - <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fairy Latchkey, by Magdalene Horsfall - -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 Fairy Latchkey - -Author: Magdalene Horsfall - -Release Date: October 23, 2020 [EBook #63535] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIRY LATCHKEY *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, Juliet Sutherland, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><b>Transcriber’s Note:</b></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/illus002.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='titlepage box'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c001'>THE FAIRY LATCHKEY</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>BY</div> - <div class='c003'><span class='xlarge'>MAGDALENE HORSFALL</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/illus003.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>R. F. FENNO & COMPANY</span></div> - <div>18 EAST 17th STREET :: :: NEW YORK</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='CONTENTS' class='c004'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b c002'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#I'>I</a> WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE, AND OTHERS</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#II'>II</a> WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE’S GODMOTHER</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#III'>III</a> WHICH TELLS OF A KEY-HOLE IN A WALL</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#IV'>IV</a> WHICH INTRODUCES SWEET WILLIAM</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#V'>V</a> IN WHICH THE HEROINE DISTINGUISHES HERSELF</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#VI'>VI</a> IN WHICH THE HEROINE TAKES ADVICE</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#VII'>VII</a> IN WHICH MASTER MUSTARDSEED TELLS HIS STORY</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#VIII'>VIII</a> IN WHICH THE HEROINE MAKES THE FIRST USE OF HER LATCHKEY</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#IX'>IX</a> IN WHICH SWEET WILLIAM TELLS A STORY</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#X'>X</a> IN WHICH THE HEROINE HAS A BIRTHDAY</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XI'>XI</a> IN WHICH THE HEROINE IS GIVEN A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XII'>XII</a> IN WHICH THE HEROINE PRESENTS HER LETTER OF INTRODUCTION</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XIII'>XIII</a> IN WHICH GREAT GOOD FORTUNE BEFALLS THE HEROINE</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XIV'>XIV</a> IN WHICH THE MERMAN TELLS HIS STORY</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XV'>XV</a> IN WHICH THE TWIN SISTERS TELL A STORY BETWEEN THEM</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XVI'>XVI</a> IN WHICH THE HEROINE HEARS SOME STARTLING NEWS</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XVII'>XVII</a> IN WHICH SWEET WILLIAM TELLS ANOTHER STORY</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XVIII'>XVIII</a> OF WHICH THE SCENE IS LAID IN A SICK-ROOM</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XIX'>XIX</a> IN WHICH QUEEN MAB TELLS HER STORY</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XX'>XX</a> IN WHICH THE HEROINE MAKES FRIENDS WITH A SPIRIT</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XXI'>XXI</a> IN WHICH THE WHITE LÉTICHE TELLS HER STORY</div> - <div class='line'>CHAPTER <a href='#XXII'>XXII</a> WHICH HERALDS A CHANGE</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='section ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c005'> - <div>THE FAIRY LATCHKEY</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 id='I' class='c004'>CHAPTER I<br /> <span class='small'>WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE, AND OTHERS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>There was nothing at all remarkable about -her, excepting her name, which was Philomène -Isolde, and the fact that a knot of green ribbon -had been sewn upon her christening dress; -but the dress had long since lain folded in a -drawer, and her father as often as not called -her “Little Miss Muffet,” because she was very -fond of curds and whey, and very much afraid -of spiders. When he did call her “Philomène,” -it meant that he was too busy to have her in -the room with him. Unlike most people, she -was satisfied with her own name, indeed she -was proud of it; for Daddy had told her -that Philomène meant “beloved,” and as -for Isolde, that was Godmother’s own name. -“And Isolde,” said Godmother, “was a real -Princess.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish I were a real Princess,” said Philomène, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>and waited for Nurse to add, “If wishes -were horses, Miss, beggars might ride,” which -she forthwith did.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène was not a pretty child, but neither -was she exactly plain, for she had small hands -and feet, and a trim little figure, hazel eyes and -plenty of soft mouse-coloured hair. And if -there was nothing unusual about her appearance, -there was certainly nothing unusual about -her home, for she lived in a commonplace -suburb of London, in a commonplace villa -called Sideview. The house undoubtedly had -two sides, but scarcely any view, unless the -strip of back-garden counted as such. The -drawing-room and dining-room opened out -of a narrow hall, and both had about them -the chill and mustiness of disuse, for since the -death of Philomène’s mother the drawing-room -had seen no more parties, and her father, who -was a hard-working doctor, as often as not -snatched his hurried meals in the study, rather -than in the dining-room. Philomène’s own -bedroom and schoolroom, on the upper landing, -were large airy rooms for the size of the house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the foot of her bed stood a screen, upon -which Froggy went a-wooing, and Little Red -Ridinghood carried her covered basket through -<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>the wood, and on the wall opposite hung a -picture of a young shepherdess, clasping her -crook, and kneeling in the shade of a spreading -oak-tree. As there was no flock in sight, -Philomène at first supposed her to be Bo-peep -before her sheep came home, but Godmother -had told her that it was Joan, the Maid of -Orleans, who died for love of France and of the -truth; and from that time forward, on winter -evenings when the salamanders began their -torch-light revels on the hearth, Philomène -would lie in bed and watch the ruddy reflection -brighten and broaden among the branches of -the oak, wrapping the frail young figure in a -winding-sheet of flame, and placing the hard-won -wreath of martyrdom upon her hair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Over the mantelpiece in the schoolroom -next door, hung another picture, one which -had belonged to Philomène’s mother. There -was a road white with dust in the foreground, -disappearing amidst a clump of trees, above -which floated a wreath of blue smoke. Down -to the road there sloped a bank of grass, and -here sat a woman with a child in her lap, while -a bird on the wing paused to peck from an ear -of corn which the baby held in his hand. -Beside the two an old man with kind eyes and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>work-worn hands was unsaddling a small grey -donkey, and a little further down the road -stood a ruined shrine with a broken idol. -Philomène liked the donkey with its long ears -and sad eyes, and felt grateful to the old man -for allowing it to nibble the grass at will.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was in the schoolroom that Philomène -kept her toys. There was the dolls’ house and -the dolls’ kitchen, and the musical box, and -the paint-box with its palettes and saucers -and brushes. Last, but by no means least, -came the book-shelf. It held all Mrs Ewing’s -stories, and all Mrs Molesworth’s, Grimm, and -Hans Andersen, and many more besides. -Philomène used to act all the stories out of -these books, but it is dull work to be both -players and audience yourself, and it needs an -imagination bordering on genius to ride alone -upon a bed, and persuade your heart of hearts -that it is Pegasus, the wonderful winged -horse.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And nothing ever happens to me,” mused -Philomène, “as it happens to people in books. -I do not live in a chateau with a terrace and a -raven, like Jeanne in ‘The Tapestry-Room,’ -and when I play with the reels in Nurse’s -work-box they do not behave in the least like -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>Louisa’s reels in ‘Tell Me a Story.’ I suppose -it is because I am just ordinary.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was a depressing thought, but facts could -not be shelved. Philomène’s cuckoo clock -certainly acted very differently from Griselda’s. -So far from inviting her to climb up by the two -long dangling chains, and take a seat opposite -to him on a red velvet arm-chair, this disobliging -bird uttered his “cuckoos” in a hasty, -perfunctory manner, and then shut to the door -of his house with a snap, as who should say, -“That’s over till next time.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the schoolroom window hung a cage with -a canary in it; he was of a bright yellow, all -but his head, which was green, and Philomène -had christened him Master Mustardseed, after -one of the fairy pages in “Midsummer Night’s -Dream.” Now this canary had something of a -history. To begin with, he had had a predecessor, -a canary that had been yellow all -over, and so tame that he would perch upon -Philomène’s needle when she sewed, or upon -her book when she read. Then one day the -old maidservant, Lilian Augusta, had left the -schoolroom window open and the cage-door -ajar, and the canary flew out, never to return, -and there was lamentation at Sideview. But -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>a few days later a strange thing happened. -Through the open window, into the empty cage, -flew another canary, this time with a little -head as green and velvety as moss; Master -Mustardseed, in short, who had remained with -his new mistress ever since.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Besides her canary, Philomène had another -pet, a white cat called Queen Mab, with paws -as soft as pussy-willow and a footfall as light -as any snowflake. Now this was how Queen -Mab had first come to Sideview:—It was -Christmas Eve, and Philomène stood at the -dining-room window, listening to the waits, -who were singing a Christmas carol:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c008'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“He lies ’mid the beasts of the stall,</div> - <div class='line'>Who is Maker and Lord of us all.</div> - <div class='line'>The winter wind blows cold and dreary;</div> - <div class='line'>See, he weeps, the world is weary,</div> - <div class='line'>Lord, have pity and mercy on me.</div> - <div class='line'>Come, come, come to the manger,</div> - <div class='line'>Kneel ye now to the newborn King;</div> - <div class='line'>Sing, sing, chorus of angels,</div> - <div class='line'>Stars of the morning, o’er Bethlehem sing!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>After that they moved on to the next house, -and began the second verse.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c008'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“He leaves all his glory behind,</div> - <div class='line'>To be born and to die for mankind;</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>’Midst grateful beasts his cradle chooses,</div> - <div class='line'>Thankless man his love refuses.</div> - <div class='line'>Lord, have pity and mercy on me.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>It was bitterly cold. Philomène closed the -window, and as she did so a mew caught her -attention. In another moment she had the -hall-door open, and a gust of icy air met her, -as though the very wind were trying to force -its way into the house for shelter. Upon the -doorstep sat a white kitten, draggled and -shivering. Philomène picked it up at once, -shut the door, and ran upstairs to the schoolroom, -all in a flutter of pity and excitement. -Nurse looked up from her sewing, and stared -at her aghast.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, Miss Philomène,” she exclaimed at -length, “I wonder what you will be up to -next? Put that dirty little cat down this -minute.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène obeyed. “I wanted it to have -some of the milk that was left over from -supper,” she protested timidly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And so it may,” retorted Nurse, whose -bark was worse than her bite, “so long as -you don’t go on holding it against your -dress.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Philomène took a saucer, and busied herself -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>with the kitten on the hearth-rug. This was -a bearskin, and had figured many a time in -solitary games of Beauty and the Beast, for -it had served as the hero’s costume till he -finally became a prince and discarded it, when -Philomène, whose housewifely little soul disliked -waste, had made the princess suggest -that it should be lined with red flannel, -and turned into a useful rug for the throne-room. -The kitten lapped up the milk eagerly, -and settled itself comfortably in front of the -fire.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And now you had better put it back -where it came from, Miss,” said Nurse.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The saucer?” inquired Philomène blankly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, child, the cat.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But it came from the doorstep!” exclaimed -Philomène, and seeing no relenting -in Nurse’s face, she burst into tears. At this -moment her father came into the room.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What? Tears, little maid?” he called -out in surprise.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Daddy, it’s so cold outside, and it -hasn’t done anybody any harm, and it won’t -have any Christmas, and perhaps it’s one of the -‘grateful beasts’ in the carol,” sobbed -Philomène.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>“It certainly seemed grateful enough for -the milk,” said Nurse, who had not listened to -the waits, and was of a literal turn of mind, -“but I don’t much fancy a stray cat in the -kitchen all the same.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The doctor sat down in the red-cushioned -rocking-chair, and took his child on his knee. -He was a tall, well-made man with dark hair, -keen eyes, and a somewhat abrupt manner, -but he was never anything but gentle with his -little daughter, and Philomène’s sobs subsided -as he stroked her hair and patted her cheek.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Look here, little Miss Muffet,” he said, “I -will tell you what we will do. We will ask -Nurse to let us keep the pussy over-night, and -later on we will advertise in the newspaper, just -as we did for Master Mustardseed, and if it -doesn’t seem to belong to anyone or to come -from anywhere in particular, you shall have -it for your own, and Nurse won’t mind it if it -catches the mice in the scullery, will she?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène’s face cleared, and she looked -beseechingly at Nurse. “You are master in -this house, sir,” admitted Nurse, “and it -seems useless to fight against this love of dumb -things. Cats especially do seem to run in -families.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>So the white kitten stayed, and grew into -a white cat, glossy and well-liking, that followed -Philomène about the house “like a dog,” said -the people who had never taken the trouble -to befriend a cat.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span> - <h2 id='II' class='c004'>CHAPTER II<br /> <span class='small'>WHICH INTRODUCES THE HEROINE’S GODMOTHER</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>If Philomène had not actually a fairy godmother, -she had at least the nearest possible -approach to one. To begin with, Godmother -was beautiful. She had the red hair that -artists love, a wild-rose complexion, and a -gentle, even voice, which never scolded and -never sneered; she had cool white hands with -twinkling rings, and her dresses made a stately -silken frou-frou on the stairs, bringing with them -a faint fragrance of lavender and old-world -pot-pourri.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had a dear little country house called -the Cushats, which stood among pinewoods -where pigeons cooed to each other all day long, -and the sea was not far off. Here the summer -holidays were spent by Philomène, “little -cushat” as Godmother called her at times, -for, as the Danish proverb says, “a dear child -has many names.” She would sit by the hour -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>in the oak-panelled drawing-room, strumming -on the quaint old spinet, or in the window-seat -reading, while the bees murmured perpetually -in the blossoming lime-tree outside. -The garden was full of what are usually -called old-fashioned flowers, though for my -own part I should be slow to connect anything -quite so tiresome as fashion, with -anything quite so sweet as flowers. There -the snowdrops came at Candlemas, and the -daffodils on Lady Day, and there was a whole -big hedge of the rosemary that Shakespeare -loved.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Besides the Cushats, Godmother had a house -in London, where there were broad flights of -stairs with shallow steps, and vistas of reception -rooms with polished floors and beautiful -pictures and cabinets filled with eastern curios. -Godmother’s own boudoir was a remote hushed -corner, where in midwinter forced lilac drugged -the air with subtle sweetness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was here that Philomène often took tea -with her, and when full justice had been done -to the toast and cakes, Isolde would take her -seat in a low chair before the fire, and Philomène, -curling herself up on the hearth-rug, -much as Queen Mab might have done had she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>been invited, would lay her clasped hands -in her godmother’s lap, and begin to “want -to know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Godmother,” she had said on one of these -occasions, “I want to know if it is cruel to keep -caged birds. Do you remember when you -took me to church with you a few Sundays -ago, and they went round singing the Litany? -Well, just as the choir-men passed me they -were saying, ‘and to show thy pity upon all -prisoners and captives,’ and I thought at once -of Master Mustardseed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But Master Mustardseed came to you of -his own accord,” replied Godmother in her -kind, low voice, “and I think a canary might -find it very difficult to fend for himself if you -set him free in England. All the same, when -you are grown up, you need never keep any -caged birds if you do not want to.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well then, you know the picture in the -schoolroom with the baby in it, and the bird -pecking at the ear of corn,” continued Philomène. -“I had just made up such a nice story -about it all, when Miss Mills told me that it -was a ‘Flight into Egypt,’ and that I ought -not to make a play of it. But how was I to -know? They hadn’t any halos. And, O -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>Godmother, I had just planned that the ugly -idol had enchanted a prince and princess and -had turned them into the donkey and the bird, -and that the grass and the corn they were -eating would turn them back again. Then I -asked Miss Mills what the idol and the bird -really did mean, but she could not tell me. -She only said she supposed it must be some -silly legend. Whenever Miss Mills does not -know the answer to what I ask her, she says -it must be a silly legend. What do they mean, -Godmother?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The picture is a modern one,” said Isolde, -“that is why the Holy Family are painted -without halos, and Miss Mills was quite right -about its being a legend. Your mother once -told me all the different things that the painter -had tried to express in his picture. The smoke -above the trees is supposed to come from an -inn, where the inn-keeper and his wife have -just refused to give shelter to the travellers, -and it is said that their children’s children are -the gipsies, who have now no settled home or -shelter of their own. Then there is another -story that when the idols of Egypt recognized -the true God, they fell down and were broken. -The bird with the outspread wings is the human -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>soul, and the Lord is feeding it with the Bread -of Life.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Still you don’t think the Holy Family will -mind my having made up the other story about -them, do you?” inquired Philomène anxiously. -But Godmother only shook her head and -smiled.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène certainly asked a great many -questions, but then Isolde was never tired of -answering them. Yet though she loved her -goddaughter dearly, it was not entirely for her -own sake. For she was Rachel’s child.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rachel and Isolde had known each other -almost all their lives. As little children they -strung daisy chains and made cowslip balls -together, as school-girls they helped each other -with their compositions on Simon de Montfort -and the pleasures of a country walk, and when -they had grown to womanhood, Rachel’s -marriage in no way lessened their friendship. -It was while she lay dying that she confided -her baby to the love of her friend. “Be good -to her, beloved, as you have been to me, and -I should like her to be called Isolde Philomène—Isolde.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A portrait of Rachel in her wedding-dress -hung in Isolde’s boudoir, and Philomène had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>grown to love the sweet face and the white folds -of the train. On entering the room her first -glance was always for godmother, and the -second for her mother’s portrait.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span> - <h2 id='III' class='c004'>CHAPTER III<br /> <span class='small'>WHICH TELLS OF A KEY-HOLE IN A WALL</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Now when Philomène was still quite a little -girl she had had some playfellows whom neither -Nurse nor Miss Mills knew anything about, and -these were her green dwarfs and Mrs Handy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The green dwarfs (there were six of them) -lived in the wall beside her bed; they wore -pointed shoes and peaked hats, and they -waited upon her as pages. She could not -remember ever having deliberately invented -them; she had gradually come to know them. -No sooner had Nurse closed the bedroom door -and sat down to her sewing-machine at the -schoolroom table, than Philomène would knock -upon the wall against which her bed was -placed, and the dwarfs would appear, not all -together, but one by one, peaked hats foremost. -Then they would keep her amused, generally by -story-telling, till she felt herself growing drowsy, -when she would wave her hand right royally, -and back they would disappear into the wall.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>Mrs Handy was her companion in the daytime, -and she was a most useful friend, equally -good at inventing games and at helping with -lessons. Moreover, strange to say, she always -came to live at Sideview when Godmother was -out of town, and as soon as Godmother returned, -Mrs Handy would take a journey to -Troy or the Rocky Mountains, or some such -place of interest, promising to re-visit Sideview -as soon as Godmother left London, and to be -sure and give Philomène an exciting account -of her adventures abroad.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But as Philomène grew older, she gradually -realised with sorrow that neither the green -dwarfs nor Mrs Handy were anything more -than a make-believe, and in her grief at having -had to say good-bye to them, she turned for -comfort to the pleasures of story-writing, and -to the thought of the mysterious key-hole in -the garden wall.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The garden of Sideview was flanked on three -sides by a wall, and on the fourth by the back -of the house. There was a lawn bordered by a -path, and at the end farthest from the house -there was a large strawberry bed. Flower-beds -were laid out between the path and the -wall, some young fruit-trees that never seemed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>to bear any fruit grew near the strawberry -bed, and close to the house an iron staircase, -with a pump at the foot of it, climbed to the -level of a garden door that opened out of the -schoolroom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish a fairy caretaker with a red cloak -lived in our garden wall, and would tell me -stories as she did to Mrs Molesworth’s children,” -thought Philomène regretfully, “but then that -was in the ‘Enchanted Garden,’ and I never -did see a garden in all my life that looked less -enchanted than ours. It is so flat, and there is -no water in it, unless you count the pump, no -pond or fountain, and it isn’t a bit neglected -either, with the man coming twice a week to -mow the grass.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>One large flower-bed, about half way down -the garden, was Philomène’s very own. It -was divided in two by a tiny path, on either -side of which grew marigolds and London-pride, -and her initials in mustard and cress. -The box-bordered path ended abruptly where -it ran against the wall, and it was in this wall -that the unaccountable key-hole was to be -seen. Philomène reasoned that where there -was a key-hole there must be a key and a -person to turn it, yet she had watched it by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>the hour, as a cat watches a mouse-hole, but -without result, so that at last she gave up hope, -and went back to her story-writing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was an afternoon early in May, tea was -over, and Philomène sat in the red-cushioned -rocking-chair, scribbling her latest novel. It -was very quiet in the schoolroom; only the -ticking of the cuckoo clock, the click of Nurse’s -knitting-needles, and the scratching of Philomène’s -pen were to be heard.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There had come to the castle,” Philomène -had just written, “an old man who must have -seen the snowdrops herald the Spring some -ninety times, with an aged woman to cook.” -She was not altogether pleased with the sound -of this sentence when it was finished, but after -making several vain attempts to alter it, she -added a foot-note: “Bad grammar, but unavoidable.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Miss Philomène,” said Nurse, “I wish you -would go out into the garden, like a dear good -child. Only look at the fine weather, and it -isn’t as if you were writing anything for Miss -Mills neither.” So Philomène rose reluctantly, -after having first written “To be con” at the -end of the page, for she had not as yet made -up her mind whether the story was “to be -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>continued” or “concluded in our next.” -Then she fetched her garden hat, and went to -fill her watering-can at the pump.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was still and sunny in the open, and the -hum of insects sounded louder than the hum -of traffic. In the lilac bush a blackbird was -practising his grace-notes, so as to be in good -voice for the many concerts of the on-coming -season, and a warm west wind passed through -the garden in long, happy sighs, as though -the young summer were drawing its first -deep breaths of lazy contentment. Philomène -began watering and weeding her garden, and -from time to time she looked up at the key-hole -in the wall.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If one is just ordinary oneself,” she said -half aloud, “and lives in an ordinary house, -I expect fairy things simply can’t happen. -Some day, though, I must write a book about -them, as if they really had happened; I -suppose that is the next best thing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At that moment she caught sight of a -dandelion about to seed, growing between her -box borders; she stooped to pick the beautiful -thing, and at once began to blow upon the -“nursery clock,” so that the seeds took wing -in all directions.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span> - <h2 id='IV' class='c004'>CHAPTER IV<br /> <span class='small'>WHICH INTRODUCES SWEET WILLIAM</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“If you could let me have the right time, I -should be obliged to you,” said a voice at her -elbow. Philomène started, so that the now -dishevelled globe of seeds fell from her hand -on to the gravel, and she turned to see who it -was that had spoken to her. By her side stood -a little man in a vivid green suit; in her first -surprise she thought it must be one of the -six dwarfs come back to her again, but in -another moment she noticed that his shoes -had rounded toes, and that his hat, although -pointed, had a red and white cockade in it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That is not the proper way in which to -treat a watch, child,” said the mannikin crossly, -and stooping to pick up the dandelion, he -blew upon it gently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Five o’clock,” said he, “just about tea-time.” -And then Philomène’s heart gave a -sudden throb, for out of his waistcoat pocket -he took a key, which he fitted into the key-hole. -A little stone door swung outwards in the -wall, and the mannikin hesitated upon the -threshold.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/illus027.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic003'> -<p>“‘IF YOU COULD LET ME HAVE THE RIGHT TIME I SHOULD BE OBLIGED TO YOU.’”<br /><span class='right'><i>Page <a href='#Page_22'>22</a></i></span><br /><span class='left'><i>The Fairy Latchkey.</i></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>“All things considered,” he remarked -slowly, “and especially the green ribbons, I -think I may do myself the pleasure of asking -you to step in.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was speaking quite politely this time, -and Philomène entered, her pulse all in a -flutter, like some bird that has flown in by the -window and cannot find its way out again. -The door shut to behind her, and she saw that -she was in a little square room. The ceiling -was of stone, as indeed was only to be expected, -since it was part of the wall, but the -floor was daintily if unevenly paved with -shells of different tints and sizes, while the -walls were tapestried with catkins. In the -middle of the room stood a monster mushroom, -serving as a table, with big toadstools to -match on either side for chairs. The lighting -was supplied by a will-o’-the-wisp, which -hovered about near the ceiling till called for, -when it would settle wherever it was needed. -Philomène accepted the seat offered her on -one of the toadstools, while the little man went -to a hollow, mossgrown tree-stump in a corner -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>of the room, and began to look for something -inside it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You must excuse my going to the cupboard -and waiting upon myself,” he remarked. -“I do keep a tom-tit, but the weather was so -fine that I thought it only fair to give him an -afternoon out, so I must lay my own tea.” -He placed one half of a walnut-shell, a few -clover blossoms, and a scrap of honey-comb -upon the mushroom table, and sat down on -the other toadstool, opposite to his guest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you have not already had your tea,” he -continued, “I can recommend this dew, which -is of the very finest quality, and kept cool by -means of an icicle. I get my honey from -an excellent firm, Buzz, Bumble and Buzz, -Limited, and the clover was picked this morning. -Plain fare, my dear, for this luxury-loving -age, but thoroughly wholesome, I assure -you. Have some?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have had my tea already, thank you,” -said Philomène, “but I do like the sweet ends -of clover very much, if you could spare me one -flower.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Certainly, certainly,” said the mannikin, -and he handed her two, one white and one -pink.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>“Would you mind telling me, please,” -began Philomène, “what you meant just now -by speaking about green ribbons? Whose -green ribbons?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yours, of course,” said the little man. “I -shouldn’t need any. If it hadn’t been for those -green ribbons on your christening robe, my -young friend, you wouldn’t be sitting here now. -It is only the children that have worn green -ribbons at their christening who can see the -fairies at all.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you really, really are a fairy?” -cried Philomène.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Should I be living in this house and eating -these things if I weren’t?” retorted her host. -“I am a fairy, and my name is Sweet William.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Am I to call you that?” asked Philomène, -doubtfully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She could not help feeling that the name -sounded very affectionate, and that it might -be forward for her to use it upon so short an -acquaintance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know what else you’re to call me,” -said the little man, “it strikes me as a very -good name of its kind. Perhaps I ought to -tell you that I am the fairies’ land- and house-agent -for this garden; I chose it for various -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>reasons, partly so as to be near you, for it is -the business of the fairies to look after lonely -children.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I suppose I ought to thank him,” thought -Philomène, feeling painfully shy, but Sweet -William rattled on and left her no time.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You have probably no idea how much -work even a small garden like this entails. -I have to attend to the housing of all the live -creatures, for one thing, the bees and snails -and birds and caterpillars and so on. The -flowers are not troublesome, for they stay in -one place for quite a long time, but the spiders, -for instance, are for ever moving house.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It must be very interesting work,” said -Philomène politely. She had often heard -people make this remark to her father.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not bad,” said Sweet William, “if one -keeps one’s eyes and ears open. From being -the agent in a big garden, just about a hundred -and fifty years ago, I once pieced together a -whole love-story. It was an old manor-house, -and had a very fine garden.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That is the sort of place I should love to -live in,” said Philomène, “with oriel windows -and avenues and things.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is a modern failing to find fault with one’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>surroundings,” said Sweet William pompously, -“and young people are especially prone to it. -As I was saying when you interrupted me, -it was a fine garden. The family was very -old and very proud, and they kept a peacock -on the terrace. On one side of the lawn ran -a green walk and a clipped yew-hedge, and it -was here that my lovers used to walk, up and -down, up and down, at sunset. The hedge -overheard every word of what they said, for -you see, being a hedge he could not very well -help eavesdropping. Well, one day they had -to say good-bye, and he went away and left -her very sad, and I got to know all about that -part of it from a red rose, which he had picked -that last evening, and the girl had pressed the -rose in a big book, and every day she would -sit and read in the book, and would look at the -page where the red rose lay. ‘My beloved -is mine, and I am his.’ The rose told me that -she had grown desperately tired of having -nothing but this one sentence to read, but the -girl never seemed to tire of it. Then at last -her lover came back for her, and they went -away together to the little harbour near by, -and one of Mother Carey’s chickens told me -that they were married in the church on the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>cliff. After that I heard no more of them for -some time, till one day I chanced to pick up -a sea-shell on the beach near the harbour. -I had had no tidings of the mer-folk for ever -such a long while, so I put the shell to my ear -and let the sea tell me some, and amongst -other things it told me about those two, and -how they had taken ship for the south. The -last news I had of them was from the wind, -for he is such a great traveller that he seldom -loses sight of people, but the worst of him is -that like most travellers he is always in a -hurry, so he could only stop to tell me that -he had seen them last in another garden, -walking up and down an avenue of cypresses -with bits of broken statues on either side; -only he was not holding her hand this time, for -she was carrying a white bundle in her arms. -The wind had not waited to find out its precise -nature, but he had overheard a few of their -remarks as he went by, and would you believe -it, they were just exactly the same as those -which the yew-hedge had repeated to me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There is a nice big cypress tree at the -Cushats,” said Philomène, “but I have never -seen a whole avenue of them. I wish I could. -Oh, Sweet William, I do get so bored sometimes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>living in a little house with a little -garden, and nothing exciting happening all -day long.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Boredom,” said Sweet William, “is a -modern complaint to which the young are -peculiarly prone.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish he would call something an ancient -complaint to which old people were prone,” -thought Philomène. “And I’m sure it’s just -as bad to be always finding fault with the times -in which one lives as with the house.” But -out loud she only said, “And may I come here -sometimes, please, and will you tell me a few -more stories? Godmother tells me beautiful -stories which she makes up as she goes along, -but she has so many people to visit and so -many things to do that I cannot see her very -often, and I know all my books nearly by heart, -and Nurse can only tell stories about the -families she was with before she came to me, -and all those children seem to have been so -dull and good.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“In these days,” replied Sweet William, -“next to nothing can be done without first -passing examinations, so if you are willing -to come here to-morrow afternoon at about -this time by a reliable clock (don’t go by the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>nursery clock, for it is not very well regulated), -I will set you an examination paper all about -fairies and fairyland. If you do well in it, -that is to say if your marks add up to 75 per -cent, you shall have a prize.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What will the prize be?” asked Philomène, -shyly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A latchkey just like mine, so that you -can let yourself in, whether I am at home or -not. And now,” said Sweet William rising, “I -really must be off. I have a lot of extra work -in the spring time, with all the swallows coming -home.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène rose also, and the little door -swung open in the wall. She stepped out upon -the path, and the sunlight dazzled her, so that -she had to shade her eyes with her hand. “I -am very glad to have met you, and I will -certainly come again to-morrow,” she was -just beginning to say, when she noticed that -Sweet William was gone. For a minute she -stood and stared at the key-hole, which stared -back at her. A warm west wind went past -her, the blackbird was still singing his heart -out in the lilac bush, and the air was full -of the fragrance of green and growing things. -At her feet lay the dandelion stalk.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>Philomène picked up her watering-can and -ran with it up the iron staircase into the schoolroom, -where she found Nurse asleep in her -favourite basket chair. “Oh, Nurse, do wake -up, dear good old Nurse,” she called out eagerly, -“and tell me who put green ribbons on to my -christening dress!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Bless the child,” returned Nurse drowsily, -“who ever has been talking that nonsense -to you? It was your godmother, and a heathenish -fancy I thought it too at the time. And -there’s no call for you to be speaking so loud -either that I can see; I wasn’t asleep, I was -only resting my eyes.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span> - <h2 id='V' class='c004'>CHAPTER V<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE HEROINE DISTINGUISHES HERSELF</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The next day seemed a long time in coming, -but come it did. So did Miss Mills. Miss -Mills was young and pretty, and she thought -herself even prettier than she was. During -the past year or two, she had been giving daily -lessons to Philomène, but she was not fond of -teaching, and her temper was uncertain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell me at once,” she said sharply, as the -lesson dragged itself towards its close, “what -did Edwin and Morcar do?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They ruled with rods of iron,” responded -Philomène absently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are not attending properly, child,” -said Miss Mills, “or you would not repeat -things parrot-fashion out of the book in that -way. Do you suppose that one took the poker -and the other the tongs? And, you know, -you were very careless too about reciting your -psalm this morning, saying that the trees of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>the Lord were full of soup, when you know -perfectly well that they aren’t any such thing. -What has come over you? Take down your -work for to-morrow.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was no wonder that Philomène found it -difficult to attend to her lessons that day, for -she could think of little else than the coming -examination, and when tea at last appeared -she felt too much excited to eat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now don’t begin to be faddy, Miss, like -Master Harold,” said Nurse.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who was Master Harold?” asked Philomène, -“he wasn’t one of the Ruthven-Smiths, -was he?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” said Nurse, “he was one of their -cousins, and he came to stay with them, and -a mighty long visit he paid too. I never did -like him from the first moment I set eyes on -him; he was all fads and fancies, and one day, -I remember, he made my poor dear little Miss -Maisie cry by telling her that her legs looked -like two snakes that had swallowed oranges, -and they were no fatter than his own in the -middle, for that matter. But if you won’t -get along with your tea, Miss, you had better -say grace, and run into the garden.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Outside the afternoon’s sad yellow sunlight -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>lay all across the lawn; it awoke diamond -flashes in the wall, and even gilded the handle -of the pump. The metallic notes of the -starlings were heard on every side, and London -was doing its best to forget that it was the -largest pile of brick and mortar in the world. -Philomène ran to her own garden and up its -little pathway. A great fear was at her heart -lest yesterday’s experience should prove to -have been a make-up also, and nothing more, -like Mrs Handy and the rest. Tremblingly she -tapped upon the wall, and prompt to her signal -came the sound of a step inside, and the turning -of the key in the key-hole. Sweet William -stood before her in his green suit, with the red -and white cockade in his hat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come in,” said he in his delicate -high-pitched voice, “everything is quite -ready.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène entered, and the catkin tapestries -rustled in the draught of the closing door. The -little room looked cool and friendly. On the -giant mushroom lay a packet of satin-smooth -lily petals, a swan’s quill pen, and two snails’ -shells, one filled with red and the other with -violet ink, distilled from red roses and from -violets. There was also a little pad of moss -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>upon which to dry the pen. Philomène sat -down upon the nearest toadstool.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well,” said Sweet William pleasantly, -“have you been reading up much for the -examination?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, not much,” returned Philomène, “I -really know all that’s in my books already, but -I have been trying to remember everything I -ever heard about the fairies.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You see,” said Sweet William, “the Good -People do not like letting children into their -secrets who have not first taken the trouble to -find out all they can about us for themselves. -Now we had better begin, and here are the -questions. Number your pages, and pin them -together with this thorn when you have finished -writing. There is a sun-dial in the next garden, -and he has promised to send word when the -time is up.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>For the next hour Philomène wrote busily; -she did not even look round when Sweet William -opened a door opposite to that by which she herself -had entered, and spoke to someone outside.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It was a grasshopper,” said Sweet William, -“and he came to say that the hour is over. -Poor fellow, he spends his time trying to reach -the sun by high hops, and his friend the dial -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>keeps on assuring him that it is of no use, but -the grasshopper will not believe him. He thinks -it is only that the dial has lost heart and got -depressed, from having had “Art is long and -time is fleeting” written across him for so -many years.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène was pinning her papers together. -“I have done my best,” said she, with a -threatening of tears in her voice, “but I am -afraid it won’t be prize-standard.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, let us see,” said Sweet William -encouragingly, as he took the neatly written -sheets into his hands, “I will read aloud the -questions and what you have written, correcting -your mistakes as I go along, and then we will -add up the marks. Perhaps you would like -some refreshments after all that hard work; -here are some bee-bread and purest rainwater.” -So saying, Sweet William settled -himself comfortably upon his stool, dipped his -pen into the red ink, and began.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘<span class='fss'>I.</span> Give the names of the King and Queen -of Fairyland, of the King’s favourite page, and -of the Queen’s four chief attendant elves.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘Oberon, Titania, Puck, Master Mustardseed, -Master Peasblossom, Master Cobweb, -Master Moth.’</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>“Perfectly correct. The maximum for that -is six marks; half a mark for the King’s name, -half a mark for the Queen’s, and a whole mark -for each of the five elves. Now then:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘<span class='fss'>II.</span> What events do you connect with the -following dates; April 30th, June 23rd, -October 31st, and December 24?’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘April 30th is the Walpurgis Night, when -the witches dance on the top of a mountain -called the Brocken. June 23rd is midsummer -eve, when all the goblins and sprites are abroad, -and you light fires to keep them at a distance; -sometimes also you hang up a hatchet in a -wood, so that they can hew themselves timber -if they will. On December 24th animals and -all lifeless things are able to speak.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I see you have left out October 31st. Didn’t -you know it? It is the great feast of Samhain, -or of All Fairies.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is All Hallows’ Eve with us,” replied -Philomène innocently, and then remembered -with a pang that fairies cannot bear the sound -of church bells, because it reminds them of a -power that is stronger than their strongest -magic. “So I do not suppose they like the -Saints much either,” she reflected ruefully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, it is All Fairies’ with us, at any rate,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>said Sweet William, speaking rather fast, -“which makes three marks out of a maximum -of four for the second question. Now for the -third.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘<span class='fss'>III.</span> Write all you know, (<span class='fss'>A</span>) about -Leprechauns; (<span class='fss'>B</span>) about Brownies.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘(<span class='fss'>A</span>). Leprechauns are little men dressed -all in green, who generally live in Ireland; -at least I have never heard of their living anywhere -else. They are the fairies’ cobblers, -and are kept very busy because the fairies -dance so much that they wear out any number -of shoes. They also know where all the crocks -of gold and other hidden treasures are kept, -and if you find a leprechaun, and don’t take -your eyes off him, he is obliged to give you -anything you want, but he tries to startle you -and make you look away, and then you have -lost your power over him, unless you can catch -him again. The best thing to do is to take -him to running water, for he is very much -afraid of that, and will promise you anything -rather than stay near it.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘(<span class='fss'>B</span>) Brownies are little men who come into -houses during the night, or very early in the -morning before anyone is up, and sweep and -dust and lay the fires, and make themselves -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>very useful. You may put a bowl of bread -and milk for them, or even cream, if you want -to show that you are grateful, but you must -never offer them new suits of clothes. Some -people have caught sight of them, and seen -how ragged their coats were, and have made -new clothes for them, and left these near the -bread and milk, but when the brownies saw -that they went away, and never came back -again. I suppose it offends them.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Quite right. You have full marks for that -question, five for <span class='fss'>A</span> and five for <span class='fss'>B</span>. That makes -the whole ten for the third question.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘<span class='fss'>IV.</span> Write short notes on:—fairy ring; fairy-gold; -witch-apples; blackthorn; the rainbow.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘A fairy ring is a circle of teeny mushrooms -in the grass, and it marks the place where the -fairies have been dancing over-night. If you -should ever happen to fall from a height down -into the middle of one of these rings, you would -not hurt yourself, not even if you fell from the -clouds.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘Fairy gold is not very satisfactory, for when -mortals touch it, it all turns into withered -leaves.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘Witch-apples are very dangerous things, -for if a witch gives you an apple, and you eat -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>it, it makes you restless ever after, so that you -are never able to settle down to anything again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘Blackthorn is the fairies’ tree, and they do -not like its being picked by us, or brought into -our houses. That is why some people say that -it is unlucky to bring home blackthorn after -a country walk, and other people get a little -mixed and think that it is hawthorn which is -unlucky, but it isn’t.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah! I see you have left out the rainbow. -Do you mean to tell me you don’t know what -a rainbow is for?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t think so,” replied Philomène with -some hesitation; Noah was in her mind, but -she fancied that Sweet William might find him -as little acceptable as the Saints. She therefore -determined to run no risks this time.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is the triumphal arch,” explained Sweet -William, “which is thrown up whenever the -fairy queen is expected to pass that way.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I never heard that before,” said Philomène, -“and I like the idea very much (though I feel -quite sure Nurse wouldn’t),” she added to -herself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It isn’t an idea,” retorted Sweet William -rather huffily, “it is a custom. Let me see, -that makes four out of five marks for the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>fourth question,” he continued, “and now -for number five.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘<span class='fss'>V.</span> Copy three bars of music from the -song, either of a mermaid, or of the Lorelei.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Five marks for that question. But I see -you have left it out altogether?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have never had a chance of hearing the -Lorelei,” answered Philomène, “for no one -has ever taken me to the Rhine, and I have not -heard any mermaids either, though the Cushats -is near the sea.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, perhaps it was not quite a fair -question,” said Sweet William, “but never -mind, you have done very well so far, and you -can well afford to lose five marks at this stage. -Let us see what you have made of number six.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘<span class='fss'>VI.</span> Complete the following quotations, -and state if possible, in what work of which -author each occurs.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c008'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(<span class='fss'>A</span>) All under the sun belongs to men;</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(<span class='fss'>B</span>) Where the bee sucks, there lurk I.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(<span class='fss'>A</span>) And all under the moon to the fairies.</div> - <div class='line in2'>From Mrs Ewing’s “Amelia and the Dwarfs.”</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(<span class='fss'>B</span>) In a cowslip’s bell I lie;</div> - <div class='line in2'>There I couch when owls do cry.</div> - <div class='line in2'>On the bat’s back I do fly</div> - <div class='line in2'>After summer merrily.</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>Merrily, merrily shall I live now,</div> - <div class='line'>Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.’</div> - <div class='line in14'>From <span class='sc'>Shakespeare’s</span> ‘Tempest.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>“Very good indeed. Two marks for (<span class='fss'>A</span>) and -three for (<span class='fss'>B</span>), which makes five. You have -full marks for that question. You must have -a good memory.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘<span class='fss'>VII.</span> (<span class='fss'>A</span>). When did toads not turn into -what, and if not, why not, and what did they -turn into?’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘(<span class='fss'>B</span>). Supposing yourself to be escaping -from an enchanter’s dwelling, what three -articles would be likely to prove of the most -use to you, and why?’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘(<span class='fss'>A</span>). In the story of “Eliza and the Eleven -Swans,” out of Hans Andersen, the wicked -stepmother throws toads into Eliza’s bath, -wishing to poison her. The toads were so -ugly that they could not turn into roses, which -they would like to have done, and which less -ugly creatures might have been able to do, -but they did manage to turn into poppies, -for Eliza was so good that they could not harm -her. Miss Mills says toads are not really -poisonous.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘(<span class='fss'>B</span>). I should take with me’ (it would have -been better to say,—If I were escaping from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>an enchanter’s dwelling I should take with -me—always repeat your question in your -answer, it saves the examiner trouble,) ‘I -should take with me a comb, a flower-pot and a -tumbler of water, because when the enchanter -pursues you, you can throw the comb behind -you, and it turns into a ridge of mountains, -and he has to waste time going back and fetching -a ladder so as to be able to climb up them; -later you can throw the flower-pot behind you -which turns into a forest, so that the enchanter -has to turn back again and fetch a hatchet to -cut down the trees; afterwards you can throw -the glass of water behind you, which turns into -a lake, so that he has first to get a boat. By -that time you have generally arrived at your -own kingdom or wherever else you want to go.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, that is very well answered. You get -full marks for that question also, two and a -half for (<span class='fss'>A</span>), and two and a half for (<span class='fss'>B</span>). Now -there is only number eight left.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘<span class='fss'>VIII.</span> Write in note form, and as concisely as -possible, any story out of Grimm’s fairy-tales.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I see you have chosen the story of the -flounder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“‘Fisherman catches flounder. Flounder -owns to being a prince; is let go. Fisherman’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>wife annoyed at wasted opportunity. Fisherman -goes back to beach, finds flounder, states -wish. Fisherman’s hovel vanishes, nice cottage -instead. Fortnight later fisherman’s wife -grumbles. Fisherman returns to flounder, -flounder rather cross. Cottage disappears, -stone castle instead. After few days fisherman’s -wife grumbles again, sends husband -back to flounder. Flounder crosser. Sea -rough. However, castle vanishes, king’s -palace instead. Fisherman goes home to find -wife already discontented because only queen, -not empress. Has to return to beach. Flounder -angry. Sea very rough. King’s palace disappears, -emperor’s palace comes instead. Wife -says she wants to be Pope, sends husband back -to beach. Flounder very angry. Sea stormy. -Emperor’s palace goes, Pope’s palace comes. -Sunrise next morning. Wife sees it, says she -wants to be able to make the sun rise. Fisherman -returns to seashore. Sea running mountains -high. No flounder, voice only. Fisherman -returns to find old hovel back again.’</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The maximum there is ten marks,” Sweet -William said, after he had finished reading -the notes aloud, “and you have remembered -the story well, all but the rhyme.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>“I did remember the rhyme though,” said -Philomène eagerly, “and I had meant to add -it, but just then the grasshopper came. The -first time the fisherman says:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c008'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>‘Flounder, flounder in the sea,</div> - <div class='line'>Come, I pray, and talk with me,</div> - <div class='line'>For my wife, Dame Isabel,</div> - <div class='line'>Sent me here a tale to tell.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>And all the other times he says:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c008'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>‘For my wife, Dame Isabel,</div> - <div class='line'>Wishes what I fear to tell.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>“Capital!” exclaimed Sweet William with -enthusiasm, “Philomène rightly named, beloved -of the fairies! It is not often we have -the good luck to come across such a child. -Now we will add up the marks. Six for the -first question, three for the second, ten for the -third, four for the fourth, none for the fifth, -five for the sixth, five for the seventh, ten for -the eighth. That makes forty-three out of -fifty, which is eighty-six per cent. I congratulate -you, my dear, and have much pleasure -in presenting you with a latchkey, exactly like -my own.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène’s face lit up, her cheeks glowed -and her eyes sparkled, but “Thank you very -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>much” was all she said as she took the key -and slipped it into her pocket.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I expect it will be a treat for you to come -out here now and again,” said Sweet William, -watching her closely, “not indeed that there -isn’t plenty to amuse you indoors.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not indoors at home,” said Philomène, -decidedly, “Daddy is out nearly all day, and -though Nurse and Miss Mills are very kind and -all that, they are neither of them any good at -fairy things, or at plays, or at story-telling. -It seems to me it is often very dull at home.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The very young,” remarked Sweet William, -gazing into space, “and more particularly the -young of the present day, are apt to condemn -the place in which they live because they are -themselves too stupid to find out its attractions. -Do you follow me?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I can’t very well help following you,” said -Philomène, almost losing her temper, “but -if you lived at Sideview yourself, perhaps you -would not find it so very amusing either. Even -Daddy says it is an uninteresting little house, -though of course I try to be contented so as -to please him, but it is not at all so easy as -you make out. It isn’t a bit like the ‘House -of Surprises’ in the story-book.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>“A good many surprising things go on in it, -notwithstanding,” retorted Sweet William, “as -Master Mustardseed could very well tell you, -if you only had the sense to listen to him a bit -when you are alone together.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand you -about Master Mustardseed,” said Philomène, -“why should I need to be alone with him -specially?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Because,” replied Sweet William calmly, -“he is every bit as much a fairy as I am.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A fairy! What fairy?” cried Philomène, -jumping off the stool in her excitement.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What fairy? Why, Master Mustardseed, -of course. Haven’t you been writing about -him only this very afternoon? Just you -listen to a piece of good advice. When next -you are left alone for any length of time, get as -near as ever you can to his cage. And now -good-bye for the present, for I am still up to -my eyes in work.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Goodbye,” said Philomène, and she felt -in her pocket to make sure that the key was -still there.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span> - <h2 id='VI' class='c004'>CHAPTER VI<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE HEROINE TAKES ADVICE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Philomène ran down the garden walk, her -mind in a turmoil. Queen Mab was trotting -to meet her along the path, and as soon as she -caught sight of her pet, she knelt down on the -gravel and held out her arms to it. “O -Queen Mab, Queen Mab,” she cried, “I am -so happy! It seems it doesn’t matter being -ordinary, if only the Good People love one.” -The cat had scrambled upon her lap in an -instant, and was rubbing a white velvety head -against her arm, and licking her hand with a -little tongue as rough as it was red. Philomène -carried her pussy into the schoolroom, and set -it down on the bearskin hearth-rug; then she -glanced curiously at the canary in his cage, -but he was pecking at the seeds in his seed-trough, -and took no notice of her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Before nightfall it rained. Nurse said it -was because Lilian Augusta had sung “Summer -suns are glowing” that morning, which, she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>declared, invariably brought on wet weather. -The next day it went on raining, but despite -the downpour Miss Mills happened to be in a -good humour, and this was just as well, for it -was the turn of what Philomène called “the -little speckled book,” and it is not easy to give -your attention to little speckled books when -your thoughts are full of fairies. “The World -and All About It” was a very plump little -volume, and the squatness of its figure was only -equalled by the omniscience of its author. -It explained at the beginning who had made the -world and why; it gave the exact date for the -invention of pottery, and described the best -way of handling chopsticks. Philomène had -just been learning all about the chameleon, and -of how by changing its colour it escapes the -notice of its enemies.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Does not this show the care which Providence -takes of all its creatures?” demanded -Miss Mills.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I suppose so,” replied Philomène, thoughtfully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Don’t say, ‘I suppose so,’” returned Miss -Mills, “the answer in the book is Yes.” But -the rebuke was given gently and with a smile, -and Philomène was gladder than ever of this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>easy-going mood when it came to the Scripture -lesson, which was her weekly nightmare. For -when Miss Mills taught the Scriptures she -succeeded in making them as dry as the biscuit -which the Red Queen gave to Alice. “Thirst -quenched, I hope?” said the Red Queen, and -happily did not wait for an answer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nurse declined to venture out of doors that -day, and an interview with Master Mustardseed -was impossible, so when lessons were over -Philomène went down to the kitchen to help -Lilian Augusta grate the chocolate for a -pudding. She found her singing to herself, -“And now this holy day is drawing to its end.” -“But I don’t see that it is so very holy,” -reflected Philomène, “and it isn’t anywhere -near its end either. Nurse says it is just out -of contrariness that Lilian Augusta likes to -sing, “The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended” -while she is washing up the breakfast things, -and “When morning gilds the skies” over the -tea-things, but then I think Nurse is sometimes -very cross to Lilian Augusta, and perhaps she -doesn’t mean all she sings.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Lilian Augusta and Philomène were good -friends, and had quarrelled only twice, once -when the first canary had been allowed to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>make its escape, and another time on Queen -Mab’s account. Lilian Augusta had no love -for cats, and she was not pleased therefore -when after some fruitless advertising it was -settled that Queen Mab should become a -member of the household. Philomène, bent on -making peace, had carried her new pet into -the kitchen and had placed it on the table.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You know, Lilian Augusta,” she said -coaxingly, “we really couldn’t have put such -a little, little cat out into the street again, -could we? Only see how small it is, and who -would have fed it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“God, I suppose, Miss,” replied Lilian -Augusta unmoved, as she measured out the -curry-powder. But Philomène would not hear -of this.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Poor Pussy!” she exclaimed resentfully, -“poor, poor Pussy!” And snatching up -Queen Mab she walked straight out of the -kitchen and did not re-visit it that day. -Lilian Augusta, however, had grown first -indifferent to the white cat, and then fond of -it, for Queen Mab had pretty endearing ways, -besides which, devotion to Philomène was at -all times a passport to the faithful servant’s -good opinion.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>For several days the steady rain continued; -gardeners rejoiced, other people grumbled. -Philomène consoled herself with an occasional -peep at her tall silver savings-box, in which -she now treasured her latchkey. This savings-box -of hers was never looked at, for her father -wished her to do as she pleased with her pocket-money, -and she had therefore chosen it as a -hiding-place for the key. On these wet days, -when she could not play in the garden, it was -a comfort merely to look at the key through -the slit in the lid of the box. Towards the end -of the week the rain abated, though it did not -stop altogether. People were beginning to -cheer up all round, excepting, of course, the -gardeners, who said that the soil was sodden, -and that the rain had brought the slugs.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nurse laid aside the pinafore she had been -making, and shut her work-box with a snap. -“I want to get some insertion,” she announced, -“the same as is on your other pinafores. I -must see if I can match it,”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Am I to come too, Nurse?” inquired -Philomène anxiously.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t see the necessity, Miss. You had -your walk this morning. You had better stay -in and meet your father when he comes home, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>I should say. He might be back within the -next hour.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène breathed more freely. “I would -ask Lilian Augusta to do that much shopping -for me,” continued Nurse, “but it’s her time -off to-day, and what’s more she never can -match things, not so much as a bit of binding. -I’m sure it’s very good of the Lord to make me -as patient as I am with Lilian Augusta every -day of my life.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>No sooner had the hall-door banged downstairs -than Master Mustardseed burst into song, -so full of joyous trills and turns and crushing-notes, -that someone who knew no better might -have supposed he was merely showing what -difficult music he could contrive to sing if he -gave his mind to it. Philomène cautiously -put two fingers through the bars of his cage, -and at that the canary stopped singing as -abruptly as he had begun, cocked his little -green head on one side, and perched upon her -hand. Then he spoke in a shrill, small voice,</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No need to introduce myself, I suppose?” -he said gaily. His manner was good-humoured -and easy, and Philomène thought, rightly -enough, that he would prove far slower to take -offence than her friend the land-agent.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>“No,” she said, “Sweet William has told -me that Master Mustardseed is really your -name; and oh! you cannot think what a -difference it has made to me during lesson -time to feel that there is a real fairy in the -schoolroom. I used to think sometimes, when -it was quiet and getting late, that if I listened -I might hear my toys talking, as they do in -nearly all the story-books, but that never -came to anything. Perhaps I didn’t wait -long enough, or perhaps they knew I was -listening.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The story-books are not always as accurate -on that point as they ought to be,” replied -the canary, “it is really not at all so easy to -hear toys talk as they make out. To begin -with, the house has to be quite empty; there -must be no daylight in the room, only firelight -or moonlight; and there must be no time -going on.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How could that be managed?” asked -Philomène, as Master Mustardseed paused to -take breath, for he spoke nearly as fast as he -sang.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The clock must have stopped,” said Master -Mustardseed, “so you see, it is rather a difficult -matter first and last. You have no idea, by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>the way, what confusion you caused in the -dolls’ house the other day by making the dolls -play at a wedding.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am sorry if I upset them,” said Philomène -in distress, “I thought I should like to have -a wedding, because I had read in my history -lesson that morning about King Louis XII. of -France, and how he over-ate himself at his own -wedding-banquet when he married Mary Tudor, -and he died, and she was ever so pleased, -and went quickly and married someone -else.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I daresay,” said Master Mustardseed, laughing, -“but you married two dolls who did -not in the least want to marry each other, -poor things, and what was worse, the mistress -of the house had invited the Gollywog and the -Father Christmas to lunch, and she had to -tell them not to come, as there were not enough -plates to go round. How would you like to -have to do that if you were a hostess? The -dolls’ own lives are constantly being interrupted -and interfered with by those who play with -them, but of course I see that it cannot be -helped, and it isn’t your fault. It is the fault -of whoever made them dolls.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will look very hard at them next time -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>I want to play,” said Philomène remorsefully, -“and perhaps I shall see from the expression -on their faces whether they have a funeral or a -party or anything of their own fixed for that -day. Poor dears, I hope they don’t hate me. -But, oh please, will you tell me something -about yourself now, and why you are here?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, as you have already heard,” replied -the canary, “I am Master Mustardseed, one -of the fairy queen’s four favourite pages, so -you made a remarkably good shot at my name. -As for why I am here—well, have you never -heard that once every hundred years fairies -have to turn into animals for a year and a day, -and if they are killed during that time, so much -the worse for them, for you see, we haven’t -what you call souls. However, if we survive -that year and that day, we can go back to -Fairyland for another hundred years. Now -my friend and brother page, Master Moth, of -whom I daresay you have heard, had to put -in his time before my turn came, and he lived -with you as your first canary; but when his -year was over he flew away, and knowing that -I had shortly to make up my mind what to -change into myself, he recommended me to -come here, saying that you were a very kind -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>little mistress, and that I might go farther and -fare worse. That is why I came, and as for -my staying longer than a year and a day, why, -my dear, before I left Fairyland I played a -prank on the Man in the Moon. He had come -to court for the first time, and we pages thought -him something of a country cousin. You see, -he did not know anything at all about court -etiquette, and made absurd mistakes. I -thought out the prank all by myself, for I did -not want Puck or Moth or Cobweb or Peasblossom -to know anything about it; it does -not do to have too many people in a secret. -All would have gone off well enough, had not -the Man in the Moon complained to headquarters. -It appears he cannot take a joke; -and indeed I might have guessed as much, for -I expect you have noticed even at this distance -what a wry face he can make. The king and -queen were so much displeased that they -banished me from court for three years, and -I thought I had much better stay on here. -But if one day I leave you, you must not be -sorry, for I shall only have flown back to -Fairyland.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do many of the fairies turn into song-birds?” -asked Philomène.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>“Yes, a good many of them,” replied Master -Mustardseed, “and the court musician always -turns into a nightingale. As for the fairies -who dislike the bother of housekeeping, they -become cuckoos, and lay their eggs in other -birds’ nests, which saves them a lot of trouble. -Brownies become bees and ants, for they -cannot bear to be idle, and a court-lady -as often as not turns into a butterfly or -humming-bird for the sake of the fine -clothes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Have you ever heard the Lorelei sing?” -inquired Philomène, “I had to leave out the -question about her in Sweet William’s examination -paper.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” replied Master Mustardseed decidedly, -“I have always avoided the lady. You know, -I suppose, what it is that she sings for? The -boatmen hear her, and listen and listen, and -watch her combing her shimmering hair, and -forget to steer their boats, so that they are -sucked down into the whirlpools of the Rhine. -The gnomes never did mortals a worse turn -than when they made that golden comb for -her, and when all’s said and done her hair -is no prettier than your own godmother’s. -But don’t let’s talk about her any more; I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>know plenty of stories about much nicer -people. Perhaps you would like to hear one -right away. Stop me if I talk too fast; Moth -says it is a failing of mine.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span> - <h2 id='VII' class='c004'>CHAPTER VII<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH MASTER MUSTARDSEED TELLS HIS STORY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“In a mean, dingy house in the midst of a -great city, there once lived a cobbler and his -apprentice, and together with them in that -same house there also lived a certain evil and -malicious boggart. Now a boggart is just the -opposite of a brownie, for while a brownie -tidies and sweeps and puts things to rights, -a boggart only works mischief and makes -confusion. He would break the crockery, and -mislay the tools in the workshop, and once he -dropped so much salt into the soup that the -cobbler lay awake half the night with thirst. -Now the cobbler, who was a harsh, unreasonable -man, suspected his apprentice of these -pranks, and soon took him roughly to task.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Master,” said the apprentice, “you do me -wrong. It is not I who have done you this -harm, but a mannikin in tattered clothes and a -peaked cap. It must be that we are living -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>under one roof with a boggart, for more than -once have I seen him at his tricks when twilight -fell.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the cobbler would not believe a word -of what the apprentice said, for he himself -had never set eyes on the boggart, and though -one day the apprentice pointed him out, not -even then could he catch so much as a glimpse -of him. It is true that the cobbler’s yellow -cat, who lay stretched upon the hearth, could -see the imp plainly enough with her green and -glimmering eyes, but then it was not in her -power to say so, nor to put in a good word for -the apprentice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You had better stop making game of me,” -said the angry cobbler, each time that a fresh -mishap occurred, “for my temper is but a -short one, and I am growing tired of your fool’s -tricks, and of your fool’s tales too, for that -matter, about boggarts and what not, so mark -my words, and mend your ways.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now one evening as the cobbler sat stitching -at a neighbour’s shoes, he said to the apprentice, -“I am ready for my supper. Go and get me -the flitch of bacon from the corner cupboard.” -But when the apprentice opened the cupboard -door, the bacon was nowhere to be seen.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>“Master, it is gone!” he cried, “I fear the -boggart has played you another trick, and this -time it is an ill turn indeed!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The boggart! The boggart! What’s all -this talk of boggarts?” screamed the cobbler, -“so I have been teaching my trade to a thief, -have I? You’re a fine fellow to keep as an -apprentice, eating a poor man out of house and -home! Get you gone from my door, or you -shall have blows from me, and not words -alone.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Again the apprentice tried to defend himself, -but his master would not listen, so he sadly -put together his few belongings in a knapsack, -and set out upon his travels, with none to wish -him well save only his friend the yellow cat, -who came and rubbed herself against his legs -before the house-door closed behind him. All -night he paced the streets disconsolate, and -at dawn when the city gates stood open he -set forth upon the king’s highway.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As dusk fell, he entered a wild, bleak hill -country, and he had not gone far upon the -lonely road when he heard a voice singing a -plaintive refrain. Eagerly he hurried onwards, -wondering who the wayfarer might be, but -soon the singing ceased, and a sound of weeping -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>took its place. Then the apprentice caught -sight of a maiden seated upon the grassy bank -by the roadside. She was beautifully dressed -in silks and jewels, but briers clung to her rich -trailing robes, and the blustering wind had -disordered her golden tresses.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Madam,” said the apprentice, “if my poor -services may assist you, they are at your -command.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I thank you with all my heart,” said she, -“let us travel on together and seek a night’s -lodging. But for you I should have been left -friendless upon this waste hillside.” So together -they took the road again, and journeyed -on into the mountains.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am a king’s daughter,” said the maiden, -“and my father and mother have accused me -of witchcraft, and have driven me from my -home.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I too have been driven away on an unjust -charge,” said the apprentice, “and now I -know not how I may earn my bread, for my -master the cobbler would not finish teaching -me my trade.” After that they both fell silent, -for they were weary and sad at heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now when they had gone some considerable -distance, they overtook a shepherd who was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>driving home his flock, and of him they begged -a night’s shelter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come with me to my goodwife,” the kindly -shepherd made reply, “and we will do all in -our power to serve you both.” So saying he -guided them to the sheltered hollow where his -cottage stood. His wife came to greet him at -the doorway, and when she saw the strangers -she welcomed them also. In the kitchen a -bright fire was burning, and supper was on the -table, broth, and bread, and a bowl of porridge. -Far back in a shadowy corner of the room sat -an old, old woman, toothless and hairless, bent -and shrunken with her years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That,” said the shepherd, “is my grandmother, -and she is reputed one of the wisest -women in the countryside, but she is aged -and weak, and speaks but seldom.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now as soon as supper was ended, the company -drew around the fire, and the shepherd -begged his guests to relate the story of their -wanderings.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My father is a mighty king,” the princess -made answer, “and dwells in a city many -leagues distant. Not long ago a strange series -of misfortunes befell us. One night as I stood -by my window and looked out upon the palace -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>garden, I saw that a fairy was pillaging the -blossom of the king’s favourite almond-tree, -and I called in haste to my waiting-woman, -and pointed the strange sight out to her, but -she protested that she could see nothing, and -the next morning she went and told my parents -what had taken place. The night following I -stood again by my window, looking out upon -the terrace, and this time I saw a fairy luring -away the queen’s favourite peacock. Again I -called to my waiting-woman, for I was afraid, -but again she declared that she could see -nothing. The next morning the faithless -woman went once more to my parents, and told -them what had befallen, and this time she even -dared assure them that I must be a witch, for -had there indeed been a fairy in the castle<a id='t65'></a> she -would certainly have seen it as well as myself. -At first my parents were unwilling to credit -her charge, for, said the king my father, the -almond-tree had most assuredly been plundered, -though none knew by whom, and, said the -queen my mother, that the peacock was lost -there could be no doubt. Nevertheless, they -were both much disturbed, and bade the woman -watch me narrowly. Now as evening fell I -was sitting in my bower, when all at once I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>heard a sound behind me as of breaking flax, -and turning round I saw a fairy standing in the -middle of my room, breaking the flax that hung -upon my golden spinning-wheel. Then I became -frightened, and pointed her out to my -waiting-woman, but again she said she saw -nothing. The next day when my parents heard -what had happened, they summoned me to -their presence and questioned me, and I could -but affirm that each time I had seen a fairy, -though my waiting-woman had seen none. -Now the king my father lives in great dread -of witches and their charms, and forthwith -he charged me with witchcraft, because I saw -things that were not good to see, and which -were hidden from other folk, and when my -mother pleaded for me he would not listen, -but said that there was a spell upon the palace -and that I must go, or else no one could tell -what might come of it, and he sent me away. -But indeed, good people, I am no witch, yet -the fairies I did most assuredly see, three -several times.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>After that the apprentice also told his story, -and how the cobbler had blamed him for the -boggart’s pranks, and had driven him out. -“Yet I am unjustly accused,” said he, “for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>I myself saw the boggart at his work, not once -nor twice.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“These are the strangest tales that ever I -heard!” cried the shepherd.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The old grandmother is learned in fairy -lore,” added his wife; “it may be that she can -solve the riddle.” When she heard that, the -princess rose, and went to the dark corner where -the old crone sat, and knelt down beside her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell me, I pray you, good mother,” said -she, “how comes it that this stranger and I -both saw the fairies where others saw none?” -But the old crone only blinked at her with dull -eyes, and made no reply.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is a king’s daughter who kneels to you, -granddame,” cried the shepherd, “will you -not give her an answer?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A peaked cap and fernseed,” muttered the -old hag, “the boggart put on his peaked cap, -and the fairies carried fernseed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But whoever carries fernseed becomes -invisible,” said the princess, “and in spite -of that I saw them.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Over those who are born on an Ember Day -neither a cap of darkness nor the fairies’ fern -itself has any power,” said the crone; “both -of you must have been born in one of the four -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>Ember Weeks.” And her voice died away into -indistinct mumblings.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is a dower that none need envy,” quoth -the apprentice, and the princess sighed in -answer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now on the following morning the shepherd -and his wife urged the princess to remain with -them, and she joyfully consented. “I will -not be a burden to you,” said she, “for I can -spin, and I will learn to do all manner of things -about the house, and will take care of the old -grandmother.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the apprentice set out upon his travels -again, and this time he felt even sadder than -on the previous day, for it went to his heart to -part from the princess, whom already he loved -for her fair face and gentle ways. After -journeying for some distance he left the hills -behind him, and at noon he entered a deep -and shady wood. There, in a mossy glade, -seated upon a bank of primroses, he caught -sight of a little man dressed all in green, who -was busily mending shoes. But as the apprentice -drew nearer, the mannikin flung aside -his work, and snatching up a green cap with a -sprig of fern in the brim, he set it upon his head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That much trouble you might have spared -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>yourself,” laughed the apprentice, “for I was -born on an Ember Day, they tell me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is that so?” said the mannikin, and he -resumed his cobbling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And who may you be?” asked the apprentice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am the fairies’ cobbler,” replied the little -green man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I pray you teach me my trade,” said -the apprentice, “for I am a cobbler’s apprentice, -but I have not served my full time, since my -master has sent me away on a wrongful charge.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Where did your master live?” asked the -mannikin.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Over the hills yonder,” replied the apprentice -pointing, but when he turned round -again the fairies’ cobbler was nowhere to be -seen. On the instant he felt himself pelted by a -shower of acorns from above, and looking up he -saw a squirrel, perched among the oak boughs -overhead.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are a fine fellow for letting your -opportunities slip,” said the squirrel; “do you -not know that when you meet the fairies’ -cobbler you should never take your eyes off -him for a moment? So long as you keep on -looking at him, he is bound to give you whatever -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>you may ask, though you should demand -of him all the crocks of gold in Fairyland, but -he will try to startle or deceive you, and then -your chance is lost.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will remember your good advice another -time,” said the apprentice, and he went on into -the wood. At sunset he came to another glade, -and there he once more caught sight of the -fairies’ cobbler, seated upon a tree-stump.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This time you shall not escape me,” he -cried, and fixing his eyes upon the mannikin -he repeated his request, “I pray you, teach -me my trade.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The cobbler’s craft is not an easy one,” -replied the little man surlily, “the fairies dance -so much and so often that it is all I can do to -keep them in shoes. Only look at this pair -now—it was new at moonrise.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They are indeed much worn,” said the -apprentice, but even as he spoke he became -aware that the fairies’ cobbler had once more -disappeared. The next moment he heard a -soft chuckle behind him, and looking round he -noticed a large white owl perched upon a bush -hard by.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He had you that time,” said the owl; -“why ever did you look down at the shoes? -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>The safest way to make sure of the fairies’ -cobbler is to steal up from behind and catch -hold of him, and should he seem unwilling to -grant your request you have but to hold him -over running water, and he will give you all -you ask.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will remember your good advice another -time,” said the apprentice, and he went further -into the wood. Now after a while he heard -the sound of a waterfall, and came upon yet -another glade that lay all silvered in the light -of the moon, and he was just debating within -himself whether this were not a good place in -which to spend the night, when for the third -time he caught sight of the fairies’ cobbler, -seated upon a toadstool. Softly he crept up -behind him, and took hold of the mannikin -firmly by the lappets of his green coat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You shall not escape me again,” said he.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That is as may be,” quoth the fairies’ -cobbler morosely; “pray what reason is there -that I should teach the tricks of my trade to a -mortal?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We shall see about that,” said the apprentice, -“for if I am not mistaken there is -a waterfall close at hand.” And with the -mannikin under his arm he made his way -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>among the trees till he came to where the -cascade ran white over the rocks. Then the -fairies’ cobbler began to utter small, shrill -cries of protest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come away! Come away!” he cried, -piteously, as the apprentice held him over the -foaming torrent, “only take me back into the -glade, and I will teach you all I know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now the apprentice knew that the fairies -are no promise-breakers, so he carried the -little green mannikin back into the glade, and -all that night the fairies’ cobbler taught him -the utmost that may be known about the art -of making and mending shoes. Therefore as -soon as the sun rose, the newly-made cobbler -said to the mannikin, “I am truly grateful -for what you have taught me, and if there be -any favour which a poor craftsman like myself -can do to one of the Good People, I pray you -tell it me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There is one favour then which I would -ask of you,” the fairies’ cobbler made reply; -“promise me that you will never break off -any blackthorn or bring it into your house, -for it is our tree, and we are offended when it is -tampered with.” This the cobbler promised -faithfully, and when he had once more thanked -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>the little green man, he went upon his -way.</p> - -<p class='c007'>After some days’ journey he came to a great -city, and here he remained and worked at his -craft. It was not long before he discovered -that it was in this city that the princess’s -parents ruled as king and queen, and he soon -learnt from the talk of the people about him, -that the fairies were still wreaking their -vengeance on the palace. Only the other day, -said the gossips, the king and the queen had -made ready to receive the ambassador of a -foreign prince, but when the court entered the -throne-room in state, all the wreaths and garlands -with which it had been festooned were torn -down, withered, and trampled upon. As soon -as he heard this, the cobbler hastened to the -palace, and begged for an audience from the -king, but the haughty servants to whom he -addressed himself refused admission to so -humble a suitor, and the cobbler had to return -to his cobbling, and bide his time till a better -opportunity should offer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All this while the princess had remained behind -in the shepherd’s cottage. The good man -and his wife treated her as a daughter, and even -the old crone seemed glad of her company, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>and loved to finger with her palsied hands the -princess’s beautiful embroidered cloak and -sparkling gems, and more especially she fancied -a certain jewelled cross that the king’s daughter -wore about her neck. “Keep it, good mother, -since it pleases you,” said the kind-hearted -princess one day, and she laid it in the old -woman’s lap, who after that would sit contented -by the hour, counting the stones and holding -them up to the light.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now among the mountains in the neighbourhood -of the cottage lay a deep and lonely tarn, -where waterfowl made their nests, and bulrushes -grew in profusion, and often the princess would -go and gather these rushes, which she plaited -into mats and baskets and sold in the hamlets -near by. One day when she was thus picking -rushes by the lakeside, she heard a plashing -close at hand, and looking up she saw a beautiful -black horse standing knee-deep in the water, -gazing at her intently. At first she was -frightened, but since the creature seemed -gentle and harmless she soon regained courage, -and when it waded out of the water and came -and stood beside her, she began to fondle it -and to stroke its glossy mane. After that the -beautiful black steed came to greet her every -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>time that she went to the tarn, but when she -spoke of it to the shepherd, he said that he had -heard tell of no riderless horse in those parts.</p> - -<p class='c007'>One evening when autumn was drawing on, -the shepherd and his wife were absent at a -fair in one of the neighbouring villages, but the -princess had remained at home with the old -grandmother and sat spinning in the firelight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Daughter, what ails you?” asked the crone -from her corner by the hearth, for she had heard -the princess draw a deep, sad sigh.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am troubled for my parents’ sake,” -replied the king’s daughter; “would that I -knew the cause of ill-will which the fairies have -against them, and how they might be appeased.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Samhain,” muttered the old woman, -“Samhain.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is the meaning of Samhain?” asked -the princess, but the crone had fallen silent -again, and nothing more was to be got out of -her. Then the princess went and stood in the -doorway, watching for the return of the -shepherd and his wife, for it was growing late, -and as she stood there the nightwind hurried -past her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“O wind,” said the princess, “you are the -greatest of all travellers, therefore if you know -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>it, tell a forlorn king’s daughter what is meant -by Samhain.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Samhain is the feast of All Fairies,” said -the wind.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And when do they keep it?” asked the -princess.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“On All Hallows’ E’en,” the wind made -answer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And where do they keep it?” asked the -princess.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“In the brown bog country,” said the wind, -“where you may see a myriad pools, and each -pool bathes one star.” And when he had said -that he sped away, for the wind is ever in -haste.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Therefore as soon as the shepherd and his -wife returned, the princess told them that she -could remain with them no longer, but must -set out upon her quest, and though they were -loath to part with her, the good people let her -go. So the next morning she bade them -farewell, and as she went along the road that -led to the mountain tarn, the beautiful black -horse came trotting to meet her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It may be that I shall have far to go,” said -the princess, “and that this gallant horse will -consent to carry me.” So she mounted upon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>its back and rode onwards, but when they -reached the tarn the black horse plunged -straightway into the ice-cold water, and began -to swim across, and as soon as it gained the -centre of the lake, it dived under. Then the -princess cried out and struggled, and the black -horse threw her, and in that moment she knew -that it was no real horse at all, but a kelpie, -a wicked water-sprite that assumes at times -the form of a horse.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All the summer through have I loved and -watched you, king’s daughter,” said the kelpie, -as he stood before her in his proper shape, -“and now you must live with me in my palace, -and be my wife.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Pearly white and very fair to see was the -palace of the water-kelpie, with its towers and -minarets, and a great white dome in the midst, -and within, the walls were hung with iridescent -tapestries. Here the princess was held a -prisoner, and day after day she would sit under -the magical milk-white dome, and weep till -she had no more tears to shed. But wed the -water-kelpie she would not. Her happiest -hours were when he left her to roam the hills -under the shape of the black horse, and then -she would pace to and fro in her beautiful -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>prison-house and call to mind the peaceful -days in the shepherd’s cottage, and the young -apprentice whom in her secret heart she loved, -though because she was a king’s daughter she -was too proud to own it to anybody but herself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Meanwhile the cobbler had won for himself -a great reputation by his skill in shoe-making, -for those who wore his shoes could walk for -leagues or dance for whole nights together -without growing tired, so that before long his -fame reached the ears of the king, who summoned -him to the palace. Now, as soon as the cobbler -found himself in the presence of the king and -queen, he made haste to tell them of his meeting -with the princess, and of what the old crone -had told them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It may be as you say,” said the king, “and -glad indeed should I be to think that my child -is no witch, but only dowered above other -mortals, for so great is my fear of witchcraft -that I would sooner have my palace pillaged -from end to end than suffer any about me who -have eyes for uncanny sights.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I fear we have done our daughter a great -wrong,” said the queen sorrowfully, “and none -of us knows the cause of the fairies’ displeasure, -nor the remedy for it. We have called in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>Prime Minister, and the Lord High Chamberlain, -and the Keeper of the Great Seal, and the Lords -and Ladies of the Bedchamber, but they are -all utterly at a loss.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then an idea came to the cobbler. “Madam,” -said he, “was there by chance any blackthorn -brought into the palace last spring?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I do not know,” replied the queen, “but -it shall be inquired into.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So the entire court and household were -assembled, and a strict inquiry was made. -Then it was that the lowest scullery-maid in -the royal kitchen confessed that she had broken -off a spray from a blackthorn hedge in the -foregoing spring, and had placed it in her attic -room. So the king, at the cobbler’s advice, -published a proclamation, forbidding the -breaking of blackthorn throughout the realm, -but to the cobbler himself he said; “Do you -go and fetch my daughter back, for we will -receive her with due honour, and if she be -willing you shall have her hand in marriage. -As for the waiting-woman who accused her to -me, she shall be dismissed the kingdom.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then the cobbler set out and made his way -back to the shepherd’s cottage, but when he -reached it the good man and his wife told him -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>of how the princess had left them, and that -they had had no tidings of her since. “But -if you are in search of her,” said the shepherd’s -wife, “take with you this jewelled cross and -restore it to her, for she gave it to the old granddame -who is now dead, and it is not ours that -we should keep it.” So the cobbler took the -cross, and continued his journey.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now as he passed by the lonely tarn he heard -a voice singing, and recognised that same -plaintive refrain which the princess had sung -when first he met her on the hillside.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Alas! Alas!” he cried aloud, “my dear -lady is drowned in this desolate pool.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Would that I were, good friend,” the -princess’s voice made answer, “it had been -better than this my sad captivity, for I am in -the power of a wicked water-kelpie who woos -me for his wife.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>When he heard these words, the cobbler fell -to thinking how he might deliver his princess -from her sorrowful fate, and soon he bethought -him of the jewelled cross. This he took and -flung it far into the tarn, and as the saving -sign touched the surface the evil, wine-dark -water began to seethe and boil in its depths, -and the stately pearl-white palace of the kelpie -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>broke up and dissolved upon the instant. So -the princess was released and came forth from -the tarn. Then the cobbler hastened to tell -her of the discovery of the blackthorn, and of -how he had come to bring her home to her -parents.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell me first,” said she, “what day it is, -for I have lost all count of time.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is All Hallows’ E’en,” replied the cobbler.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At that the princess began to lament bitterly, -for she feared lest she might be too late to reach -the bog country where the fairies would keep -their feast.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do not be sorrowful, princess,” replied the -cobbler, “I promise you we shall both see -Samhain kept to-night, and to-morrow I will -restore you to your home.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How is that to be?” asked she.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will make shoes of swiftness,” said the -cobbler, “which will carry us more fleetly -than the swallows.” And immediately he set -to work and made her a pair of fairy shoes, -and next he began making a pair for himself. -But while he was still working at the second -shoe, there came a sound of hoof-beats far -away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“O hasten, hasten!” cried the princess, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>wringing her hands, “for the kelpie is returning.” -Nearer and nearer drew the sound of the -thundering hoofs upon the road, faster and -faster stitched the cobbler.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“O make haste, make haste!” cried the -princess; “see, he is in sight!” Fleetly down -the steep hillside the black horse came galloping, -with streaming mane and glaring eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We are lost!” cried the princess, and indeed -the horse was already upon them, and had -caught the fringe of her cloak in its mouth. -But in that same instant the cobbler slipped -on his second shoe, and he and the princess -sped away together like birds upon the wing. -But the embroidered cloak they left behind -between the horse’s teeth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Over land and ocean they went, yet felt no -weariness, and at nightfall they reached the -brown bog country, studded with innumerable -pools, and every pool bathed a star. The -moon was rising, and from all the four winds -the fairies came trooping, elves and gnomes -and pixies, brownies and hobgoblins, with the -fairy queen and her retinue in their midst, and -at a little distance the cobbler and the princess -stood and watched them assemble. At last -one dainty elf came towards them, in dress of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>pearly gossamer, and in her yellow hair a -wreath of starry white flowers, such as you may -see for yourself on the window-pane any frosty -day.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I owe you thanks for many a past kindness,” -said she to the cobbler.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yet I have never seen you till this moment, -elf lady,” he replied.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you so sure of that?” laughed she; -“look well, look well at my eyes.” Then the -cobbler looked long and earnestly, and indeed -they were wondrous eyes, green and glimmering, -nor were they like the eyes of any mortal.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Every hundred years,” said the elf, “we -fairies must take the shape of some beast or -bird or fish for the space of a year and a day, -and if we die during that time we perish, for -we have no souls. Now I was the cobbler’s -yellow cat when my turn came, and you befriended -me in my exile. But follow me, and -I will take you to the fairy queen, that you -may tell her on what errand you are come -to-night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then she led them through a throng of -fairies, amongst whom the cobbler recognised -his enemy the boggart, and the princess the -three fairies who had filched the almond -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>blossom, and lured away the peacock, and -broken the flax. Presently they reached the -steps of the elfin throne, and here both knelt -to the fairy queen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“For what purpose have you sought us -out?” asked she.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I come to appease your displeasure, greatest -of all queens,” replied the princess, “for in the -spring time a spray of blackthorn was heedlessly -broken and brought into our palace, and since -that day the fairies have borne us a grudge. -How may we turn away their anger?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say to the king your father, and to the queen -your mother,” the fairy queen made answer, -“that if at the next full moon they will deliver -up their throne-room to us for an elfin bridal, -we shall bear them ill-will no longer, for my -people love nothing better than to feast and -make merry in a human dwelling.” Then the -queen made them sit down upon the steps of -the throne, and commanded that the revels -should begin.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You have done me credit, Master Apprentice,” -piped a voice at the cobbler’s elbow, -as a train of fairies swept past, and looking -round he caught sight of the little green man, -who nodded and smiled at him. But when -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>the cobbler and the princess had watched the -dancing till the moon rode high in the heavens, -the fairy queen laid a hand upon both their -heads, and soon a great drowsiness overcame -them. Soundly they slept, and when they -woke it was to find themselves stretched upon -a patch of heather, while all around them the -brown bog country lay very still in the light -of the paling stars. Then they rose and made -haste homewards, and when they reached the -palace there were great rejoicings to welcome -them back; the king and queen received their -daughter with much affection, and besought -her pardon for the wrong they had done her, -and when the cobbler made bold to ask her hand -in marriage, she willingly consented.</p> - -<p class='c007'>So the wedding was celebrated with great -pomp and splendour; the city saw nothing -but festivities and illuminations for seven days -and seven nights, and from far and near the -crowds poured in to share in the merry-making. -Amongst these came the shepherd and his wife, -and the cobbler’s former master, and upon all -three the bride and bridegroom showered gifts -and benefits.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now the night after the wedding it was full -moon, so the throne-room was garlanded with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>fresh flowers, and left to the fairies till cock-crow. -None saw them come nor go, but in the morning -there was found a little golden casket, wrought -by the dwarf goldsmiths of the elfin court, -and inside the casket was a clump of four-leaved -clover. This was the fairy queen’s -wedding present, and the bridal couple planted -it below their window, and it grew and throve, -and brought them untold happiness and good -fortune.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène had some difficulty in making out -the last word of the story, for Master Mustardseed -had half turned it into a trill, and began -singing at the top of his voice. The schoolroom -door opened; the doctor had come home.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span> - <h2 id='VIII' class='c004'>CHAPTER VIII<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE HEROINE MAKES THE FIRST USE OF HER LATCHKEY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>It was about this time that Philomène first -began to remark a change in her father. He was -not at any time a man of many words, but he -now became unusually silent even for him. -He was not unkind to his little girl, but he saw -less of her, and gave her only half his attention -when she spoke to him. She suffered acutely -from his altered manner, but was far too loyal -to confide her trouble to either of her fairy -friends, let alone to Nurse or Miss Mills. Once -when writing to her godmother, who was abroad -at the time, she put at the end of the letter; -“<i>P.S.</i>—I wish I had a mother.” But she had -no very clear idea as to how a mother would -have mended matters, and Isolde in her answer -did not refer to the postscript.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was in these days, when her father called -her “little Miss Muffet” less often than formerly, -that Philomène grew doubly glad of the key -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>in the savings-box and of the bird-cage in the -schoolroom. Master Mustardseed was somewhat -of a gossip, and told her many stories -about the children to whom the fairy queen -stands sponsor, for Titania is very fond of -children, though she has none of her own. -Then he would tell her all that he had seen in -the course of his flight through the air astride -of a shooting-star; he would sing to her, till -she knew it by heart, the serenade piped by a -bulrush who was fast fading for love of an ivory -white moth that used to settle on a reed close -by, but never came to him. Master Mustardseed -had been asleep at the time, curled up inside -a yellow waterlily on a pond, having asked a -friendly frog to sway the stalk of the lily gently -to and fro, so as to produce a drowsy rocking -motion. The bulrush’s love-song, however, had -waked him up, and having a good musical -memory he had learnt it then and there.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The recent wet weather had altogether prevented -Philomène from going into the garden, -so that May with its lilac was gone, and June -with its roses had come, before she had her -first opportunity of letting herself into Sweet -William’s house by means of her own latchkey. -On entering she saw that the room was empty -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>but for the tom-tit, who was trying, it must -be confessed without much success, to reduce -it to order. The catkin tapestry had to be -taken down, shaken, beaten, and rehung; -the tree-stump cupboard had been emptied, -and its contents littered the mushroom table, -while the tom-tit complained that the things -had been so closely packed inside it, that it -was far easier to take them out than to -make them fit in again after they had been -dusted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish he would have a sparrow in by the -day,” wailed the tom-tit; “it’s more than I can -manage single-handed.” So Philomène comforted -and helped him as best she could, and -by the time Sweet William returned, the room -was as neat as a new pin, and a great deal -bonnier. It was after the tom-tit had got -leave to fly away, that Philomène asked if -there had been any news of the grasshopper -lately.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Nothing much,” replied Sweet William; -“he is still trying to reach the sun in high hops, -and his friend the dial has given him up as a bad -job. Well, and has Master Mustardseed been -making himself agreeable? Are you any less -bored than you used to be? Is the schoolroom -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>quite as commonplace as you were pleased -at one time to imagine?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène blushed. “I am afraid you must -have thought me discontented,” she said, -humbly; “but indeed I am not at all bored -any longer. How should I be, with Master -Mustardseed to tell me stories whenever we -are alone together? And, oh, you can’t think -what lovely stories they are! He began with -one about a poor apprentice who was taught -his trade by the fairies’ own cobbler, and in -the end he married a princess.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dear me! how enthusiastic we are, to be -sure,” remarked Sweet William, with his head -in the air; “you talk as though there were -nobody who could tell stories but Master -Mustardseed, which is very far from being the -case.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I know you could tell beautiful stories -too, if you tried,” said Philomène hastily, -“and indeed I wish you would, for there is -nothing I should like better.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Very well,” said Sweet William, “but I’m -afraid my story hasn’t a princess in it, only a -goose-girl who married a troll.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is it a true story?” asked Philomène.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I daresay it’s true enough as far as it goes,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>replied Sweet William, and Philomène wondered -how far it went.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And where did the troll live?” she asked -again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He lived at home,” retorted Sweet William; -“and really you must not ask so many questions; -it quite puts me off.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span> - <h2 id='IX' class='c004'>CHAPTER IX<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH SWEET WILLIAM TELLS A STORY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>There was once a goose-girl named Kora, -who used to herd her master’s geese in a certain -field. Now at one end of this field there was -a grassy mound, inside which lived a very rich -and wicked troll, who came every day to his -doorway to watch the goose-girl as she sat -in the shadow of a hollow tree, knitting and -singing, and minding her geese. “She is so -cheerful and industrious,” said he to himself, -“that doubtless she would make a very good -wife.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But one day when he stood at his threshold -to look at her, he saw that she had let her knitting -fall into her lap, and that instead of singing, -she was weeping bitterly. Very cautiously -he crept up behind her, and touched her gently -on the arm. Kora started and screamed when -she caught sight of the troll, for he was ugly -and misshapen, and had an uncommonly large -head.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>“Why are you crying, my girl?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Because one of my geese has strayed,” -said she, “and I have sought for it till I am -tired out, and I know that my master will be -very angry with me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That is soon mended,” replied the troll, -“for in my house I have a magic crystal, which -tells me where I may find all lost and missing -things. Come with me, pretty maid, and I will -see what I can do for you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Kora followed him joyfully into the little -house within the knoll, and looked with great -curiosity at the wonderful crystal. She noticed -that it bore the following inscription:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c008'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“In all the world there is but one spot,</div> - <div class='line'>Unknown to men, by fays forgot,</div> - <div class='line'>Wherein my power availeth not.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>But she did not pay much attention to the -words at the time.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I can see your goose already,” cried the -troll, as he peered into the crystal; “it has -strayed as far as the sand dunes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I must go and seek it immediately,” -replied Kora, “and I thank you most heartily -for your courtesy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not so fast, not so fast,” the troll made -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>answer, catching her by the arm; “you are -pretty and neat-fingered, my girl, and have a -sweet voice. You shall stay and keep house -for me, and be my wife.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Kora protested with tears and cries and -wringing of hands, but it was all to no purpose; -so she pretended to resign herself to her lot, -though in reality she never ceased planning -how she might escape from it. Presently an -idea came to her, and one day, instead of -busying herself about the house as usual, she -remained seated by the hearth, her head in -her hands, the picture of dejection.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is the matter now?” demanded the -troll.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The matter!” cried Kora, with a great -show of indignation; “when you have never -so much as given me a wedding-ring! When -men take wives in the upper world, they give -them golden wedding-rings in token of their -troth.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is that all?” said the troll. “Dry your -eyes then, my love, for you shall soon have -rings in plenty.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So saying he went into his own private -closet, a dark little room at the back of the -house, and presently returned laden with sacks -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>and caskets, all full of gold and silver, jewels and -trinkets. Kora began trying on one ring after -another, but none of them seemed to please her, -and at last she turned away with a gesture of -impatience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“These are not the right sort,” said she -scornfully, “for they are all set with precious -stones, while a real wedding-ring is only a plain -gold circlet. I will not do another stroke of -work about the house till you have brought me -a proper wedding-ring.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will go to the goldsmith and get you one, -my love,” said her husband, and he set out -that same day.</p> - -<p class='c007'>No sooner, however, had Kora watched him -out of sight, than she ran into the wood that -skirted the meadow, and kept on running till -she was so tired and out of breath that she had -to sit down and rest. Then she noticed that -something underground was shovelling up the -earth at her feet, throwing it about in all -directions. She expected to see a mole emerge, -but when the creature did at last appear it -proved to be a little brown gnome, with a sack -flung across his shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell me, good gnome,” cried Kora, “how -I may escape from my husband the troll. He -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>has a magic crystal by means of which he is -able to find all lost and missing things, so that -I cannot think of a safe enough hiding-place.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You must take another shape,” replied -the gnome, and he turned her into a crystal -that twinkled on the edge of a jagged rock.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When the troll came home and missed his -wife, he was very angry, and went straight to -his magic crystal; and there, sure enough, -he not only saw the sparkle in the rock, but -also recognised his wife under her assumed -shape. Immediately he hurried into the wood, -carrying a hammer, and having broken away -the splinter of rock, he took it home in triumph, -and no sooner had he crossed his own threshold -than his wife stood before him. After that -the troll treated her very hardly, and Kora hated -him more than ever.</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/illus103.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic003'> -<p>“PRESENTLY AN ELF CAME PAST HER, RIDING ON A LIZARD.”<br /><span class='right'><i>Page <a href='#Page_96'>96</a></i></span><br /><span class='left'><i>The Fairy Latchkey.</i></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>Now one day the troll was going fishing, and -this time he said to his wife: “You shall play -me no second trick, madam; I will lock you -in till I come back.” So saying he turned the -key upon her, and went his way. But Kora -did not despair. She hurried into her husband’s -private closet, and took the keys of all the -various caskets in which he kept his treasure. -Then with trembling hands she tried them one -by one in the lock of the door, and as good -luck would have it, the last key fitted. The next -thing she did was to try to destroy the magic -crystal. She dashed it on to the floor and -against the wall, but finding that she could not -break it, she went and hid it inside the hollow -tree in the field, beneath which in former days -she had been wont to sit and watch her geese. -Then she fled into the forest, and ran as fast -and as far as she could. Presently an elf came -past her, riding on a lizard.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell me, kind elf,” said she, “how I may -escape from the cruel troll, my husband, for -I have hidden his magic crystal which tells -him where to find all lost and missing -things.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will do the best I can for you,” replied the -elf, and turning Kora into a dockleaf by the -brook, he rode on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When the troll returned home from his fishing, -and found that his wife had escaped a second -time, he was much enraged, and made his way -at once to the place where he kept his crystal. -But when he saw that this had also disappeared, -he was in a greater rage than ever, and began -to hunt for it all over the house. At last he -thought of the hollow tree, and there, inside -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>the trunk, and smothered in dry leaves and -moss, he found his missing talisman. No -sooner had he looked into it, than he saw the -dockleaf growing by the brook, and once more -recognised his wife. Immediately he went into -the wood, and having picked the dockleaf, he -took it home in triumph, and when he had -crossed his own threshold his wife stood -before him. After that he treated her yet -more hardly, and Kora hated him even more -than before.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now it is customary that trolls should be -the money-lenders of mighty kings, and Kora’s -husband had many a time lent gold and silver -and treasure of all sorts to a certain avaricious -king, who loved wealth above everything, and -oppressed his people with unendurable imposts. -It so happened that just at this time the troll -received an urgent message from this king, -entreating him for a large sum of money. So -he called his wife to him, and said to her, -“I must now go on a journey which will last -several days, and I will take my crystal with me, -so that should you try to escape from me again, -I shall be able to discover your hiding-place -in a trice. Bear this in mind, wife, and let me -have no more of these follies.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>For some time after she was left alone, Kora -made no further attempt at escape. She did -nothing but sit and brood over her troubles, -and say to herself that there was no way out -of them, till she suddenly called to mind the -words of the inscription on the crystal, and -understood that there must be just one -country under the sun where she would be safe -from her husband’s pursuit.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will try to find it,” said she, “it is the -one chance left me.” And in this forlorn hope -she went for the third time into the wood. -Far, far she went, through forest and field and -heath, till at last she was obliged to sit down -by the roadside and rest. It had begun to -rain, and dusk was falling. Kora was worn out -with her wanderings, and shed many tears. -All at once she felt a hand upon her shoulder. -At first she started and cried out, believing -that it was the troll, but then she saw that it -was only an old crone with bent back and -grizzled hair, leaning upon a stick.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Daughter,” said the old woman, “what is -your trouble?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am escaping from my husband, the troll,” -said Kora, “and I am afraid lest he should -find me by looking into his magic crystal. I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>am in search of an unknown land where the -crystal has no power.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You seem tired out,” said the old crone -kindly, “come with me, for I can at least offer -you shelter.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Kora thanked her earnestly, and they walked -on together. Heather and bracken stretched -to either side of them for mile upon mile, the -last curlew had gone to rest, and it was very -still and eerie on the lonely moor. Kora looked -to right and to left, hoping to catch sight of a -shepherd’s cottage, or at least of some hovel -which might prove to be the old woman’s home, -but she could see nothing save certain giant -boulders scattered here and there upon the -heath. What then was her surprise when the -old crone hobbled up to the largest of these, -and struck it with her stick. Immediately -the door was opened by a tabby cat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are late, mistress,” said he.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have brought a guest,” replied the old -woman, “so you must all bestir yourselves.” -Then she led Kora into a snug little room, where -a bright fire of peat blazed invitingly on the -hearth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“First you must eat and sleep,” said she, -“and to-morrow you shall tell me of your -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>trouble. I am a Wise Woman, and may be -able to help you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Kora sank down by the fireside, too weary -to make any protest. She stretched out her -cold hands to the ruddy glow, and began to -dry her wet dress and hood. Meanwhile the -Wise Woman’s servants were busy preparing -the evening meal, which was soon ready. A -black cat served the soup and a white cat the -fish, a grey cat the joint and a tortoiseshell -cat the sweets. Then a sandy cat lit a taper -and lighted her to her room, where she soon fell -sound asleep.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When the morning came, Kora at once -sought out the Wise Woman, told her her whole -story, and begged for advice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The unknown country to which no man -has found the way,” replied the Wise Woman, -“is the country whither the cuckoos go in -winter, nor do I myself know the way, but if -you will consent to be turned into a cuckoo, -you will at once be able to find it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rather than fall again into her husband’s -hands, Kora willingly agreed, and the Wise -Woman thereupon, with a wave of her stick, -changed her into a cuckoo, which spread its -wings and flew away, far across the pathless sea.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>The troll meanwhile felt so sure that his wife -would not again try to escape, that several -days passed before he thought it necessary -to look into the magic crystal. Great was his -dismay, therefore, when he did at last look -into it, to see nothing but a blank. Never -before had it failed him. He hurried home -with all speed, and finding his house deserted, -he at once resolved to set out in pursuit of -Kora. But since his heart was in his treasure, -he would not start before he had gathered -together as much as he could possibly carry -with him, and had loaded it upon his back. -He travelled a long way, through forest and field -and heath, till at last he came to the shores of a -great ocean. Here he took a boat, and began -paddling himself out to sea, but the sack of -gold proved so heavy that the boat sank, and -the troll was drowned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Kora reached the unknown land in -safety, and married the king of the cuckoos, -with whom she lived in great happiness and -contentment, and they reigned together over -the most beautiful country in all the world.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span> - <h2 id='X' class='c004'>CHAPTER X<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE HEROINE HAS A BIRTHDAY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>As the weather brightened and warmed into -midsummer, most of Philomène’s free time -was spent in the garden, and consequently -with Sweet William.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was on a morning towards the end of June -that she awoke with the delightful sensation -that her birthday had come at last. Had she -not waited a whole year for it? By her plate -at breakfast time lay a big box of wild flowers, -sent by the gardener’s wife at the Cushats. -Godmother had taught her the names of all -sorts of flowers during her last summer holidays, -so that she recognised almost all in the box, -but a certain little white, blue and red pyramid -was quite a stranger to her; she therefore -christened it “N. or M.,” like the person in the -Catechism, and N. or M. it remained to her ever -afterwards, though later she knew it to be a -kind of wild orchid. The doctor gave her a -sketch-book and a whole box full of beautiful -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>new pencils, and Miss Mills a book called -“Legends from River and Mountain.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I haven’t a notion what it’s about,” she -said, apologetically, “but I thought from the -title that you might take to it, and it was -written by a queen.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A real queen!” cried Philomène, “as real -as Marie Antoinette, or Mary, Queen of Scots?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Quite as real,” replied Miss Mills, laughing, -“and now you must look at the beautiful -pincushion that Nurse has made for you. -Won’t it look nice on your dressing-table?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, and I will put the date of my birthday -on it in pins,” said Philomène, but Nurse -shook her head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wouldn’t put pins into it, Miss, if I were -you,” she said, reproachfully, “that would -spoil it;” and Philomène with her arms about -the old woman promised, “I won’t, Nursie -dear, indeed I never will.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The morning of the birthday was blissfully -spent in the making of toffee, a rather hot -occupation for June, no doubt, but Philomène’s -wishes were law throughout that day. It did -not turn out to be nice toffee when made, but -it was not wasted, for Lilian Augusta used it -to light the kitchen fire, and said it was as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>good as any patent fire-lighter. At dinner -Philomène was allowed to carve the chicken -herself, though her carving proved as unsuccessful -as her cookery. “But as it’s my birthday -I can have the liver!” she announced, triumphantly, -“and I do know where to find that—it -is somewhere under its arms.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>All that afternoon Philomène sat sketching -busily or reading in her new story-book, nor -did she forget before putting it away to make -a note both of its title, and of the names of -its author and publisher, in a little red leather -pocket-book kept for that purpose. This -custom had been introduced by Godmother.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you are at all like me,” Isolde had said, -“you will be very sorry as you grow older to -find that some of the dearest books of your -childhood have been thrown away, or given -away, with or without your knowledge. Your -wise elders will say, ‘She is getting too old -now ever to want to read this or that again,’ -and they will forget that just now you may be -neither young enough or old enough for the -book, but that in a few more years you will -begin to grow younger again and want to read -it, and then it will be too late to recover it. -You will remember the exact colour of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>binding, and how your favourite story in it -began half way down on the right hand page, -but you will not remember who wrote it or -who printed it. Perhaps you will not even -remember the name of the book, and if you -want it back again, you cannot very well write -to a shop and say, ‘Dear Sirs, please send me -a thin green book with a picture of a lizard -as the frontispiece, and the last story but one -is the nicest of all. Yours faithfully—’ So -here is a little pocket-book, and I want you to -make a note of the titles of all the books you -are fond of, with the names of their authors -and publishers, and even if you find it a bother -now and then to remember to write them down, -I think you will be glad of it later on.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Just as Philomène was going to bed, a letter -from Godmother arrived.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My own little cushat,” wrote Isolde, “I -am afraid you will have to wait a little while -before you can have your birthday present, -for it is a trap and a white donkey, and though -you had better leave them at the Cushats as -parlour boarders when you are in London, they -are to be your very own all the same. I want -you to come and stay with me, my little bird, -for July and August and part of September. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>You and I will get on very well together in the -summer, I hope, and take out the new white -Neddie for lots of drives. We shall have a -great deal to tell each other when we meet, -but I have no time for more now. Goodbye, -my bairnie. Love and all good wishes from -Godmother.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was when Philomène looked out of her -bedroom window on the morning of the day -following her birthday, that she noticed a -large fairy ring on the lawn, and felt very much -flattered, for by it she knew that the fairies -had not forgotten the occasion, but had given -a ball in her honour.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span> - <h2 id='XI' class='c004'>CHAPTER XI<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE HEROINE IS GIVEN A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>During the remaining days of that gladsome -rose-red June, Philomène went about the house -with a face as glad as any sunbeam and as rosy -as any flower. Nurse thought that the prospect -of riding in a hay-cart and digging in the sand -with a new spade sufficiently accounted for -these radiant looks, but though the haystacks -loomed large, they loomed only in the background—it -was Godmother’s figure which -occupied the foreground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The plan cast only one shadow. Philomène -felt very sorry at having to leave Master -Mustardseed and Sweet William, and when -the day for packing arrived, she had tears in -her eyes as she opened the cage-door, and put -in her hand so that the canary might perch -upon her wrist. Unhappily Nurse was present, -so Philomène could only kiss the canary’s -green head tenderly, and whisper, “It isn’t for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>so very long, dear,” before she again closed the -cage-door. As for Queen Mab, she put a soft -padded paw into her mistress’s hand, and -rubbed a soft whiskered face against her -mistress’s arm, as who should say, “Goodbye, -and don’t get too fond of any other pussycats.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Philomène went into the garden and -let herself into Sweet William’s house. He had -been expecting her visit, and held out a lean -little brown hand with what was for him an -air of unusual condescension.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sit down,” he said, “you are a good child, -and I shall miss you. But we shall meet again -in September, I understand. By the way, I -have decided to give you a letter of introduction -to the fairy agent at the Cushats. The garden -must have one, though I do not happen to -know him. I don’t expect you will see very -much of him, for you will not be as lonely there -as here, and so much left to yourself. Considering -that she isn’t a proper fairy godmother, -yours seems to do very well by you. Still, -it would be nicer for you to have the chance of -getting to know another fairy if you could.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>All this while Sweet William had been -rummaging in his cupboard. He now drew -from it a white Japanese anemone, with its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>petals tightly shut up. This he handed to -Philomène. “Is it the envelope?” she asked, -wonderingly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, child,” he replied, “it is the letter. -I have written all that is necessary on the -inside of the petals, and the anemone will open -only when you have found the person for whom -it is intended.” Philomène thanked him, and -they took a friendly farewell of each other.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was Lilian Augusta with whom she travelled -to the little country station where Godmother -was to meet her. She sat bolt-upright in her -corner of the carriage, looking at the daisied -fields as they sped by; she watched the miniature -carts and horses as they toiled along the -road below the level of the train, and her spirits -were so high that nothing could chill or damp -them, not even the drink concocted by Nurse -for the journey, a horrible mixture of tea and -milk with far too much sugar in it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The little station of Wyndham-on-Ferry, at -which the travellers presently arrived, was -altogether too sleepy for this bustling age. -The fiery red geraniums in the station-master’s -garden nodded drowsily in the hot sun, the -solitary porter seemed almost as drowsy as -the geraniums, and the only wide-awake -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>creature about the place was a cock that crowed -from a neighbouring farmyard. Outside the -station Godmother was waiting with the new -trap and the white donkey, and Philomène -had soon scrambled up on to the seat beside -her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“O Godmother,” she cried, “he really is a -dear, with just the same big brown eyes as -the donkey in the picture over the schoolroom -mantelpiece, and the same long ears laid back.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>They had not driven far before the breath -of the pinewoods met them, and that sound -which is older than all the world beside, the -primeval cadence of the league-long surf.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The gate of the Cushats stood open, white and -friendly. The pigeons were cooing heart to -heart in the woods, and the mingled sweets -of heliotrope, rose, and jasmine, streamed out -in wordless welcome. The lime-tree outside -the bow-window of the drawing-room was casting -a tremulous shadow on the lush-green turf of -the lawn, and the pale gold of early evening -was on the little old gabled house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The furnishing of Philomène’s room was as -innocently white and as hopefully green as -any snowdrop; there was no carpet on the -floor, only some green and white matting in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>places. A copy of one of Watts’ pictures, that -of a knight standing lost in thought beside -his white horse, was hanging where Philomène -could see it as she lay in bed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The knight’s horse is very beautiful, Godmother,” -she murmured just before dropping -off to sleep, “but I think I like a white donkey -even better.” Her hand was in Isolde’s, and -the shoheen of the night wind in the pinewoods -sounded in her ears as the sound of the sea.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span> - <h2 id='XII' class='c004'>CHAPTER XII<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE HEROINE PRESENTS HER LETTER OF INTRODUCTION</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Philomène’s first day at the Cushats happened -to be a Sunday, and after breakfast on the -lawn Isolde took her goddaughter to the weekly -children’s service. These services were short -and simple, and the vicar of Wyndham-on-Ferry -was acknowledged by everybody to be -at his best when addressing children. He was -a tall, spare man, with a somewhat stern expression -of face, “and what his servant is about -is more than I can tell,” Nurse had once remarked, -“for he has the look of a person who -lives on nothing but mince and hot water.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the side-chapel of the village church hung -a copy of an Italian picture, S. Mary Magdalene, -black-haired and crimson-robed, and to Philomène -the pale sad face, framed in its shadowy -tresses, seemed like the face of some sorrowful -mermaid. Neither her father nor her godmother -had ever insisted upon her attending -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>drearily long services which could have held no -meaning for her, and the result was that she -was very fond of going to church. She loved -the sweet-voiced bells and the vibrating tones -of the organ, the rich colouring of the stained-glass -and the stately rhythm of the prayers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It just makes me feel like a king’s daughter,” -she had once confided to Isolde, “and do you -know, Godmother, I really think I like it better -than the theatre, because there is no tiresome -clapping to interrupt in the middle, and disturb -one, and make one feel every-dayish again all -of a sudden.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What would you like to do, little cushat?” -asked Isolde, as the two strolled home together -across the fields. “I have some letters that I -must write, and I am afraid they will take me -till lunch-time.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will look at your Granny’s big picture -Bible first,” said Philomène, “and then write -to Daddy and play with the pussies, and after -that I will go and have a look at the dove-cot.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There aren’t any doves, you know,” said -Isolde, “I don’t particularly want to keep any. -There are quite enough in the woods all round.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, that doesn’t matter a bit,” said Philomène, -“one can always pretend.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>So Godmother settled herself to write on the -verandah, and Philomène brought out the -Bible. It was a very bulky book, for it contained -not only the Old and New Testaments, -but the Old and New Testament Apocryphas -as well. Judging from the dog’s-eared pages -thereabouts, it would appear that Godmother’s -Granny had looked oftenest at the picture of -Jacob blessing his twelve sons from a four-poster -bed, and at another of the Last Judgment, -the grouping of which suggested nothing so -much as a prize-giving. But Philomène preferred -Martha, cumbered with a pepper-pot -and a soup-tureen, because she reminded her -of Lilian Augusta, and Pharaoh’s daughter with -the rosettes on her shoes, and best of all she -liked S. Anne by the laurel-bush, complaining -to the sparrow in its nest that she had no child. -Again and again had Philomène peeped over -the edge of that nest to count the eggs, but the -mother bird spread wide its brooding wings, -and baffled her curiosity.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As soon as Philomène had had a look at -her favourite pictures, she put away the -book and wrote two whole sheets to her father. -After that she began to play with Don -Whiskerandos, Isolde’s black Persian, who -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>sat blinking in the sun at his mistress’s feet. -Occasionally he roused himself sufficiently to -wash his front paws, which were like velvet -tassels for softness, but for the rest he was -sleepy and undemonstrative. Philomène had -christened him Dives, because he fared sumptuously -every day and took no notice of his -neighbours, and she soon gave up trying to -play with him, and went in search of Lazarus, -the gingery stable cat. Lazarus was certainly -as plain and as under-bred as it is possible for -a cat to be, but as Philomène always loved -anything which other people did not consider -it worth their while to love, his very gingerliness -and the bullet shape of his head cried out to -her for affection.</p> - -<p class='c007'>By the time Lazarus had had his full share -of attention, the bell rang for luncheon on the -verandah, and when lunch was over, Isolde -gave herself up to her godchild. She swung -her untiringly in the swing between the two -horse-chestnut trees, she tucked her up in the -hammock and read to her, they played battledore -and shuttlecock together on the lawn, and at -tea-time retreated to the shadow of a giant -haystack in a field close by, to eat home-made -scones and strawberries and cream.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>It was here that the vicar found them. He -was no stranger to Philomène, for he often -dropped in at the Cushats on a Sunday afternoon, -and she was not shy with him, but as -soon as he and her godmother began talking -politics, she thought it was about time for the -dove-cot. As she left the field and came back -into the garden, it occurred to her that it might -be as well to take with her Sweet William’s -letter of introduction. The tall silver savings-box -stood on the dressing-table in her room, -and inside were the latchkey and the anemone. -With the flower in her hand she hurried towards -the disused dove-cot, and upon reaching -it was very much surprised by a slight flutter -of wings from inside it. She put her hand into -one of the pigeon-holes, and something brushed -past it and flew out into the open. Could it -be a dove after all? she wondered. But then -she saw that the anemone was full blown, and -in another minute she became aware of a little -creature perched upon the dove-cot. It was -a fairy; who but a fairy could have had such -glistering wings, and worn a dress of tussore-coloured -silk from a caterpillar’s cocoon? -The elf rather reminded Philomène of Master -Mustardseed, for she had small, bright eyes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>like those of a bird, and her little head was -cocked on one side as she sat and looked at -the intruder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am very sorry to have disturbed you,” -began Philomène, “but I had no idea that this -was your house. I think I have a letter for -you,” and so saying she handed the Japanese -anemone to the fairy, who buried her face in -its petals. When she looked up from the letter, -she was smiling kindly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Did you have any green ribbons——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” interrupted Philomène eagerly, “I -did; on my christening robe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, that accounts for it,” said the elf, -still smiling, “and I shall be very glad to do -anything I can to amuse you while you are here. -I only wish I were not quite so busy, but the -grounds are large, very large for the size of the -house, and my time is not my own. However, -I will do what I can, during the hours when you -and your godmother are not together. I do not -know Sweet William at all, not even by name, -but he has written of you in the most flattering -terms. I was asleep just now when you put -your hand into my bedroom, and I am sure I -ought to feel very grateful to you for waking -me up out of my shockingly long noon-day nap, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>for I have any amount of work before me, so -that I am afraid I cannot be of much service -to you this afternoon.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is it that you are going to see to?” -asked Philomène with interest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am in great difficulties about housing a -mole,” replied the little agent in a troubled -voice, “I let part of the front lawn to him, but -the gardener interfered. He is a most tiresome -old man.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Godmother says he doesn’t know much -about gardening,” remarked Philomène, “and -I know that whenever I ask him the name of a -flower he just goes on muttering, ‘What’s this -we call it now? What’s this we call it?’ -till either I remember it myself, or someone -else comes up and tells me. But Godmother -keeps him on because he has been here a long -time, and I expect the other man and the boy -really do all the work. Besides, I once heard -her say to my Daddy that the one thing he did -understand was grass, and that he makes her -lawns as good as any in the county. She seemed -quite pleased about it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The elf nodded her head sagely. “That is -just the trouble,” she replied, “I mean from -the point of view of a land- and house-agent. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>He is so careful of the lawns that he won’t -allow any mole to rent them. However, I -must see what I can do for my tenant in some -out of the way corner. And now I must really -say good afternoon, and ask you to put off our -next meeting till to-morrow. Oh, by the way -though, before I go you had better tell me your -name—Sweet William has forgotten to mention -it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My name is Philomène, Philomène Isolde,” -said the little girl, “and please, what is yours?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Speedwell,” answered the other, and she -spread her wings, nodded a friendly good-bye, -and flew away. Philomène stood watching her -flight till the glittering wings disappeared behind -the rosemary hedge, after which she made -her way to the wilderness of currant and gooseberry -bushes behind the house. Here stood -a tub, and a see-saw, and a shed, but before -she had made up her mind whether to go to -sea in the tub, or turn the shed into a Red -Indian wigwam, her attention was distracted by -what sounded like the twittering of two birds -at once in a currant bush near by.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And yet it doesn’t sound quite like an -ordinary bird either,” thought Philomène, and -she went close up to the bush. One bird there -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>certainly was, perched on a leafy twig and -twittering shrilly, but it was Speedwell -who was sitting upon another branch, and -arguing with the bird. As Philomène came -up both stopped talking, seemingly quite out -of breath.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What have you done with the letter?” -asked Philomène smiling, “did you throw it -away when you started house-hunting for the -mole?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The elf cocked her head on one side, and -looked up with small bright eyes; her shimmering -wings were folded, and her little green shoes -peeped from beneath her dress of tussore-coloured -silk. “I do not understand you,” -said she, “I don’t even know who you are. -Oh, yes, I do though, you must be the little -girl who was to arrive yesterday; the stable -cat told me you were expected. But we have -not met till this moment.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I was speaking to you only a few -minutes ago at the dove-cot, and I gave you -Sweet William’s letter of introduction!” exclaimed -Philomène in amazement.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The elf laughed. “It must have been my -twin sister whom you saw just now,” said she, -“I am Spirea. However, I don’t wonder at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>your mistake, for when we were babies and -cradled in the same pod, our own mother did -not know us apart. We will settle about your -lease some other time,” she added, turning to -the bird, who had been preening his feathers -to conceal his annoyance at the interruption, -“and you had better not mention it to the -people at the Rookery till you hear something -more definite from me. Now I am at your -disposal,” she continued to Philomène, “where -shall we go? To the swing? You might sit -in it, and I could talk to you from a mossy -settee between the roots of one of the horse-chestnuts.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The place was soon reached, and the two -remained chatting there very pleasantly, till -Philomène thought it must be getting late, -and that she ought to find out if her godmother -intended to go to evensong; so she said good-night -to Spirea, who promised to see her again -the following day.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Isolde was still sitting in the hayfield, and -the vicar stood before her, abusing modern -operas. “What dreadfully dull things they -do talk about,” thought Philomène, “when -they might have been making friends with -twin fairies all this time! But perhaps they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>couldn’t, even if they wanted to, not without -the green ribbons.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’re fond of music, aren’t you?” asked -the vicar, sitting down and drawing Philomène -towards him into the lengthening shade of the -hayrick. Philomène nodded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” she replied, “some music. I don’t -like Lilian Augusta’s hymns much, but I do like -it when Godmother sits by herself at the spinet -and sings:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c008'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>‘I would I were on yonder hill,</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis there I’d sit and cry my fill,</div> - <div class='line'>Till every tear should turn a mill.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Isolde blushed. “It is only a little Irish -song,” she explained in some confusion, “a -very plaintive little love-song; I believe -Hændel is supposed to have said that he would -rather have written that one air than the whole -of the ‘Messiah.’”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you going to church, Godmother?” -asked Philomène, as she lay full length on the -hot grass, looking up at the clouds that were -drifting white, fleecy, and unshepherded, across -their native pastures, and asking herself -whether in the long run she would prefer blue -fields to green.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>“I think so,” said Isolde, and she got up -as she spoke.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I will too,” said Philomène, “and of -course you will come anyhow, because you have -to,” she added in her serious, understanding -way to the vicar. He laughed good-humouredly, -and walked by her side, swinging his cane, and -repeating half aloud as he went:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c008'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“The sun, above the mountain’s head,</div> - <div class='line in2'>A freshening lustre mellow</div> - <div class='line'>Through all the long green fields has spread,</div> - <div class='line in2'>His first sweet evening yellow.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>“Capital,” murmured the tall, gaunt vicar, -“the very words for it, the only words for it! -‘His first sweet evening yellow’—what -wouldn’t I give to have written that myself?”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span> - <h2 id='XIII' class='c004'>CHAPTER XIII<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH GREAT GOOD FORTUNE BEFALLS THE HEROINE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Sweet William had been right when he foretold -that Philomène would not see much of the -fairy agent at the Cushats, for Isolde devoted -herself whole-heartedly to the amusement of -her godchild, and the days chased each other -in their eagerness to turn into to-morrow, with -its fresh succession of walks and talks and -drives and picnics. Yet there were of necessity -times when Philomène was left to amuse herself, -and it was then that Speedwell and Spirea -came skimming towards her through the air, -or peeped up at her out of the flowers, or hopped -down to her from the trees. It was not, however, -till August that anything of importance -befell.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène was in the stable, feeding the white -donkey with sugar, and begging him to talk -to her if he could. “If Balaam’s donkey -talked to him when he was unkind and stupid -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>and hit it,” she reasoned persuasively, “I -think the least you can do is to talk to me when -I am giving you all this sugar. Of course if -you really can’t, that is another thing, but I -never feel sure of that these days. Oh, you -there, Spirea?” The last exclamation was -due to the sudden appearance of one of the -twins between the donkey’s glossy ears.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m not Spirea, I’m Speedwell,” replied -the fairy, “but it’s of no consequence. Is your -godmother likely to want you within the next -hour or so?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” said Philomène, “she has driven off -to pay a call, and won’t be back till nearly -supper-time.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That is really very fortunate,” said Speedwell, -“because it would have been a pity for you -to miss this chance. There is an old merman -in a little creek about half a mile from here, -and if you come with me quickly, I will introduce -you to him.”</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/illus135.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>For a moment Philomène’s heart seemed to -stand still with the very joy and marvel of -the thing, but the next she had begun to run, -and the elf half ran, half flew, by her side. -The beach was of yellow sand, hard and smooth, -stretching for mile upon mile along the coast; -the tide was coming in, blue fringed with white -by the shore, but a vague, sad purple farther -out to sea. The little creek was soon reached, -and as the sea ran up into it, smooth and shallow, -Philomène took off her shoes and stockings, -and began to paddle; and there, sure enough -in the shelter of a projecting rock, screened from -the steady August sunshine, and with his tail -in the water, sat the old merman, gazing out -to sea.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is Philomène,” said Speedwell, and -turning round, she half ran, half flew, back -across the sands, as fast as glistening wings -and little green shoes could carry her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène sat down on a low boulder, her -feet dangling in the warm caressing water, her -wide eyes fixed upon the merman. She had -neither the breath nor the courage to start a -conversation. The merman raised his head -and tossed back his sea-green hair from his -sea-green eyes; then passing his fingers through -the matted locks, where tiny shells hung -tangled, he turned upon Philomène a rugged, -weather-beaten face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am glad to see you,” he said in a deep, -musical voice, “the fairies seem to be your -very good friends.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>“I should be very much obliged if you would -tell me about the sea,” suggested Philomène -timidly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The merman laughed a deep, musical laugh. -“That would indeed be a long story,” said he, -“it is as if some one were to say to you, ‘Tell -me about the land.’ So you love the sea, do -you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I love it,” replied Philomène, looking -away over it towards the horizon, “it is beautiful -in the same sort of way as the deep red of S. -Mary Magdalene’s dress in the chapel, burning -red like cherries with the sun on them, and like -the third chord in ‘Lead, kindly Light,’ and -like the smell of the garden early in the morning, -and they all make one hurt inside in just the -same way, though they are such very different -things.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène was wondering if anything were -making the merman “hurt inside,” he was so -silent and grave, but then she remembered that -the mer-folk are said to have no souls, and must -feel that everything beautiful is but for a very -little while.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t expect he would marry me even if -I asked him to,” she reflected, “and that is -supposed to be the only way of helping a merperson -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>to a soul. Oh, I do wish I could get -one for him! But perhaps there is another -way after all, though no one has found it out -yet. I must not forget to think of him next -time I go to church.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was not quite sure what particular -prayer could be made to fit him, but at last -decided that he might very well count as one -of the people in the Litany who “travel by -water.” She had just arrived at this conclusion, -when the merman roused himself from -his reverie, and turned towards her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I cannot tell you all about the sea in one -conversation,” he said, “but a little is better -than nothing at all, so I will tell you a story. -It is the way of the land-folk to speak of the -sea as treacherous, but this story will show -you that she keeps faith with her own.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span> - <h2 id='XIV' class='c004'>CHAPTER XIV<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE MERMAN TELLS HIS STORY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>There was once upon a time a poor fisher -couple who lived together in a hut upon a -lonely beach, and while the husband was absent -fishing upon the high seas, the wife earned a -scanty livelihood by spinning.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now one stormy winter’s night a little -daughter was born to them, and because the -mother would have it that the child was ailing, -the fisherman struggled forth into the howling -gale to fetch a priest for the christening. The -path was narrow between the cliffs and the sea, -and the waves were so violent that he feared -lest they might overwhelm him at any moment. -All at once he caught sight of a merman mounted -on one of the crested billows.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Whither away, good neighbour, in the wind -and dark?” quoth he.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My wife lies at home with a newborn child,” -replied the fisherman, “and I go in search of a -priest that he may christen it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>“I pray you, let me stand sponsor,” said the -merman.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That shall never be,” the fisherman made -answer, “what part or lot have you in any -christening?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At that the merman grew very angry. “You -fool!” he cried, “is the good-will of the sea -nothing to you? Has she no treasures in her -depths for those whom she favours?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now the fisherman had no mind to set the -sea against him, moreover he was in haste; -he therefore gave his consent, and hurried on. -That same night a priest came to the little hut -on the beach, and christened the baby, and they -called her name Carey, because, like one of -Mother Carey’s chickens, she had made her nest -in the storm. And all the while the sea roared -around the hut, and the fisherman, casting a -furtive glance at the window behind him, saw -that the merman was looking in. From that time -forward things went well with him; his fishing -prospered, and the tempest spared his boat. -Nevertheless he resolved to say no word to -his wife about the merman’s sponsorship.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now when Carey had grown to be a little -maid of some seven years old, she was playing -by herself late one summer’s afternoon upon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>the yellow sands that sloped to the water’s -edge. All of a sudden a voice called to her. -“Carey!” it said, and again, “Carey!” Then, -turning her head, she became aware of a merman, -seated under a rock near by, and basking -in the hot afternoon sunshine. He had a -rugged, somewhat world-weary look, and the -hair hung about his face like ribbons of brown -seaweed, while his eyes were brown and gentle -like the eyes of a seal.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So we meet at last, goddaughter,” said he.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you my godfather then?” asked Carey, -and she came fearlessly and sat down beside -him on the rippling sand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That I am indeed,” the merman made -answer, “and here is a belated christening -gift.” And so saying he hung about her neck -a necklace of sea-shells. “Do not despise it,” -he added, “though it looks but a poor thing. -It may be that some day you will learn its worth, -for so long as you wear it the sea will know you -for her own.” Then he told her how it happened -that he had come to be her godfather, after -which little Carey said she must go home, but -she promised to return to that same creek on -the following day, and to say nothing to her -parents of the meeting.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>So the next day she came again, and the day -after, and every day throughout the summer she -ran to the little creek to see her godfather, and -hear from him strange songs and stories of the -sea, to which she loved to listen, for all they -were so sad. And in the winter, when the -rough weather kept her indoors, she would sit -contentedly by the fire while her father was -mending his nets and her mother span, and would -tell over the wondrous tales to herself till she -had them by heart. Nor was it long before the -summer came again, and then another winter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now one Christmas night Carey lay broad -awake, and listened to the bells from the grey -church on the wind-swept cliff, chiming far -and wide across the sea, and on the following -morning she slipped out unnoticed and ran to -the sheltered creek. This time her godfather -was nowhere to be seen, but nothing doubting -she called to him, standing barefooted where -the waves broke, and at her call he rose straightway -out of the sea.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Last night I heard the church bells, godfather,” -said Carey as she sat beside him under -their favourite rock, “were they not beautiful?” -But the old merman’s face darkened as she -spoke.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>“They are not beautiful to me,” he made -answer, “I know that your race has a love -for the sound, and soon grows homesick for -the want of it, but with my people it is not so. -I will tell you what befell me long ago. There -stood a little chapel on a rocky islet, and one -Christmas night the bells rang out so joyously -and with such a note of welcome in their voices, -that I pressed as close as I might to the window -of many-coloured glass, and within there was -light, and the sound of chanting. But when -the monks came forth, they drove me away -with hard words, and called me an evil spirit.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Carey put her arms about him, and -kissed him many times, saying, “Never mind, -dear godfather; I know that you are not an -evil spirit, and I will always love you.” And -at that the smile came again to his face. These -were happy years for them both, and they sped -past unheeded, till Carey was no longer a little -maid, but a fair tall maiden with many suitors.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now it happened that one Shrovetide Carey -went to church, and as she followed the straggling -path along the top of the cliffs, a stranger -joined her, clad like a huntsman all in green, -with a horn by his side, and two great hounds at -his heels.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>“Where are you going, fair maid?” -asked he.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I go to church,” she said, “because it is -Shrovetide.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“May I walk by your side?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That you may, if it so please you,” said -she. So they walked on together, talking as -they went, but when they reached the little -grey church he stopped short.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you go in alone, mistress,” he said, “and -I will wait for you here.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Carey entered the church alone, but as -soon as she came out the huntsman joined her -again, and they walked homewards together. -Now he was a fair-spoken man, with much to -tell of distant climes and strange adventures, -so that Carey contrasted him in her thoughts -with the uncouth, tongue-tied fisher lads, -her wooers, and was sorry when the moment -came for parting.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here I must bid you farewell,” said she, -when the pathway was reached that led down -to the shore, “for my home lies yonder.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Will you not first appoint me a trysting-place?” -quoth he.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At that Carey’s heart took fright in her -breast, nevertheless she made answer, as though -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>compelled thereto; “To-morrow I go cockling -down upon the sands.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And may I seek you there?” asked the -huntsman.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That I did not say,” said she, and she turned -and ran from him down the winding path, her -thoughts all in a turmoil of fear and joy and -wonder. But when she reached home she -found sorrow awaiting her, for her father, whom -she dearly loved, had fallen grievously sick. -All night she nursed him, but on the morrow -her mother took her place, and bade her go -cockling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Carey took her basket and made her way -along the yellow sands, with joy and grief at -war in her heart, and as she went the waves -cast up a large sea-shell at her feet. Stooping -she picked it up, and put it to her ear, for the -sake of the music that it held. “Turn back, -turn back,” murmured the voice of the sea, -“have nothing to do with this stranger.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is surely a message from my godfather,” -said Carey to herself, and for a while -she stood irresolute with the shell in her hand, -but at last she threw it from her, back into the -tumbling foam. “I will go to the trysting-place -all the same,” said she, “for I have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>pledged my word.” But it was not the thought -of her promise that moved her, but her fancy -for the stranger, which she mistook for love. -Not many minutes later she saw him coming -towards her, and at first they talked together -as on the previous day, but soon he began to -court her with words and caresses, and besought -her to follow him to his home.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That I cannot do,” said Carey, “for my -father lies dying.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Appoint me at least to-morrow’s trysting-place,” -said he, “and then I will let you go. -Know you the inland woods, and the green -ride in their midst, with a fallen tree-trunk -at the end of it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I know it well,” replied Carey, “it is where -the early primroses blow.” So saying she -turned away from him, and made haste homewards.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now the next day, when the fisherman lay -at the point of death, he said to his wife; -“Wife, I have something on my mind; it is -a secret I have kept from you these many -years.” And thereupon he told her of Carey’s -godfather, the merman, and of how he had been -present at the christening. “I charge you,” -added the dying man, “not to deal harshly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>with our daughter on this account, since it was -none of her doing. Moreover, it has brought -us good fortune.” And having said these -words, the sick man breathed his last.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But that very hour the fisherman’s widow -said to Carey; “This is no light matter that -your father has confessed to me. Swear to -me that you have had no intercourse with this -sea-monster.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That will I not,” said Carey staunchly, -“for I have known him since I was a little -maid, and he is no sea-monster at all, but the -kindest godfather in the world.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At that her mother flew into a frenzy of rage. -“You deceitful hussy!” she screamed, “so -behind my back you have had dealings with a -wicked sprite that is without an immortal soul! -Get you gone this instant!” And so saying -she drove her from the house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Carey went sadly along the beach till -she reached the familiar creek, and there she -sought her godfather in his wonted haunts, -and when she could not find him she called to -him many times, but he neither came nor -answered. The sea was running high, and the -weather was dark and lowering.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He is angry with me because I did not heed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>his message yesterday,” thought Carey, “he -too has forsaken me. I will go to the wood and -meet the huntsman there, for he alone is left -to love me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now it happened that on her way inland -Carey came across a horse-shoe, which she picked -up and took with her for good luck. As soon -as she had reached the green ride in the midst -of the wood, she saw the stranger at the farther -end of it, standing by the fallen tree-trunk, -with a great coal-black steed at his side, and -the two hounds with him. She held up the -horse-shoe in token of welcome, and when she -had drawn nearer she called to him merrily, -“Only see what I have found! It will bring -us good fortune!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But even as she spoke, the horse reared and -pawed the ground, the hounds whined and -cowered at their master’s feet, and the huntsman -himself held out both hands before his face, -as though to avert a danger.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Maid, if you bear me any love,” cried he, -“throw the thing from you! I come of a race -that is at enmity with iron!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Carey, though she understood him not -at all, tossed the horse-shoe into a thicket hard -by, and approached her lover. But he on a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>sudden sprang upon his horse, and caught her -to him, and set her on the saddle before him. -Then the great black steed rose up into the air, -and the hounds with it, and Carey screamed -aloud in her terror.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are no other than the Wild Huntsman!” -she cried out, “woe worth the day that I met -you!” Then it was that she remembered how -all evil spirits stand in great fear of iron, and -knew too late that had she but kept firm hold of -the horse-shoe, he could have done her no harm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Over the tree-tops they soared, and on -through the air like a whirlwind, away and away -over forest and field and morass, till they came -to the mountain fastness where the Wild -Huntsman had his home. Bleak and grim -was his castle, and it stood amidst sombre, -impenetrable forests. Here he held Carey a -captive, but whenever he rode forth in the -night he would take her with him, and set her -before him on his mighty, coal-black steed. -Then when the storm blast shrieked overhead, -the forest folk would cower together in their -huts, and say trembling one to the other; -“The Wild Huntsman passes on his way. -Hark to the baying of his hounds!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But on midsummer’s eve Carey saw from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>the battlements that there were beacon fires -burning on all the hill tops far and near, and she -rejoiced to think that he could not venture -forth that night, for the fires one and all were -lit to keep evil spirits at a distance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Wearily, wearily, the nights and days wore -away, and Carey soon lost all count of time. -The trees grew leafless and the winds more -blustering, and the Wild Huntsman rode -abroad more often. Only one day as Carey -sat by her casement, she saw a long procession -of gnomes, bent and brown and wrinkled, -filing through a cleft in a rock, and disappearing -one by one. By that she knew that it must be -Martinmas already, when the dwarfs bid farewell -to the bleak upper world, and retreat to -their warm winter quarters in the heart of the -earth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Drearily, drearily, the days and nights wore -on, and when Carey rode forth with the Wild -Huntsman, she could see nothing below her but -pathless wastes of snow, and forest trees groaning -beneath a grievous burden of icicles. Then -she called to mind the cheery winter evenings -in her father’s hut, and she would have wept -save that all her tears seemed frozen, even as -the world.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>At the last came Yuletide. Carey sat alone -in the great hall of the castle, and the Yule log -sputtered on the hearth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah me, how bitter cold it is,” chirruped -a cricket, breaking silence, and Carey, rousing -herself from her sad musings, remembered -an old wife’s tale that birds and beasts and even -stocks and stones gain speech on Christmas -Eve.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you are cold, friend cricket,” quoth the -Yule log in a crackling voice, “I pray you draw -a little nearer to my blaze.” And he burst -asunder into such a lively flame, that it would -have done any heart good to see it, and warmed -even the sad heart of Carey.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is no proper house for the keeping -of Yule,” muttered the hearthstone morosely, -“never so much as a sprig of yew or holly, -let alone a goodly show of mistletoe, with -tankards of brown ale and a boar’s head all -a-smoking.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is indeed a desolate hearth, my friends,” -said Carey sorrowfully, “and I have greater -reason for complaint than you all.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Take courage, mistress,” said the Yule -log cheerily, “things may take a turn for the -better with you, just as they did with me. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>Look you, I stood a long while in the forest, -perished with cold, snow upon my head and -snow at my feet, but now I am a merry Yule -log, and warm to the inmost heart of me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I too will take courage,” said Carey, -though she sighed as she spoke.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now between Christmas and Twelfth Night -the Wild Huntsman rode abroad every night, -and Carey rode with him. But on Twelfth -Night itself, as she sat before him on horseback, -she caught a glimpse of a far silver streak -upon the horizon, and as the Wild Hunt swept -onward through the frosty air, the streak -broadened and broadened till it grew to a -shining expanse, and Carey knew that at last -she was within sight of the sea. Tremblingly -she put up her hand to her neck, and felt for -the necklace of shells that was still securely -clasped about it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will throw myself upon the mercy of the -sea,” said she to herself, “am I not its godchild? -And if I die, death will be better than -my present lot.” Already the waters were -rolling beneath her, ashen grey in the moonlight. -Therefore, on a sudden, she sprang down -from the Wild Huntsman’s horse, and plunged -into the wintry sea. Coldly, darkly, thunderously, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>the waves closed overhead, and her -senses forsook her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When she came to herself she was lying -stretched upon an immense plain, with strange -trees waving above her and strange flowers -round about; strange, many-eyed creatures -slipped past her, gazing curiously, and over -her hung the still waters, green as twilight -skies. Carey got to her feet, all lost in wonder, -and as she stood looking about her, a mighty -shadow purpled the water, and towards her a -monstrous serpent came swimming.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Fear nothing, Carey,” it said, “for we are -all your friends.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I pray you take me to my godfather,” -she begged, “I am afraid to linger in this -strange country all alone.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Mount upon my back then,” quoth the sea-serpent, -“and cling to my shaggy mane.” -So together they sped away over mountain and -valley, through forests of branching coral, -past cities and hamlets where the mer-folk -dwelt, and sunken ships in the midst of forgotten -treasures.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At last they reached a cave in a hillside, and -here the sea-serpent set her down and left her. -On the instant her godfather came to meet her; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>tenderly he kissed away her self-reproaches, -and bidding her rest and refresh herself, he -led her to an inner room, where the roof and -walls were all of amber, while the floor was -strewn with pure white sand. Then he sent -his servants to her, swift and silent fishes, who -waited upon her with the choicest dainties -of the sea, and prepared for her a bed of seamew’s -down, upon which she lay and slept for -many hours.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As soon as she was awake again, the noiseless -fishes returned, and deftly robed her in a fair -green dress of feathery seaweed, more delicate -than any lace; also they adorned her with -chains of lustrous pearls, and wound red sea-anemones -in her dark hair, and when she was -ready she went in to her godfather, who greeted -her with all affection.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have been lonely without you, Carey,” -said the old merman, “have you come to stay -with me now, and to be my little maid as in -the former days?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you will have me, godfather,” said Carey, -“I will remain with you here, and be as a -daughter to you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So for nearly a year these two lived together -in great contentment, but on New Year’s Eve -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>Carey said to her godfather; “There is a -longing within me to-night that will not be -stayed; I must needs rise to the surface once -again, and hear the midnight chimes from our -little grey church on the cliffs.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At these words the merman grew very sad. -“I knew it would come sooner or later,” said -he, “go, my child, since you must. You are -free.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus it was that when midnight drew on, -Carey rose out of the waves hard by the familiar -coast, and sitting down under the rock where -first she had seen her godfather, she held her -breath and listened.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All in a moment the bells burst forth, ringing -in the new year; merrily they chimed, yet with -an undertone of sadness for the year that was -past; over sea and land they clashed and pealed, -rushing, swelling, dying, and as Carey heard -them her heart-strings nigh snapped with -homesickness. Nevertheless when the golden -tongued bells had fallen silent once more, she -went back into the breaking seas.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At home in his cave the old merman sat and -mused. “It were better to die at once and -dissolve into foam,” said he to himself, “than -to live on through the unnumbered years -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>without her.” Yet even as he thought it, Carey -entered, whom he had never hoped to see -returning, and put her arms about his neck.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So, Carey, you have come back to me after -all,” he said wonderingly, “back from your own -kind and the free upper air, away from the -memories and the bells?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There are none left upon the shore to love -me now,” she made answer, “my father is -dead, and my mother has cast me out. I will -remain here with you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At that the old merman rejoiced greatly, -for he knew that he would now be lonely no -longer. As for Carey, his goddaughter, she left -off from her homesickness, and lived among -the mer-folk as one of themselves.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And is she living there still?” asked -Philomène.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the merman had forgotten her, and was -looking out to sea again. So she rose quietly, -and paddled out of the creek; the tide was all -but in now, and she ran home barefooted along -the yellow sands.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span> - <h2 id='XV' class='c004'>CHAPTER XV<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE TWIN SISTERS TELL A STORY BETWEEN THEM</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>It was August still, and early evening; an -evening of balmy airs and dappled skies. -Philomène, bedded in bracken, lay nestling -at the foot of a mighty pine-tree on the outskirts -of the woods, separated only by a haha -from the garden of the Cushats, and the twin -fairies were with her. Speedwell was seated -in a swinging hammock of green tendrils, in -among the undergrowth, and was busy making -herself some intricate spider’s web lace, while -Spirea, on a fallen pine-cone, stitched away -industriously at a dainty patchwork coverlet -of sweetpea petals for the bed in the dove-cot.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I do wonder,” Philomène was saying, -“whether my merman knew the merman who -was Carey’s godfather. Perhaps they were -old friends, like Godmother and my mother, -only of course at the bottom of the sea.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That reminds me,” said Speedwell, “that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>neither of us has ever yet told you a story. -We seem always to have had so many other -things to talk about. Would you like one -now?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, yes, I should, ever so much,” replied -Philomène, “and I think I should like it to -be about water, and about trees and ferns and -mosses, just like these here, if you don’t mind.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If it’s a fresh-water story she wants,” -observed Spirea, “you might as well tell her -the one about the pixie’s nursling.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So I might,” said Speedwell, and she -began:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“In the heart of a certain forest there was -a deep pool, still and green, where waterlilies -rocked in the summer time. Now it happened -that a woodcutter had daily to pass this pool -as he went to and fro from his work, and one -evening as he came by he heard a sweet voice -calling to him from the water, saying; “Good -master woodcutter, I pray you make me a -cradle.” Then, because he was under the spell -of the sweet voice, the woodcutter went home -and sat up all night, making an oaken cradle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What are you about?” asked his wife, -“why will you not come to bed?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I met a stranger in the forest,” replied her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>husband, “and she begged me of my charity -to make her a cradle for her newborn child.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>When morning broke, the woodcutter went -back to his work, and as he passed the pool -he set down the cradle upon its mossy bank; -and that same evening when he came by again, -he heard the cradle rocking under water, and -the sweet voice called to him a second time, -and said; “Of what use to me is a cradle -except I know a lullaby also? Good master -woodcutter, I pray you teach me a lullaby.” -So the woodcutter went home and said to his -wife; “Tell me now, wife, what are the words -of the cradle-song which you sing to our little -son?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They are but an idle jingle,” returned his -wife.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell me them notwithstanding,” persisted -her husband, “for the tune runs in my head, -but the words I have forgotten.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“These are the words then,” said she.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c008'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“The hermit has tolled his bell,</div> - <div class='line'>And the wizard moon rides high;</div> - <div class='line'>Ah me, the bell and the moon!</div> - <div class='line'>Bye, bye, little sweeting, bye, bye;</div> - <div class='line'>Sing-song; ding-dong;</div> - <div class='line'>And so good-night to the moon.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>“It is but a meaningless jingle, as you said,” -quoth the woodcutter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the next day when he went to his work -in the forest, he stood still among the rushes -by the pool, and sang the lullaby aloud; and -that same evening as he came by he heard the -cradle rocking under water, and the sweet -voice singing the cradle-song; but as he drew -nearer it broke off, and called to him the third -time, and said; “Of what use to me are a -cradle and a lullaby, except I have a baby -also? Good master woodcutter, I pray you -bring me a baby.” Then, because he was -bewitched, the woodcutter went home and said -to his wife, “Wife, there is a fair to-morrow -at the town. Would you like to go?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should like nothing half so well,” said -she, “but I cannot leave the little one.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Give the child to me,” said her husband, -“and I promise you that no harm shall befall -him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So when it was morning the woodcutter took -his little son, and went and laid him down on a -bed of sorrel by the pool, and hurried on into -the forest; and that same evening as he came -by again, he heard the cradle rocking under -water, and the sweet voice singing the lullaby -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>and the happy cooing of a baby. But when he -reached home he told his wife that as he had -been hewing timber in one of the forest glades, -a kite had swooped down and carried off the -child. Then the poor mother wept bitterly, -and would not be consoled.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now within the pool there dwelt a beautiful -pixie, fair and white as any swan, with radiant -golden hair, and eyes clearer than crystal. -Yet for all she was so fair, and had her home -in among the white and yellow waterlilies, the -pixie hated her life and was weary of it, for -she had lived already through unnumbered -years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Did I not know the world when it was -young?” sighed she to herself, “ah, would -that I might grow old along with it.”</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/illus163.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic003'> -<p>“KISSED IT SO THAT IT MIGHT BE ABLE TO LIVE UNDER WATER.”<br /><span class='right'><i>Page <a href='#Page_153'>153</a></i></span><br /><span class='left'><i>The Fairy Latchkey.</i></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>Now it had been told her that a draught of -the elixir of death could alone release her, -and that both the elixirs of death and of life -were in the keeping of a mighty wizard, who -lived in a great castle surrounded by a golden -wall. In this wall was a golden gate which -would open only to one who had no love for -gold, while the little glass postern door that -led into the castle would open only to him who -had no love for lies, and across the doorway of -the wizard’s chamber hung a silken curtain -which could be drawn aside only by one who -had never loved a woman. Now the pixie -knew very well that it would be all but impossible -for any man brought up among his kind to -stand these three tests, so she resolved to rear -a human child in the safe, secluded pool, and -send it forth upon her quest. Already she had -had three nurslings, who had grown to manhood -and gone forth into the world, but not one of -them had returned to bring her the elixir.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Three generations have failed me,” said -the pixie to herself, “but I will try yet once -again.” So she cast a spell upon the woodcutter, -and took his child and kissed it, so that -it might be able to live under the water, and -drew it down into the pool; and she gave it -the name of Sorrel because of the bed of wood-sorrel -upon which she had found it. Every -night she sang to him his mother’s lullaby, -and little Sorrel would look up through the -crystal clear water at the mirrored moon, and -would bid it good-night. Then when he grew -older, the pixie taught him to play most sweetly -upon a bulrush pipe, and many a wondrous story -did she tell him of the early days before men -lived upon the earth.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>At last when Sorrel had grown to be a tall, -strong youth, the pixie said to him; “The -time has come, my son, when you should go -forth into the upper world for my sake, and ask -the elixir of death from a great wizard who -lives far from here, for I am weary of my long, -long life.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At first Sorrel was much grieved at her words, -for he loved the pixie dearly, as though she had -been his own mother, but when he saw that it -was indeed her heart’s desire, he promised that -he would not rest till he had found the elixir. -Then he bade her a tender farewell and set out, -and as he walked through the great forest that -was a new, strange world to him, he played a -sweet air upon his bulrush pipe to keep up his -spirits.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Beyond the forest lay a populous city which -Sorrel reached at sundown, and as he wandered -through it he gazed curiously at the many -streets and houses, and at the fountains that -played in the great squares. Now it happened -that the king and queen of the country lived -in that city, and as they sat together at one -of the windows of their palace, they caught -the strains of Sorrel’s pipe as he passed in the -street below. So enchanted were they by its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>music, that they at once gave orders that he -should be brought before them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who taught you to play so melodiously -upon a bulrush pipe?” asked the king.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sire, it was my mother,” replied Sorrel.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Will you remain with us and be our court -musician?” asked the queen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Madam, that I cannot,” returned Sorrel, -“for my mother has sent me upon a very -urgent quest. But I will gladly play to you -now, it if so please you.” So Sorrel played to -the king and queen, and after that they led -him into the great banqueting-hall, where there -was much feasting and merry-making.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now it was in this very palace that all the -pixie’s former nurslings had loitered and remained. -The first had soon grown covetous -of money, and became so skilful in the management -of it that he was made Lord High -Treasurer. He was now a very old man, and -his one delight was to handle the gold pieces -in the royal exchequer, which he did every day. -The second had quickly learnt the art of lying, -and soon flattered so adroitly that he was -appointed court chaplain, and in every one of -his sermons he told the king and queen what -an excellent influence they exerted upon the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>court. “My dear,” said each to the other, -“we are indeed fortunate to have secured so -eloquent a preacher and so wise a man.” As -for the third, he had fallen in love with the -king’s daughter, and had married her, and now -lived in the greatest pomp as the king’s son-in-law. -Thus it came about that not one of -the three nurslings had given another thought -to the pixie, who had longed hourly for their -homecoming.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Sorrel took no delight in the splendours -which he saw about him, for it seemed to him -that the yellow gold was not half so pleasant -to look at as the yellow waterlilies at home. -The courtiers paid him well turned compliments -upon his skill in music, but he noticed -that for all their flattery they looked at him -askance as soon as he began to speak about -his mother and his life in the forest pool. As -for the court ladies, so far from falling in love -with any one of them, he thought them all quite -ugly when he compared them with the beautiful -pixie. The very next day he again set out -upon his travels, and would not linger at the -palace, because he had his mother’s quest at -heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And now, sister,” said Speedwell, breaking -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>off suddenly, “I have come to the most difficult -part in all my pattern, where one mistake -would spoil the lace, so you had better tell the -rest.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Willingly,” said Spirea, and she continued:—</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Beyond the city lay another great forest -in which Sorrel wandered all day long without -finding a way out. At last night fell, and he was -just wondering whether he would have to seek -shelter under a tree, when he heard the sound -of a bell tolling near by, and soon came upon -a hermitage which stood upon the edge of the -forest, with a bare and lonely heath stretching -away in front of it. Sorrel knocked at the -door of the hut, whereupon an old hermit -at once opened to him, and greeted him -kindly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come in,” said he, “all strangers are welcome -here.” And he made Sorrel sit down, -and gave him some rye bread and salt fish for -his supper, with a mug of sour wine to drink.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Have you come from far?” asked the old -man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My home is in the forest on the other side -of the city,” replied Sorrel.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you a forester’s son then?” asked the -hermit.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>“No, good father,” replied Sorrel, and he -began telling the old man all about his beautiful -mother and his home, but no sooner had he -uttered the first word about living under water, -than the hermit started to his feet, and trembled -all over with rage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You must be the son of a witch!” he -screamed, “get out of my house!” And he -took Sorrel by the shoulders and thrust him out -into the night.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“These men are a strange race,” thought -Sorrel, greatly bewildered, “I was happier -under the water.” And feeling somewhat disconsolate, -he went out upon the waste heath -and stood looking about him. Just then the -moon broke through a cloud.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good-night,” said the moon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good-night,” said Sorrel.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is not everyone who bids me good-night -as regularly as you did when you were a child,” -said the moon, “is there anything I can do -for you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You can light me across this heath if you -will,” replied Sorrel.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“With all my heart,” the moon made answer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Sorrel set out across the wide expanse -of heath, and all the while the moon went on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>before him and showed him the way, till at last -they came to a deep ravine, at the bottom of -which stood the wizard’s splendid castle, while -on either hand there rose steep walls of rock, -as sheer as the side of any house, so that Sorrel -looked down into the chasm with dismay.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Catch!” cried the moon, and flung him a -ladder of moonbeams, by the help of which -he descended the precipice in safety.</p> - -<p class='c007'>No sooner had he reached the golden gate -of the castle than it opened of itself, and crossing -the great courtyard, he saw that the little -glass postern door stood open already. Then -Sorrel mounted flight upon flight of marble -steps, till he came upon an arched doorway. -He drew aside the silken curtain that hung -across it, and with a bold step entered the room -where the mighty wizard sat, among his phials -and talismans and all manner of magical -appliances.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is your errand?” asked the wizard -in a harsh voice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I seek the elixir of death,” replied Sorrel -fearlessly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Many desire the elixir of life,” said the -wizard, “the other is sought but seldom. -Here they are, both together. Choose.” So -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>saying he handed Sorrel two tall crystal vases, -each filled with a clear colourless fluid.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Sorrel dipped his bulrush pipe into one -of the vases, and it blossomed, but when he -dipped it into the other it withered and died. -So he took the elixir of death with him, and left -the castle, and scaled the steep cliff by the help -of the ladder. His friend the moon was still -high in the heavens, and lighted him back -across the trackless heath.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With all possible speed Sorrel hastened onwards, -but when he reached the forest in which -his home lay, he became very thirsty, and -wandered to and fro among the thickets seeking -for a brook or a spring. At last, faint and -weary with his fruitless search, he lay down -under a spreading tree, but the crystal vase -he placed beyond his reach, lest in his great -thirst he should be tempted to drink the -deadly elixir. Soon there came by a fair -young pixie, gathering mosses and ferns for -her grotto, and Sorrel begged her for some -water.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Water is close at hand,” said she, “for we -pixies may not stray far from our springs,” -and she went and fetched some water in a shell -and gave it to him.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>“But tell me now,” she said, “is there not -water in yonder vase?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That is the elixir of death,” replied Sorrel, -and he told her of his quest, and as they sat -together under the tree, they loved one another -and plighted their troth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Only first I must go back to my mother,” -said Sorrel, “and after that I will return to -you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So she brought him to a mossgrown path -which led him at last to the pool, and when -the pixie saw him she rejoiced. “O Sorrel, -you were rightly named,” said she, “for does -not wood-sorrel betoken mother’s joy?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then she drank the elixir of death and -straightway dissolved into a brook which gushed -forth out of the pool, and flowed babbling -through the forest. But Sorrel sat down by the -brookside and lamented. Now it happened -that the woodcutter’s wife was passing that -way, and she stopped to ask him the cause -of his sorrow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am mourning for my mother,” he replied.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“As for me, I have mourned a son these -twenty years,” said the woodcutter’s wife.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Sorrel was not attending to what she -said, for his thoughts were full of his own grief. -Yet because he was young, he soon called to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>mind the starry eyes of his newly betrothed, -and when he had gone back to her he found her -waiting for him by the same spreading tree. -Then they made their way to a bubbling spring -close at hand, and together they went down -into her grotto.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span> - <h2 id='XVI' class='c004'>CHAPTER XVI<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE HEROINE HEARS SOME STARTLING NEWS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>It was towards the end of September that -Philomène returned home. Her godmother -was coming up to town also, and they travelled -together, so that on that journey there was -ginger-beer to drink, and not cold tea. She -had not been at home more than an hour or -so before she found an opportunity of taking -her latchkey and running out into the garden, -though the day was wet and windy. Sweet -William was at home, and received her -cordially.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I came as soon as ever I could,” she cried, -holding out both hands to him, “I only waited -till Nurse began unpacking for me next door, -because I was afraid she would say I ought not -to be out in the rain. And now I must tell -you all about the Cushats, and Speedwell and -Spirea, and the merman, and they both said -it was the chance of a life-time, having him all -to myself as I did.” So Philomène told him -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>all her adventures, and Sweet William listened -very attentively.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is the Cushats haunted?” he asked -suddenly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, no,” replied Philomène indignantly, -“certainly not. Lilian Augusta’s sister-in-law -once saw a ghost,” she continued, “and Lilian -Augusta said she was as proud as a cat with -two tails ever after; but I shouldn’t be proud, -only desperately frightened, if I thought a -ghost was anywhere near me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That is a pity,” said Sweet William blandly, -“considering that there is a little spirit waiting -to make friends with you in your very own -room.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène started up from her toadstool, -and went quite white. “In my room?” she -exclaimed, and her breath caught, “in my bedroom -here at home?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sit down, child,” said Sweet William, -“and don’t be theatrical, for pity’s sake. -There’s nothing at all to make a commotion -about; it’s only a White Létiche.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And what is that, please?” asked -Philomène, sitting down again and trying to -steady her voice, though she was still rather -pale.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A White Létiche,” said Sweet William, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>“is the spirit of a child who was never -christened, and visits, unseen, the rooms of -children.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is my Létiche a baby, then?” asked -Philomène.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, no,” said Sweet William, “she was -about twelve when she died, and a very sweet -little girl she was too. She won’t even appear -to you unless you want her to, and then only -on the 31st of October.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Only on All Souls’ Eve if I want -her to,” thought Philomène, “oh, well -then, it isn’t nearly as bad as it sounded -at first.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I was meaning to tell you something more -about the people in your house,” Sweet William -continued, “the same house which, if I may -remind you, you at one time considered so -extremely uninteresting, but you seemed so -much upset when I told you it had a White -Létiche, that perhaps you will leave me altogether -when I tell you that there is a white -witch living in it too.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I certainly shouldn’t be rude and ungrateful -enough to leave you,” returned Philomène -stoutly, “and I will try not to get -frightened again, but I am afraid I don’t know -what a white witch is either. Godmother -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>told me lots about fairies, but I think she -did not want me to know a great deal about -witches, perhaps because she thought it -might make me nervous when I went to -bed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And judging from the exhibition you made -of yourself just now,” retorted Sweet William, -“your godmother seems to have proved herself -a woman of sense. Well, you must know -that there are black witches and white witches, -and that black witches often turn into black -cats, and white witches into——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Queen Mab!” interrupted Philomène -excitedly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Into white cats,” resumed Sweet William, -“such as Queen Mab. Here again there is -nothing to be alarmed about, for white witches -are a kindly race, and help people by white -magic instead of injuring them by black art. -I thought that as winter was coming on, I had -better tell you that you will have another -comrade in the house besides Master Mustardseed, -for in the cold weather you are not likely -to see much of me. But you still look so disturbed, -that I think I must distract your -thoughts a little by telling you a story, not -about spirits or witches, but about a poor little -foundling whom the Good People befriended. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>I hope this may quiet you down a bit before -you have to go indoors.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should like to hear about the foundling -very much, thank you,” said Philomène, and -set herself to listen.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span> - <h2 id='XVII' class='c004'>CHAPTER XVII<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH SWEET WILLIAM TELLS ANOTHER STORY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Once upon a time there lived a miller, who -because he was a kind-hearted man and as well -off as anyone needs to be, had taken pity upon -a poor little foundling and had given him a -home in the mill. On a bitter winter’s night -the child had been laid at his door, and the -miller therefore christened him Jack Frost.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Some years later the miller took a wife, a -young woman of a shrewish disposition and -over-fond of money. She was not kind to little -Jack Frost, and made him feel that he was a -burden both to her husband and herself. Times -were hard, she said, and he was too slow-witted -to be of any real use about the mill. -In the course of time a son was born to the -miller’s wife, and then things went from bad -to worse with the foundling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nevertheless Jack Frost felt that he had -good friends near at hand, and these were none -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>other than the Little People. In a field beyond -the mill-race there was a fairy ring, in the centre -of which grew a thorn-tree, and under this -thorn-tree Jack Frost would sit by the hour, -thinking and dreaming and talking to himself. -More than once it had seemed to him that the -fairy ring had brought him good fortune.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The first occasion was on an evening not long -after the birth of the miller’s son, when Jack -Frost had been set to mind the baby, while the -miller’s wife cooked the supper. But being -somewhat feather-headed, he forgot to rock -the cradle, so that the baby woke up and began -to cry. At that its mother grew so angry that -she boxed the ears of Jack Frost and thrust -him out of doors. But the miller felt sorry for -him, and when his wife was not looking he went -up to the table where a savoury dish had been -set for his supper and hers, with a stale crust -and a bowl of skimmed milk for the foundling. -These he took, and stealing out of the mill by -a back door gave them to the child, so that -at least he might not have to go supperless to -bed. Jack Frost thanked him, and went off -to the field with the fairy ring in it, but no -sooner had he sat down under the thorn-tree -to eat his supper, than he discovered that he -no longer held a crust and a bowl of skimmed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>milk, but a little new loaf and a bowl of -cream.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Again, a few years later, when it was winter-time, -the miller’s wife sent Jack Frost into the -neighbouring town to do some errands for her. -It was very cold, and the skies were overcast.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is going to snow,” said the miller, as he -stood by the window, “you should not have -sent the boy out so late, my dear.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A little snow never hurt anybody yet,” -replied his wife, and she drew her shawl closer -round her shoulders and poked the fire.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Meanwhile Jack Frost was making his way -home from the town, but before the mill came -in sight it began to snow, and soon it was -snowing so fast that he could not see a yard -ahead of him. Thicker and thicker fell the -flakes, blotting out hedge and stile and milestone. -Jack Frost stumbled on a little farther, -but he was cold and tired, and soon his legs -began to give way under him. Then a great -drowsiness overcame him, and he lay down -to rest. As he fell asleep, it seemed to him -that he was pillowed on a bed of down, and that -a rich green canopy was spread above him, -yet when he awoke in the morning, warm and -well and light at heart, he saw that he had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>slept all night upon the snow, and that there -was no canopy overhead save the little stunted -thorn-tree.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now when Jack Frost had grown to be a -youth, a great calamity befell the country. -Not long before, the queen had given birth to a -son, and throughout the land there were great -festivities to do honour to the heir. But on -Roodmas Eve, when the fairies are abroad, -they stole away the little prince, and put a -changeling in his stead, so ugly and malicious -that he soon became the plague and terror -of the whole court. The king at once summoned -all his wisest counsellors, and inquired -of them what should be done in such a case, -and they all with one accord assured him that -there were but two remedies; either the fairy -changeling must be made to laugh, or to refer -in some way to his real age. Unfortunately, -however, the new prince was far too cross-tempered -to laugh under any circumstances, -though the court jester and all the wits of the -land did their utmost to amuse him; and -though every device was tried to make him -say that he had many and many a time seen -the acorn turn to an oak and the oak to a cradle, -the impish creature could not be induced to say -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>anything of the sort. Then the king issued a -proclamation, promising untold riches as a -reward to anyone who should restore his son, -but it was all to no purpose.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At last it came into the mind of the foundling -at the mill to test the good-will which the Little -People had to him. “I will set out in search -of the king’s son,” said he, “who can tell but -that I may persuade the fairies to give him up, -for surely the People of Peace have shown -themselves my friends?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A likely thing indeed,” sneered the miller’s -wife, “that you should succeed where the wisest -of the land have failed! I suppose it is the -king’s proclamation which has put this nonsense -into your head, but what would you do with all -those riches, even if you had them, I should like -to know? A great stupid loutish fellow like you!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Jack Frost was not to be discouraged, however. -He took a knapsack with him for his -travels, and bidding good-bye to all at the mill, -he set out. But first he thought he would like -to go once more to the field beyond the mill-race, -and take a last look at his thorn-tree; -and no sooner had he stepped into the fairy -ring, than he saw the fairies dancing in a circle -round him.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>“Whither away, Jack Frost?” asked they.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I go in search of the king’s son,” replied -the foundling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is the fairy queen herself who has stolen -him away,” said the elves, “for he was very -fair of face.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I fear she will be loath to give him -up,” sighed Jack Frost.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At that one of the elves stepped forward, -and said; “Listen to me, Jack Frost. You -have just one chance of success. Not so very -long ago our queen was choosing a christening -gift for a poor charcoal-burner’s child to whom -she had promised to stand sponsor; all her -choicest treasures were spread out before her, -when suddenly a magpie swooped down and -carried off a certain magic ring to its nest in a -belfry. Now this ring was one of the queen’s -most priceless gifts, for it conferred on him -who should possess it the good-will of wind -and weather, the friendship of all the dumb -creatures, and the power of making himself -beloved wherever he might love. The queen -is much grieved at its loss, and since no fairy -may enter a belfry, none but a mortal can recover -it. Now if you should find this ring, it -may be that in her gratitude the queen will -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>consent to grant your request, to take back the -changeling and to restore the king’s son.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How shall I find the belfry?” asked Jack -Frost.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go by forest and road and sea, and you -shall find it,” replied the elf, “but first, Jack -Frost, tell me what it is that you see in our -thorn-tree?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I see a nest,” replied Jack Frost, “and in it -are seven speckled eggs.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Take three of them,” said the elf, “and you -will find them useful. A bird does not build -in the fairies’ tree for nothing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Jack Frost took the three speckled eggs, -thanked the Little People, and went his way. -He soon came to a dense forest in which he -wandered till nightfall without seeing any -trace of a human dwelling. He was therefore -very glad when at last he caught sight of a -ruddy glint among the trees, and came upon a -smithy in a clearing of the wood. Now this -smithy belonged to a very wicked hobgoblin, -who forged upon his anvil all the weapons that -are wielded in unrighteous wars. Whoever -fights in a wrongful quarrel or in defence of a -bad cause, may be quite sure that his steel was -forged at the hobgoblin’s smithy. But Jack -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>Frost did not know this, and felt very thankful -at having come across any kind of shelter, so -approaching the smith he asked him for a night’s -lodging.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You shall have supper and a bed,” replied -the hobgoblin, and leading Jack Frost into -his house he gave him some broken victuals, -and motioned him to a bed of straw. The -foundling fell to with a good appetite, and then -lay down upon the straw and fell fast asleep. -In the morning he thanked his host for his -hospitality, and prepared to continue his -journey.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wait a bit,” said the hobgoblin, “you have -not yet paid me for your supper, nor for your -bed over-night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Alas,” replied Jack Frost, “I cannot pay -you save in thanks, good sir, for I have no -money.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have no need of money,” replied the wicked -sprite, “but you must pay me in service. -All who break my bread are bound to serve -me for seven years. Make haste therefore to -sweep my room and cook my breakfast.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And so saying, he went out to his forge. -As soon as Jack Frost was left alone, he took -out the three speckled eggs, and broke them one -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>after another, hoping to find inside either something -which he might offer to the hobgoblin -in payment of his debt, or at least some means -of escape. But in this he was disappointed. -The first egg contained a pod with three seeds -in it, the second a gossamer lasso, and the -third a tiny packet of eye-salve.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“These things are of but little use to me at -present,” reflected the foundling sadly, and he -submitted to his lot with as good a grace as -might be. Seven years long he served the -hobgoblin, who made him a hard master, but -when the time had expired allowed him to go -on his way unmolested.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Onwards through the forest went Jack Frost, -sad at heart at the loss of time and the thwarting -of his quest, and after some days’ wanderings -he came upon a path which at last led him out -of the wood and into open country. Soon, -however, he reached a place where four roads -met, and stood still in some perplexity. -Then he bethought him of the pod with the -three seeds, and cast one seed upon each -of the three roads before him. Straightway -three young trees shot up, all bearing -leaves, while the tree on the right bore blossoms -and fruits as well. He therefore took the right -<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>hand road, and walked along it for some considerable -distance, till at length it sloped down -to the sea shore and came to an end. Now -upon the strand Jack Frost caught sight of a -beautiful white horse, with streaming mane, -and riderless, pacing to and fro.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is your name, fair steed?” asked he, -“and who is your master?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My name is the wind,” the beautiful -white horse made answer, “and I have no -master.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Jack Frost bethought him of the -gossamer lasso, and threw it deftly, and caught -the fleet-footed wind.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Carry me across the water,” said he, “for -there is neither boat nor bridge.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then mount upon my back,” returned the -wind, “and lean your head against my long -mane, and shut your eyes, for should you look -downwards you would surely turn giddy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Jack Frost did as the wind bade him, and -together they sped away across the waste -of rolling billows that rocked and foamed far -below them. Upon the opposite shore the wind -set him down safely, and Jack Frost put his -arms about the neck of the beautiful, swift -steed, and kissed it between the eyes, but even -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>as he did so the wild creature started away -from him, and fled back across the sea.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Jack Frost turned and went on his way, -glad at heart, for already he had caught a -glimpse of an old ivy-clad belfry among thick-standing -trees. Into the low-browed porch -he went, and up the winding stair, till he -found the magpie’s nest, and in among the -sticks and straw he saw the gleam of the magic -ring.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And now it but remains to find the fairy -queen,” said Jack Frost to himself, as he stood -again in the open, “yet I know not where she -holds her court.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then he bethought him of the tiny packet -inside the third egg, and rubbing some of the -eye-salve upon his eyes, he at once became aware -of the fairy queen and her retinue, assembled -in a grove close at hand. Then Jack Frost -went and knelt to the queen, and offering her -the magic ring, begged for the king’s son in -exchange.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So, young sir, you would rob me of my -bonny page?” said she, with one fair hand -held out for the ring, and the other resting upon -the curls of a beautiful seven-year-old boy at -her side. But she smiled very graciously as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>she spoke, for she was rejoiced at the recovery -of the ring.</p> - -<p class='c007'>So the changeling returned whence he came, -and the little prince was restored to his parents. -As for Jack Frost, the foundling, he sat him -down among the fairies in the grove, and having -eaten and drunk in their midst, was seen of -his own kind no more.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span> - <h2 id='XVIII' class='c004'>CHAPTER XVIII<br /> <span class='small'>OF WHICH THE SCENE IS LAID IN A SICK-ROOM</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>No sooner had Philomène returned to the -house than Nurse began scolding her for having -gone out into the wet. “As if you couldn’t -have waited till to-morrow to have a look at -your garden,” she said impatiently, “and the -air as raw this afternoon as it might be -November.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The next day Philomène was in bed with a -bad chill, and was very far from well for several -weeks, but she made a good little patient, -swallowed her medicines without a grimace, -and bravely hid her disappointment when -Nurse refused to let her have Master Mustardseed -in the room with her, on the ground that -his loud singing would give her a headache.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I could only explain to her,” she thought -sadly, “that he doesn’t speak nearly as loud -as he sings.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène therefore had to do the best she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>could by herself. She crowned herself queen -of her bed-kingdom to begin with; the sheets -and blankets were her subjects, her Prime -Minister was the quilt, and the pillows made -up her body-guard under the leadership of -their captain the bolster. The eider-down -she raised to the rank of Prince Consort, because -he was arrayed in royal satin, and being wadded -and yielding, was not likely to stand in the way -of any of his wife’s plans.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She also had the big globe out of the schoolroom -placed on the chair by her bed, and proceeded -to invent a geographical game worthy -of a student of “The World and All About It.” -“Lady World is the mother,” she said to herself, -“and the continents are the governesses. -I like Miss Europe best, and trust her most, -because I know the most about her. The -countries are head-nurses, and Mrs England is -the headest of them all. Provinces and counties -are under-nurses, and the towns are the children. -Then I think mountains had better be coachmen -and grooms and gardeners, and people -of that sort, and the rivers can be maids, -because they keep things clean, and gradually -grow more important. The Isis only starts -as a scullery-maid, but by the time it has got -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>to London it is an upper house-maid, and is -called the Thames. I think the Atlantic is to -be the big playground for the children, and the -Indian Ocean is Lady World’s drawing-room, -because it has coral reefs and flying fish and -phosphorus and exciting things in it, like the -curios in Godmother’s cabinets. The little seas -like the Caspian and the White Sea are rather -dull, so they can be used as store-rooms, and -the five great lakes in North America are turned -into sick-rooms when any of the towns get ill. -Let me see, the Pacific had better be the kitchen, -because there are so many islands in it which -will do as cooks. The Arctic ocean is the bathroom, -so that the children may get used to cold -baths, and the Antarctic can be the lumber-room, -because nobody goes there much.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was on a dark and foggy afternoon that -Philomène lay in bed, watching a goblin -castle in among the coals, with twinkling -battlements that would presently fall ruining, -till drowsiness overcame her, and she -closed her eyes. She had been wandering in -the vasty entrance-hall of the play-house of -sleep, though the spectacle of dreams had not -as yet begun—(as she herself would have -expressed it, the Dusty-Man in the theatre-office -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>was just going to give her the tickets, so -that she might go in and see the show), when -a strange yet strangely familiar voice purred -into her ear; “Wake up, Philomène, wake -up, beloved of the Little People.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène started up, and looked straight -into the green, affectionate eyes of Queen Mab. -“Oh, Queen Mab, you dear thing,” she stammered, -“Sweet William told me about you, -and I am only a very, very tiny bit afraid of -you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There is no reason even for that tiny bit,” -replied the white cat, putting one of her paws -into Philomène’s hand, “have I ever thought -of scratching or biting you, even when you -put me to bed in a doll’s cradle, and tried to -make my ears fit into a doll’s nightcap? Do -you suppose I have forgotten how on that -Christmas Eve when I first came to you, you -as a little, little girl clung to Nurse, and told -her how very little trouble I should be, because -I would eat up the scraps and take in my own -washing? No, Philomène, white witches are -not ungrateful; I would not harm a hair of your -dear little head.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène lay back among the pillows. -“Will you teach me how to work spells?” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>she asked, “so that I can spirit away the -little yellow book all about quarts and bushels -and perches which Miss Mills loves, and the -green dress that I can’t bear because it hooks -all up the back, and has such a vulgar broad -stripe in it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wouldn’t advise you to meddle with -spells, my dear,” returned Queen Mab, curling -her tail right round her till it met her chin, -“they are rather tricky things, and apt to go -off at the wrong time, like chemicals. But -if you like I will tell you a story which I think -will make clear to you, better than anything -else, the difference between black and white -witches. Is the very, very tiny bit still there?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” said Philomène, “you are my own -dear Pussy, and I am sure you love me, and I -am very glad that I can have you to talk to -me in the winter-time when I sit nursing you by -the fire. And now please begin the story.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span> - <h2 id='XIX' class='c004'>CHAPTER XIX<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH QUEEN MAB TELLS HER STORY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>On a bleak and rocky coast there once stood -a little fishing town, and on the high cliffs above -it, looking seaward towards the sunrise, rose the -stately pile of an old Abbey church, which was -the pride of the place, for the folk in the little -red-roofed town were poor and struggling, and -had not much in their midst that was beautiful.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Legend said that long ago a certain wicked -king had set his heart upon the Abbey treasures, -and that at his command a ship had left the -harbour laden with the choicest of them, but -a great storm had arisen, so that the ship -foundered, and the treasure went all to the -bottom. Some said it might still be recovered -if men would but dive for it outside the harbour -bar, others declared that at night you could -hear the buried Abbey bells chiming out at sea, -others again did not believe in the story at all, -and had never heard any bell ringing below -water save the bell of the buoy.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>Now just beyond the harbour bar there was -a great rock, and this was said by some to be -the haunt of a very evil black witch, but the -people who said this were the same people -that had heard the Abbey bells by night, and -so got laughed at for their pains.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On the outskirts of the fishing town lived a -poor man with one daughter, named Yolande, -who was so beautiful and gracious that the -richest farmer in all that countryside had asked -her hand in marriage, but being very avaricious, -he would not take her, fair as she was, without -a dowry. Yolande herself had no wish to -marry the old man, for all his fat cattle and his -comfortable farmstead, for she loved his goatherd, -a youth as poor as herself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now it so happened that on midsummer eve -Yolande’s father went fishing, and as he passed -the witch’s rock, that towered above him like -a great black house, he thought he heard the -sound of muttering, but he rowed on quickly, -and paid no heed. He caught no fish that day, -and cursed his bad fortune as he hauled in his -empty nets.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If only Yolande might marry a rich man,” -he said to himself, “I should have no more -need to work for my living,” and he made his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>way home with a heavy heart. The night was -hot and still, and the lights of the town winked -at him from the shore like gleaming, sleepless -eyes. He had to pass below the rock outside -the harbour, and as his boat entered its shadow, -he again heard mutterings up above him, only -this time he caught the words: “Amen. -<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Malo a nos libera sed, tentationem in inducas -nos ne.</span>” At this the fisherman grew very -much afraid, for he knew that this could be -no other than the black witch, who was -saying the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Pater Noster</span> backwards, as all black -witches do.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Stop a while, friend,” cried a hoarse voice -from the rock, “I know your trouble, I know -all about your daughter and the rich farmer -who has asked her in marriage. What should -you say to the old Abbey treasure as a dower -for your girl?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The black witch sprang from the rock, dived, -and came up again, and before the fisherman -could so much as cross himself or utter a cry, -she was sitting opposite to him in the boat, -her hands and the lap of her dress full of the -Church’s treasure.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ha! ha!” she laughed, “you are wondering, -friend, how it is that I can handle these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>holy things? Have you forgotten that it is -midsummer eve, when evil spirits are abroad, -and the devil has it all his own way? See, -would not these be a fitting dower for a -princess?” And she held up to him golden -cross and golden crozier, rosaries of amber and -pearl and coral, censers studded thick with -gems; one precious thing after another she -flashed before his eyes, fondling them with her -wicked webbed hands, as though the shining -vessels had never held the oil and wine of the -altar.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What answer do you give me?” cried -the witch, tossing them back into the sea, -“shall your daughter wed or no? Speak -man, and do not stare at me with eyes like a -dead fish! I tell you the treasure shall -work her no harm; I have not strung unanswered -prayers on the rosaries, I cannot -curse what was once blessed, I have but made -you an offer fair and square, and the bargain -is between you and me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Give me time, give me time,” cried the -fisherman, sorely tempted, yet afraid to yield; -“give me time, and let me pass.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The witch leapt laughing from the boat, and -sat looking at him from the summit of her crag. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>“You shall have nine months,” she called out -to him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ten, give me ten,” pleaded the fisherman, -for he knew that he had no right to the treasure, -and that his soul was at stake in this bargain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ten, then,” replied the witch with a loud -laugh, “but I promise you they shall slip -through your grasp as quickly as the ten pearls -that lie side by side on a rosary.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>On the morning of the day when the fisherman -had to make his decision, it happened that -Yolande rose very early and went into the woods -to gather cowslips. Her father had lain awake -all night, turning the whole matter over and -over in his mind as he had done for months -past. The winter gales had injured his boat, -he was poorer than ever, and the farmer was -growing impatient. Yolande was the fairest -girl in the countryside, said he, but even she -was not worth waiting for more than a year.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yolande herself had slept serenely, and as -she went with her basket deeper and deeper -into the woods, she was glad with the gladness -of the April morning, for her thoughts were -with the poor goatherd, and she sang of love. -In the heart of the forest lay a wide clearing -called the golden meadow, for every spring -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>it was golden with cowslips, which grew here in -greater sweetness and profusion than in any -other field. Yolande picked and picked till -her basket was full, and then sat down to refresh -herself with the bread and cheese and the flask -of milk she had brought with her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had no sooner begun eating than a little -field mouse popped up out of its hole, and -watched her with bright fearless eyes. “You -dear little tame thing,” said she, “you shall -have some of my bread, because you are so -venturesome for your size.” The mouse took -a few crumbs of the bread which she scattered -for it, and disappeared down its hole.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Not long after, a robin hopped up to where -she was sitting, and preened its red breast -with its beak. “You shall have your share -too,” said Yolande, “because you were moved -with pity on Good Friday, and tried to pluck -away the nails, so that your little breast is now -all stained with red.” And since she had no -more bread left, she threw a morsel of cheese -towards it. The robin pecked at the cheese, -and then flew away, carrying the rest in its -beak.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Yolande poured out some milk into a -pewter mug, and was about to drink, when -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>she noticed a white adder coiled at her feet. -She gave a stifled cry and drew back, but the -creature did not stir.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Poor thing,” said Yolande, “I wonder is it -thirsty? I will give it some of my milk, -because it is so ugly, and people hate it, and -never have a good word for it.” The white -adder drank the milk, and then coiled itself -round Yolande’s arm. At first she was afraid -to move, but knowing that she must not be late -for the market where she hoped to sell her -cowslips, she at last got up and went back into -the wood. She had not gone far before she -passed a spreading sycamore, beneath which -stood a small shrine. Here she placed some -of her cowslips, and sprinkled herself with -water out of the holy water stoup. A few -drops lighted upon the adder, and in an instant -it uncoiled itself, slipped to the ground, and -turned into a white witch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do not be frightened, Yolande,” said she -in a gentle voice, “I am a white witch, and -practise only white magic, which is helpful -and not hurtful to men. Listen to me; the -black witch who dwells on the great rock -beyond the harbour tempted your father last -midsummer eve to accept at her hands the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>buried Abbey treasure, so that you might have -a rich dowry, and marry the farmer who has -asked you to be his wife. To-day your father -has to make his decision. But I will give you -a better dowry, since you have given me food -and drink, and are a good girl, Yolande, worthy -of my help. Come back with me a few steps -into the wood. Tell me, why do you suppose -that this clearing is called the golden meadow?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is it not because of the yellow carpeting -of cowslips?” asked the girl.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” replied the witch, “there is another -and an older reason.” She made a movement -in the air with her hand, and immediately the -ground of the meadow became transparent, -so that Yolande looked through it as through -glass, and saw below it a mighty treasure rich -in all manner of jewels and trinkets, gold and -silver, jade, ivory and crystal.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is the dwarf’s treasure,” continued -the white witch, again making the magic sign -so that cowslips covered the ground as before, -“but generations ago, when man first came to -live upon this coast, and built the Abbey and -the town, the dwarfs fled further inland towards -the mountains, to escape from human -dwellings. And since they had more treasure -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>than they could carry with them, they buried -this great hoard here. I will give it to you as -your dowry, so that your father may do no -hurt to his soul.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yolande fell at the witch’s feet to thank her, -but when she had spoken her thanks, she confessed -with a blush that it was not the rich -farmer whom she loved, but his poor goatherd.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I know that,” said the white witch smiling, -“but this treasure of the dwarfs is more than -the old farmer’s riches multiplied a thousandfold, -so that your father will not stand in the -way of your marriage with the man you love. -But you must make haste. Go to your father, -and tell him all that I have told you. Then -when the black witch comes to market to hear -his answer, he will be able to say that he will -have nothing to do with her and her treasure.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How shall I know her?” asked Yolande.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She will come to market,” said the witch, -“riding on a donkey that has no cross upon -its back. Moreover, when she reaches the brook -that flows hard by the market-place, she will -turn and go round by another way, since it is -not lawful for an evil spirit to cross running -water. Take these two straws, and when you -and your father return home together, lay them -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>on the ground behind you, across and across—so—and -then she will not be able to bewitch -you. If you should need my help again, -call your name to the sevenfold echo on the -beach, and I shall hear it and come to you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>All fell out as the white witch had said, and -great was the joy of the fisherman on hearing -that a rich dowry was to fall to his daughter -without his having to call the black witch to -his help. He was glad of the two straws, -however, for when she rode up to him and heard -his answer, she was so angry that he quailed -before her; but Yolande had seen and spoken -with her lover, and both were so happy at the -thought of their approaching marriage that -they felt no fear.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the black witch lost no time in setting -about her revenge. She came to the goatherd -in the guise of a peddling gipsy, and offered -him for sale the picture of a beautiful maiden. -Now over this picture the black witch had pronounced -a charm, so that the goatherd could -see nothing in it aright, but fancying it as fair -as it seemed, fell so deeply in love with the -beautiful face that he straightway ceased to -love Yolande. The days went by; the goatherd -did not keep his trysts with his betrothed, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>and when he met her he was cold and careless. -Yolande wondered and wept, but could not -solve the mystery.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At last she bethought her of the kindly white -witch, so one day she went alone to the beach, -and raising her voice, she called out “Yolande! -Yolande!” in the hope that the white witch -would befriend her a second time. The echo -from the rocks caught up her cry and passed -it on, one echo echoing another, till it reached -the ears of the white witch, who came flying -towards the coast in the form of a gull. -High above the old Abbey she soared, on -strong white wings, and flew to Yolande’s -side.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell me your trouble, child,” said she, -assuming her own shape. So Yolande told her -all that had happened.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is black art,” said the white witch, -“your enemy has bewitched your lover. She -has shown him the picture of a maiden -whom he now loves instead of you. Look, -Yolande, here is a mirror; what do you see -in it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I see the reflection of a maiden’s face,” -replied Yolande, “and she is very fair, fairer -than I.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>The white witch then turned the other side -of the mirror towards her. “Look again, -Yolande,” said she, “what is it now that you -see?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A hideous, terrible wolf’s face!” cried -Yolande, shrinking back, “old and grey, with -grinning teeth, and a mouth red and gaping, -and hungry eyes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is the face of a were-wolf,” replied the -white witch, “and we must force the black -witch to remove her spell from your lover.” -She stood and considered for a moment. “Wait -for me here,” she said at last, and took flight -in the shape of a gull. As twilight fell she -returned. “I have found out,” said she, -“that the black witch is brewing a charm for -which she requires many herbs, and none so -much as myrrh. She will therefore go to -church this evening, in the hope of snatching -a little myrrh out of the censer as it swings. -If only pure prayers mount with the incense, -she will be foiled in her attempt; but if a single -vengeful or presumptuous prayer is offered, -the myrrh will be within her power to take. -You must slip into the Abbey after vespers -have begun, and kneel by the north door, taking -with you some dragonwort. Now evil spirits -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>can only leave, just as they can only enter a -church, on the north side, which is the devil’s -side, and as soon as the church is empty the -black witch will hurry to the north door and -try to get out. But you must stand within a -circle of dragonwort, which will protect you -from her, and not allow her to pass till she has -promised to remove her wicked spells from your -lover, and to molest you and yours no longer. -She will be the more ready to promise anything -you may ask, as to-night is Walpurgis Night, -and she will be in haste to join her sister witches -on the summit of the Brocken.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The lights were low in the Abbey church -when Yolande came to kneel by the north door. -The censer swung to and fro, and the prayers -of the faithful rose heavenward with the -incense. There were many holy prayers, but -one evil prayer rose with the rest. Straightway -a magpie swooped down from the rood-screen, -and, snatching a grain of myrrh as the acolyte -swung the censer to right and to left, flew back -to its perch. When the service was over and -the church empty, the magpie fluttered to the -north door, and with a hoarse cry turned into -the black witch, who stamped and raved, -coaxed and cursed, but Yolande stood firm -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>within her sheltering circle of dragonwort, -till the witch at last, afraid lest she should -miss the tryst on the Brocken, angrily promised -to molest the young couple no more. Then -Yolande stood aside, and the black witch -hurried out of the church.</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Yolande and the goatherd were married, -and at their wedding a snow-white gull hovered -about the porch of the Abbey, waiting till the -bridal procession should pass out, and when -it came, the bird flew on before it to Yolande’s -new home, and perched upon the roof in token -of welcome. And that same night she fancied -she heard the ringing of joy-bells, far out at -sea.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you know, Queen Mab,” said Philomène, -“though I was a little bit afraid when I first -heard about you, having thought of you all -these years as just a pussy, I was really -more frightened when I heard about the White -Létiche. Sweet William told me that she -would appear on All Souls’ Eve, if I liked, but -after that I don’t quite know what to do. Will -she speak to me?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, certainly not,” replied Queen Mab, -“a spirit never speaks first. You must begin.”</p> - -<div class='figcenter id004'> -<img src='images/illus211.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic003'> -<p>“THE FAIRIES HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO ASSEMBLE.”<br /><span class='right'><i>Page <a href='#Page_198'>198</a></i></span><br /><span class='left'><i>The Fairy Latchkey.</i></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>“I suppose Sweet William will be keeping -Samhain that evening,” said Philomène, and -her eyes grew wide with longing. “Oh, I do so -wish I could go with him, and yet I don’t want -to miss the White Létiche.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, be a good child then,” said Queen -Mab, “and go to sleep, and I will see what I -can do for you in the way of a dream, so that -you may know how All Fairies is kept. White -magic is not much talked about, but it has -its uses.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So Philomène slept, and in her dream she -saw a wide, waste bog land, studded with -numberless little pools, each a round, bright -mirror framed in rushes, large enough to bathe -the reflection of just one star, so that the bog -was called the Bog of Stars. The fairies had -already begun to assemble; elves and goblins, -leprechauns, kobolds and dwarfs. There were -so many little men dressed in green, and so -many elves in cocoon silk, that from a distance -Philomène failed to distinguish the twin sisters -or Sweet William, but she recognised Master -Mustardseed in his bright yellow coat, with a -moss green cap upon his curls, for he, with Moth -and Cobweb and Peasblossom, surrounded the -fairy queen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How glad I am,” thought Philomène, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>“that they have allowed him to go back to -Fairyland just for to-night. I am sure he -would have hated to spend Samhain all by -himself in his cage.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In her dream he nodded to her, and she nodded -back and smiled. At first the fairies danced, -and mystic, fantastic dances they were; Philomène -tried to follow their mazes till her eyes -ached, so rapidly, so airily, did the groups -dissolve and re-unite and dissolve again. And -all the while sweet joy-peals chimed from unseen -foxglove bells. But when the moon was near -its setting, a herald blew upon a trumpet-daffodil, -and after that there was silence, and -Puck was bidden by the queen to read out the -roll of the names of those who still kept their -faith in the fairies.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The number lessens,” said Oberon, “but -there is still a goodly company left, and we have -many secret believers.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Puck began to read; name after name, -name after name. Philomène was already -growing confused and wearied when her own -name rang out, clear and unexpected, “Philomène -Isolde.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She sat up in bed, dazed and wondering, but -no one had called her. The firelight was playing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>upon Joan of Arc’s picture, and the red glare -brightened and broadened among the branches -of the oak-tree. Queen Mab lay curled up -at the foot of the bed, but she seemed to be -fast asleep, so Philomène turned on her side -and fell fast asleep also, and this time her sleep -was deep and sound, and uncoloured by dreams.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span> - <h2 id='XX' class='c004'>CHAPTER XX<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE HEROINE MAKES FRIENDS WITH A SPIRIT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Nursie, do you believe in ghosts?” This -question was put by Philomène as she sat at -her dressing-table on the evening of the last -of October, while Nurse brushed out her hair. -She was almost well again now, though not -quite.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There are ghosts and ghosts, you know, -Miss,” replied Nurse decidedly. “I don’t hold -with modern ghosts myself, your pencils and -tumblers and noises made by tables. But in -the house where I first went into service there -was a most undoubted ghost. He was of the -good old-fashioned sort, and pulled your bedclothes -right off you. There was no mistaking -him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>When Nurse had left her, Philomène stood -for a moment irresolute in the middle of the -room. “I will say some prayers first of all,” -she reflected, “and then——”</p> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span> -<img src='images/illus217.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic003'> -<p>“<span class='fss'>BY HER BEDSIDE THERE STOOD A SMALL FIGURE.</span>”<br /><span class='right'><i>Page <a href='#Page_202'>202</a>.</i></span><br /><span class='left'><i>The Fairy Latchkey.</i></span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>The prayers did not take long. From the -tower of a church near by came a rushing -sound of bells, and Philomène went and knelt -on the chair by the window. It was a wild -night, and she was afraid to push up the sash -lest she should catch cold, in spite of her warm -red dressing-gown and slippers, but she pressed -her face close to the glass, and listened with -strained attention. Fitfully upon the gusts -of wind the fragmentary music reached her, -rising and falling with the gale. The beautiful -mellow-throated chimes seemed to be sending -some message through the storm, to be ringing -out some good news across the mighty, toilworn, -unheeding city that lay beneath them. -At one time Philomène fancied that she could -almost make out the words: “O ye spirits -and souls of the righteous, bless ye the Lord, -praise him and magnify him for ever!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I think if the White Létiche came now,” -she thought, “I should not mind.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Timidly she looked behind her. By her -bedside there stood a small figure, bright-haired -and all in white; it was leaning against the -bed-post, and the little, transparent hand rested -upon the burnished brass knob at the top. -Philomène got down from the chair and approached -it softly. The White Létiche turned, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>and looked at her with eyes as blue as a midsummer -sea; they were not merry eyes, but -there were happy lights in them, as when the -sea mirrors blue heaven.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I hope you noticed that I sang, ‘I’m -sitting on the stile, Mary,’ while I undressed,” -said Philomène, rather shyly, remembering -that Queen Mab had told her to set the conversation -going. “I once read somewhere that -it was the kind thing to do on All Souls’ Eve, -to sing or whistle, so that the souls who are -hurrying to keep their feast need not brush up -against one on their way, which is supposed -to hurt them. I didn’t ask Nurse to do it too, -because she can’t sing, only in church.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It was good of you to think of it,” said the -White Létiche smiling, “though indeed many -is the time you have brushed past me in this -room without its hurting me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène was now sitting on the bed, feeling -quite at her ease with her strange little companion. -“And do the unchristened children -really live among the water-babies?” she -asked curiously. “Is it nice where you come -from?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I can’t tell you about where I come from,” -said the White Létiche, “it is against rules. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>But I could tell you other things, things which -I did not know when I slept in this room.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What sort of things?” asked Philomène; -“stories?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, yes, some of them are stories,” said -the White Létiche. “I wonder now would you -care to hear the story of the very strangest -christening that ever befell?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What made it so strange?” asked Philomène, -eagerly; “and what was the baby’s -name?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wait a bit,” said the White Létiche.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span> - <h2 id='XXI' class='c004'>CHAPTER XXI<br /> <span class='small'>IN WHICH THE WHITE LÉTICHE TELLS HER STORY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Upon the outskirts of a village there once lived -a weaver, who was very skilful at his loom, -and wove many fine and beautiful stuffs, while -in a wretched cabin out in the fields beyond -the village dwelt a certain poor widow woman, -who had to earn her livelihood by spinning. -It was from her that the weaver bought his -flax, but indeed he often went to the cabin -when there was still a plentiful store of flax -at home, in the hope of seeing the widow’s -only daughter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now the maiden was not the widow’s own -child, for the poor woman as she came home -one evening through the fields had found a -little baby lying among the stubble, and having -no children of her own, she had brought it -home with her and adopted it. And because -she had found it under the Michaelmas moon, she -had it christened Micheline.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>Micheline was very beautiful, and in the -spring time when the weaver would walk by -her side, and watch her break a sprig of -blackthorn from the hedge to place it in her -hair or in the folds of her ragged green dress, -it seemed to him that all the world could not -hold another maid so fair as she. But she -was indifferent to his suit, and this made him -very sad. Also there was a mystery about -her which he could not solve, for often she -would disappear from home altogether, sometimes -for a few days only, sometimes for months -at a time, and when he questioned her fostermother -she only made excuses and gave -evasive answers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>One day the weaver went into the neighbouring -city to offer some of his stuffs for sale -at court, and it happened that just as he -entered the gateway of the palace, a gallant -prince came riding forth, with a plume in his -hat and a sword by his side, mounted upon a -splendidly accoutred horse.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It must be a fine thing to be a prince,” -thought the weaver.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Good luck befriended him, for the queen and -her daughter bought all his beautiful woven -stuffs, and he left the palace with his pockets -<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>full of gold. On his way home he again saw the -prince, who was watering his horse at a roadside -trough.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you not the poor weaver who trudged -past me under the palace gateway but an hour -ago?” asked the prince.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I was poor enough then,” replied the -weaver, “but I am rich now, for the queen -and the princess her daughter were graciously -pleased to buy my whole store of stuffs.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you had better fortune than I,” -returned the prince, “for I have been courting -the princess this year and more, but she will -have none of me. She is so cold and listless -that she cares for no man’s addresses.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Alas, we are then brothers in misfortune,” -quoth the weaver, “for I too love a maid who -does not love me in return.” And with that -they parted, and the weaver went home, only -to find that Micheline had once more disappeared, -he knew not whither. But the prince -mounted his good steed and rode forth into the -world, to seek adventures and forget his sorrow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He soon came to a dense wood, and when -night fell, seeing a great castle before him, he -knocked at the gates and asked for shelter. -Now in this castle lived a mighty magician, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>who received the prince with all hospitality, -and bade him sit down with him to supper. -But as the prince sat at table, he often turned -his head and listened intently, for it seemed -to him that ever and anon he caught a sound -like the ticking of innumerable clocks.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What may that be?” he asked at length.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is the beating of many hearts,” replied -the magician, “for I have the hearts of all -men in my keeping.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is the cold, proud heart of my dear princess -amongst them?” asked the prince.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Most certainly,” said the magician, “and -if you would know what is her heart’s desire, -you need only go and see wherein her heart -lies.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I go upon the instant!” cried the prince, -starting to his feet. Then he entered a great -hall adjoining, and there he found the hearts -of all men, each beating in its own chosen -place. Some lay within coffers of gold, some -upon altars, others between the leaves of a -book, others again were half smothered beneath -a pile of fripperies and tinsel. But the -heart of his princess lay within a certain gold -crown of strange workmanship.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As soon as he had caught sight of it, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>prince drew his sword with its jewelled cross-hilt, -and waving it above his head, he cried: -“Though I should first have to conquer all -the kingdoms of the world, I will win that -crown for my lady, no matter whose it be. -And then perhaps her heart will turn to me, -and she will love me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The next day he set forth upon his quest, -but as he rode out of the castle gates, he remembered -the weaver who was a lover like -himself, and meeting a doe in the forest, he -said to her: “Run swiftly, pretty doe, and -carry a message to my brother the weaver. -Tell him of this castle, that he too may come, -and learn what it is on which his lady has set -her heart.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So the fleet-footed doe ran till she reached -a brook, where she stooped to drink. “O -brook,” said she, “hidden in a thicket I have -a baby fawn, and I dare not leave it long alone. -Bear you the prince’s message to the weaver.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So the brook took the message, and flowed -on through the forest till it became choked with -sedges. “O dragonfly,” it said in a stifled -voice to a dragonfly that hovered among the -flags, “bear you the prince’s message to the -weaver.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>Then the dragonfly flew to the weaver’s -house, and gave him the prince’s message, -and that same day the weaver set out. But -when he had reached the castle, and had sought -for the heart of Micheline among the rest, he -could not find it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Since that is so, it means that she is not a -mortal,” said the magician, “you must go -seek for her in Fairyland.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I pray you tell me the way,” said the -weaver.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That I cannot do,” the magician made -answer, “each must find the way to Fairyland -for himself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then the weaver set forth upon his travels, -and sought Micheline at every fairy ring and -haunted pool, by cairn and by waterfall, but -nowhere could he find her. At last one day -as he went along the road feeling much disheartened, -he thought he recognised the rich -trappings of a horse that was cropping the -grass by the roadside, and the next moment -he caught sight of the prince standing near by.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Fortune has again brought us together, -friend,” said the prince, “therefore let us -continue our journey in each other’s company.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And as they went along they told one -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>another all their adventures. The prince too -had been in many lands, but his quest had led -him into courts and palaces, where he had been -sumptuously feasted; kings and queens had -put on their crowns in his honour, but that -one crown of strange workmanship he had -nowhere found. Presently the two travellers -reached the entrance of a narrow, gloomy -gorge.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Let us press on,” counselled the prince, -“it may be that on the other side we shall -find some shelter for the night, for already -it grows dusk.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But no sooner had they entered the gorge, -with steep hillsides to either hand, than the -prince’s steed took fright, and reared and -threw his rider, and galloped madly back by -the way they had come.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What can have startled the horse?” cried -the prince, as he sprang up unhurt.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hush,” said the weaver, “listen.” Then, -as they stood and listened, a sound of laughter -and revelry reached them from within the -hillside to their right.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We have found the way into Fairyland,” -cried the weaver, “and I must go and seek -Micheline among her own people.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>“Be wary, friend,” cautioned the prince, -“for if I am not mistaken the hill fairies have -a bad reputation, and have worked harm to -wayfarers before now.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the weaver would not be dissuaded. -“How shall we enter, prince?” he cried, -on fire with impatience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then the prince drew his sword, and smote -the hillside, so that it cleft asunder by reason -of the cross-shaped hilt, and together they -entered a hall dim and vasty, where the hill -fairies were holding their revels. The elfin -king the while sat moodily watching the dance, -but upon the entry of the strangers he descended -the steps of his throne and came forward -to greet them. The weaver then saw that his -eyes were treacherous and cruel, but the prince -saw only that upon his head he wore the crown -that was the desire of his lady’s heart. The -king placed them on either side of his throne, -and made them welcome.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell me, I beg of you,” said the weaver, -impatient of delay, “is there at your court -a maid of the name of Micheline?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The maid is indeed at my court,” replied -the king, “though among us she goes by -another name.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>“How came I then to meet her among -mortals?” asked the weaver.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then the king made answer: “The widow -who is now her fostermother found her among -the stubble under the harvest moon, and the -next night she heard a tapping at her window, -and went, and saw a fairy nurse standing by -the sill. ‘Give me back my child,’ said the -fairy nurse, ‘the child whom I laid to sleep -among the stubble.’ ‘That will I not,’ -quoth the widow woman, ‘for she is mine now, -and I have had her christened like one of ourselves.’ -‘I love her too well to take her -against her will,’ answered the fairy nurse, -‘in years to come she shall choose between us.’ -‘I love her too well to keep her against her -will,’ said the widow woman, ‘so it shall be -as you say.’ Thus it happens that the maid -is sometimes with us, and sometimes with her -fostermother.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then the weaver turned and saw a troop of -fairies coming towards him, and Micheline was of -the number, fair as ever in her dress of green, -with a blackthorn wreath in her hair. Forthwith -he sprang to meet her and caught her in -his arms, and at once was whirled away into the -midst of the dance. But all this time the prince -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>sat silent and thoughtful, pondering by what -means he might obtain possession of the elfin -crown.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Louder and louder grew the bursts of song, -madder and madder reeled the dance. The -weaver’s senses swam, his feet seemed to become -leaden, and the sweat stood out upon his -forehead. The fairies pressed hard upon him, -and strange evil faces peered into his, like the -faces of ape and wild cat, bear, and bat and -viper. Now as the rout swayed backwards -and forwards before the steps of the throne, -the prince awoke from his musing, and caught -sight of the weaver, who with blanched face -and dishevelled hair was stretching out his -hands in a prayer for help. Then the prince -started to his feet, and with a cry drew his -sword from its sheath. The fairies fell back -before the cross-shaped hilt, and the elfin king -himself quailed upon his throne. Micheline -alone stood her ground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Little care I for your holy sign,” quoth she, -“have I not been christened even as you?” -So saying she stepped forward, and touching -the prince and the weaver upon brow and -breast, she turned them both into nightingales.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So shall you remain,” said she, “until I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>die.” And with that she burst out laughing, -knowing that fairies are immortal. Then the -nightingales took wing and flew away out of -the cleft in the hillside by which they had -entered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It seems we are still to be brothers in misfortune,” -said the prince, “let us therefore -remain together, good friend.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“With all my heart, prince,” replied the -weaver. “Whither shall we go?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Let us go to the palace garden,” said -the prince, “so that I may sing my sweetest -beneath my lady’s window.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So day after day they flew over mountain -and valley, till they reached the city where -the princess lived, and that same night as she -leant forth from her casement, she heard two -nightingales singing, more sweetly and more -sorrowfully than any hitherto. The weaver -sang of his lost love, and the prince made known -to her all the toil and peril he had suffered for -her sake.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah me, poor prince, would that I might -disenchant you!” said she.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Your love would disenchant me!” -cried the prince.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not so,” the princess made answer, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>“remember the fairy’s curse. Alas, it was -just on such a night as this that I stood at my -window and watched the fairies making merry -on the greensward. Then it was that the -desire took hold of me to become queen of -their revels, so that I too might wear the -blackthorn and the fatal green, and till that -desire is laid to rest there is no room in my -thoughts for love. I know no peace of mind -through the longing that I have for the elfin -crown, and it may be that I also am enchanted, -even as you.” So saying she wept bitterly, -and the nightingales hushed their singing for -very sorrow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now the next night the princess could not -sleep for thought of the crown, so she went -down into the dewy, dusky garden, and -wandered in and out among the flowers. She -was all in white, with a jewelled dagger in her -hair, and as the prince watched her, his heart -nearly broke for love of her beauty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All at once the trumpets of the honeysuckle -blew a blast, and over the greensward -the fairies came trooping, with the elfin king -and his train in their midst. For a while the -princess stood apart, sadly and silently watching -the revelry, but at last she stepped forward -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>with clasped hands and beseeching eyes, and, -as it chanced, it was to Micheline that she -spoke: “I pray you, sweet fay, teach me to -dance as beautifully as yourself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And if I do,” said Micheline, “will you give -me in exchange the precious thing that sparkles -so royally in your hair?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That will I gladly,” quoth the princess, -and she drew forth the jewelled dagger, and -gave it to the fairy. “Only see that you -handle it carefully,” said she, “for it carries -death at its point, for all it is so bright and -beautiful.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Death!” laughed Micheline, “we fairies -have no fear of death. See, it will do me no -hurt!” And so saying she stabbed herself -in reckless frolic. But as she did so she grew -white to the lips, and sank upon her knees.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, the waters of my baptism!” she cried -out, “they have stolen my immortality from -me!” And she fell lifeless to the ground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At that the spell was broken, and the prince -and the weaver resumed their proper shapes. -Then once more the prince’s sword flashed -from out its sheath.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have nothing to fear from the rest of -you!” he cried, “therefore now, O fairy king, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>yield up your crown, for my lady will know no -rest till it is hers!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then the king stepped forward, smiling -strangely, and set his crown upon the brow -of the princess. But even as he did so it turned -all to withered leaves, which lightly kissed -her waving hair and then fluttered to the -ground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“See, my beloved,” said the prince, “this -fairy gold is not for us. At the touch of a -mortal it decays, therefore cease from your -desire.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It was but an idle dream,” said she, “love -is the better diadem.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then they turned and looked again upon the -greensward, but the king and his court were -gone, and from far away, borne to them fitfully -upon the nightwind, there came a sound which -none had ever heard before, of fairies keening -their dead.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now that same night, when the fields lay -grey in the moonlight, and the shadows were -long between the haycocks, the widow woman -sat in her lonely cabin, and it seemed to her -that she heard a tapping at the window. So -she went and looked, and there stood the fairy -nurse beside the sill.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>“Micheline is dead,” said she, “and will -return no more, neither to you nor to me. -Go back to your spinning and forget her.” -So saying she moved away, and passed in and -out among the haycocks till she was lost to -sight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the prince and princess were married, -and in the course of time they became king -and queen and reigned long and prosperously. -As for the weaver, he was made court -weaver, and remained the prince’s friend all -his days.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène drew a deep breath. “Well, -I am sure I like you ever so much better than -Micheline,” said she, “though Micheline was -christened and you weren’t. Oh, I wonder will -you be able to tell me another story next All -Souls’ Eve, you dear little White Létiche?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wonder,” replied the White Létiche, -thoughtfully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And I shall not see you till then?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, we do not show ourselves. And now -good-night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then the White Létiche kissed her frail little -hand to Philomène. “Shut your eyes,” she -said softly, “you did not see me come, and you -must not see me go.” And when Philomène -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>again opened her eyes she was alone in the -room.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The gale rattled at the window, and the -curtains waved in the gust; the night was -stormy, and the bells were silent. Philomène -hurriedly took off her dressing-gown and -slippers, and crept into bed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“After all,” she thought as she dropped -asleep, “I don’t think it can matter such a -lot about being christened; the holy Innocents -couldn’t possibly have been christened, not a -single one of them, and yet I know they have -got a collect all to themselves.”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span> - <h2 id='XXII' class='c004'>CHAPTER XXII<br /> <span class='small'>WHICH HERALDS A CHANGE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Daddy is calling me, Nurse. Do remember -to take the price off the herald angels, -and the cornflower calendar with the ten -commandments on it will go for a halfpenny. -I thought the commandments might make -it over-weight, but they don’t. Coming, -Daddy!” It was the afternoon of Christmas -Eve; Philomène was busy with all sorts of -cards and parcels, and later on she was to go -to her godmother’s for tea and presents and a -Christmas tree.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her father was waiting for her in the study. -He took her on his knee, and stroked her hair -for a little while before speaking. Then he -said tenderly; “I have not been a very -good Daddy to you these last few months, -little maid, and I am sorry, and I want to -explain.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène opened her eyes wide. “You -know, little Miss Muffet,” continued her father -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>gently, “if one cares very, very much, ever so -much, for someone, and doesn’t know if that -someone cares back, it makes one very unhappy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But why don’t you ask and find out, -right away?” said Philomène.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have asked, and I have found out, but -it took me a long time to make up my mind, -and meanwhile I was so much worried that I’m -afraid I was often cross to my little girl. Has -she forgiven me, I wonder?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène hid her face. “Oh, Daddy,” -she whispered, “don’t talk so; it doesn’t -sound quite proper, somehow, for you to put -it that way round.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The doctor laughed. “My dear,” he said, -“if it sometimes occurred to parents that their -children might possibly have something to -forgive in them, they would have a good deal -less to forgive in their children.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He gave her a fond kiss, and she flung her -arms round him, declaring that he was the best -Daddy in the world, and got down from his -knee. Not long afterwards he was standing in -Isolde’s boudoir, holding both her hands in his.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have loved you,” she was saying slowly, -“ever since I first met you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>“And did Rachel know?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, it was the only secret I had from her.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I waited,” said the doctor, “I waited, dear, -because I was a coward. Two things held me -back. Your riches, for I found it hard to take -so much from any woman, and my fear lest -you should think that it was only for the child’s -sake, just because I could not bear to see her -motherless any longer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She looked at him wistfully, knowing that -what he had given to his first wife he could not -give again, but she knew also that his love for -her was deep and true. She smiled at him, and -was about to answer when Philomène’s voice -was heard outside.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You had better go now,” said Isolde hastily, -“I would rather be alone with her when I tell -her.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In another moment Philomène had entered. -The cold wind had heightened her colour, -and her hazel eyes shone with eager expectation. -“O, Godmother,” she exclaimed, running up -to Isolde, “I have been thinking all to-day how -very, very sorry one ought to feel for the poor -people in the Old Testament who never had -any Christmases. I do so wonder how they -got on without them.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>“I daresay they had a great many more -birthdays than we have, little cushat,” Isolde -replied merrily, “you see, they are supposed -to have lived so very very long. Only think -how many birthdays Methuselah must have -had, and they would more than make up for the -Christmas presents he didn’t get!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I suppose so,” said Philomène, thoughtfully, -“and of course they had the Passover; -not that they got anything then, except dull -roast lamb and parsley, but at least it must -have been rather fun striking the hyssop on to -the door lintels.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Christmas tree was standing in the bow-window, -decorated with fir cones and lighted -candles, and below it was a little crèche, with -the Madonna and the Christchild, and the ox -and ass standing by the manger. Beside it -was a table, on which Philomène’s Christmas -presents had been spread, and it was when -these had been looked at and admired, that -Isolde sat down on the floor close to the crèche, -and drew Philomène towards her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Little cushat,” said she, “on this night, -of all nights in the year, when we are thinking -of the best and dearest mother that ever was -or will be, I want to tell you that Daddy has -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>asked me to be your mother. Are you a little -bit glad?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène was very glad, too glad to speak -at first. Then a shadow fell. “Godmother,” -she whispered, “there is just one thing I should -like to say, but I’m afraid it may hurt you. -I was thinking that you would want me to call -you “Mother,” as though I were really your -own little girl, and I wish I were, or at least -I wish I had been to start with, because you -know how I love you, Godmother dear, and I -should have been ever so glad if you had been -my real mother properly from the beginning. -But you aren’t, you see, and it seems to me -it would be better not to call you ‘Mother,’ -nor to make-believe, but to go on calling you -Godmother just as I used to do, and to keep -‘Mother’ for when I meet my own mother later -on. Don’t you think she might feel a little -bit sorry and left out if I had used up that -name for someone else, even for you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are right,” said Isolde in a very low -voice, “we will not defraud the dead.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The next day Philomène went to announce -the news to Sweet William. She sat opposite -to him on the toadstool which she had come -to consider her own, with her elbows propped -<span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>on the mushroom table between them, as she -had sat many and many a time during the -past year.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I quite see that it cannot be helped,” said -Sweet William, when she had finished speaking, -“but I am sorry.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A startled look came into Philomène’s eyes. -“What do you mean?” she asked uneasily, -“why should you be sorry?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“For one thing, you will not live at Sideview -any longer,” replied Sweet William, gravely. -This had not yet occurred to Philomène, and -now that she realised it she put her head down -on the mushroom, and cried bitterly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, and I used to think it such a dull -little house,” she sobbed, “and now I shall be -ever so sorry to leave it. I have found a fairy -in the garden, and another indoors, and a -witch and a White Létiche as well, such a dear, -pretty little White Létiche. Are the fairies -going to leave me, Sweet William, all because -Daddy wants to marry again?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are not putting the matter quite -fairly,” replied Sweet William, with a momentary -return of his severest manner, “it is not your -father’s marriage in itself which will oblige -us to leave you for the present, or rather, you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>to leave us. It is that the Good People are only -the comrades of lonely children, and now you -will not be lonely any more. Your godmother -will make you a good mother, and a good -friend, and you will need us no longer. Remember, -Griselda never went up into the -cuckoo clock again after she had found a -playmate.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But even if I have to leave you behind me,” -said Philomène, fighting with her tears, “I -shall have Master Mustardseed and Queen -Mab with me still, and Speedwell and Spirea -live at the Cushats.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sweet William shook his head. “That -makes no difference,” he said, “you will still -have a canary and a cat, but not a fairy and a -white witch. I daresay you may catch a -glimpse of the twins now and then when it is -growing dusk, but it will be of no use trying to -get them to speak to you, unless they make -the first move. Of course I don’t for a moment -say that you and I will never meet again; I -may very possibly turn up years hence in some -other garden. After all, you had the green -ribbons on your christening robe, and that will -always count for something.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Philomène dried her tears, but she was far -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>from feeling comforted. She looked sadly all -round the little room, and had hard work to -prevent them from flowing afresh as she wished -Sweet William good-bye. She was half way -down the garden path before she remembered -that she had left her latchkey sticking in the -lock. She went back at once, but it was gone.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> - -<div><span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span></div> -<div class='section ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c005'> - <div>DADDY TAKES US CAMPING</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Oh, Hal!” cried Mabel Blake, as she ran -down the garden walk. “Guess what’s going -to happen.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know,” answered Hal, who was -making a kite. “What?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Daddy is going to take us camping!” went -on Mab.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, joy!” cried Hal.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Camping in the woods, living in a tent, and -having many wonderful adventures, are only a -few things Hal, Mab and their father did. You -liked to read the Bedtime Stories, and you will -like these new books by the same author, Howard -R. Garis.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Send to your book store, and get the volume -“Daddy Takes Us Camping.” The book tells -of nature, outdoor life and animals in a way -children like.</p> - -<p class='c007'>R. F. Fenno & Company, of 18 East 17th -Street, New York City, publish the Daddy -books, of which there are several. They will -mail any volume on receipt of price, if your -store does not have it. The books are prettily -gotten up, with pictures.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='tnotes'> - -<div class='section ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c005'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c002'> - <li>P. <a href='#t65'>65</a>, changed “fairy in the case” to “fairy in the castle”. - - </li> - <li>Table of <a href='#CONTENTS'>Contents</a> added by transcriber. - - </li> - <li>Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Fairy Latchkey, by Magdalene Horsfall - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FAIRY LATCHKEY *** - -***** This file should be named 63535-h.htm or 63535-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/5/3/63535/ - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, Juliet Sutherland, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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