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a 
 
ANNALS OF 
 THE COURT OF OBERON 
 
Digby's Popular Novel Series 
 
 Crmvn ivo, 
 
 VoL 
 
 ivn ivo, kandsomt cloth, price at. 6d. ftr I 
 
 Each Book contams 330//., and is printed 
 
 OH superior paper jrom new type. 
 
 THE MT8TERT OF OLBMENT DUNRAVBN. 
 
 Uy JEAN MIDDLEMASS. Author of 'A 
 Girl in a Thousand,' &c. ( Third Edition. 
 
 A HIDDEN CHAIN. By DORA RUSSELL. 
 Author of ' The Other Bond,' ' Footprints in 
 the Snow,' &c. ( Third Edition. 
 
 DR JANET OF HARLET STREET- By Dr 
 
 ARABELLA KENEALV. Author of 'Some 
 Men are fuch Gentlemen,' &c. 
 
 [Sixth Edition with Portrait. 
 
 THE JOLLT ROGER. By HUME NISBET. 
 Author of ' Her Loving Slave,' ' Bail Up,' 
 &c. With Illustrations by the Author. 
 
 {Fi/lh Edition. 
 
 ,% Other Works in same Series in due course. 
 
 DIGBY, LONG & CO., LONDON 
 
ANNALS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE COURT OF OBERON 
 
 Bytractct) from tbe 1?ecorD0 
 
 BY 
 
 THE ANNALIST 
 
 JOHN HUNTER DUVAR 
 
 AUTHOR or 
 
 •'THE ENAMORADO" AND " ROBERVAI," DRAMAS ; "THE TRIUMPH OK 
 
 OON8TAN0T, A ROMAUNT " " IMMIGRATION OK THR FAIRIES," ETC. 
 
 Romto, ' Pmoo, peace, Mercutio, peaco ; 
 Tbou talk'Bt of nothing.' 
 
 Mtrculio. ' True, I talk of dreams ; 
 
 Which are the children of an idle brain, 
 Begot of nothing but vain fantany.' 
 
 LONDON 
 DIGBY, LONG & CO, PUBLISHERS 
 
f\5L 
 
 HO 
 
 w 
 
 TH 
 
 TU] 
 
 TUI 
 
 TIM 
 
 THl 
 
 THE 
 
CONTENDS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW I BECAMK ANNALIST, 
 
 • • 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A DISUEBTATION ON FAIRIES, 
 
 t t 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 QUKEN GLOIUANA, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 TUK UUEKN'S MAHIE8, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DWELLER ON THE THRESHOLD, . 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE TRUE 8T0RT OK THE COLT DCC'KLINO, . 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TIJION THE MI8ANTHK0PK, 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE ENAMOURED, .... 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE punster's PATE, 
 
 FAOE 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 17 
 
 2i 
 
 S8 
 
 41 
 64 
 
 67 
 
Vlll 
 
 Contents. 
 
 SESAME AND LILIES, 
 
 VIVIEN, 
 
 A SQUARE DEAL, 
 
 A CASTAWAY, . 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ■ • • • 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MOTHER SHIPTON, 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MAGDALEN, 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A FAIRY FUNEa.iL, . . . 
 
 CHAPTER XVI I. 
 
 AMONG THE TOMBS, .... 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A WATER PARTY, 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SWEETHEART ABBEY, 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 pippa's wedding, . 
 
 MY NOVEL, . 
 
 MIDSUMMER EVE, 
 
 CONCLUSION, . 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 PACK 
 
 80 
 
 96 
 110 
 118 
 134 
 140 
 164 
 163 
 179 
 193 
 206 
 216 
 226 
 248 
 
ANNALS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE COURT OF OBERON 
 
 -•©^ 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW I BECAME ANNALIST. 
 
 It is sad to reflect that there are persons, otherwise 
 intelligent, who (casting aside the sworn testimony 
 of their ancestors) affect to disbelieve the existence 
 of fairies. Not to everyone, however, has it been 
 given to mingle familiarly with that interesting 
 people. Events over which 1 had no control gave 
 me that privilege. The circumstances were these : 
 
 I am a man graver than my years. The world 
 has saddened, not soured me. I am given t6 moon- 
 ing about with books and lying under trees. I am 
 generally considered harmless and my views old- 
 fashioned. 
 
 A green scallop-shaped dell in a wood used to 
 be a favourite haunt of mine. Where the mouth of 
 the shell would face a slow-moving river flowed, 
 and at the hinge end an umbrageous plane spread 
 
2 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 wide its boughs. On one occasion, on visiting the 
 spot, I was startled to see a little gentleman in a 
 green uniform, with a sword by his side, seated 
 under the plane reading a book I had forgotten 
 there, which book was in fact a copy of Midsummer 
 Night's Dream. On observing my approach, the 
 little gentleman came forward and, taking off his 
 
 chapeau, addressed me in a very courteous tone : 
 
 " Sir" (said he), " history is fiction. Characters 
 are made or damned by their annalists. Look at 
 the unlikelihoods Count Caylus and Monsieur 
 Perrault, the Countesses d'Aulnoy, Murat and 
 Auneuil, Mesdames de Beaumont and de Villeneuve, 
 and Mesdemoiselles de Luberfc and de la Force have 
 put forth under the pretext of history. Poetical, 
 perhaps, but wholly inexact. As to the Grimm- 
 Andersons and the whole tribe of Old Luckois, they 
 are twaddlers, sir, mere nursery twaddlers, I give 
 you my honour. This Mr Shakespeare's book 
 (yours, I presume) is, however, fairly well done, 
 considering. Which reminds me that Hi., Eoyal 
 and Imperial Highness Oberon, Natv/rce Gratia of 
 Faerie and Fairylonde, Emperor, and King; Soldan 
 of Wonderland ; Archduke of Out-of -Doors ; Duke 
 of Phantasie; Marquis and Earl of Greensward, 
 Coppice and Rill ; Viscount Myth ; a Baron ; hav- 
 ing no fit annalist to record the acts and revels of 
 his ever-glorious reign, wants a feeble-minded 
 elderly person for that duty, and has deigned to 
 appoint you to the oflSlCb. 
 
 " Your Excellency," said I, tremblingly, « I am 
 unfit. A Government oflScer requires intelligence " 
 
How I became Annalist. 3 
 
 " Quite the contrary," he replied sternly. 
 
 He gazed in my eyes. My senses became hypno- 
 tised and I had to follow him whithersoever he 
 would. Arrived at headquarters, a Commission 
 was issued under the Great Seal of Faerie, and I 
 became unpaid atta^iU to the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Annalist 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 A DISSERTATION ON FAIRIES. 
 
 The history of the ancient, ever-glorious and 
 populous realm of Faery is less known to pro- 
 fessional historians than it ought to be. Re- 
 grettable, therefore, to have to say the literature 
 that bears the name of Fairy throws little light on 
 the personality and social condition of an interest- 
 ing people. Incongruous dreams, mixed up with 
 nonsensical moralities, have done much to throw 
 doubt on autLentic records, such as these Annals 
 and have tended to relegate veritable Faery history 
 into the region of myth. 
 
 The boundaries of the realm of Faery have not 
 been well defined, but there is much in the polity 
 of the kingdom that may well serve as an example 
 to other states. It is ruled by a dynasty bearing 
 the regal name of Oberon. in iike manner ^ 
 Pharoahs ruled Egypt, and Csesars Rome. Its par- 
 ticular form of sway is that best of all governments 
 ---a good-natured despotism. The power behind 
 the throne is Mr Grundy, that is to say, public 
 opinion, and there never yet was an Oberon in all 
 the line who has dared to brave that terrible 
 temperer, or who would not have been ashamed of 
 
A Dissertation on Fairies. 5 
 
 himself if cut by his subjects, or have the cold 
 shoulder turned to him, instead of being every- 
 where met with lively marks of personal regard. 
 
 Thus among this happy people the tone is always 
 in accord between the governing and governed. 
 Attachment to locality (or, in other words, patriot- 
 ism) is therefore the normal state of mind. This 
 feeling induces every man-fairy to be trained from 
 his youth to the use of arms for service of the 
 State, to overcome the war-like erdsprites, and also 
 to chastise rats, snakes, carrion crows, and other 
 predatory orders , but the distinction of wearing 
 uniform is considered a full acquittance for pay 
 and allowances, and it is an object of ambition to 
 get one's son into the guards. 
 
 The military department is not unaware of the 
 devil 8 masterpieces of rifled cannon and torpedoes 
 used by Christian nations, but feels it more humane 
 to retain as the national arms of precision the bow 
 and flmtheaded arrows used by man in his first 
 Darwinian stage. The elf-bolts the fairies shoot 
 are picked up by antiquarians, and may be seen 
 in museums. 
 
 The only secular force they possess is retained 
 from sheer conservatism, in the shape of an effete 
 police, to which the ancient watchmen of Inspector 
 Dogberry's day were but as sucking babes. On 
 occasions of pageant or public assembly the effect 
 ot this constitutional force, with all the parapher- 
 nalia of justice, an usher of the rod, a crier, and 
 above a 1. a beadle all in cocked hats, and dresses 
 ot remote cut, is fa. from disquieting. 
 
^ Annais of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 lirrhf f..>. „ u x , ^' "^ deprivation of 
 
 iignt tor a shorter or lonwr DPrinri o««^ r T 
 
 d baS fri ^a" ^'"■''- ^'°°' delinquents 1^ 
 
 ■tigious. the wateh knocks the offenders' head. 
 iTd ™«' «>^y -- to a bett^rfLrl? 
 
 elemente. 1 he people are too intelligent to want 
 an elective parliament, or any narliam»nt 1 ii 
 and as very few can r).«A ,i P™"'^''* at all; 
 
 molested by a pless m'h!l *"".'"; T^ '" °»' 
 so-called -lo^it'^J^, Strcl"'^v ' "' 
 constituted: community so 
 
 Having no revenue, the kingdom has no ex 
 
 seen outlat J P?^' '*''^' ^^ ''«" «« untore- 
 seen outlay a met by a succession of surnrise 
 part.es. P„bhc officers are selected, without C 
 
 Tei^Tsr ""'™ '" """^^ ^^^-- -^'; 
 
 The populace have no effects, personal or real 
 
 ticklish questions ofTe tfatitn T^^Lf S 
 labour, for they have neither. ^ 
 
A Dissertation on Fairies. *j 
 
 There are other annoyances common to worldly 
 states from which the realm of Faerie is free ; for 
 example, having no system of education, the State 
 is not endangered by the veiled treason of denomi- 
 national schools. Sacerdotalism is therefore un- 
 called for, for every one, from infancy up, acquires 
 from his surroundings a knowledge of his or her 
 moral and social duties, and to have them dinned 
 into the ears weekly from a platform, would be 
 considered a bore. In short, there are many points 
 in Fairy manners, from which terrestrial nations, 
 the most civilised, might draw instructive lessons. 
 
 The origin of the Fairies has been discussed 
 futilely by anthropologists. Darwin, Huxley and 
 the Evolutionists have settled to their own satis- 
 faction that Man was evolved, but, I think. Fairies 
 were created; for we must pass over, as a mere 
 classic fable, that Prometheus made a little man 
 whom he called Elf, and finding a beautiful cor- 
 responding creature wandering in the gardens of 
 Adonis, married them to each other, and their 
 progeny were Fairies. Bulwer Lytton approaches 
 nearer to the mark when he puts it in this way,— 
 "May not the air be full of intelligent beings of 
 a finer mould than ours, yet, to our grosser vision, 
 invisible?" The Koran — an authority accepted 
 by a majority of the human race— settles the point 
 by expressly revealing that diflferent orders of 
 beings, intermediate between man and the highest, 
 were called into existence. Collateral evidence is 
 not awanting that Fairies, such as we are ac- 
 quainted with, are a branch of one of those orders. 
 
u 
 
 8 
 
 ^n,m/s of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 "o-oir 'o2 'hf'^r;," ""'» '-- «>an 
 
 and fell. ?he7«iSt "f " "?" '"^'^'y ^'^^< 
 nine angelie orckr "nk r' '" '""""y ">an tho 
 either the heavt; :f eartllVr' ,""' t!^^ '" 
 let loose on this bea'^L ulr h Th l"' '"' """ 
 personality are thus accounted for W °"«'" """ 
 over the authority of the Kotn " "™''°' ^' 
 
 i.- »»et"n,ad: tt '•"'''' °«' "'^ ^--^ It 
 realism of^ht e„d of tr'""^'^'^"'"""' '^ 'he 
 of a child can ^d d„ J '. T.'"'*'' ^l-^ "ind 
 life of Faerie a^,.^"!.'' "^'Pi'^^ ''^elf with the 
 
 age, unletterti mortlk cot.f" ? °' °"'^' W^"- 
 into it; but in X ,„Lt ? ""^erstand and enter 
 
 steam/only Crt,r "" '' "'' ">'' ««« "^ 
 
 Buoh poetif ptlSir ''°^^''''y»W't''i?e in 
 
 gen^ni^;;^ "" °^ "='-« 0"le«, with many 
 
 Terrene. 
 Tenebrous. 
 
 Itishighly'IXbirt"'"^'''''''* 
 
 Bays, are contend fi°f 7?**t """' "^ l^^n'e 
 in the embers, but I know'^1"^'"''^^*^'' ^e see 
 
 *ennofse-rvicewasli^"Z"Tetl°'*''^""- ^'^ 
 
 spiritual and refined T ^^^^"res, but more 
 totheirstature. aI" the^Zritf ^^^^ 
 
A Dissertation on Fairies. 
 
 were about as tall as children of two to four 
 years' growth, but much more delicate and slender. 
 To say that they sleep in a tulip and hide in tiny 
 harebells is a wicked story, a hyperbole of dimin- 
 ution, as a lover might say that his sweetheart, 
 of five feet siz or so. had crept into his heart 
 and lay hidden there. That they are able to 
 appear in difierent shapes is not more surprising 
 than that a cloud should seem "very like a whale "; 
 that they become invisible at will from the mere 
 act of keeping out of sight, is quite comprehensible; 
 but how, being wingless, yet having ponderosity 
 and tangibility to the touch, they can, by sheer 
 elasticity, soar a little higher than the tops of trees 
 and there weave complicated circumgyrations as 
 gnats do in evening sunshine, I confess (to use a 
 strong expression) stumps me. Yet they do. 
 
 Fairies' traits are very human. They are bom, 
 marry and die ; that is to say, they exhale into 
 their component elements. They smile, laugh, weep, 
 tremble and get into mild paroxysms of spite with 
 each other. As might be expected from their 
 sensitive organisation, music gives them thrilling 
 delight, and they are capable performers. They 
 know the language of ground animals and of 
 flowers and trees, and can chirp in bird-tongue and 
 appreciate the love-poems of nightingales. Sun- 
 light expands their nature as it does the closed 
 buds. Vivacity is one of their marked character- 
 istics. No lotus-eaters they. Having no carking 
 cares, they "fear no enemy but winter and rough 
 weather." 
 
to 
 
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 known sorrow. Their affi?7' "^'^ ''*™ "ever 
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 tn's 
 
 A Dissertation on Fairies. i \ 
 
 Righto Nvould provoke an tmeuie on the part of the 
 ranre charming sex. In this respect the Fays-de- 
 hghtful lite -companions as they are — are old- 
 fashioned and behind their civilised sisters of earth 
 Uut what can one expect from a race whose whole 
 system of ethics, inculcated on every child is 
 summed up in these words: "Be square and do 
 kindly, and you will be kindly and squarely done 
 
 Such are the sentient and intelligent beings that 
 everywhere surround us in places suited to their 
 naunt. If they do no labour and produce nothing, 
 it may be asked, How, then, are they fed? Look 
 around, oh, Observer ! and note how the All-bene- 
 ficence provides for its helpless ones. As honest 
 Isaac Walton says,-" Contemplate the lilies that 
 take no care, and those very many other various 
 little living creatures th .t are not only created, but 
 
 a A "^Tr ^""""^f ''''* ^°'^' ^y ^^^ goodness of the 
 God of Nature. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 QUEEN GLORIANA. 
 
 mere dunderheadedner^ h *'^f,">'-™gl' the 
 almost anyone, nota Shi ■"""■*''• ^^^ 
 
 the Faerie Queen °" L ,f PT'™' "^^^ '^ 
 be "Queen Mlb" W , "'P'^ ^'" "^'""■'"'y 
 ^dn.und Spen:^- >' ™ ^-'^^^'^ mistaui: 
 
 name, as Ouelph is tlltrSet'^r "'l''"""^ 
 ■•eigning name is Gloriana IT v *' ''"' *''« 
 equivalent to Czarina. "" "'"""S « 
 
 linL^rsoSunt blrdTr'^P ^'~"'" '°™- 
 "ore of queenly statelinl^ P'' ''"' "^'hmueh 
 
 than fauLuyL^el7df\?^'"''"'«'"»' *<»•«» 
 "y possessed by blondes of the human 
 
 * Falr^ Qiiccu. 
 12 
 
Queen Gloriana. 
 
 J3 
 
 fair sex. In stature she is moderately small. Were 
 you to make a reduced copy of the Medicean Venus 
 it would not be Queen Titania, and still less would 
 be the identity if you compared her with the Venus 
 of Milo. Titania— for some time my loved and 
 honoured liege lady and mistress— is much more 
 8f\idie and slender and delicate in her proportions, 
 and more instinct with latent fire. An angel yet a 
 woman too. If my kind and fair reader has a 
 lovely little fairy-like girl-pet about four years of 
 age, with violet eyes and blonde silk hair, and will 
 refine and etherealise all her pet's beauties and pro- 
 portions, and further throw womanhood into the 
 child's aspect, she will have Titania. 
 
 The calumny that Queen Titania is a tiny mite 
 of a thing, is too contemptible to be patiently con- 
 tradicted. Mab is to blame for it all. Shake- 
 speare, who knew everything, sets the matter right 
 at once. 
 
 "Mab" (he says) «'is the fairies' midwife, and she comes, 
 In shape no bigger than an agate-stone, 
 On the forefinger of an alderman." 
 
 So much for Mab. When he speaks of Titania 
 he makes her of stature tall enough to embrace an 
 ass, a mistake she once made, and which her mun- 
 dane sisters have too often inadvertently re- 
 peated : — 
 
 " Tita. My;Oberon ! what visions have I seen ? 
 Methought I was enamoured of an ass." 
 
 Shelley, although in deference to folk-lore he 
 
14 
 
 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 queen. Shakespeare had ^rded .W m*1'?' 
 carriage was an empty hJT^T"^ ^"^^ 
 team of little atomies" but «!,".. T'"' ^^ » 
 
 queen's chariot with ;£gedl^:'i^y Th?? ''^ 
 cendental nopf—fK^ «u ^ ^-^ e*^®. I he trans- 
 
 isnotatttFtttT'"''l^°' """^o ^'«« 
 
 ^alism-descnt th folrof^ P ^^'^ °'' 
 thus:— ^ ^ °* faerie herself 
 
 " Human eye hath ne'er beheld 
 
 As that which o'er the maiden's charmed sleep 
 Waving a starry wand, ^* 
 
 Hung like a mist of h-ght. 
 The broad and yellow moon 
 
 Th. f^ ?^^^ *^^°"«1^ her form- 
 
 Its transitory robe. 
 Her thin and misty form 
 Moved with the moving air." * 
 
 Mere words, even the words of ««.* 
 "^Pee. Oneo^nrStrip^^tLl'Srtot 
 
 * Queen Mah. 
 
Queen Gloriaiia. 
 
 15 
 
 future queen, Joan Beaufort, when "walking that 
 very womanly, with beauty enough to make the 
 world to dote," by a king, but a king behind 
 prison bars— James I. of Scotland— is so refined 
 that it may well stand for a vision of the Queen 
 of Faerie : — 
 
 " Of her array the form if I shall write, 
 Towards her golden hair and rich attire, 
 In fretwise couchit with perles white 
 And great balas beaming as the fire, 
 With mony ane emerant and fair saphire ; 
 And on her head a chaplet fair of hue, 
 Of plumia parted red, and white and blue. 
 
 About her neck, white as the fire amail, 
 A goodly chain of small orfevory, 
 Whereby there hung a ruby without fail 
 Like to a heart shapen verily. 
 That as a spark of low, so wantonly 
 Seemed burning upon her white throat" * 
 
 And as further says honest Willie Dunbar.— 
 
 "A costly crown with clarefeid stonis bricht, 
 This cumly Queene did on her heid inclose, 
 Quhylk all the land illumynit of the lycht." 
 
 Dryden, when laureate, thought he saw a 
 vision of the Fairy Court, which he thus puts on 
 record, — 
 
 "In velvet white as snow the troop was gowned, 
 The seams with sparkling emeralds set around ; 
 Their hoods and sleeves the same ; and purpled o'er 
 With diamonds, pearls, and all the shining store 
 
 * Thx King's Quhair. 
 
1 6 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Of eastern pomp ; their long descending train, 
 With rubies edged, and sapphires, swept the plain : 
 aigh on their heads, with jewels richly set, 
 Each lady wore a radiant coronet."* 
 
 Poets, however, are apt to see double, and the 
 tair ones Dryden saw, may have been only a bevy 
 of the ladies of Katherine of Portugal. 
 
 * Flower and leaf. 
 
 If i 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE QUEEN'S MABIE& 
 
 SooiETY- was pleasant at Court. There was to 1,. 
 sure, among the wives of the bureaucraov^' ! 
 
 always ehamcterises the married ladie^Tf a g^ 
 
 XortVa^l-riucfX ttr »' ^• 
 -et in good society Zt^^^ XZt 2 
 the charmmg inconsistencies of their LV k^J f 
 all that vas attractive in manner ^d l„ f •"' 
 person, and refined in mind nZ ;„?> , '^ '° 
 the Maids of Honour, ^Ztr°Zi^JF'^'°'';^ 
 aB the Queen's Maries. In mvTime ♦f "°^'^ 
 four-and-twenty of these dar"^"^!,*'^ tlm 
 
 rSid^^td"^"' ^''"' •*"-" ™" 5h" 
 pHwted w.rth'i^^hT it t:uttrd ^'^° 
 
 ".m crazy, aad he would have ten reTjeTr 
 
 an asylum, or have entered La T^^t^t- ^ 
 
 myself neii^lifir tt^.,^ . -^rappe. Jiemff 
 
 y neither young nor an ardent poet. I am 
 
 B 
 
i8 
 
 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 safe to introduce the delightful creatures to the 
 courteous reader, which I do alphabetically, for 
 where all were equally lovely, it would be dis- 
 ingenuous to imply any precedence. They were :— 
 
 Aa, 
 
 a stately young fairy, observant of the proprieties ; 
 unfathomable eyes, with a sad smile in them. Her 
 favourite flower, the white lily, or, as Dryden calls 
 It, the agnus castua. 
 
 AlLIE, 
 
 a sweet little soul. Hair, flaxen; complexion, 
 creamy ; eyes, porcelain blue. 
 
 Amina. 
 
 I always fought shy of Amina because she had a 
 sarcastic tongue. 
 
 Babee 
 
 was the plumpest little thing. You could not help 
 wanting to kiss her. 
 
 Fluff 
 was a pet. Her portrait was painted by Millais. 
 
 Jip, 
 
 the very fay for one's money; full of fun and 
 frolic, with mirth ever dancing in her brown eyes • 
 quick at repartee, but with no nonsense about hpr 
 
The Queen's Maries. 
 
 19 
 
 Taken with a snap-shot kodak one day, but so 
 hideously unlike her, we all screamed when we 
 saw it. 
 
 Lalalu, 
 
 a verv lovable fay; rather sentimental. Had a 
 fancy for draping herself in a veil, and peeping 
 out in the most seductive way. A nice girl was 
 Lalalu. 
 
 MuR. 
 
 This was a plaintive jade, who had a fashion of 
 requiring to be spoken to twice. Hence she was 
 called Mur-mur. 
 
 Nu 
 
 was of a good domestic kind. Given to patching 
 wounded butterflies' wings and poulticing bruised 
 bumble-bees. She knew all the medicinal plants 
 and flowers, and gathered them at full of the 
 moon. Her favourite flower was herb robert. 
 
 Pip. 
 
 There is no denying that Pip was a coquette. Her 
 origin"! appellation was Pippa or Pepita; but from 
 her habit of saying, " Call me pet names, dear," she 
 was abbreviated into Pip. 
 
 Quip, 
 
 as her name imparts, was rather fond of playing 
 practical jokes and hearing herself talk ; but it waa 
 only her fun, and there was no hai-m in her. 
 
30 
 
 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 « 
 
 Holy. 
 
 Pink and white Roly; like a big baby so soft 
 
 Sasa. 
 
 ifelpTbtf'''^" ""'"^^ ^" ^"*^^°^ ^^ «he could 
 iielp It, but swing m a hammock of hone-suckir 
 
 and fan herself with a calycanthus lear Always 
 wore a garland of red clover. -^^ways 
 
 Trippet 
 
 Z 'n'*"""' ''''"?°« "''''«• »'^' 'terefo". « good 
 deal put upon. A„y„„, ^^^ say_?Go 
 
 fetch me my handkerchief-ah ! do, now "and off 
 she would go, burring like a humming°bM. 
 
 Ula. 
 
 at "Srf/r!:,' 1^'^ °* death^head moths, and 
 shouM di: '"'" ""--g-needle thought she 
 
 Viva. 
 
 eronli™' '"^"''«* "'"> «f« and movement, 
 nltK •. . . '" '""=''' ""^■''"g «P»rts. Would 
 not hesitate to go heels-over-he^ in the manner 
 
 Itdb^^^r^-^-^ ^-"o' to long sprays or^y 
 
 Vivien 
 was of the highest intellectual calibre of all the 
 
The Qtieen's Maries. 
 
 21 
 
 fays, and was distinguished for beauty. She had, 
 besides, some experience in mundane society— (^ee 
 Chapter XI. of these Annals). Her place was next 
 to the Queen. 
 
 Zuzu. 
 A good, serviceable fay. ^ 
 
 Besides these were some others, whose names 
 have escaped me, excepting Av^, whose ancestress 
 was the identical industrious Teutonic fay who 
 invented cloth - weaving at Lorch or Hippen- 
 heini, where was first grown red vintage on the 
 Rhine; and Wawawa, a gamesome nymph, who 
 hides behind rocks, and playfully enacts the part 
 of echo. 
 
 Yes, we had a delighful circle at Court— feminine 
 graces unsurpassed, polished manhood in all its 
 varieties of occupation and character, yet all com- 
 bined by the family tie ; and, although etiquette 
 was never transgressed, its easy bonds offered 
 a marked contrast to the ponderous stiffness of 
 petty German dukedoms, or, let us say, of the 
 preposterous Court of Monaco. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DWELLER ON THE THRESHOLD. 
 
 One day in our camp-soine time ago, now- 
 
 Yo heave 0!" as used by sailors when heav- 
 ing the anchor, carrying out other nautical 
 manoeuvres. Approaching were seen .o.eral fairy 
 boys walking backwards, hauling on a rope to the 
 
 nunnv 7 Tl"'^ ™ "PP^°^^^ ^ red-and-white 
 puppy Zug, the gnome. lifted the animal by the 
 tail and dropped him in the outskirts. 
 
 What happened next is not on record, but it is 
 known that the ill-treated creature took refuge in 
 a rabbit-hole, and it is surmised that the boys used 
 to go there and feed him surreptitiously. A few 
 weeks afterwards rumour, grew that f red-and 
 
 smrrow«'°^n u ^''° '"'^ """°^"^ ^'^^^^ ^^^^sing 
 I'tshoir ^'""^ approached, it took refuge in 
 
 Fairies are far from insensible to the endear- 
 ments of filial affections, but there was much coa" 
 
 nfr- • '"^^' importunity prevailed, and 
 
 permission was given to adopt the waif on cond tion 
 It should never be allowed to come within fairy 
 
The Diveller on the Threshold. 
 
 23 
 
 ground. The boys went off triumphantly to their 
 dog. I know not by what association of ideas they 
 named him Tycho Brahe, but by that name he has 
 been known throughout his eventful history. 
 
 Notwithstanding Childe Harold's cynical asser- 
 tion that his dog would tear him after a few months' 
 absence, memory is one of the strongest of canine 
 attributes. At first, Tycho was chary of re-entering 
 the precincts from which he remembered he had 
 been ignominiously expelled. Gradually, on the 
 encouragement of his young masters, he ventured 
 farther and farther into the area of the haunt. His 
 circle of acquaintance enlarged daily. He became 
 as the dog of the regiment. In process of time he 
 developed physically into a magnificent specimen of 
 his order, beautifully marked with clear led and 
 cream, with long silky hair, and a tail like the 
 meteors that affright nations. Intellectually, he 
 was a giant. Darwin would have loved him as an 
 instance of the higher development. Individually, 
 he showed idiosyncrasies. He refused to abandon 
 the rabbit-hole in which his infancy had been 
 sheltered, but enlarged it as his housekeeping 
 required, and the wheelbarrowsful of earth he 
 threw out with his hind feet showed spacious halls 
 within, and outside formed a considerable barrow. 
 Constructiveness in him was well marked. Humour 
 was none the less so, in fact it was his prevalent 
 characteristic. He was a fellow of infinite wit. As 
 I have seen in a very few other dogs, he had the 
 faculty of pursing up his lips and laughing at his 
 own jokes. Sometimes he would sit up like an 
 
SI 
 
 24 Anna/s of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 Australian kangaroo, and from that attitude attempt 
 to jump, with the most ludicrous effect. Occasion- 
 ally to afford amusement to his friends, he would 
 revolve in pursuit of his tail, in the manner of a 
 whirling dervish. Benevolence in his cranium was 
 mountainous morality small, philoprogenitiveness 
 none at all. Health superb. It may or may not be 
 that pigs see the wind-although the circumstance 
 18 noted in natural history-but it is a fact that 
 tram some inner consciousness, some electric 
 aftnity, or a fine but occult sympathy, Tycho could 
 see the fairies when invisible to other eyes, and he 
 readily adapted himself to fairy habits. He came 
 to know the social grade of people, and graduated 
 his civilities accordingly. He would follow Oberon 
 when hunting, although always driven off. and from 
 a safe distance would give joyous barks when the 
 ganie tell. On his own account he dug out mice, as 
 poodles do truffles. Strange to say, he seemed to 
 have a kindliness towards squirrels, for he never 
 attacked these pretty gymnasts, but would lie for 
 hours watching their graceful gambols, or seeing 
 them run up and down their ladders with their 
 pouches full of nuts. To cats he was what Claver- 
 house was to the Covenanters. He learned to fish 
 by the process called " groping," and would wade 
 gently mto pools beneath overhanging boughs and 
 feel about with his paws for trout, lifting them out 
 as did Isaac Walton, gently as though he loved 
 them. Moreover he could climb up the sloping 
 stems of trees, and from that bad eminence would 
 gravely patronise the fairy sports. Unfortunately 
 
The Dive Her on the Threshold, 25 
 
 his ear was faulty, for he had an objection to music 
 and would join in with deprecatory howla. A 
 facetious habit he had was meekly to follow foot- 
 passengers as if he were a lost dog seeking a master, 
 and suddenly make off with a mouthful of coat-tail. 
 
 He was hated by nil who know him, except by 
 the fairies. Conspiracies were laid for his life, but 
 the rustics had no firearms and he always travelled 
 with his weather eye open. Briefly, he might be 
 described as a sad dog. 
 
 His reasoning powers became singularly acute 
 and his prescience wonderful. One might almost, 
 without impropriety, have called him a gymno- 
 sophist or naked sage. What made it the more 
 praiseworthy was that his culture was the result 
 of his own unassisted study. On one occasion, 
 when he felt disinclined to enact the part of a 
 palfrey, he ran away and, rolling over and over in 
 an adjacent swamp, presented himself to his con- 
 stituents, a moving mass of mud, which spoiled the 
 projected ride. Then with a waggish leer in his 
 eye he retired to his hole and amused himself with 
 the idea. Noticing the ladies one day admiring a 
 pheasant's wing which they passed from hand to 
 hand, he rushed away and returned with a pheasant, 
 for which he was petted and made much of. In- 
 stantly he dashed off and brought a hen, with 
 which they buffeted him off the premises. At a 
 loss to understand the indignity, he did not appear 
 for some days, but at length the thought struck 
 him and he came carrying the wings only of a cock 
 pheasant — having hluiself eaten the body — and 
 
 ■ii 
 
 i 
 
26 
 
 Anna/s of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 twist In f»*rt ' f""'*' P«™«Pti<»i he had a 
 
 mm» -s* . T . " ""^ *° occasional amuse- 
 ment of the boys in liis absence to fish out of M= 
 hde w.tha long ,«ek ,^, proceeds of hTsfl™ 
 
 chiAf« -I, .°™>^«1- Old hats, old boots, handker- 
 snin ;wTT'7°°'' =P~"»- ""1 Pi^«<^ of home- 
 d d h'„ /''**,F*'^teff^8 men intended to do he 
 
 snnekmg fairies about with it WliPro i,^ \ !!. 
 article he did not sav Onl f f ^ ^°* *^® 
 
 attended all the picnics in f ^. ?ff ^^% ^^ 
 by lurkinr/ nn^r r u **^® neighbourhood, 
 
 Annfi ? t"" ^"'^^^ ^^^ bolting with Dies 
 Another time he attempted to convev « Jffi 
 which he seems to have broken on the rTad and t 
 have lapped the content- f-.-. i ^?»^ and to 
 rv vue coniento, tor he arrived home 
 
The Dweller on the Threshold. 27 
 
 in a state of intoxication. He never repeated this 
 offence. 
 
 There was no end to his adventures by flood and 
 field. Had he been a tithe proctor, he could not 
 have collected his levy with more regularity. As 
 he had no use for coined money, he took payment 
 in kind: butter, eggs, cream, cheese, chickens, or 
 whatever came handy. The chief difference be- 
 tween him and other assessors, was that he never 
 evicted anybody. On the contrary, wherever found, 
 they evicted him. But, on the whole, his life waa 
 not an unpleasant one. 
 
 This valued friend of the juveniles, lived con- 
 tented in his cave on the outskirts of fairyland, a 
 voluntary eremite. Grateful for kindness, helpful 
 and devoted to his patrons, thoroughly unselfish, 
 brave, prompt and prudent, watchful of the interests 
 confided to him, and reliable in all he undertook, 
 he had all the exceptional virtues, and none of the 
 vices of man. When he should die, the fairies 
 would be sorry, which is much to say of any being 
 who has lived. 
 
 Thus it will be understood that the fairies' dog 
 Tycho Brahe was the dweller on the Threshold. 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE TBOE STORY OP TW, rOLV DUCKLING. 
 
 and qultt, aZ;^^"'"''/"''''* »' ">» P'"'* 
 
 3«bj Jt o? », f ^ >Tde°hS '"^' '°'' ">« 
 expectedly one d«.7in *i, appearance nn- 
 
 the satisfa^Son ofsa^ifls T "' ""'' ."«'""=^- ""O 
 waa handsomely feed ?„" V u f'^^^'"''^^. who 
 
 'he youth to l:^eXzZ'^Jt'tr' 
 
 •■Welcome, hS atranL- ^'' **■" '*«»<>• 
 headed pins "V™"?*"^; ■» warranted solid- 
 
 rnigenltus, cCl^tZZT- Anl '°^ 
 
 gained her a Z^" P"^"^ <" '•yP-o^y that 
 CourtAn^irlir' ^''J^* -<> ■»-' '»-t 
 
 20 
 
The True Story of the Ugly Duckling, 29 
 
 decessor Arthur of the distinction of being "the 
 blameless king." Perhaps the best that can be 
 said for the present occupant of the Faerie throne 
 18 that he is no worse than other crowned heads. 
 But Titania may in all truth and sincerity be 
 styled the blameless queen. She would never 
 conduct herself as Queen Guinevere did. Queen 
 Titania, my gracious and royal mistress, has but 
 one little weakness, and it has on more than one 
 occasion brought her into trouble, once notably in 
 a wood near Athens, where she 
 
 " As her attendant had 
 A lovely boy stolen from an Indian King," 
 
 and which brought on a ludicrous contretem^B 
 with one Bottom, a weaver. This, her only weak- 
 ness, is an SBsthetic craze for collecting handsome 
 pages, as other ladies have, or had, a passion for 
 collecting monstrous old china. She, therefore 
 determined to steal Mrs Glubb's baby, and bring 
 him up as a page. To succeed in this, it was 
 necessary to have him carried off before he was 
 baptised, because after that ceremony, fairies have 
 no power over babes. Three old fairies of the 
 Court were therefore deputed to ravish the 
 Glubbsley nursery, and entered the sacred pre- 
 cincts invisibly with that intention. The monthly 
 nurse lay snoring in an arm-chair, with a strong 
 pervasion of gin in the atmosphere, and the heir 
 to the acres, lay hidden between two pillows, with 
 a lace veil covering his face. The fairies drew the 
 veil. «• Let me see the Duck," said the oldest, who 
 
 \ 
 
 i •■?! 
 
 m 
 
 
so Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 was soft-hearted and Durblind Pfl«^« 
 
 PlZij *" ^'^ ^^ » blackish tinge his 
 
 already the image of his father's, namely bulbom 
 and ruddy. "Oh th» TTM,,!" ' . j °Y' '""">™ 
 fftii-o- "T i.1.- ,' "^Slyl cned the second 
 
 "Thf n '^;r' ''''P ■"" "8''°'«^." »«M ">e third 
 
 atttfr. """ """'Z' '•'"'•" T''™ "" three flew 
 awa,y, one having made him a duck, and the othere 
 
 together these decisions made him an Uelv Duck 
 
 iXl^r rr "•'* '"''" """'^ '° f»«" than he. 
 
 that It of "it^t ' u* •'"P'"*'"^ *><='• S'™-ge 
 mat out of it should sometimes grow a larw 
 minded and Jove-like man ^ 
 
 Two ritusJists-for it took two and an aquafer 
 -bapbsed the infant. The heir ws« not giXhis 
 fathers name. Joseph is a significant coCom™ 
 and « besides too suggestive of eleven bSn 
 
 cUdtt^rd ^^.tepririr" t^^^ 
 
 be^^i^ptedinto Joe^ItoMtr^ ^.^^J^ 
 Joe for father and son would never do. HiS 
 
 called Anatides. She was sure she remembered 
 the name ^ that of an eminent Christian! S 
 
 ^nded to the clergymen, they smiled, and s Ju 
 
 was quite appropriate. ' 
 
 There are some children whose heads are so 
 
The True Story of the Ugly Duckling. 3, 
 dense, blockheads, in short that Th,>>'. 1. 
 
 visitors chanced on him alonpiLiTT . ^'^^^ 
 one of them said ' Pn!l k *^^ drawing-room, 
 
 Anatides 2.^ni^ ,^:ZlZn ""^^ '"?' " 
 upon the other said " R ^ ^'''°''' ^^^^e- 
 
 a'dno., C:t:rnrhe^ZdT/""Tt^tldt? 
 was the master latch that unlocked i^' / * 
 
 house of his mind. As soon L f. * • •. '^'"''" 
 gone he sat down on thrfl. ^ ^^^^^"""^ ^^^« 
 Natural HiTZ Z A. ^ ^"'^ °"°^"^*^^ ^^ 
 
 Hence, he natumlly arriv^ at th' 1 *^' • ^""''^ 
 as he was aDuckl4. ""ttle dtr^e Z ^ 
 fool who QuackPf? tk,-o u- n " » "Q was a little 
 
 ,oa, „„offs the mental power o£ the boy. ' 
 
I 
 
 32 Annais of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 How strangely the threads of the Fates are inter- 
 
 fT??-;.! A*' x^ P""^'^'^ moment by Greenwich time 
 that little Anty, as he was called for short, was re- 
 ceiving at the age of seven years nine slaps on a 
 portion of his person for sailing paper boats in the 
 cream pot, and was yelling lustily under the inflic- 
 tion, a timer yell, more resembling a squeak, issued 
 from the hps of a female child just introduced into 
 the world, some hundred miles off, and by her cry 
 protesting against it. The wails of the boy and the 
 baby might have been exchanged by telephone had 
 that instrument been invented, but, as it was not, 
 their mingled complaints rose in the atmosphere 
 and ascended to heaven. Anatides had been for 
 seven years a fixed fact; the baby was the legiti- 
 mate result of a ball, a year before, at Plymouth 
 where a distinguished sea-captain on His Majesty's 
 staff proposed to and was accepted by the pretty 
 duck who was the belle of the ball, and who had been 
 praised by the Sailor King's own lips. Hence the 
 baby. Which baby, though neither of them would 
 Know It for years to come, was Anatides' fate. The 
 proud father, who was equally devoted to his profes- 
 sion and his wife, named the child Rosalinda Teme- 
 raire, the first name being after the mother and the 
 second after one of His Majesty's most fighting 
 ships. Ihis child was the darlingest little* thin^ 
 Her eyes even in infancy, of the tint of sapphire" 
 were a delight to all who saw them, but, as she 
 grew up, what do you think they were when they 
 mtensihed into the deeply, darkly beautiful blue of 
 Byron 8 heaven? Nature herself gave her those 
 
The Trtie Story of the Ugly Duckling, ^2> 
 
 eyes All the other enchanting graces of the favoured 
 child were the gift of the fairies, who had loved 
 her mother. Neither mother nor child ever had an 
 enemy but one; but as that one was a female, it 
 was more than enough. The enmity arose from a 
 
 efleet that Rosahnda Jane (now the babe's mother) 
 was pretty, v. y like Aunt Peascod's maid, only 
 
 W T T rT"^ «^verforgaveit,and, here, 
 fore, when Rosahnda's child waa born, she flew to it 
 to give It some evil gift. The blue-eyed innocent 
 m Its bassinette looked so sweetly smiling, that the 
 morose fairy only grumbled, "Aye, you are pretty 
 
 ^1a- T- uZ ^^'"''' ^^^"^^^^ ^* wl^at seemed a 
 Znf T-wl^^'"^"^"^^ *° ^'^^'^ °^«asures to 
 Z Kw. 'S*^' '''"^* °* ""^^'^ ^^« that they 
 ought the ugliest child they knew, who happened 
 to be Ana Ides Glubb, and took him under their 
 special protection. Thus do the Parc» weave the 
 web and woof of destiny. 
 
 oJJ'X f °f<^^^?\r°* <^o school and into the Latin 
 class, the lads of his form looked in Lempiere for 
 
 but m the dictionary of nominatives they found 
 anas, a duck ; anatide, the duck family." Choos- 
 ing to accept anas, according to its English pro- 
 
 "Neddt'''''?r/'t '^'^ ^""''^^''^ °'^"«*^^«d him 
 JNeddy. It took more battles than were fought 
 
 L fl l^?""'^^^ *' "^ ^'"^ °* *^« «°briquet. In 
 the field his adversaries found him ugly. His lady 
 acquamtaaees continued to speak of him as a duck. 
 
 K< I 
 
34 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 The heir of Glubb having passed through his 
 classes with the reputation^f a clever, farm! 
 hearted, ugly lad, developed an unquenchable taste 
 for the sea^ Wherefore his parent hunted up and 
 besought the patronage of a relative of the family 
 who, m consequence of havinjr never seen the sea 
 except at a watering-place, had been appointed a 
 high officer at the Admiralty. This official men- 
 tioned the subject one iay after dinner to his 
 brother dignitaries, with the result that young 
 Ulubb, after due cramming, was shipped as mid- 
 shipman on the IrrefrangiUe ironclad, commanded 
 by Captain Tompion, distantly related to Admiral 
 bir Peter Parker whose flagship at that time was 
 the P^nafore. The former ship was the one 'n 
 board which so many unburstible lOO-ton guns had 
 exploded and killed members of the crew 
 
 To the eye of an intelligent foreigner nothing 
 more pleasantly points out the glory^I mean Sf 
 former gory-of England as mistress (formerly) of 
 the seas than her midshipmen. All of good family 
 fair^ educated and trained, gentlemanly lads fuu' 
 of frolic, nicely clad, and armed with a preposterous 
 reaping-hook that makes their motherLuTsTsters 
 
 Zch • ^r '''^ '^^^ ''' ^"* ^^ -^^P-bl« of other 
 mischief they are a brave little gang, whom it 
 
 always delights me to look upon. Poss^Wrheroe 
 
 m mmiature; pocket editions of the marine code 
 
 ofW '"''•A ^^^"'^ ^^S^^^^on was as good as that of 
 
 anv br^tl Tr ".*'^ ^'''' ^^ ™ constitution! 
 ally brave. Take notice, contractors and commis- 
 
^''^ '^'-•^ story of t^e V.ly Duck,i„s, 35 
 
 opon, is the very basi, „, 7*^5' ^'''^s ^«' >* to work 
 from which migity7eed!Z°'"- ^^^ "*^ ^^»«« 
 li-g found increment 1^ ^ ?fi °"'' "g'^ ^uck- 
 was as void of Cat '" ^f """?• therefore he 
 
 f«"Hies were ex p on^ Z' T' "' ''"' ""o"" 
 favourite. But a gS de^ JT- ! "^"^ * S*"^™' 
 depended on his viSs ' ^"^ capabilities 
 
 '"^"i^rint.Stll-tri'^^ T-e 
 was standing on th^ n,,. . / ™™P><:<ions mark, 
 
 with his hafds-nti^r,!"'?'*,"' *••« "-^^hip 
 
 ve:y Wide apart:wthr;: ^Z "l.^'i^^ 
 as expressionless as ih. I Practice with a face 
 
 '"at with a numbTr of' mStttt tt .'r-^'" 
 ->ars carried away by a ZmU I' \^^ ^'^ ''^ 
 
 drifting hopelessly Ideral'orfn'"' '''°'^' ""^ 
 her in, sir?" askedT„.?-7 .^"^'■■>'- "^'tch 
 
 "Well, yes, younlte^' t rV,,*""""''^ •"'» '"P- 
 turning 'his e^s TS-e slore"'^:^ '"™!- "^'^ 
 sprang in(» a gig with the d!' J ^'nnteers 
 shipman and amid „ / J? ^''^ y°''°g mid- 
 bringing off tCllbUti<;y:!i' ™ed in 
 l>undred yards of safp f T' *'' '''*'" » few 
 knocked both boata 'f; K-" ""^ "^P'^-^'^g *ell 
 that the Irish ca,l°:mit^:,t%f^ s''° •''°'"^'°- 
 to the nearest vessels ot^t ^''f ^'•"wrs swam 
 for the flagship ciamhl™ ""'P' ^'*''^"y » 
 himself all dripping wTth?/P- ''^ P^^^^'^d 
 Wood f.^m a spS; T„5 ^ '^ T ^"'^ '^"h 
 '-Hehadl„st'histp,";;U«^^„^';/-.oe^ 
 
 II- 
 
 !! I 'i 
 
u 
 
 36 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 sir." The admiral smiled. Now, this admiral was 
 the father of the girl Rosalinda Temeraire. Thus 
 was forged another link in Anatides' destiny. 
 
 As lieutenant, he did fairly. There are no great 
 sea fights now as were in the days of Nelson, Howe 
 and Jarvis. Our ocean vehicles are now con- 
 structed on the principle of bank cofiers, to keep 
 safe the securities within, and are attacked as 
 burglars attack safes by blowing them open with 
 torpedoes. Yet England has always one or more 
 little wars on hand, where the no longer tarry 
 Jack tar, once the man "whose deck it was his 
 field of fame," is put on shore to do lobster's work 
 as auxiliary to the marines. In one of these land 
 alBFairs the naval brigade, disdaining the regulation 
 scaling ladders, made a sort of uphaul with a few 
 coils of rope and scrambled up the face of a fort 
 in a manner that none but sailors or cats could. 
 When Lieutenant Anatides, who was first up, 
 reached the battlement the enemy took him by 
 the collar and threw him into the ditch, a stray 
 bullet taking him about amidships as he fell. 
 After many weeks in hospital, the result showed 
 itself in a limp that lasted the brave fellow for 
 life, and which, if not graceful, was at least 
 interesting. 
 
 As captain, his sphere of duty lay much in the 
 Malay Archipelago and along the farther Cam- 
 bodian shores, where we have the interests of 
 opium and Christianity to attend to. Here, what 
 with the burning of villages and sinking of proas 
 (which exploits were ofiicially hidden from the 
 
The True Story of the Ugly Duckling. 2,1 
 
 newspaper press), he passed an agreeable time, 
 but considerably to the detriment of his com- 
 plexion, which acquired a permanent Cambodian 
 sallow hue. A lengthened term of service on that 
 part of the western coast of Africa that Germany 
 as a maritime power has recently choused the 
 settlers out of, overlaid the original jaundice of 
 his cheeks with a tint of bronze; while, later 
 still, the torrid noons of the Red Sea gave an 
 artistic finish of lurid red to the bridge of his 
 nose, bringing it into high relief. There, too, 
 while leading iiis gallant Jacks to attack a stock- 
 aded post, he imprudently mounted a horse, and, 
 being unable to steer the animal, was cut down 
 by an Abyssinian sabre, which gave him a per- 
 manent scar across the face similar to that worn 
 by Quentin Durward's uncle, the balafr^. The 
 Gazette mentions his having blown up some enemy's 
 gates; on another occasion having exploded a 
 hostile magazine with much waste of life ; and, 
 on another, having sunk an enemy's ship with 
 four hundred men. England expects every man 
 to do his duty, and Captain Glubb did it. 
 
 I know not how to account for the circumstance, 
 but it is as well authenticated as anything in these 
 Annals, that Captain Anatides Glubb, R.N., on the 
 coast of Africa dreamed a strange dream. His gun- 
 boat was lying in ambuscade in a small horseshoe 
 bay, the slow waves of which, black in the shadow, 
 rolled in and broke sullenly on the high, perpen- 
 dicular rock face, making a faint phosphorescent 
 gleam around the base of the cliffs with their 
 
38 AH»a/s of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 «>.«,, 7i ' " *"® vnoon, not many decrees 
 
 moon o'/ tr'"°,^'^°-' '-'"■"« large/thTZ 
 
 cliffsL^.t • ?^''° '■°«' of palms that crested the 
 ciitts had their heads imperfectly defined bv a lin! 
 of white, while their trunks facing tl,7»;! • 
 --e i« the blackest obscurf 'Irot tht Zl 
 
 uwi uisturbed by some nocturnal enemv ■».<) 
 occasionally a deep and sonorous roll tha7;eve° 
 
 onhe1r°Tli! « "'""^ "'"' °"' '" -"-''>"- 
 If 1 on The thermometer stood at 110 decrees 
 
 ^th „ t '"""P' P"'"''^ heat of IndTbS 
 with a sodden atmosphere like the breath of a 
 bakers oven. Captain Glubb lay on h s Lk in 
 his hammock on board ol„v i , , " 
 
 he deed o^, He courheat Ltn^^^^^^^ ,S^ 
 
 nown through the open ports and tilled the cabin 
 
 the'Jmt?^;'""^ Mechanica% he tunted 
 the number of times the cockroaches ran up the 
 wail or across the table, and fell on Hia « ^ 1 
 a thud ThoT. k- '^'^® ^oo'^ with 
 
 ^rew L;J ? ^ sensation of outward things 
 
 crewo^Hf '"'•""•^^'''^^^^ *« be parading hi 
 hn-eli especially grew so unsperkaS^^gTy t^t 
 
The True Story of the Ugly Duckling, 39 
 
 it were cruel to describe him. Suddenly was heard 
 a low tmkhng as of water; then it seemed to be 
 emitted from harps, until low-toned flutes, one 
 after another, joined in, and a ravishing air stole 
 on the ear. At the first note of the music, the 
 ourang blew up with a loud report, and went off 
 like a rocket in a spout of sparks. The music 
 approached nearer, and with it a gay and shining 
 cortlge of fairies-Ailie, Cherie, Wawa, Zuzu and 
 the rest, all in their aerial beauty. Then the bril- 
 liant throng opened, and from among them came a 
 lovely lady of mortal mould, who proceeded to 
 review the blackened crew by passing along the 
 line. Pausmg in front of the captain, she stretched 
 her beautiful arms in an appoaling attitude, and 
 implored, " 0, hideous ono • ' e thou my beloved ! " 
 At that moment a mosquito of the worst type 
 crept under the bars and stung him on the lip 
 which instantly swelled co the size and appear-' 
 ance of a cherry, and he awoke. That lovely face 
 of his dream— the face of Kosalinda Temeraire— 
 accompanied him in all his subsequent wanderings. 
 At length he returned to his country in the 
 prime of life, though not of beauty, and what 
 more natural than that he, now a K.C.B. and V.C., 
 should take up his quarters for a time with his old 
 commander, the admiral. 
 
 Of course he was everywhere welcomed by men 
 as a brave and true-hearted sailor, and regarded 
 by the fair sex as a duck and a darling. Not 
 very long after his return a fashionable street in 
 the capital was blocked with p.a.rrin.o-flia pi«afa,.i»>«. 
 
40 Anm/s (fftke Court of Oderon. 
 
 around the door of the Church of St Jude th. 
 L«s aud every coachman of them all hadoUi: 
 
 ArL.Z'r ""^ " ■•'' •"" " ^^^^S favour 
 An expectant crowd gathered around to see who 
 was taking the vows of matrimony withsomlch 
 Tr^T ^'''" °"' •"»» Sir Inatides Grbl 
 
 T^A '°™'y "'"'^^ ™Iked along the 
 
 carpeted pavement to her carrino.o =!,. • I , 
 
 her husband's arm and fondly 7Z;rS..Srv 
 dear old Ugly Duckling I" '^ ™"P''^' ^h you 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TIMON THE MISANTHROPE. 
 
 At the time of which I write, a few furlongs ud a 
 
 side road d verging from the highway on which 
 
 ^htery-stood a cottage of etone, with narrow 
 windows in leaden lattice frames, and with TZZi 
 oalcen door studded with great nails Uke the iS 
 hospitable portal of a jail. The house, though sm^l 
 wa rather picturesque than otherwi e. ThHy or 
 forty yeai^ before our time there had existedTdilel 
 tante sportsman who. under the delusion that m he 
 was an amateur designer he was necessarily an awhi 
 tect, had the edifice built for a shooting-liri^ &: 
 impression that it was Elizabethan. ClLwng vil 
 now covered it from base to roof, and IZZl 
 sprays sprawled ac«>ss the slates i^d claspcT^e 
 Gothic chimney. Once » year an agent of th! 
 estate made a visit to see that the house was 
 weatherproof, and the windows unbroken Z 
 otherwise it lay undisturbed. Swalloriodged "n 
 avef 'TS''.' -^/P'-- lived beneafhtl^: 
 
 ^--wi- ....^,,, anvi tuo wren laid its dozen 
 41 
 
4 2 Annais of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 or so oi egg8 in the mossy bank that was odorous 
 with thyme, and m which red-breeched bees bored. 
 Hares barked the stunted and gnarled fruit-trees, 
 and on fine days on the little patch of weed-grown 
 awn you might see them sitting on end washing 
 their faces. The place was so lonely the rustics 
 deemed it "unchancey." 
 
 One day, to the stolid amazement of the villagers 
 a sharp-eyed gentleman, whom you could tell It a 
 glance was a lawyer, drove into the hamlet. He 
 was followed by a wain containing a modest assort- 
 
 ,Von K . .'T^°^^ ^"'•°^*^^"' «"*^h ^« ^° hospital 
 
 ron bedstead some common deal benches and 
 
 tables, and a huge carved oaken chair, surmounted 
 
 by a mitre that looked as if it had been looted 
 
 bundL, T ^ \ '''T^°^ ^""^*^*^°^ ^f poultry, 
 bundles of shrubs and roots, barrels of beef, flour 
 
 and beer, together with a number of heavy 
 
 packing-cases said to contain books. Idlers were 
 
 impounded to convey the property to the cottage 
 
 keeper. Then the lawyer departed, and it became 
 known that the cottage had been rented for an 
 mde&ute time, by a gentleman of the name of 
 
 In a few days, the gentleman himself, with a 
 knapsack on his back and a crabtree stick in his 
 hand, walked in unannounced. His first act of 
 proprietorship wa^ to come into the kitchen with a 
 Iramed placard, which he affixed to the wall Did 
 the waU. plate express the usual pious ejacula- 
 
 ti 
 b< 
 
 wh 
 
 ma 
 
 me 
 
 h^ 
 
 we« 
 
 ocei 
 
 mo( 
 
 nat 
 
 gon 
 
 'i 
 
 beci 
 
 woi 
 
 dec] 
 
 garc 
 
 ignc 
 
 suit( 
 
 yellc 
 
 alwa 
 
 not 
 

 Timon the Misanthrope, 
 
 "C:ilt^2.^ ^"""'"^ ^0' *' ""• " 
 
 "TAKE NOTICE.-I must NEVER 
 1» spoken to. Cups and Banoere anrt 
 knives and fo 'is must not rattle. On 
 P>in of death. 
 
 "(Signed) TIIf.'N.'' 
 
 ™^/™S" tenant was an elderly bachelor 
 who had been a Turkey merchant-whatet' iTi; 
 may be. I do not myself know what a Turkev 
 m«chant .s, but infer it has something to do witt 
 
 wealthy, but had lost much, by credulity in inter- 
 oceamc canals and railways; and now w?th thp 
 modest remains of his fo/tu'ne safe^H^'estedt 
 nat.or. secunties, he had abandoned'Lis kiLd a^S 
 gone into retirement as a misanthrope. 
 
 Ihe gentleman had his little peculiarities, which 
 became known by degrees. For instai^.^ he 
 
 Tcr tt old ^° 'T"*" ■"""' ^^ P'""^ « W the 
 gSer ^ ^^ekeeper. He was an enthusiastic 
 gardener in labouring with his hands, but sadlr 
 Ignorant of thermic influences, and of the plS 
 suitable to the latitude. A specialty o his w^ 
 yellow roses, which, being too tender for the clir 
 
 not do well with him out of dooi. m ^Z 
 

 
 44 ^t nals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 verance in attempting to grow dates in the open 
 air was really commendable. A most ill-natured 
 peacock, his constant companion while he worked 
 wa^ a source of much anxiety to him from a habit 
 It had of picking off the buds and screaming at 
 him when disturbed. His other pet, a tame sea- 
 g^ill or murre, was more tractable, but still trouble- 
 some from boring holes in the flower-beds in search 
 of worms. A blue jay that he had, proved a regular 
 gazza ladm in the matter of spoons; and a toad 
 to which he was much attached, fell a victim to 
 the murre. Dogs were included in his aversion 
 towards the human race; and he could not bear 
 to look on cats, for he said they reminded him 
 ot women he had met. 
 
 When he had earned digestion by some hours' 
 hard labour, he was wont to eat his dinner, and 
 shut himself up in an apartment wherein the public 
 opined he devoted his hours to the black art. One 
 day a bustling young man who acted as collector 
 ot rates made his way into the house when Timon 
 was absent (for tax-gatherers penetrate even into 
 wizards' dens), and reported that he found himself 
 ma bare room, in which was little but a table 
 and a huge carved chair with a mitre on the top 
 and around the walls innumerable books, among' 
 which he observed the titles of Qeata Romanorum, 
 Habelaia, Becamerone, I'Heptameron, Cent Nou- 
 velles Nouvelles, the Florentine Secretary's Plays 
 the Villon Arabian Nights, Scarron, complete sets of 
 novelists, poets and dramatists, and an infinity of 
 fairy tales, so that the misanthrope's studies could 
 
Timon the Misanthrope. .. 
 
 came .^i, and refused to pay the tax, and turned 
 the collector out , but the amount was remitted by 
 the lawyer ,n town in the course of a few days 
 to avoid a summons. ^ 
 
 When the occupant of the cottage came to be 
 personally known to his bucolic feighbouK he 
 was to them a marvel and a mystery With 
 some queer reminiscence of his former business 
 he always wore a Molsem fez instead of a C' 
 
 sloe", ' "'"'.•^'"°" '*''«'^' ^'t^- and bucktd 
 shoes, gave h.m at once a malignant and waggish 
 appearance. Occasionally a gigantic pair of wS 
 pr«,ffishmg. boots indicated that he was going 
 
 th!fh7' '"«"'' f r'"^"' h« justified on the plef 
 that he would ^tch nothing ; and besides, if he did 
 hshes have no feeling. But he never canned a ^n 
 
 fll^? .**!r" "^"'"'^^ °* the woods Td 
 fields never had done him any harm that he knew 
 
 main I^T! * good-looking old gentleman in the 
 ma n, he had taught himself a ferocious scowl that 
 
 dogs fled at his approach. Only the fairies' dog, 
 
 Sf rMrwf.'T"'"'.' ""' » '"' "''lk«. would 
 a secJ^t W X ■'"'"""'S S^"' "' " there were 
 
 a secret between them, and would salute him with 
 
 aw^'whl ^:^- ^™° '^^' ■'•"' •'»» '"""M 
 
 with the fatuous insolence of their respective races 
 would foUow and peck at his heela liking IZn 
 W1.U Contempt on the feathered rabble, he would 
 
46 Avnals of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 remark, — " How characteristic of this fag-end of 
 the century ! " 
 
 The tales among the rustics concerning him 
 were manifold. It came to be generally accepted 
 that he had been a pirate and highwayman, and 
 was now gnawed with fruitless remorse. The vicar 
 of the parish, whom Timon had offended by refusing 
 to see him when he called, did not hesitate to say 
 there was too much reason to fear the stranger 
 was a secret emissary of the Propaganda, and, 
 besides, a Voltairian infidel. What the Propa- 
 ganda was, the hearers had no idea, but " infidel " 
 was plain enough; it was something like "Tom 
 Paine and them Frenchmen." At all events, he 
 was far from popular. 
 
 There was one incident that told greatly against 
 him. An orphan lad, whose parents had come 
 from nobody knows where, but who seemed to 
 have been a shade above the ordinary labourer 
 level, was left utterly destitute, and did all the 
 odds-and-ends work of the hamlet, taking his pay 
 mostly in kicks. He was an intellectual-looking 
 boy, and Timon had been observed taking notice 
 of him. This lad suddenly disappeared, therefore 
 the belief became general that Timon had murdered 
 him and secreted the body. A worthy school- 
 master on the distant edge of the county could 
 have told how a man brought him a boy, and 
 after gruffly explaining that his means were 
 limited, left a sum to pay for the boy's schooling 
 for three years, and then to place him in some 
 respcetable mechanical pursuit. 
 
Timon the Misanthrope. 
 
 47 
 
 An aged cottar was laid up with acute rheumat- 
 ism, and was unable to plough his two or three 
 acres of farm. His old wife herself tried to run 
 a furrow with their one lame horse, but could 
 make nothing of it. Th. neighbours would do 
 nothing for nothing. Driven to extremity, the 
 old dame went around with a subscription paper 
 to hire labour, and among the rest to Timon. who 
 violently refused to give her a copper. Next 
 mommg two sturdy ploughmen came whistling 
 o er the lea with teams, and, before night, had 
 ploughed and seeded the poor man's croft, then 
 went away along ihe highway, again whistling m 
 they went. Nobody but Timon knew where they 
 came from or went to. 
 
 Another time, a lad was run over by a passinif 
 vehicle, and somewhat injured. Timon sent for 
 ills housekeeper, and thus addressed her •— 
 
 trust all his hmbs are broken. Nevertheless, as 
 his mother very likely has not much to give him 
 you may let her have what she wants-beef, and 
 stove-pohsh, and what not. The jade ! she deserves 
 to be switched at a cart's tail for bringing super- 
 fluous mouths into the world. She cannot have 
 read ifaZi/^Ws Principles of Population, as she 
 ought to have done. A sound philosopher, Mrs 
 bnipes, was Thomas Robert Malthus. Oh thou 
 antique female ! the evil thy sex hath done by 
 overpopulating this planet is incalculable~in-cal- 
 cu-lable ! Go I " 
 
 Mrs Snipes went, and the profusion the boy and 
 
 ■■• 
 
48 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 his mother revelled in, for weeks after the bruise 
 was completely cured, made them wish for a repe- 
 tition of the accident. 
 
 Seeing two ruffians stooping down torturing a 
 cat, he walked quietly behind them and with two 
 well-planted kicks on their ehrenbreitsteins, or 
 broad seats of honour, sent them sprawling. The 
 hoodlums got up in wrath, but our misanthrope in 
 his red fez, with his scowl on, and his crabtreo 
 grasped by the middle like a quarter-staff, looked 
 so belligerent, that they slunk away. Timon ob- 
 jurgated the whole feline race, whether cats or 
 women, and trudged on. 
 
 When Timon was walking out another day to 
 take the air, a dove, pursued by a hawk, took 
 refuge in his bosom, undeterred by his scowl. He 
 kept the bird, and it became so tame that it 
 would sit on the crown of his fez like an order 
 of the Espirto Santo. 
 
 In process of time it began to be observed that 
 immediately after each quarter day (at which date 
 Timon received his dividends), numerous anony- 
 mous gifts found their way to persons bar-ly oflF. 
 The rumbliiag of wheels would be heard in the 
 village's one street at night, and in the morning 
 a load of coal would be found dumped at some 
 cottar's door. Plucked geese ready for the spit were 
 mysteriously secreted in old women's washtubs. 
 It was not an unfrequent sight to behold a 
 quarter of mutton suspended on the door-knob of 
 some bumpkin, who had more children's mouths 
 to feed than he knew how to fill. And once a 
 
Timon the Misanthrope. 
 
 4$ 
 
 a aebility of which hunger was the main cause 
 
 lT2 r-^K T^ "'""^^^ ^"^ ^^ ^«r ^it« one Ton 
 
 W ^w' ^{ ''"'^"^ * ^'^ '^ b^^f lowered by a 
 stnng down the open chimney ^ 
 
 fait' !Ex r It V: tf r '» "^ 
 
 they got the credit of his dPPrl« or^.i • ""''^ 
 quenee nhe Good Peo^^Xt^t^^^y'^T. 
 kr m that neighbourhood. Once or twic^Xv 
 coy^ showed themselves to Timon. Zaltey 
 to better acquaintance, but our pc^tiJmZ 
 thrope looked on the figures as Ling fromT 
 d.gesfon, and went home and took a b?ue pT 
 Ihe time came, however, when he could no 
 
 about Before the truth dawned on him he had 
 been a good deal puzzled by several little Mente 
 thatcoud not be accounted for on ordinary prin 
 
 wS olr"°t^- *^° ''^""^ excu^ions he 
 would often see three or four toads sitting around 
 hia lunch-basket, and gravely looking in^°t 
 
 is Th. *■ , "'™'' P"* "'^'° there. The truth 
 «, the tricksy spirits were playing him tricks 
 On one occasion they carried itVo C. for he 
 distinctly saw before his visual optics TJZtil 
 purple emperor butterfly that would me^SfTwo 
 
 
$0 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 feet across the wings. Amazed beyond expression, 
 he gave chase in his fishing-boots, over bush and 
 bog, until it flew into his own garden and dis- 
 appeared in the lilacs. Ho forthwith wrote a 
 faithful account of this remarkable specimen to 
 the Smegmatic Society, of which lie was an Asso- 
 ciate, and although his communication was signed 
 Timon, A.S.S. (Associate Smegmatic Society), he 
 was nearly expunged from the roll on a charge 
 of having attempted to befool that learned body. 
 Glances of colour in the shadow and little jets of 
 laughter among the leaves led him at length to 
 suspect fairy agency. So one day he took a charm 
 out of Cornelius Agrippa, and anointed his eyes 
 with the herb speedwell, when lol all was made 
 plain, and he witnessed with his eyes the gambols 
 of the fairy folk. 
 
 This circumstance may perhaps account for the 
 events I am about to relate. It happened that 
 certain outdoor labourers, coming home from long 
 days' work, had grown into the habit of saving 
 themselves a tramp of half-a-mile by taking a 
 short cut across a corner of the fairies' walk, 
 to the great annoyance of the touchy people, and 
 worse threatened to befall them, for the Koad 
 Supervision, on the eve of a municipal election, 
 not knowing it would impinge upon the fairies' 
 rights, and not caring if it did, decided to open 
 a highway through the very middle of their wood- 
 land haunt. 
 
 Fifty years or so before, two estates adjoined, 
 and the owners of each mutually gave up a i.ew 
 
Timon the Misanthrope. 5 1 
 
 paces in width along the dividing line to serve 
 as a private road common to both. It happened 
 that both estates were subsequently sold, one after 
 the other, by metes and bounds, up to the edge of 
 that road, so that the road itself remained the 
 property of nobody. This narrow strip of vacant 
 land, a mile long, by thirty feet or so in width 
 intersected at right angles the proposed new line 
 of highway. Immediately on the last of the two 
 estates being acid, a shrewd Scotch weaver ran 
 up a hut in a single night on the disused strip, 
 and by lapse of years acquired title. Timon, 
 through his lawyer, hunted up the weaver's de- 
 scendants and bought the mile-long ribbon of land 
 for an old song. When, therefore, the assessors 
 came to lay oft' the new highway, they found 
 planted right in their line two stout peasants 
 with clubs, backed by Timon, as owner of the 
 soil, waving a document which purported to be, 
 but probably was not, an injunction in Chancery! 
 The lawyer in town also bestirred himself, with the 
 result that the Road Trustees dropped the case 
 rather than combat so detei-mined an opponent. 
 Then Timon had a huge finger-post painted with 
 this legend— *'i^- Trespassers beware! Man- 
 traps AND Spring-guns set here III" and erected 
 it with his own hands. On his return from having 
 performed this duty, the fairies, who were watching 
 from under cover of the leaves, timidly crept out 
 and surrounding him at a safe distance, struck their 
 low-voiced dulcimers and tapped their tambourines. 
 Timon gazed around, but seeing no one, pressed 
 
Sa 
 
 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 hi,, fez well over his eyes and went along smiling, 
 for he knew who it was made the music. The 
 serenade accompanied him all the way home, and 
 all night long a nightingale sang in the lilac bush 
 beneath his window. 
 
 Nor was this all that the grateful fairies did for 
 their rugged-mannered friend. The sequel shows 
 how good a thing it is to keep on friendly terms 
 with the invisible beings who surround us. 
 
 Timon could never account for the impulse that 
 induced him (fairies again !) to dig into a mound 
 at the end of hia garden. In the language of 
 American philosophy, " it was borne in upon him." 
 He did dig, and came on a great buried treasure 
 —chest on chest — that had evidently lain long in 
 the earth, and which was probably buried in old 
 time to save it from sack. The treasure was very 
 large, and completely recouped him for his lost 
 fortune. With a rectitude that did him honour, 
 he notified his discovery to the Exchequer and to 
 the lord of the manor, that each might claim their 
 share of the treasure trove. 
 
 From the lord he received a reply, dated Baths 
 of Ems, saying, in a trembling hand, that, as his 
 heir was a person whom he particularly disliked, 
 and as he himself had made his peace with God on 
 account of gout in the stomach, he begged not to 
 be troubled with sublunary aflfairs. The official 
 reply from the Exchequer was merely a curt ac- 
 knowledgment " of your communication of the 6th 
 ultimo," and with a clerk's signature stamped in 
 stenciL 
 
Timon the Misanthrope, 
 
 53 
 
 Thus thrown on his own discretion, our fortun- 
 ate hero consulted his legal friend, who advised 
 him to keep what he had found, which he did. It 
 is needless to say that he purchased the fairies' 
 haunt, and secured it to them for ever. 
 
 His next act was less grace<'ul. He sent to the 
 clergyman of the parish T^vhoin he disliked for 
 being an advocate of a personal sheol) a good 
 round sum in rose nobles, ^ ih a V tter, of which 
 the following is a copy : — 
 
 " Here is gold. 
 Do you damn others, and let this damn you." 
 
 Shakespeare's Tim<M of Athen$. 
 
 Next he made over to his housekeeper a gratuity, 
 together with the furniture, books excepted, with 
 a small annuity on condition that she would make 
 herself acquainted with Malthus on Population, 
 and would never marry. Seeing she was three- 
 fourths deaf, decrepit and seventy-nine, the matri- 
 monial clause seemed an unnecessary proviso. 
 Then he ordered his library to be packed till 
 called for, and departed as mysteriously as he 
 came, leaving behind him the reputation of a 
 human bear. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE ENAMOURED. 
 
 Are there no sunsets except in Italy ? No glow 
 save on the canvases of Claude Lorraine ? I think 
 there are. Our English skies in the hill counties 
 are translucently azure ; and gorgeous beyond 
 imitation by mortal hand are the tints on the 
 horizon when the orb is sinking to the west, 
 whether into a fringe of forest or into the bosom 
 of the deep. His slanting beams turn the topmost 
 leaves of the mighty umbrageous trees to golden, 
 rubying the ripples of running streams, causing the 
 sky-pointing spires of many a city to glitter, and 
 throwing a warmth over the grass and corn-lands. 
 In truth, this of ours is a fair land. In what par- 
 ticular spot of it to look for our haunt I decline 
 to say. SuflSce it, that the place was very lovely 
 and retired. 
 
 " I name not its namr, lest inquisitive tourists 
 Hunt it and make it a lion, 
 And get it at last into guide-books." 
 
 The local" Jy was sacred to the fairy people. An 
 amphitheatre lying among gentle grassy acclivities, 
 which were dotted, park-like, with single specimens 
 of deciduous trees. On the evening of our story 
 
 54 
 
The Enamoured. 
 
 55 
 
 the sun was verging towards setting. The fairies 
 were from home that evening, but were moment- 
 arily expected to return. Meantime the orb of day 
 went down flamboyant among the pines on the 
 ridge. The gold and crimson of the sky turr d to 
 purple. The singing - birds of the region, after 
 chanting their vespers, were abed behind the cur- 
 tains of leaves. It is never perfectly still in Nature, 
 but on that evening it was so still that the babble 
 and play of a rill were more than usually audible. 
 This gamesome thread of water took its rise high 
 up on the slope, where it came out sparkling from 
 a wedge-shaped cleft and rained into a basin it had 
 worn in the stone, whence it escaped and amused 
 itself, baby-fashion, by tumbling over inch-high 
 ledges and running around small boulders that had 
 been brought there in the Glacial Period. After a 
 good deal of bubble and turmoil it subsided, appar- 
 ently without current in a channel the shape of a 
 collar of SS. Thence it gleamed away through an 
 opening beneath the trees, sometimes exposing and 
 washing their roots, and in one place forming a 
 pool where great, green, round leaves of water- 
 plants lay floating. The birds and small deer knew 
 the place. Sometimes in afternoons a singing-bird 
 would alight on one of the leaves, and after having 
 dipped its beak in the flood and twittered the spray 
 all over his feathers as a grace after meat, would 
 fly away and sing a virelay. Tho small quad- 
 rupeds of the hedgerows, with taeir furtive eyes, 
 came down and drank there, dipping their paws 
 daintily. Big, long-legged waier-spidcrs ran about 
 
I 
 
 56 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 on the surface. Dragon flies (most demon-like of 
 all ferocious insects) hunted there. In mellow 
 autumn-time mountain-ash berries fell with a flop 
 into the water and slowly drifted. In spring-time 
 there was a rain of petals and willow honey-dust. 
 All summer there was a pleasant m^umibS of 
 rustling sprays and a balmy odour of leaves. The 
 sun seemed to shine there with tempered ray. And 
 when the brook left the alcove of the wood and 
 winded away in complicated convolutions through 
 the meadows, reflecting the sky and shadows, it 
 looked from a distance like a delightful serpent 
 with black and azure scales. 
 
 There was a legend attached to the spot. Once 
 upon a time the lord of the soil lost his way when 
 hunting, and being parched by many hours' thirst, 
 he vowed a vow that over the first spring that 
 ministered to his want he would erect a shrine. 
 Scarce had he made the pious resolution, when he 
 came on the fountain on the hill. Successive water 
 drops, then as now, fell into the mirror of the 
 hollowed stone, like the Lancelot diamonds that 
 angry Guinevere shied into the mere at Caerleon, 
 and, then as now, the tiny stream, escaping from 
 its basin, gamboiied down the slope in a succession 
 of small cataracts, or swii-led along in miniature 
 rapids, or wound like a ribbon of crystal among the 
 roots of the ferns. The lord drank and was thank- 
 ful. In pursuance of his vow he subsequently came 
 with one of those dreadful men called Gothic 
 architects, who proposed to confine the spring's 
 joyousness in a stone tub with an iron ladle chained 
 
 
 i 
 
 f 
 
 ii'. 
 
f 
 
 The Enamoured. 
 
 57 
 
 thereto, beneath Corinthian pillars surmounted by 
 a Byzantime dome and with an inscription in old 
 English black letter to " keep off the grass." But 
 when the lord beheld the falling prismatic drops, so 
 like the diamonds won fo" the wife of the blameless 
 king, and heard the tinj cascade tinkling for glad- 
 ness, and saw the harebells nodding at him, his 
 heart smote him. So he dismissed the man of art, 
 and in lieu of him sent two stout foresters with 
 bundles of young trees and orders to stick them in 
 on the slopes wherever they would grow. At the 
 same time he issued strict injunctions to his heir 
 to preserve the fountain to all time in its innocence 
 and purity. Hence it was so chaste, retired and 
 beautiful, that it was a favourite resort of Oberon 
 and his Court. 
 
 Between the slopes that rose on each hand lay 
 a level plateau of short, sweet grasses, the area being 
 about five chains in diameter, which, I am given to 
 understand, is one hundred and ten yards, more or 
 less. The grasses had already shed their bloom, and 
 the fruit stalks had withered down, leaving an after- 
 math of that light emerald or softened green that 
 is so refreshing to the eye. In the middle of it was 
 a ring, of perhaps fifty feet in diameter, of a dark 
 grass-green, the periphery about a yard in width. 
 This was the ring on which the fairies danced. As 
 the band of fays were returning from their excur- 
 sion — Ailie, Babee, Jip, Lalalu, Mur, and several 
 others — Jip, pointing to the ring, suddenly shrieked, 
 " There is a great brute of a man ! " Consternation 
 ensued ; and there, fiat on his back, with a battered 
 
58 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 hat over his face, and his boots standing up edge- 
 ways like tombstones, right across the fairy path- 
 way, and half in and half out of the ring lay a 
 lout. 
 
 Giles, the lout in question, was the son of Hodges ; 
 Giles being a supposed Christian name, and Hodges 
 the surname. The Hodges did not come in with the 
 Conqueror, for they were there when he came. From 
 time immemorial every succeeding individual of the 
 race, without entail or break in the ancestry, had 
 followed the laudable profession of swineherd. They 
 married the daughters of swineherds, and thus pre- 
 served the blood blue. From their out-of-door life, 
 and acorn, brawn and beer victuals, and long asso- 
 ciation with swine, they had acquired something of 
 the physiognomy and points of the quadrupeds 
 among which their lot was cast. If you had put a 
 short-snouted boar into a smock-frock, and stood him 
 on end, he would have been remarkably like Hodges 
 senior. Naturally the Hodges had ever been a pious 
 family. In early time they offered their rough 
 ejaculations to Thor ; later they crossed themselves 
 for St Vast, but since the era of Harry the Eighth 
 they had been counted in, on very slender grounds, 
 as belonging to a Church which inculcates the duty 
 of being thankful for the sphere of life in which it 
 has pleased Providence to place us. 
 
 During all the centuries this amiable family had 
 devoutly believed in the existence of fairies, and thw 
 power of those good people to bestow golden gifts. 
 
 Giles, the subject of our memoir, was a lad rather 
 loosely put together. But this lout of a herd-boy 
 
 1 
 
The Enamoiired, 
 
 59 
 
 1 
 
 was not so unobservant as he looked. He had 
 noticed the fairies' ring, and knew that they fre > 
 quented it, and hence his appearance there with the 
 intention of extracting a subsidy in coin. 
 
 The returning fairies found this uncouth mortal 
 lolling in the very sacred centre of their haunt. 
 They recognised the intruder as the driver and 
 associate of beasts they abhorred. Need one say 
 their ire was great ? They buzzed about him in 
 circle? like angry hornets, but invisibly, and made 
 dabs at him as if they would bite him; but he 
 looked so large and sturdy that they were afraid, 
 otherwise they would have pinched him to their 
 hearts' content. A council was therefore held, 
 wherein, as is usual in times of excitement, various 
 impracticable suggestions were offered. The colonel 
 of the guards would have riddled him with arrows 
 had he not discovered that the invader's boots and 
 corduroys were shot-proof. Nothing remained but 
 negotiation, that last resort of a feeble policy. The 
 four gnomes— Zug, Tumblebug, Xip, and Grymyrg 
 whose name spells the same backwards and forwards 
 — were deputed to hold a conference. 
 
 Proceedings were opened by Grymyrg climbing 
 up the nearest tree and sitting astraddle on an 
 outspreading branch, in the guise of an old man in 
 the long waistcoat of Queen Anne's reign. Then 
 he gave three short barks like a dog. 
 
 " Hillo ! " said the lout lazily. 
 
 Grymyrg being, like the reigning family of 
 Britain, of somewhat German origin, is less facile 
 in the use of English than could be desired, 
 
6o Annais of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 and therefore sputtered, with a guttural ac- 
 cent,— 
 
 "How much better you out of t! /^ place for to 
 get ! How bettermost much ! How irmch ! " 
 
 Giles raised himself to a sitting postvire, and 
 promptly replied,— -* Five pounds." 
 
 Now Oiitts had never seen, and had no huoian 
 probabilitj' of aver seeing', one pound sterling in a 
 lump sum in tho whole course of his life. To him 
 five pounds v.a ', asi unimaginable quantity, sucli as 
 the Franco-Gorman war indemnity might be, gent'e 
 reader, So you and me. 
 
 Again the gnome shouted fiercely in a rising cre- 
 scendo of wrath,— 
 
 "How much you bettermost out of this get! 
 How bettermost much ! how much ! how much ! 
 how much ! " 
 Again Giles sturdily responded,—" Five pounds." 
 Here the lout, if he could have been astonished 
 at anything, ought to have been astonished to hear 
 from invisible throats a confused shrieking as of 
 many angry canary birds. Only that it was more 
 subdued and in pleasanter tones, one would have 
 thought it was a pack of women scolding. At the 
 same moment six other gnomes, all in long waist- 
 coats, sprang up and sat on six overhanging limbs 
 of trees around Grymyrg, and all stared gravely at 
 the lout. Slowly turning his eyes towards the 
 quarter whence the sounds of anger proceeded, *:Xji. 
 obtrusive Giles wm astonished for once, for th* ie 
 he plainly saw, an- or the bushes, the outiixu hi a 
 little lady draped . • a head to foot in a fil, , 
 
 reii. 
 
The Enamoured. 
 
 6i 
 
 
 
 through an opening in which she gazed on him 
 with angry and flashing eyes. She was Lalalu. 
 Nevertheless his material instincts did not forsake 
 him, for he stolidly remarked, — 
 
 " Not a penny less." 
 
 Again the gnome Grymyrg took the parole, — 
 
 " And yourself and the other swine in seven 
 years not here again will for ever not ^ come ? 
 Nevaire again ? " 
 
 " Done along o' you," said Giles. 
 
 Whereupon one of the gnomes — it was Tumble- 
 bug — dropped from his branch and disappeared. 
 Speedily a spot in the sward began to upheave as 
 if a mole were at work, and out of it came Tumble- 
 bug, who "swarmed" up the tree and handed to 
 Zug a lump of something glittering. The latter 
 took it and hurled it with such precision that it 
 hit the suppliant full in the stomach, and he fell 
 uttering a yell that echoed through the wood and 
 caused two barred owls that lived there to come 
 out and shriek. The fairies laughed consumedly, 
 but nobody heard them except myself. When 
 Giles came to himself he was lying on his back, 
 knocked over, pinched black, blue, green and 
 yellow, and beside him lay a lump of gold weigh- 
 ing about five pounds. The uncommercial gnome 
 had mistaken avoirdupois for sterling ! 
 
 Giles slowly gathered himself up, and, when he 
 had partially recovered from the stomach-ache 
 caused by the golden missile, went to his ancestral 
 hut, where he related his adventure, all but the 
 incident of receiving the gold. That fact he care- 
 
62 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 fully concealed. The other incident of the fair 
 lady whom he had momentarily seen he kept 
 profoundly secret too, for, in truth, that fleeting 
 glimpse had stirred his sodden brain with de- 
 lirium, and had struck him to the heart more 
 surely than the captain of the archers could have 
 done with the most charmed of elf-bolts. On 
 hearing the narrative, Hodges senior very properly 
 and promptly lent him, Giles, a ringing cuff on 
 the ear, with an injunction to go about his business 
 and not come there with cock-and-bottle stories. 
 Giles consequently went. He disappeared, and the 
 pig-pens of his fathers knew him no more. 
 
 Doubts may be thrown on my assertion that 
 in this end of the nineteenth century exist orders 
 of men who appreciate an intellect that is capable 
 of going beyond the multiplication table and the 
 very vulgar fractions of the ledger. Chief of 
 these is the Order of Salvator Mundi. Like ozone, 
 this mysterious element pervades the atmosphere 
 and ripens as often poison apples as red russets. 
 This politico-polymathic power has set its impress 
 on the destinies of the past three-and-a-half hun- 
 dred years. Or, to drop metaphor, the Order of 
 Salvator, framed in a large knowledge of human 
 nature, and intended to lead the leaders of men, 
 has come by experience to be able to play on all 
 the manifold springs of human action, having but 
 one end — the advantage of the Order, to be reached 
 by every means. In no other organisation has 
 ever been such self -negation to attain that highest 
 object of human and angelic (or demouiac) aspir- 
 
The Enamoured, 
 
 €3 
 
 ation — the possession of power. Self-sacrifice has 
 been, and no doubt is, to the brotherhood of this 
 remarkable organisation, the normal condition. 
 Behind the thrones of great kingdoms, in the 
 solitude of unknown deserts, on the savage-peopled 
 banks of the great rivers they discovered, in the 
 sinks of cities, in poverty, obloquy and martyrdom 
 their steadiness to their One Idea has been proved. 
 Whether the world owes to them good or evil is 
 not within our story, but the perfection to which 
 they have brought administration excites wonder 
 and condones arrogance, ^int aut sint aut non 
 sint is an improvement on Cassar aut nullus. The 
 occult body I refer to met with Giles Hodges in 
 his exodus, and noting his capacious Saxon head 
 and obdurate jaw, sent him across sea for some 
 years' study to a fortified town in the marshes, 
 where they manufacture clay tobacco-pipes. Here, 
 at the College of St Janus, he had diligently pur- 
 sued his studies according to the ritual of Peter 
 Tooth — broken only by a circumstance which I 
 shall afterwards relate — and now, just seven years 
 to a day from the date whereon he received from 
 the fairies his avoirdupois weight of gold (which 
 just paid his schooling), he returned to the fairy 
 haunt, a scholastic of the Order of Salvator 
 Mundi. 
 
 Seven years I How many changes in mind, 
 body and estate, do seven years bring forth. Time 
 hath exalted the lowly and abased the proud. The 
 gay young ^: an of the mall is a father with arrows 
 in his quiver, and the peach-blossom daughter of 
 
64 Annals oj the Court of Oberon, 
 
 the house has filled into a matron with children at 
 her knee. Seven years have turned the crucial 
 lustrum of the middle-aged, ai; :it**o guided the 
 old seven steps ucirer to the grave. And seven 
 years allow ample time for tombstones to become 
 lop-sid^vl, and for all tears to be dried. 
 
 Dunag Giles's studies at the College of St 
 Janus, he was haunted as was St Anthony. On 
 the thick folio pages of stout Thomas Aquinas 
 (Benedictine edition), a lovely face, framed in soft 
 brown hair, for ever traversed the text. To do 
 him justice, he combated the de"il as sternly as 
 Macarius the elder did, but Giles's was a fair devil, 
 that, like the ghostly friar in Bon Juan, would not 
 be driven away. In the pictured saints and 
 cherubs on the chapel windows he saw but the 
 face of Lalalu, and in the marble angels in their 
 graceful robes beheld but Lor veiled form. Nay, 
 so far was he gone, that tnere was one theorem of 
 Euclid— to inscribe in a given ci 'le an equilateral 
 and equiangular quin^ecagon that lo never 
 looked at without a thrill, although it certainly 
 was most unlike the to .itour of tho haunting; fay's 
 sweet countenance. He had o\uy to fill in eyes 
 and nose and a mouth, and her face looked out at 
 him from between A B F E C D. "^'heologically he 
 was in a bad way ; mentalb ^ ^' ^ mad. Scrip- 
 turally speaking he was p ^aei d by a devd. 
 Actur.lly he was crazily in luve with the fairy he 
 had seen but for a moment. Strange that a love 
 mania should endure seven years. Yet in his case 
 it did, possibly from having had no communication 
 
The Enamoured. 
 
 65 
 
 with the lady during that period. Therefore, at 
 the end of seven years, which term of banishment 
 he conscientiously adhered to, he came again, 
 under pretext of leave, and again at sunset 
 presented himself in the haunt of the fairies. 
 
 When Giles left the country, he was, as has been 
 said, a lout. Now he was a smug young man. He 
 had acquired a scholarly f*^ op, and that expression 
 of face that seems habitual to those who have 
 studied the post-Niceeen commentaries, and which 
 harmonises so well with the M.B. vest, and the 
 lengthy, coUarless soutaine. Had not his eyes been 
 so close together, he might have passed for good- 
 looking. A.' it was, Tumblebug recognised him at 
 a glnnce, and a whisper went round, — " Here is the 
 swine-herd again, in the disguise of a professor ! " 
 
 The infatuated scholastic took his stand in the 
 ceutrf of the fairy ring, and began a wild invoca- 
 tion., which all the love superlatives of heaven 
 and eaxth, were poured forth to the lady of his 
 dreams, begging her, in wild rhapsody, to show 
 herself to her votary. 
 
 Whether it were malice, or foreknowledge of 
 what would happen, or merely the coquettish on- 
 sciousness of her charms, which every fay and 
 woman possesses, is not known, but Lalalu, in 
 answer to his supplications, partially solidified her- 
 self, so as to show the outline of a very attractive 
 little woman, and let one flashing sweep of her 
 dark eyes fall on her devotee. Thereon he fell on 
 his knees on the sward, and prayed her with more 
 fervency than he had f 'er prayed within the lime- 
 
 E 
 
66 Annah of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 stone walls of the college of Janus in the 
 marsh, — 
 
 " Oh, aerial, ethereal embodiment of beauty most 
 ravishing, star resplendent, sylvise stella, with 
 the sparkle of thy fair body shining through the 
 leaves 1 Loved lady of all love delights. Queen of 
 Faery, if indeed thou art the Queen, accept, oh 
 accept, the adoration of thy worshipper ! One touch 
 of thy hand, one word of endearment from those 
 perfect lips, if only to deny me. My life is in the 
 prayer. One word, one look, else I die." 
 
 In the excess of his madness he fell down and 
 grovelled. 
 
 The fairy looked at him with cloudless, passion- 
 less eyes. Then she murmured in half soliloquy, — 
 
 " Poor child of clay. If one of Us could pity, I 
 would pity thee. It is an error for the mortal to 
 love the immaterial." 
 
 She had been standing with her round arms 
 decorously folded on her breast. Slowly she raised 
 those arms with a gesture of repulsion, and imper- 
 ceptibly faded away in the gathering dusk. 
 
 Next morning a passing labourer found Giles 
 dead in a distant coppice. How he died is known 
 but to the recording angel. 
 
 

 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PUNSTER'S FATE. 
 
 Nothing so clearly shows the decadence of a 
 race as the corruption of its language. This 
 remark holds good of nations, families and indi- 
 viduals. Even as in listening to the talking of a 
 stranger in a crowd, we can accurately estimate 
 his education, surroundings, tastes and habits, so 
 the language at any era of a people's history, cor- 
 rectly indicates the tone of the national life at the 
 time. Philologers may tell us how a national 
 language is gradually built up and expanded by 
 the necessity of more words for the expression of 
 increasing ideas, until it attains a perfection of 
 vigour and dignity, and the era in which it is so 
 attained is known as an Augustine age. An acute 
 observer can thus trace progressive improvement 
 in the tone of public thought through three stages 
 ot speech, namely, the rude, the florid, and the 
 stately. Decadence commences with the slip-shod 
 No nation was ever capable of grand deeds with- 
 out gutturals in its tongue. The ore rotundo is the 
 fors ammw. Had the Romans spoken modem 
 Neapolitan theyjvould never have conquered the 
 known world. The Alemanni would have done it 
 
 67 
 
 1^1 n 
 
 s 
 
68 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 for them. When gutturals slide into labials, the 
 national vigour is in an advanced stage of pul- 
 monary consumption. 
 
 As the slip-shod is the enfeeblement of national 
 vigour, so is slang the dry-rot. How lowered 
 must the public mind have become, and how 
 utterly devoid of reverence for the great and 
 grand, when it expresses itself in slang. One can- 
 not conceive the old Roman mind so debased. In- 
 telligent readers must agree, with pain, that the 
 English or, rather let us hope, only the American 
 mind is arriving at this stage of degradation. 
 Call to witness the " paragraphists." 
 
 Humour is a quality inherent in man, as also in 
 the lower animals. Whoever doubts this latter 
 assertion haa only to watch dogs at play, when he 
 will see an exp!* ^ssion of unmistakable f acetiousness 
 come over their faces when anything comic occurs. 
 In even the lowest type of human savages there are 
 always buffoons and practical jokers. As society 
 advances and practical jokes become actionable, fun 
 is confined to words. Wit is the practical joke 
 etherealised until imperceptible to the uninitiated. 
 Alas ! there is none now. True wit went out when 
 the guillotine came in, and graceful word-fencing 
 perished with the last French marquis. Modern 
 wit, so-called, is, at its best, coarse and beefy. It is 
 needless to add that the wretchedest and vilest 
 simulacrum of wit is the pun. 
 
 From influences such as these we have glanced 
 „* ««nTroronfinnn1 «nfifich is becoming — has become 
 —debased. Nor is this verbal deterioration confined 
 
The Punsters Fate. 
 
 69 
 
 to the human species. It for a time extended to 
 our fairies. 
 
 It must have occurred to intelligent readers that 
 spiritualists are very much at sea in accounting 
 for the appearances and manifestations that take 
 place at seances. Somehow it seems too awful a 
 thought that the dead can be brought out of their 
 graves and made to answer questions at a shilling 
 admission fee. If the dead and buried can be so 
 cheaply disturbed, what is the good of being dead ? 
 An explanation is obvious. The incantations of 
 the spiritualists do not reach the souls of the im- 
 mortal dead, but are taken up by the fairies by 
 way of a practical joke. It is odd this explanation 
 has never been reached before. 
 
 Landscape painters who have diverged from a 
 certain R.R. track have discovered, near the head of 
 a lake, a pleasant hamlet that would fain think 
 itself a village. Few other persons know of its 
 existence. This is Doltown. It is one of the oldest 
 of settlements. Two or three labourers' cottages 
 gathered a long time ago at a point where four 
 roads met, and in time became the sleepy hamlet 
 it is. The four branch roads lead, in fact, from 
 nowhere, and run to nowhere in particular. No 
 business appears to be done in the place. Children, 
 and a stray dog or two, are the only moving things 
 that lend an occasional life to its street. The men 
 of the place never seem to have anything to do but 
 smoke pipes and lean against walls. Women now 
 and then rush out of the low-browed houses and 
 scold the men, or seizing each her own oftspring by 
 
 h' 
 
 km \ 
 
 M 
 
70 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 the hair, drag them within doors. A stranger 
 would be at a loss to imagine how the population 
 make a living. The nearest surmise is that they 
 have something to do with malt for a giant brewery 
 in the county town, also with hops, together with 
 the growing of aromatic herbs for the perfumers. 
 Nevertheless, the inhabitants are not barbarians. 
 Far from it. The march of ideas has reached even 
 Doltown, and the place possesses, besides a skittle 
 alley, a debating club in which the more intelligent 
 young men wrestle with such questions as : " Which 
 are the ruinousest,— Rum or War?" "Who is 
 the greatest patriot— Mr Chamberlain or Mr Glad- 
 stone?" "Which is the best to take holt on— 
 nature or art?" and the like. A public tea-party 
 winds up the session, the beaux providing the tea, 
 sugar, lights and candies, and the girls the cakes 
 and the giggling. A £10 reed organ, bought by in- 
 stalments payable over three years, supplies the 
 accompaniment to sentimental and fashionable 
 songs sung by the misses. These functions are 
 Society, the haute voUe. 
 
 There is one inn in the place— the Dolt's Arms 
 (a bar sinister on a trousers proper)— that had 
 once stood alone at the cross-roads, and yet affords, 
 in a moderate way, good entertainment for man 
 and beast. In front of this humble hostelry grows 
 an ancient maple tree, in the shadow of which 
 are erected a permanent table and rustic benches 
 where, in fine weather, travellers prefer to sip 
 the modest cup of ale for which the before-men- 
 tioned county brewery is famous. Wanderino- 
 

 The Punsters Fate. 
 
 71 
 
 artists, resting on the rural benches, always pull 
 out sketch-books and make a note of the old- 
 fashioned inn with its weather-beaten sign hang- 
 ing on a gallows in front. One A.R.A. has idealised 
 it by producing it as a background to a girl much 
 prettier than barmaids are now, and in shorter 
 petticoats than are now worn, administering a 
 goblet of blackberry wine to a cavalier who is 
 mostly boots and feather, mounted on a war- 
 horse that any dealer could have told him was 
 spavined in the off hind leg. This picture was 
 hung on the line of the Academy and was rap- 
 turously spoken of by art critics. It was after- 
 wards reproduced in colours as a prize in a word 
 competition, under the name of " Doch 'an Doris," 
 with the motto from Keats, — 
 
 " Oh ! for a beaker full of the warm south." 
 
 The table and benches are frequently occupied 
 by another class of travellers, more useful, perhaps, 
 than artists. Commerce, without which no place 
 can be great, is fairly represented at Doltown by 
 one shop, in which the worthy owner, deacon of 
 a sect, carries on a retail trade in everything that 
 the domestic wants of so small a community may 
 require. When Deacon Williams runs short of 
 supplies, he sends a truck to the neighbouring 
 larger town and lays in more. Notwithstanding 
 this, he is rated in the books of the mercantile 
 inquisition as " good," and consequently the place 
 is ove; <un by commercial travellers two or thiee 
 in a day, wanting him to order things. The 
 
 
 i^'^1 
 
 .1 
 
 m 
 
 «.-.»i«„*^«H^ <SBK( (I 
 
■mMMHMH 
 
 72 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 sample trunks they bring are enormous, resem- 
 bling side-show caravans, and the articles they 
 travel for are multifarious — wooden and metallic, 
 hammered and cast, tinned and coppered, woven 
 and spun, flexile and brittle, solid and fluid, 
 tobacco, starch, mustard, patent rights, seeds and 
 drugs, especially drugs. Mr Williams never orders 
 anything, but the business ambassadors come all 
 the same, which shows how confiding is the com- 
 mercial mind, and what considerable profits some- 
 body must earn to keep so many festive young 
 men on the road. For they are a gay as well 
 as shrewd race, these business tourists, and though 
 sharp as needles, are full of jokes as a jest book. 
 They would sit under the tree at the inn and 
 rattle off all the quips of the road. 
 
 Now, Doltown being a place so restful and 
 rural, a detachment of fairies had taken up their 
 residence near it, on the banks of a beautiful brook 
 that sparkled over a bed of gravel, and took leaps 
 and swirls where it met a boulder or other ob- 
 struction. This proximity to human beings had, 
 however, a deleterious effect on the purity of the 
 fairies' tongue. For these delicate and inquisitive 
 creatures, when the public tea-parties of which we 
 have spoken took place, would, themselves in- 
 visible, climb and peer in at the windows, and, it 
 is to be feared, learned many conventional and 
 idiomatic expressions which, although perfectly 
 harmless, somewhat muddied their " well of English 
 undeliled." In like manner when the gay com- 
 
 nnerniflls rtrnnkftrl flieir inlroe flio fpirioa «rrt«1/4 c.;* 
 
 ¥ 
 
 I 
 
f/ 
 
 The Punstet^s Fate. 
 
 73 
 
 overhead in the tree, and unconsciously pick up the 
 phraseology of the road and rail. To such prox- 
 imity to human society must be attributed in a 
 great measure the modem tone of thought and 
 expression that broke out so fatally in the fairy 
 Court. For, not long since, the locality in which 
 the Court then was, was infested with wit, which, 
 had it not been checked, might have been pro- 
 ductive of serious evils. This impending calamity 
 was brought about in this wise. 
 
 The Court was then temporarily lying within 
 measurable distance of a fair city which justly 
 asserts herself as an intellectual centre. Cultured 
 readers on their next Sunday outing can readily 
 identify the exact spot of the royal camp, within 
 a radius of ten miles from the city, by v;ell-defined 
 rings of greener grass in the meadows. Some 
 matters requiring adjustment between head- 
 (juarters and the Doltown fairy settlement, an 
 emissary, who was appropriately named Quibble, 
 was accredited to the Court. From the first hour of 
 liis arrival the influence of this person was malign. 
 His air and manners had too much of the tone of 
 the young men who travelled for orders and put 
 up at the " Dolt's Arms." Indeed, there can be little 
 doubt it was from them he acquired the mis- 
 chievous habit of being witty. There was nothing 
 about him of ^'ps: N^xf^, de Vere repose which we of 
 the Court al-\ct. '.jor even that appearance of 
 stupidity whh'h Ad so becoming to Goverment 
 officials. On ti.e contrary, he was jerky and 
 
 . N.t" 
 
 ,,..,,..,. %.t--^ utviiuv ill l^Uor-UIliC -.TOia ViJC, :.ui', 
 
 "I- 
 
 \ 
 
 HgMiMii gajiS ' iiga 
 
! 
 
 74 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 will it be believed, he had the afl'ectation to present 
 himself at the King's levee in the evening dress of 
 the human race, but the utter hideousness of the 
 costume caused him to be refused admittance. 
 Being looked on as an eccentric lion he, however, 
 became the rage and found a host of imitators. 
 Very little time elapsed ere the polished cone of 
 the Court grew unwholesome from bad puns. 
 Instead of genial talk of the weather and coming 
 delights, the question everywhere was, — "Have 
 you heard Quibble's last ? " Titania's English was 
 in danger of being permanently corrupted. The 
 dullest were the worst bitten, and those who were 
 least capable of constructing three plain sentences, 
 exasperated themselves and others in putting 
 compound words to the torture. 
 
 " They raved, recited, maddened tliroiigh the land." 
 
 we 
 
 " This is rinderpest," said the Chancellor ; 
 must put the sanitary laws in force." 
 
 Perhaps the unfortunate being who brought this 
 sad epidemic, had once really had a true perception 
 of the facetious, but his sense of genuine humour 
 had been perverted by hearing commercials read 
 the works of humorists, and the jokes in the 
 patent medicine almanacks. What could anyone 
 think of a person who would ask. Why is a seaman 
 in a sailcloth coat good to eat ? and reply with a 
 grin. Because he is a canvas-back; or of an 
 ambassador who so far forgot himself as to say 
 that he was dependent on a relative, because he 
 lived on the fairies' 'aunt ; or, more deplorable still, 
 
The Ptmster's Fate. 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 who had the hardihood to remark at a party, that 
 a decoction of the berry of Mocha was a negro, 
 because it was Cuffee ; or to say of himself that in 
 his love for a dish of gossip and cup of tea, he was 
 quite old-maidish and saucer-dotal ? Of course the 
 Annalist remonstrated with him, after hearing him 
 remark to a pretty fay, that his views on the Irish 
 question had undergone quite a change since he 
 chanced to meet a home-ruler, in fact (he said) 
 met-a-murphy-sis ! 
 
 " Sir," said the Annalist, with considerable heat, 
 •'such conduct is atrocious. Tear out these fl}'^- 
 leaves from the scrap-book of your brain. You 
 really must check this dreadful propensity lest it 
 become chronic and prove fatal. You apprehend 
 my meaning ? " 
 
 " Your meaning, my dear Annalist," said he, im- 
 pertinently, " is like a Parnell pig, — it is not a-pay- 
 rent." When the Chancellor threatened that if he 
 did not curb his wit, banishment would be his 
 portion, he replied contemptuously, " 'Tis no pun- 
 is-meant." 
 
 Knowing how offensive the utterances of a wit- 
 ling of this kind must be to any cultured mind, the 
 narrator spares the courteous reader the grief of 
 hearing any more of his execrable sayings. Matters 
 indeed drew rapidly to a head, for he was heard 
 openly to demand in an assemblage of the young 
 and innocent, "Why is an iron baking-pan on a 
 kitchen rai\ge like the longest side of a right-angled 
 triangle? Because it's a high-pot-iu-use." The 
 applause that followed, saddened the souls of the 
 
 iii 
 
 I 1-1 
 
76 Anna/s of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Chancellor and Annalist. Yet one might have for- 
 pven even this last, had not the infection spread 
 to the innocent children. " Dear Mr Annalist," lisped 
 
 K u XT " T*^*""^^ ^''^ ^^^ °°®' "^y ^ear," replied 
 he. No, that is not it— because I have just had 
 my dinner and am a little full, don't you see?" 
 Distressing enough in grown fairies. Out of the 
 mouth of babes and sucklings it was terrible. 
 
 One could not help looking with horror on such 
 a person as Quibble ; but what could one do ? For- 
 tunately in Fairyland the law directs that a bore 
 can be treated as a public enemy. Putting it on 
 that ground, the Chancellor and Annalist laid their 
 heads together and formulated an impeachment 
 which they laid before the King. His Majesty was 
 much affected when he sent for the complainants 
 to substantiate the charge. With that prescience 
 which has ever distinguished his reign, he saw the 
 gravity of the crisis,— 
 " What's this about Quibble ? " asked King Oberon 
 " Rinderpest," promptly replied the Chancellor. 
 ' God save us I " exclaimed the monarch : " where's 
 my sal volatile .? " 
 
 His Majesty quickly calmed down and deigned 
 to inquire, — ■ * 
 
 •' What do you think of it. Annalist ? " 
 "Sire," replied that gentleman, "in the words of 
 Locke, a word may be of frequent use and great 
 credit, yet no more be learned by all that is said of 
 It, or attributed to it, than if it were affirmed only 
 of that bare empty sound. They who would 
 
The r-.ister's Fate, jy 
 
 advance in knowledge, and not deceive and swell 
 themselves with a little articulated air-" * 
 
 " Cease prosing I " said the King sharply. " Send 
 the accused hither." ^^ ^ 
 
 The accused was brought in, trembling, and His 
 Majesty continued,— ^ 
 
 King. "CaitiffI you are charged with a grave 
 
 of you, and see if it is drivelling idiotcy or 
 ordy temporary insanity that is the^matter with 
 
 Annalist. - Quibble, speak to the Kin- " 
 Untortunately for the punster he wa"s not that 
 day in the vein. The fountain of his wit was low 
 and his imagination evidently arid. It was there- 
 tore with considerable nervousness that he took 
 the parole, and. wiping his brow, on which the 
 
 Quibble. "May it please you, Sire, I interpret 
 It as your command to give a specimen of mine 
 art, to which your Highness deigns to listen The 
 words am about to utter resemble a neat instru! 
 
 dTr (tn^r' '"^"" ^^^^— un-ning 
 Here a brilliant thought seemed to strike him and 
 « w? ^«,°|!^"""^Pi^-nt as he demanded.- ' 
 yvny, O bire, is an animal of the bovine species 
 
 out in an electric storm like a ha.ty summons for 
 
 admission? Does your Majesty give it uprge' 
 
 cause It 18 a 'Thundering Knocks!'" 
 
 If 
 
 t 
 
 I ■ 
 
 W^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ■ 
 
 I'fl 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 '« 
 
 ■H; 
 
 ■ 
 
 M 
 
 H|j^ 
 
 1 
 
 ■ 
 
 I 
 
78 Annais of the Court of Obey on. 
 
 King. "This is intolerable. Take him out and 
 shoot him." 
 
 The condemned was led away, and the trumpets 
 of the King proclaimed that from that day forth 
 punning is forbidden in Fairyland under pain of 
 death. 
 
 Arrived at the mournful scene of execution, the 
 tiring party drew up in line. 
 
 They fitted their arrows to the string. 
 
 " Halt ! " implored the intended victim, " I would 
 say a few last words." 
 
 It was clearly against orders to permit a speech 
 at the place of punishment, but the provost-sergeant 
 was a kindly man, the father of a family, so he 
 wiped his eyes and said,—" Say on." 
 
 The CuJKkmncd pondered for a moment and then 
 deman?!ti<i m an inquisitive tone of voice, 
 
 " vViien is a door not a door ? " 
 
 The arcliars felt their weapons paralysed in their 
 hands, at once, at the audacity and antiquity of the 
 inquiry. 
 
 " When is a door not a door ? " he repeated. 
 
 They dropped their arms. 
 
 " When it's a-jar I " shouted he. 
 
 They turned and fled, but after them they heard 
 the voice of the possessed punster yelling, 
 
 "When is a door not a jar ? When it's a-gate 1 " 
 
 They only fled the faster, but fast as they flew 
 were overtaken by the demand, — 
 
 "When is a door not a gate? When it's a 
 shutter ! " 
 
 The party reached camp in great despondency, 
 
The Punsters Fate. 
 
 79 
 
 and communicated to the King the failure of their 
 mission : whereupon, as Baron Tennyson says,— 
 " There was dole in Astolat." 
 
 Since then, banished from his species, the pun- 
 ster has been wan-lermg in solitary tilaces, pro- 
 pounding conundrums to Echo, and b- ing that 
 nymph by trying to make her re . "Kex's 
 Cocoa." 
 
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CHAPTER X. 
 
 SESAME AND LILIES. 
 
 Tiny Dell, also known as Steal-away-nook, was 
 not in reality either a dell, or dingle, or dale, 
 or holm, but rather a simple depression in the 
 southern acclivity of a green hill, much resorted 
 to by a circle of lady fays who held their heads 
 high in society. Short grass, pied w^ith daisies, 
 made an elastic turf, and pale primroses clustered 
 around the base of a few moss-clad boulders that 
 lay within it. Here the fays would come on 
 sunny afternoons under the chaperonage of some 
 elderly dame and sit on the stones, or lie about 
 on the grass and there gossip. In the fruit season 
 wild strawberries, with the juice of which they 
 stained their fingers, and, later, bird-berries, which 
 they cracked with their teeth, were abundant. 
 A few medium-sized mountain-ash trees hung 
 clusters of red beads over the rim, available for 
 necklaces and bringing blackbirds to pilfer. The 
 spot being known as a frequent resort of. the 
 lady fays, was never intruded on by the ruder 
 sex, and I can assure you that the entree was 
 very select indeed. The ladies, asking Oberon 
 one day what would be a good password to tile 
 
 80 
 
Sesame and Lilies. Si 
 
 On one special afternoon some of the fays, wi'h 
 
 m the dell under the presidency of good Aunt 
 Favourable The usual topics o"^ the^ay &":' 
 mg been winnowed in an intermittent way the 
 young people called on the stately fay Vivien 
 
 oLir*"""" "^."^ y™"8 iHd/it^hon^Tte 
 
 StJL '^ '"'"'*"'' '""' ""Jd have gn«Ju- 
 
 ated from any conservatory of elocution 
 
 theXlorks"""""* "''"' '"''^'"'^'" "'"' 
 
 ■'Certainly," replied she, rising with her eye. 
 
 rollmg, nght «™ stiffly extended and flS^^ 
 
 h.wn back Then casting loose her hair S 
 
 .t fell across her face and shoulders like a lurid 
 
 tie folW ^^ \ ". •"»<'-«'«"ing voice into 
 the followmg incantation,— . 
 
 " Fierce anthropophagi ! 
 Spectres I diaboli ! 
 Hobgoblins ! lemures ! 
 Dreams of Antipodes ! 
 Night-riding incubi 
 Troubling the fantasy—" 
 
 J Oh, don't I" cried everybody. "You frighten 
 
 "I thought I should," remarked Vivien calmlv 
 as she sank back on a mossv spnf ««/ ^' 
 
 hflr Jio,-.. i< T\ » "iossy seat and rearranged 
 
 thTng r """' °' '""' y°""''^«» ^^ 4- 
 
 F 
 
: 
 
 f 
 
 19 
 
 82 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 " I do," exclaimed Lalalu, " darling lovely Robin 
 Hood ! " and she went on to repeat a verso of a 
 ballad that the fairies and myself alike believe in,— 
 
 " In somer when the sJiawes be sheyne. 
 
 And leves be large and longe, 
 Hit is fulie mery in feyre foreale. 
 
 To here the foulis songe. 
 To se the dere drawe to the dale, 
 
 And bve the hilles hee, 
 And shadow hem in the leves grene. 
 
 Under the grene wode tree." * 
 
 « Thanks, Loulie, that will do," cried several. 
 
 Here innocent Peepy held up her hand and said, — 
 
 " I will tell you a story, please." 
 
 It appeared that Peepy (who is a sharp little 
 thing) had observed a group of ladies in a grove, 
 listening intently, with their heads together, while 
 one of their number read aloud a tale m a 
 printed book composed by a widow, t 
 
 Our little pitcher with the long ears cre^ t in 
 among them, and had come home full of the story. 
 From her account it would seem that the hero of 
 the narrative was a godlike individual, to whom 
 Antinous and other supernally beautiful persons 
 were but as shilling plaster casts on the board of 
 an Italian image-vendor are to the Phidian marble. 
 Not only lovely was he but terrible. He might 
 readily have been mistaken for the Nemean lion in 
 
 • Earliest ballad of Robin Hood, anterior to Ritson's. 
 
 t The story the little fairy overheard the ladies reading seeuis to 
 have been in Ouida's works, and its incongruities are owing only to 
 Peepv's inftcourate memory. 
 
 ( 
 
Sesame and Lilies. 
 
 83 
 
 duello than he IJZ to ' 7 Tlrt '^ 
 
 probably be kl^kT/^HT'lTnl^ hTbU of 7"" 
 unspeakable sun,,, every ni.uT^^Jrrj 
 
 l3.u "^"^^ P*" *<"• »» th' spot with coDv 
 
 hold manors and had a ridiculous custom „f Ct 
 
 Zhi T .u""^'"' ^"^'^ invariably came „ last 
 m the ruek, through the ineptitude of his ..Lkevs 
 No wme was pf rmitted in «n„ „f u" •'°°''*y'- 
 establishments, e'en nth servants' 1^""°"! 
 Johanuisberg at £5 58 a bottr H " "''"^P' 
 
 taltless faifh. and'atd se™ • sp™:""" "' 
 summer palaces, and after caulrthe wife oTr 
 reigning prince to die lor love of him ^Iv • , 
 
 About this time his secreta-v ^r, *k „ 
 
 e^rrytlf r '" ''-*•'- '^'^■e^M: : fo 
 everything he possessed. The defranrlprl .1. • , 
 
 ^ gs neck and enhsted as a private in the 
 Afrique, where hegained the friendship 
 
 dog' 
 Chai 
 
 .SS^ii] 
 
 
 .'ill 
 
 .. 
 
 
 M 1 
 
 ii'l 
 
 N 
 
 i 
 
 
 If 
 
 1 ;;= 
 
I 
 
 V 
 
 84 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 of ft Bourbon prince, who left him some princi- 
 pahties, and a balance at Rothschild's, but he 
 handed over the lands to Garibaldi, and in the 
 sacred name of Liberty invested the ready money 
 in American Confederate bonds. Thereafter he 
 supported himself by writing for the Saturday 
 Review and Paris Figaro, but the moral corruption 
 of the age touched on by those papers broke his 
 heart. A band of advanced thinkers carried him 
 to the grave, where a noted Atheist pronounced a 
 funeral oration. A penny subscription of the 
 working classes was opened to erect for him a 
 gorgeous mausoleum, but the sum never reached 
 beyond the sum of three shillings and ninepence 
 sterling, equivalent to the subscriptions of forty- 
 five admirers, a sad commentary on the text that 
 the world does not know its greatest men. 
 
 Such was the tale poured out by the innocent 
 lips of little pitcher. Whether the imp had altered 
 or added to the bald facts of the case I cannot pre- 
 tend to affirm ; but she brought it to a close by 
 saying,—" I do not remember any more." 
 
 Aunty shook her head and said mildly that she 
 thought it represented an improbable state of 
 society. What impression the story of so splendid 
 a hero with so remarkable a record, made on 
 the fays cannot be known by mortals; but it 
 must have been transitory, for almost immediately 
 several of them exclaimed, — 
 
 "Now, you tell us a nice story, kind Aunty 
 
 Favourable." 
 " Surely, surely, my dears," responded that excel- 
 
Sesame and Lilies. 
 
 8s 
 
 ' *l 
 
 !unlM/i "a"^"" "?°" " ""^ «'^'» dwelt in a 
 sunlight land an emment brassfonnder who had 
 
 gathered qu.te a large connection by the manufrc 
 ne ™ tZ/h'"' °"^™«•"- f-'u« of his bns - 
 lampsTr old-" ™ '''"'''' '^^ *" '»''^' ■>- 
 
 ■■Aia''d''dirt '"'°" '''™' """' " '"'' --■•'" ™-- 
 
 InTtll *""'" ■^f""'' """'y- " "'«". ■«* ">e see. 
 In a far away country there were some vorv bad 
 
 men. Oh shocking! And among the rlstw«^ 
 
 sttdo"i'»'^^'''"'-^'"-s.arwhrrU:; 
 
 ,',' n" ^'''"' •' " *«» the UMnimous exclamation 
 
 vn„ „f 7 ""' ^°" """"^ *''*' '""^ Shall I tell 
 you ot the narrow escape I had from a cruel wolf 
 when I was Little Red Riding Hood » " 
 
 cried airtl"? "° ' T" "T *°''' "^ *•>»' »» »««»," 
 
 " H^ve I » !''y'V*'^™»<' "t t'"^ threatened offer. 
 
 iij , "^ked aunty, innocently "Th.„ 
 
 children,! will tell y„„ a true story of people l' 
 
 UmTfl^T' K '' " " '™^' *™" "^ "-^ How 
 time flies, to be sure. I call it— 
 
 « ( 
 
 WHITE LADIES.' 
 
 "Long ago lived a great lord whose castle wai in 
 « kngdoin where were always warn The irng Ti 
 
 barons tyrants too, so that they oppressed the 
 common people, for the nobles alwayf foUow the 
 
 ' I 
 
 I 
 
 r .'^ 
 

 86 Annais of ike Court of be r on. 
 
 bad example of the king, and that brings misery 
 and trouble on the land. The baron I speak of had 
 lived to middle life in the midst of war and turmoil, 
 until at length, he thought he would marry and 
 settle down, and employ his leisure in hunting boars 
 instead of men. Now, it chanced that near him lived 
 a lady of high state, beautiful exceedingly, but more 
 haughty than if she had been a king's daughter, 
 for she owned in her own right great part of the 
 hills where the erdsprites and malicious gnomes 
 have their homes. A marriege was arranged be- 
 tween the baron and this haughty lady, and it was 
 to be celebrated with much pomp. Lords and 
 dames were to come from far and near, to be enter- 
 tained with tournaments by day, and the dance of 
 the pavon, or peacock, at night, and great feasting. 
 Gallant minstrels on prancing steeds, with their 
 jongleurs, or attendants, on mules carrying the 
 rebecks and music of the masters, filed in, to the 
 great content of the ladies, who hoped to hear their 
 own praises carolled as the fairest of the fair, and 
 to see some knight knocked on the head or run 
 through the body in trying to prove his favourite 
 she as fair as the minstrels had sung. Everything 
 was to be as gay, fantastic, and cruel as fitted the 
 cultivated taste of the high-bom company that would 
 be there assembled. As it was not necessaiy to 
 make any settlements in the case of so rich a bride, 
 the baron served out new doublets to his jackmen, 
 and made known the programme of the day, detail- 
 ing as many men as could be spared to make an 
 imposing procession, but with a strong reserve to 
 
Sesame and Lilies. 
 
 S; 
 
 hold the salient points of the castle and take the 
 initiative by firing on the guests if they should 
 attempt a surprise. None of the commonalty 
 were to be admitted, it being felt that their 
 presence would be vulgar; but in return for 
 many days hard labour without wages, a quantity 
 of beef and ale was sent to the hamlet, which 
 lay about three arrow-flights from the outer de- 
 fences. 
 
 "Nothing could be more natural than that, from 
 time immemorial, a friendship had existed between 
 the elves of the hill and family of the haughty ladv 
 who was now a bride. Not a marriage nor birth 
 m the direct line of descent but the elves had sent 
 to pay their compliments; and when any evil or 
 misfortune was to befall, due notice was given bv 
 voices crying mournfully, as can be proved by many 
 credible witnesses. Accordingly, on the occasion of 
 the lady s nuptials with the stout baron, one of the 
 elves was deputed to pay their respects. This ladv 
 elf arrayed herself in her best attire, and put on her 
 steeple hat and her grey gown, with so many short 
 skirts that she looked quite bunchabout, also her 
 buckled shoes and red stockings, as if she were high 
 up m holy orders. Thus accoutred, she presented 
 herself on the threshold of the baron's hall with a 
 gift basket of white buds on her arm, and gravely 
 said.— 'Save all here.' ^ ^ 
 
 " ' Arroynt thee, jade ! ' cried the baron, who was 
 flushed with wine, 'what fool egg.wif« have we 
 Here f 
 
 "'May it please your Valiancy,' replied an old 
 
 I ^; 
 
 I 'I 
 
^ 
 
 88 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 retainer, * this is one of the good elves of the hill, 
 whom it is ill fortune to unfriend.' 
 
 •"Good or ill wife,' roared the incensed noble. 
 • What ho ! menials I scourge me this old guy off the 
 premises, and see that ye spare not stirrup leather!' 
 
 "The unwilling grooms obeyed and belted her 
 across the drawbridge to the edge of the moat, 
 where she majestically shot up to a stupendous 
 height, and stretching forth her arm in a threaten- 
 ing attitude, said in a voice that all the company 
 heard, — 
 
 "'Hark thee, proud and cruel lord! no son 
 shall bear thy name. Thy house shall pass away 
 without a head, and the flowers shall wither on 
 thy grave I " 
 
 " Then she disappeared. The impenitent baron 
 spluttered forth some of the worst epithets in the 
 language, and called on the musicians to strike up, 
 which they did, and for three days the nuptial 
 feast lasted, and came to an end with no more than 
 the usual quantity of cracked helms and broken 
 bones. 
 
 "Seven years passed and seven daughters had 
 been born to the warlike baron, but no son. Then 
 the haughty lady died and the seven little maids 
 were motherless. 
 
 " I have already said that the king of that time 
 and countrj'^ was a cruel tjnrant. He was much 
 addicted to hanging up his subjects on lamp-posts 
 on slight pretext. This he called ' Regulating the 
 Commons.' A favourite employment of his leisure 
 was besieging and burning the baronial castles in 
 
Sesame and Lilies. 
 
 89 
 
 his dominions, putting the owners to the sword 
 and confiscating their estates, and this lie described 
 as • Repressing the Nobles.' Ostensibly he was 
 desirous of building up a ' Middle Class.' which ho 
 did by imposing immense fines on every industry 
 and retaining in his own hands the monopoly of 
 wool, salt, and other paying businesses. In this 
 state of aftairs, the proletariat could do nothing but 
 submit to be hanged, and the middle class must 
 either pay or be starved out. but the turbulence of 
 the nobles was such that some of them retreated to 
 their strongholds and showed fight. Among these 
 was the father of the seven little maids, who 
 promptly fortified his castle, and calling in all hi-i 
 dependents on pain of death, several times defeated 
 the royal contingent sent against him. This un- 
 dutiful conduct so wounded the king's feelings 
 that he sent a polite message to the rebellious baron 
 that he himself would come. God willing, on Tues- 
 day of next week, immHiately after breakfast if 
 convement, and decapit. it him on his own doorstep 
 The monarch not only kept his royal word, but 
 hanged all the garrison and burned the castle, but 
 the seven little maids could not be found, notwith- 
 standing that the king (who was somewhat par- 
 simonious) ofi-ered a reward of a florin a head, or 
 three dollars and a-half for the lot, swearing by St 
 Jude, that when he caught them he would have 
 them brought up as kitchen-scullions, or given to 
 the horse-boys. Thus was the elf's prophecy both 
 iterally and figuratively fulfilled, that the baron's 
 line would pass away without a head. 
 
 \. 
 
 'l: 
 
 ■M 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
90 Annals of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 " Meantimo the seven little maidH had been rescued 
 and spirited away by the good old seneschal and 
 his wife, and conveyed to a small chateau, far 
 away and retired. There they grew in seclusion 
 from childhood to youth, and a lovelier bevy of 
 damsels could not have been found in all fair 
 France. Ah it would have attracted attention and 
 discovery had they worn mourning garments for 
 their father's fate, their thoughtful guardians clad 
 them in white, which colour they continued to 
 wear ; so they wore spoken of by the few peraons 
 who knew of their existence as the White Ladies. 
 In due course of time, the cruel king was poisoned 
 by his chef, and his successor on the throne was too 
 much occupied in fighting for a foreign duchy, 
 that he had no claim to and no use for, to trouble 
 himself about a pack of women who could not 
 bear arms either for or against him. When their 
 good protector and his wife died, the ladies lived 
 all alone, the elder taking care of the younger. 
 But the fame of their beauty had spread and 
 reached the gallants of the period, whose chival- 
 rous fancy painted them as something as mysteri- 
 ous as lovely. 
 
 " Now seven gallant young knights of the first 
 circle, bold and honourable as any knight of the 
 Round Table, were looking for adventures and 
 heard of the seven White Ladies. Although many 
 a Jance had they shivered in joust for ladies' 
 charms, their hearts were yet untouched, and their 
 hard blows in honour of this or that fair one's 
 beauty were, in those belabouring times, no more 
 
 « 
 
Sesame and Lilies, g, 
 
 Hincere than the drawling co.nph'n.entH that men 
 pay nowadays to a beauty at an evening party. 
 The fume of the comeliness and virtue of the 
 recluse sisters awoke all that was pure and noble 
 n the hearts of the seven youths, and predisposed 
 them to love. Accordingly they set out together, 
 gay and gallant, unattended by s,,uires or other 
 spies, and diplomatically taking advantage of an 
 impending thunderstorm as an excuse, drew up 
 with a clatter of arms at the gate of the lonely 
 chateau and besought hospitality. Unquestioning 
 hospitality was a virtue of the age. The ladies 
 were descendants of a race of nobles, therefore 
 they placed everything beneath their roof, except- 
 ing themselves, at the disposal of the unlooked-for 
 guests Thus it was that the knights who had 
 come to woo. became inmates of the chateau of 
 the seven sisters. 
 
 "It is not for me, my dears, to trace the risings 
 ot love. Ihat is a passion that comes to all 
 once m a lifetime. Some who hear me may 
 have experienced its sweet pangs. To others it 
 will come if they are good and virtuous. It 
 came to these young people in the chateau 
 and each knight pledged to one of the ladies 
 his hand with his heart in it, and won in 
 return the confession of her love. 
 
 "Love however, to the heart of a woman is a 
 high and holy thing. Adela, who was the eldest 
 and acted as mother to her sisters, became a 
 little tim^id at what had been done, and consulted 
 an old uermit, their ancient friend. The good 
 
 s.i 
 
 
 ■«'"■. 
 
 11 
 
 I' I 
 
 ii 
 
92 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 anchorite explained to the blushing maids that 
 the passion of love was forbidden by the canons 
 to all persons in holy orders, therefore, he himself 
 knew nothing of tlie feeling, but he believed 
 it was customary to send away an ardent wooer 
 for a time, so as to prove his constancy — at 
 least so he remembered to have read when he 
 was but a silly acolyte. He recommended that 
 the knights be sent away for a year and a day 
 to make trial of their faith. 
 
 "In those days, my dears, men were true 
 and faithful, and willing to wait any length of 
 time or undergo any trial for the ladies they 
 loved. I am told it is not so now. The seven 
 wooers cheerfully assented to the arrangement, 
 and they were all, knights and ladies, taking 
 their last walk together in the garden, each 
 maid hanging on the arm of her bachelor and 
 full of fond thoughts, when they saw a little 
 old woman approaching, with short skirts, a 
 steeple hat, buckled shoes and red stockings, 
 and with a basket on her arm. The old dame 
 was weeping and said,— 'White Ladies, I am 
 the elf-dame who foretold your father's fate,' 
 and as she spoke she took from her basket 
 and dropped on the ground seven clumps of 
 lily roots, and, still weeping, receded from view. 
 ■• ' Let us plant the lilies ! ' cried the knights 
 gaily. Then each couple planted a root, and 
 Gmoothed the ground. 'Now let us name 
 them!' they cried. So they named the lilies 
 by the names of the ladies — Adela, Alice. Barbara. 
 
Sesame and Lilies, 9, 
 
 Erem^ Helen, Lilias, and Yseulte. Then with 
 fond adieus the gallants put on their swords 
 and leaped to saddle. For as when the Seven 
 Champions of Christendom came to a broad 
 plain where stood a brazen pillar, where four 
 roads met, they every one went a separate way 
 so the seven knights partet' -two to the north 
 and two to the south, two t. .he west, and, with 
 many backward glances, the youngest of all 
 to the east. And thereafter the weeks sped, 
 and the seven White Ladies stayed at home, and 
 watched the growth of the lilies. 
 
 " Woe's me ! not long time had gone when 
 a man-at-arms sore bespent. with his armour 
 hacked and his horse in foam, rode in from 
 tae north with news of dole that two of the 
 knights, gay and gallant, had fallen with their 
 faces to the foe, and the last words on their 
 hps were Adela and Helen. Yet do misfortunes 
 fal not singly, for ere long came the monk, 
 looking very sad, with letters from a convent 
 m the south that two gallant knights had fallen 
 iQ battle with the infidel, and had breathed 
 their last m uttering the names Yseulte and 
 Alice, boon a running footman arrived from 
 the west with a scarf and ribbon, both dyed with 
 blood, and delivered the mournful tokens to 
 Barbara and Ereme. Lastly came a palmer in 
 cockle-hat and shoon. returning from the east 
 and the news he brought was that the youngest 
 and gayest of the gallant seven had been stricLn 
 with the plague, and died in delirium murmuring 
 
 
 Hi 'J " 
 

 94 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 of little Lilias. Adela faded first, and as her 
 pure spirit fled, the remaining sorrowful maidens 
 noticed that the pure white lily bearing her name 
 expanded into flower. Another of the ladies died 
 and her lily opened its white blossom. So it was 
 until all the seven white lilies were in bloom. 
 Then came a nipping frost, and the flowers 
 shrivelled and perished. The White Ladies still 
 haunt the scene where their unhappy fate befell. 
 Still they wander in the garden with the ghosts 
 of the lovers, and that is why white lilies are 
 called White Ladies." 
 
i'lil 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 VIVIEN. 
 
 f ' ""'S""' shut m a crescent of the const k„ 
 tween two headlands, on one of which ^1, J*' 
 house, a placid bay ghmmered «r^en ^d t^ 
 up m regular musica! plashes ite^ham^tiT 
 ripples on the yellow sand, n^n """"P^goe-I'te 
 boats swayed geX on rt«^'^i '''"""'*■ 
 Along the^an? w^T Z^^T^r' u"^'"' 
 striped in vermilion andTute La*^'"*''^"^ 
 feeing the sea, four monste ttel^''"^':::^ r' 
 stuccoed fronts, each pierced with mynXof t 
 dows, and looking as unlike ™ ^^^ ? "' 
 idea of a home WioT ! possible to one's 
 
 of fant^tt'ttat' tiu;:r'r'',fr "P'"""'« 
 the rainbow A loS w!^ • '" '''^ *'<""" of 
 
 thirteen very Teutonic Germans of fh!V?'*^^^^' 
 ing grotesque pipes with tW K ^*"*^' '™°^- 
 
 beside thel, un'til\lf hfur 3^^ 
 thev mirrhf 1 - . !- snould arrive whfin 
 
 ^ "^^ght "-y out the latest operatic air from 
 
 55 
 
• 'v 
 
 ■•> J 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 ' . 
 
 
 ,1 
 
 1 v 
 
 i 
 
 
 jf 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 ■> 
 
 H 
 
 ;* 
 
 'i' ■» 
 
 i 
 
 L. 
 
 96 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 the Rhine. Very few guests were afoot at that 
 early hour. Everywhere floated flags. The place 
 was, in short, Newville-on-the-Sea, on the other 
 side of the Atlantic. 
 
 Four persons were promenading slowly on the 
 firm sands. The first was a lady in the earliest 
 bloom of womanhood. As this lady is the heroine 
 of our tale, she ought to be described as surpass- 
 ingly beautiful, and — as these annals are true— 
 I can conscientiously say she was very lovely. 
 Slightly below the medium stature, but svelte, 
 swaying, willowy, lily-like. A dammed-up flood 
 of golden hair, that would have been a cataract, if 
 let loose, was confined beneath a hat that six days 
 before was in Paris. It was the incongruous custom 
 of the place to wear ball-dress materials at all 
 hours of the day ; therefore her robes, that caught 
 the saline particles of the sea, were the most 
 recherchds products of the silkweavers' looms. The 
 little hands of the lady, ganth d ravissement, were 
 incredibly small, and the faint impress of her 
 foot on the sand so tiny, it could iaot be believed. 
 A sunshade of light azure covered with costly laee 
 partially clouded her sweet face ; but when she 
 raised it, a pair of most glorious large deep blue 
 eyes flashed out ; and she spoke to her companion 
 in a voice so mellifluous that, had the words been 
 sentient, they would have clung like bees to her 
 lips. Her companion ..as an elderly lady with 
 a stern expression of countenance. Rich cocoa- 
 brown satin, with bonnet and parasol to match, 
 was the costume she had chosen for an early mom- 
 
Vivien. 
 
 97 
 
 mg walk (This lady ia further referred to in 
 page 46 of these Annals.) Behind the ladTes came 
 a male domestic, carrying two camp-chairs and 
 w h h,^ a young woman in a NoLandy cap 
 with silver rings in her earq TK^ « "'**""y cap, 
 towards that first clals mLpT P"^*^ f ""^^^^d 
 
 Grand Seraphic, whir wftf Ir^^T.^"*''' '^^ 
 Tmnf Q* 1 A "^°°' ^^t" nttings, had cost the 
 
 the t'«f ^''"P^"^ ^^^^'^0^' ^^^ entered by 
 the staircase reserved for ladies. Had the clerk 
 
 lod^r.thVh ''^-f " 'r ^" ^ -~'e 
 
 ladv wa! fT? ^^\^"^ormed you that the young 
 iady was the orphan, but multi-millionaire heiress 
 
 posed, the clerk „,ight havf added li he J';" 
 l>ad engaged the best apartmentB on the Trrt fe>f 
 
 Pe^n/f ' T '" " ™"^- ^'"» and »fe 
 tionaJ novelette (which some critics S duX 
 toct) how Pluto, observing that a large proportion 
 
 men, sent Beliagor, one of his most intelliffent 
 subordmates, as Commissioner to earth Sn 
 8 ructions to marry and thereby ascerteir f Z 
 
 nr oi s'r^oX-d^^n.^uiirj^^^^ 
 
 Monna Onesta of Florence, afd' TZlt tll^'u 
 
 
■I ♦ 
 
 98 A finals of the Cov^t of Oberon. 
 
 Pluto's worst surmise. In a manner not dissimilar, 
 the fairies had their curiosity (of which they have 
 a large share) excited by hearing mortal women 
 talking of nothing but men, so, after innumer- 
 able consultations, it was decided in full council to 
 send a Lady Commissioner to earth, with orders to 
 seek out a matrimonial alliance, and report to 
 her Government the ins and outs of fashionable 
 married life. The unanimous voice of the council 
 fell on Vivien. She, it may be mentioned, was 
 not the person who shut up the enchanter Merlin 
 in the tree, but she was quite capable of having 
 done so. She was the most ladylike of all the 
 fays. In her manner was a sleepy, voluptuous 
 languor, relieved by jets and spurts of espi^glerie 
 that made her very attractive. She had the addi- 
 tional qualification of being quite heart-whole, a 
 condition that not all of the young fays were in. 
 No better choice could have been made, the rather 
 that she was so singularly beautiful as well as 
 accomplished and clever. It is one of the advan- 
 tages of fairies' personality that they can transport 
 themselves to any part of the world without being 
 cramped in railway carriages or laid away sea-sick 
 on shelves in the cabins of ocean ateamers. They 
 have but to wish they were in a given place, and 
 lo ! they are there. How this is possible I do not 
 know, for, the truth is, we are very ignorant of the 
 possibilities of transport, and it does not make the 
 matter clearer to have hypnotheurgists declaring 
 they have been in two places at once. Oberon — 
 who, as may be supposed, is mi fait as to what is 
 
Vivien. 
 
 99 
 
 going on in the terrestrial world - decided that 
 as all marriageable young American ladies are 
 heiresses (or at least all who come to this country 
 are), Vivien should take a flight in that capacity 
 to America. There exists no record in the books 
 ot any of the shipping offices of passage tickets 
 having been sold to the party, yet it consisted 
 ot tour namely-our charming Vivien; the old 
 
 71 .T ,^.* *^ ^^^^ ^^"^<^ ^«^^ *he official title 
 of the Mother of the Maids," and who, much 
 against her will, was detailed to act as aunt and 
 duenna; ^ug, a gnome in the guise of an old 
 family servitor who was dumb ; and an ordin- 
 ary tay of the people, speaking no English. These 
 were the Jour persons we saw walking on the 
 beach at Newville-on-the-Sea. 
 
 nnnr.J^'^r i?u'°°^' *^^" ^^*^' *b«^r arrival, 
 until they should have become accustomed to the 
 
 strangeness and confusion of terrestrial life, con- 
 fined themselves much to the seclusion of their 
 apartments, where they lived mostly on fruits 
 and candy, and where their retirement caused 
 them to be maligned as haughty and stuck up;- 
 which gives us time to describe a very distin- 
 
 Seraphic his headquarters. This was no less a per- 
 8onag3 than Count Alexis Polonotowskivitz. The 
 Count s resplendent raiment fitted him to a miracle, 
 his polished boots were mirrors, and the quantity 
 of jewellery hung on his person would, if genuine 
 have represented a moderate fortune. He was bv 
 no means r. -cent in letting it be known that his 
 
 i 
 
 i It' 
 
 ;* M/li 
 
 ■ 
 
100 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 I , 
 
 Mf 
 
 intention was to marry and settle down. In 
 person he was all that any romantic young lady 
 would long for, for what could any damsel wish 
 more than to be a countess, with a dark-eyed Lara- 
 like count for a husband, doubly interesting be- 
 cause his ancestral estates lay groaning beneath 
 the heel of the Czar, and whose only known dissi- 
 pations were cards and billiards, at both of which 
 he was singularly successful ? Consequently the 
 Count was the hero of the hour, and might have 
 made a brilliant match long ago had he not been 
 too solicitous to prevent the lady's fortune from 
 being settled on herself. This curled darling, 
 attracted by the report of Vivien's wealth and 
 beauty, watched for her appearance, and laid him- 
 self out to woo her as the other count, in Tom 
 Hood's story, did Miss Kilmansegg. 
 
 On their first introduction to life everything 
 was new to our fairies. When Vivien first saw 
 a negro waiter a shudder of affright came over 
 her, for she thought he was one of the malignant 
 genii of whom her race have a horror. Besides 
 his complexion, the superciliousness of manner that 
 white men have taught the blacks by overpetting 
 them, overcame her for a moment. Vivien, how- 
 ever, was noted for self-possession, and recovered 
 herself promptly. Her alleged aunt was of such 
 stem stuff that nothing could move her. 
 
 When Vivien with her duenna at length ventured 
 to appear in the ladies' salon, an extorted buzz of 
 admiration broke for a moment the hum of con- 
 versation. In case my lady readers should wish 
 
Vivit 
 
 vien. 
 
 lOI 
 
 to know how she was dressed, it was in " a billow 
 of white, of a blanchness that would shame boreal 
 snows, a coronal of diamond flakes encircling her 
 classic, golden head." (I found this fact in the 
 Evening Peeper next morning.) Our beautiful 
 heroine subsided on afauteiiU, and looked around 
 curiously. She had never seen anything like this. 
 Music was going on, chattering, laughing, yawning, 
 make-believe of finger-work, and all the other 
 elements that make up a society paradise. Quite 
 a number of half-fledged youths and girls half 
 grown were present, and appropriated to them- 
 selves an offensive prominence. Snatches of con- 
 versation among the general company reached the 
 ear, but the staple was unintelligible to our fairies, 
 who had no antecedents. Mrs A.'s receptions, B.'s 
 dinners, Addy C.'s divorce, Mrs D.'s jewels— all 
 seemed mixed up with each other, and, interlacing 
 all, the frequent repetition of the word " dollars " 
 came in like a refrain. There were few present 
 who were not in aflauent circumstances and had 
 travelled ; but the most vivid reminiscences seemed 
 to be of the Principessa Pococurante's ball, or the 
 Comptesse's Thursdays, or the crush there was 
 at the opera on opening night. Nothing seemed 
 hearty or earnest. To Vivien, who was wont to 
 thrill with delight at everything beautiful of sight 
 or sound, and whose aspiration to travel was that 
 she might continually behold grand and lovely 
 things, the society into which she was thrown was 
 depressingly inane. 
 
 The Grand Seraphic d' ot do things bv halves. 
 
 
 ff 
 
 i iV 
 
 ' t :'l 
 
 ! ^ 
 it 
 
 h 
 
102 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 p 
 
 [» i| 
 
 No, indeed ! Four eveuiugs a week the house gave 
 a reunion in the superb ball-room, a dance and 
 promenade that eclipsed anything. On one of 
 these occasions our two lady-fairies were present. 
 Next to Vivien sat Mrs Coupon, a lively little 
 girl of seventeen, most lavishly drefsed, who was 
 wife of a stock-broker. This young matron made 
 up to our fairy in a gush. She knew everybody 
 and everything, and seemed delighted to impart 
 information. Here it is somewhat in advance 
 of our story to say that Coupon, not having 
 any property, omitted to settle it on his wife, so 
 that, a few months afterwards, when he ought 
 to have paid half a million of shrinkage, he paid 
 nothing, and went to the wall; and fashionable 
 Mrs Coupon, whose principles were good, poor 
 soul I accepted a position as sales-lady in a ready- 
 made baby-linen establishment. She was a good 
 creature, and adversity brought out the noble 
 qualities that often lie dormant, only awaiting 
 development, in seemingly frivolous butterflies. 
 While man knocks under, woman rises to the 
 occasion. 
 
 "Look, my dear," said Mrs Coupon to Vivien, 
 "that short person with the bandy — yovb know 
 — owns a fast horse that can run a mile in a 
 second, and the money he squanders on the 
 creature 1 He never gives anything to churches 
 or charity, for he says it is opposed to the 
 principles of political economy, and rubbish of 
 that kind. The tall, thin man with a Roman 
 nose— (Good evening, doctor I)— is a physician 
 
Vivien. 
 
 \o^ 
 
 who charges tit'ty dullars a vibit, uuJ you liave 
 to pay, besides, for podophyllon and pink draughts 
 a,nd stuff. They say that he and an undertaker 
 are partners in a drug store. The other man, 
 with the brassy eyes, who is philandering with 
 the old lady that looks like a bolsfer, is a cele- 
 brated jurist, and it is known he would ruin 
 you as soon as look at you if he took a spite. 
 I do declare there is Mrs Flitter in a new dress I 
 That never came out of old Flitter's pocket; 
 there has been pinching in the housekeeping — 
 or worse. That dissolute young man is the only 
 son of a widow ; he has all the vices, and is 
 breaking his mother's heart. She ought to marry 
 again and cut him off. 1 would, I know. That 
 is my husband in the corner flirting so outrage- 
 ously with some girl from the country. He never 
 comes near me — the bear 1 " 
 
 " Ah ! reverend sir, delightful evening ; so pleased 
 to see yov> here." 
 
 " An agreeable evening, as you say, Miss Juliet," 
 sternly said the pulpit orator, as he passed on. 
 
 " Rev. Judas, my dear," continued Mrs Coupon ; 
 " horrid hypocrite, my love. Lives on the offertory 
 and pew rents. Pretends not to know I'm married, 
 but he would have given his ears to come round 
 me before I took Jim. There he goes, smiling on 
 that prig Specieson, who is cashier or trustee or 
 something to a benevolent institution, so he will 
 soon bolt with the till — hia father made all his 
 money by shipbreaking or housebreaking or some- 
 thing, and now he is a miller, for he grinds the 
 
 m. 
 
 m 
 
 ,'» I 
 
 i'll 
 
j 
 
 |M>4 Annah of the t ourt of Oberon. 
 
 poor — that Ih tho father looking lik(5 a dcaiycd 
 porter. Oh, you odious Betsy Jane Brown, how 
 I hato you ! Did you ever see Huch a ffuy as she is 
 in that rag ? That's her father ; the old shabby 
 witch is her mother — they say she reads the poor 
 inoftensive old man curtain lectures, and beats 
 him ; she is jealous ; imagine anybody being 
 jealous of dozy old Brown. Those three girls, 
 the Fairs, set up for professional beauties — the 
 idea I I am positive the youngest squints, and as 
 to Mary Eva, with her fine figure— all inake-up, 
 ray dear— if you only saw her with her clothes 
 off." 
 
 " Not just now, Mr Blossom. My card is full. 
 Did I promise ? Ah ! I had forgotton. Not just 
 now, thanks." 
 
 "My dear Mdlle. Vivien, do look. How 
 funny 1 I declare he is here, after all. Isn't he 
 nice ? Who ? Why, that smart, intellectual-faced 
 fellow who seems so bored with listening to Lady 
 Blue's eternal twaddling about sciences and things. 
 He is a literary man, a journalist— a sad Bohemian, 
 I am afraid— and can say the wickedest tiiiiJgw — 
 quite daring I— he is a special favourite of /n n', - 
 but hush ! the largest fish of the season bwims 
 this way— all the girls are dying to catch him ! " 
 
 Here a wholesome good-natured-looking young 
 jMXi with small mutton-chop whiskers and an 
 icii. \ »*' v^ive countenance, came dawdling along, 
 ui,, t \s f svickly brought to a seat by little Mrs 
 Cai;i:c ' He wa^ ; scion of a family that had 
 made history any time these eight hundred years. 
 
 ^ ~ 
 
 ri 
 

 r, 
 tf 
 
 Vivten. 
 
 »05 
 
 V 
 
 Tho lively lady plied him with questiuus, iihking 
 him naively, among other things, — 
 
 " Will you not marry, my lord, before you re- 
 turn to your ancestral seat i " 
 
 " Should like it of all things," Haid ho, re- 
 flectively, " but there are others to be considered ; 
 my mother and sisters, you see." 
 
 (" What a good young man," thought Vivien, 
 " he thinks of his mother ! ") 
 
 " But," said he, rising, " I apprehend you are 
 engaged. Here comes tho — ah — Polish gentleman." 
 And his lordship lounged away. 
 
 "Where was 1?" resumed Mrs Coupon. "Oh, 
 ynn wee that portly man with the bald spot on the 
 top of his head, and the bristles combed up into a 
 toupee, like a handle to lift him up by ? lie would 
 like to pass for forty. Sixty, I should say, if ho 
 is an hour. Immensely rich, my dear. A widower 
 on tho look-out. They say he killed his first wife 
 with ill-treatment. They were wretchedly poor in 
 those days. Then he started a pawnshop, which 
 grew into a bank, and it is well known he paid 
 his cashier to run off. Tlio bank broke, and 
 realised only a cent on the dollar, and that is 
 why he is so rich — worth three millions at least. 
 Mansion, paintings, furniture, plate, fast horses, 
 carriages. Oh, his next will be a happy woman. 
 'Sh, dear, he is coming this way." 
 
 " Miss Vivien, may I have the honour ? " said he, 
 offering his arm. 
 
 " No, thank you," said Vivien, coldly. 
 
 xiic luiiiiuuuirv; bUiueu away witii a pUzzlea air. 
 
 u 
 
 I 
 
 y^i 
 
io6 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 It was the first time since he became rich, that he 
 had been received with other than effusion. 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! how you snubbed him," laughed little 
 Mrs C. "By the way, look there, that is Dr 
 Pangloss, one of our most celebrated men. He 
 is on the look-out for a rich wife. He learned to 
 read Latin after he grew up, and translates things 
 out of the fathers and what - you - call - ums, and 
 passes them off for his own." 
 
 " Oh, dear I " exclaimed our fairy ; " even science 
 debased to a sham! Is there no truth in any- 
 thing?" ^ 
 
 "Not any, my dear," responded Mrs Coupon, 
 cheerfully; "but what does it matter so long as 
 you get a good establishment? Don't think me 
 satirical in what I have said, for I'm not—\i I 
 liked I could tell you things about people that 
 are awful, positively awful ! But hadn't we better 
 dance? I always fill my card and keep them 
 waiting, it is such fun, they quarrel so." 
 
 Count Alexis Polonotowskivitz had by this time 
 made his way to where the two ladies sat, and 
 took his place with an air of proprietorship that 
 was very displeasing to Vivien. In fact, although 
 the Count was disagreeable to her, she had taken 
 no pains to avoid him, knowing her mission, and 
 that she could at any time sever any bond by 
 suddenly disappearing and going back to Faerie. 
 This evening her dislike to the distinguished 
 foreigner grew into hate. 
 
 Three evenings after the above incidents, when our 
 fairies had retired to their apartment, the mother 
 
 

 Vivien. 
 
 107 
 
 of the maids, her alleged aunt, observed Vivien cut- 
 ting notches in the ivory handle of her fan. 
 
 " What are you doing now ? " snapped she. 
 
 " Merely recording three more proposals declined. 
 During the short time we have been here I have 
 refused eight despairing lovers. The wretches! 
 What can they know of me that they should 
 want to tie themselves to me for life?" cried 
 Vivien, warmly. 
 
 "You had best make a choice pretty quickly, 
 before you get yourself more talked about with 
 that Frenchman," retorted the aunt. 
 
 "What Frenchman? " asked Vivien, wonderingly. 
 
 "Pullet Wowskey, or whatever you call him. 
 It is in everybody's mouth that he is going to 
 marry you." 
 
 " He 1— going— to marry II ME 1 1 1 " 
 
 " He says so." 
 
 "Oh, it is too horrid 1" exclaimed Vivien, pas- 
 sionately. " Dear mother, let us back to our own 
 fairyland. I stifle in this fashionable world. 
 Cruel, heartless, selfish, inane, wretched, wretched, 
 oh I ohl oh I Let us go to-morrow before sun- 
 rise. I long to see again our own sun rise out 
 of the pines. Meantime," said she, becoming 
 calmer, "I have an assignation with the Count 
 at midnight to-night." 
 
 "With the Count?" 
 
 " Yes. I intend to drown him," replied Vivien, 
 calmly. 
 
 "Best thing you can do with him," said the 
 mother. 
 
 1^1 
 
io8 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 At five minutes before the hotel stable -clock 
 told midnight, a muffled figure, like one of Lop6 
 de Vega's disguised gallants in Spanish comedy, 
 stole along the pier to the landing - stair. It 
 was a curious place, he thought, for an assigna- 
 tion, but these rich young women must be 
 humoured. A single lamp left the stair in ob- 
 scurity, but shed a deceptive glare on the water 
 beyond the shadow, and rendered it still more 
 deceitful as to distance by falling on the ripple 
 of the tide. Count Alexis peered about. 
 "Where are you, dearest ?" whispered he. 
 "Here, in a boat, gay wooer," replied a mel- 
 lifluous voice from the water in the shadow. 
 
 One pace forward, and the Count stepped into 
 eighteen feet of water, and the world contained 
 one knave the less. Vivien laughed a pleased 
 little laugh. Fairies of all kinds, although de- 
 lightful creatures, are rather spiteful ! 
 
 Mdlle. Vivien's intendent was summoned that 
 night and directed to let it be known in the 
 hotel that the lady had received a telegram an- 
 nouncing that a beloved uncle had been stricken 
 with paralysis, and she must depart at once 
 if she would see him in life. Her voluminous 
 baggage was forthwith conveyed to the railway 
 and safely stowed in the freight - room, but, 
 strange to say, it was not there in the morning. 
 It had disappeared 1 At earliest dawn the ladies 
 left for the station in one of the "Grand's" 
 grandest carriages, with the dumb servitor and 
 the lady's maid in the rnmble= It was "^et 
 
Vivien. 
 
 109 
 
 more strange they took no tickets, and that 
 nobody saw them on the train. This sudden 
 departure was a four hours' wonder at the 
 Seraphic, but something else occurred, and the 
 stream of folly flowed on as ever. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A SQUARE DEAL. 
 
 A WELL-APPOINTED travelling carnage was proceed- 
 ing at a very leisurely rate along one of the smooth- 
 est highways of the prettiest midland county. The 
 coachman had orders to drive carefully and avoid 
 all bumps. Inside the vehicle were a celebrated 
 physician and his patient, the former a florid, pursy 
 little man with straggling brown hair carefully 
 combed over his shining bald crown, the latter a 
 tall young fellow with a good face, long, tawny 
 moustache, languid grey eyes, and a general ap- 
 pearance of being used up and sickly. And so in- 
 deed he was. The physician was bringing the pati- 
 ent home to Du Bourg Castle to place him under 
 the care of a resident medical attendant, with strict 
 orders to take absolute rest and fresh air. 
 
 " Ozone and indolence, my dear Lord," said this 
 high authority, "are the only things that will 
 bring us round." 
 
 The history of this young fellow is instructive 
 as a warning not to go and do likewise. His full 
 name was Algernon John Lancelot de Beauregard 
 du Bourg, in the peerage of the United Kingdom, 
 viscount ; Baron du Bourg and Clachmacuddy, in 
 the peerage of Ireland ; a baronet ; but for some 
 reason, or no reason, at school was always called 
 
 no 
 
A Square Deal j , , 
 
 " Keb." The pet name of school did not stick to him 
 at college. There he fell into a bad gambltf^^^^^ and 
 on coming of age devoted himself^elLl'edly 
 to run mg his estate. Horse-racing h^rl n7 T*T ^ 
 tion for him p^ J 1 . ™c*ng nad no attrac- 
 
 horse as a quadruped and not as a LL Stent 
 of squandering. Cards were his specialrty Th° 
 were more easily earned about, and would ™n 
 
 pmyea Dadly. 1 herefore he cursed his luck TTi« 
 
 Shriek k „• r " P'*^''' ''"'• ""O Pri-'^ of 
 Oftriek. His misdoings reached the ear of his sove- 
 
 his name off the reception lists. The children of 
 W to whom he had been as a golden ^IfCme 
 less obsequious and added sixty per cent S 
 after he went rapidly to the bad His health btke 
 down as well as his estate, and his affaire we^ gWen 
 
 p it into the family lawyera' hands for adjustment 
 
 on an ex ra mortgage or so there, and patching and 
 
 ieave him in nominal possession of the estate. For 
 some years he would necessarily be poor for his sta 
 ion but would eventually work thr^h Povit' 
 he refrained f„.m extravagance. Old Mr Deedr the 
 
 seX't^rf """"^ *"' ''^ J^ourgs, ta A*^' 
 seriously to the young man, who, to do him justice 
 f-. ashamed of himself, and made a half-hearted 
 
 
 \k- 
 
 • r 
 
1 1 2 Annals of the Court of Oheron. 
 
 A bXtheaded servant named James, who had 
 bernborontheplaoeandretainedbecausehewasso 
 
 SyTtolid and had been bom there wa^ Bekcted 
 to whed his lord in an invalid chair about the 
 lunds James pushed him along here and there 
 to"Teek or two, until, with returning strength, 
 the Jt tpresent^tive of hard-hitting RoUo du 
 B^urthe Conqueror's companion, wa3 able to walk 
 3 about by himseU with the aid of a stick 
 
 On one of the occasions when James was wh^^ 
 ing, they came upon the land steward and a pa^^ 
 onk Wrs with levers and hoes on their shoulders, 
 aboutTrmmence some sort of levelling operaUon 
 :Uhe enhance of a glade in a little wood. It was a 
 trly cove in a coppice,a kind of ^fl/^P'V'^f *" 
 S^n. In the 'centre of an isolated P'^ »* »" 
 befhes,of nogr^tt extent, was » ««^« ^"^"f, "^ 
 undergrowth, but with a fringe of young t«es or 
 saplings that shot up and mingled then: feathery 
 tons with the older foliage, forming, in fact, a 
 SC of leafy sprays the.t threw cool shadows 
 over le clearing Birds were singing am»g the 
 boughs, and squirrels ran out on ^e limbs ana 
 Srk The short, springy turf w. h ^h the 
 alcove was paved, was of tl-^'ght "live tot that 
 is so pleasant in shadow, and on its surface 
 
 was 
 
-^ Square Deal, , , . 
 
 perceptible a well-defined wheel or rinij of dark- 
 green grass of some twenty yards in^ diamZr 
 
 Tl^T^ *'^"* *"^ "^^«^^r «^'ght look at H 
 which he did, and spoke to the steward. ' 
 
 " Jackson." 
 "Yes,m'lud." 
 
 " A pretty place this, Jackson." 
 " Yes, m'lud." 
 
 My lord contemplated the scene through his eve- 
 glass, and resumed. ^ ^^ 
 
 " What is that green circle on the grass for ? " 
 Fairy ring, m'lud-fairies dance there-not 
 lucky to have 'em about-bewitch cattle and so on '' 
 And they dance ihere ? " 
 
 " Yes, m'lud." 
 
 " And what are you going to do ? " 
 
 " Break it up, m'lud." 
 
 "Ah!" (A long pause). " Well-no~better 
 leave the poor deyvels their rink." 
 •' Very well, m'lud." 
 
 So the steward withdrew his iconoclasts, and the 
 lord was wheeled away. 
 
 As Lord du Bourg grew stronger, he took lonerer 
 walka On the first day of the month (the datfis 
 important) he set out for a constitutional, and hL 
 sreps strayed to the fairies' ring. Seeing a coo 
 
 orid ' "T'^ ''^''^ ^' ^ ^''-' birch tree 
 
 formed, as it were, two arm-chairs lined with the 
 
 dnest and softest moss, and with another broad 
 
 imb of root representing a serviceable table between 
 
 them, he sat down in one of the arm-chairs, and 
 
 pulling a pa.k of cards from his pocket, proc eded 
 
 f \\ 
 
 : 1 .1 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 
1 14 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 to go over the particular cards by which a sharper 
 had mulcted him in four figures. He was absorbed 
 in this occupation when a voice from the other 
 arm-chair put the question, — 
 " What's trumps ? " 
 
 "Clubs," replied his lordship, courteously, and 
 looking up saw Tumblebug, the gnome, seated 
 opposite to him, in the grey cloak he usually wears 
 and with a modern felt hat on his head. 
 
 " Excuse me," said his lordship ; " know I've met 
 you— Eryctheum, perhaps— Mr— ? Mr— ? " 
 " Tumblebug," said that pei'sonage. 
 "Ah, of course — memory treacherous. Will you 
 take a hand ? " 
 " With pleasure," said Tumblebug. 
 As he shuffled the cards, said his lordship,— 
 *' You live near ? " 
 
 " Close at hand," responded the other, producing 
 from under his cloak a leathern bag from which 
 clanked the pleasant chink of money. 
 
 They played for the greater part of the day, and 
 du Bourg won largely. Tumblebug paid cash 
 down. His lordship noticed that the gold was of 
 very remote coinage, but gave the matter no atten- 
 tion, or, if he did, thought his opponent had possibly 
 dug up a pot of money on his estate in the neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
 " You will give me my revenge ? Shall we play 
 here every day for a month, and settle up on the 
 30th ? " questioned Tumblebug. 
 To which his lordship replied,— 
 
 Oh, certainly 
 
 I »i 
 
f; »' 
 
 A Square Deal. 
 
 115 
 
 " Honour ? " asked Tumblebug. 
 
 "Upon my honour," said Lord du Bourg. 
 
 Ihus It happened that these two for a month of 
 
 Zit^ ^^^' '^* ^'^ ^''^ ^'''"''' ""^ P^^^^"S 
 
 It was the morning of the thirtieth day. Fortune 
 had gone against Lord du Bourg. How much he 
 could not say, but it was a fearfully large amount. 
 Irue, he had several bags of Tumblebug's gold in 
 his escritoire, but then, Tumblebug held a sheaf 
 of his lordship's LO.U.'s. He took a pen and began 
 to cypher Arithmetic had always been his weak 
 point so he soon gave up the calculation, satisfied 
 that his liability reached a sum that he never by an v 
 pc^sibility could pay. Then he took a duelling 
 pisto from Its case, scratched the letter B on a 
 bullet loaded carefully, put the weapon in his 
 pocket and walked to the place of appointment. 
 
 They played all day, his lordship getting deeper 
 and deeper and deeper. Fortune was very adverse 
 Towards sunset Tumblebug remarked — 
 .Z^\^T ^^ °"^"^^ ««°^e to finish our pleasant 
 
 Jk^'fff S"^*' ^^" ^"^^•" ^^^^ the descend- 
 ant of Rollo du Bourg; "old family and ali that- 
 blank in the peerage. I really could not entertain 
 the proposition." 
 
 "Then, my lord; I hope you are prepared 
 to redeem your engagements. The thirtieth 
 member^ ^^^ *" ^^ ^^*^"«S ^^3^' ^^u re- 
 
 \ 
 f| 
 
 
 I 
 
 
1 16 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 " Yes, I remember." 
 
 Alj^ernon John Lancelot de Beauregard du Bourg 
 feirinto a profound reverie, muttering — "Last of 
 my race — nobody miss me — Ann might a Httle — " 
 then raised his eyes and with steady hand set his 
 ancestral inheritance on the turn of a card. 
 
 Luck was against him. The estate changed 
 hands and the I.O.U.'s were still outstanding. 
 
 "Sir," said he, " the place is yours. Keep on all 
 the old servants." 
 
 His lordship rose, yawned and stretched himself. 
 
 "Bye-bye, Tumblebug," said he, "I've put the 
 pot on too heavily." 
 
 Then he placed the pistol to his fon;head and 
 pulled the trigger. No flash followed tlie fall of 
 the hammer. 
 
 There was good pluck in the du Bourgs. He 
 proceeded calmly to reload, but in doing so, ran the 
 ramrod down the barrel and found the weapon was 
 empty. He turned hastily to Tumblebug, but that 
 worthy had disappeared. 
 
 At that moment arose peal upon prolonged peal 
 of invisible silvery laughter and the clapping of 
 unseen hands. The marked bullet that he had 
 destined as the instrument of his own destruction 
 dropped from a tree and rebounded with a sound- 
 ing plump from the crown of his hat, while a per- 
 fect snowstorm of paper torn into small shreds 
 came showering around. He picked up some frag- 
 ments and found they were his LO.U.'s — which 
 a passing gust caught and whirled away for- 
 ever. 
 
A Square Deal. 
 
 117 
 He 
 
 gentleman of 
 blank for 
 
 a 
 
 the name of 
 his Christian 
 
 Lord du Bourg walked home very gravely 
 did not sleep well that night. 
 
 Next day ho sent for his land steward, who 
 entered, and the following colloquy took place : — 
 
 " Jackson ? " 
 
 " M'lud." 
 
 "Direct Deeds & Doquet to prepare a rent 
 charge or mortgage or something, of the Fern 
 Spinney for ever." 
 
 " Yes, m'lud." 
 
 "In favour of a 
 Tumblebug. Leave 
 name." 
 
 " Yes, m'lud." 
 
 " And— Jackson ? " 
 
 " M'lud." 
 
 "Tell them to insert a clause that the ground 
 shall never be broken up." 
 
 " Yes, m'lud— never broken up." 
 
 " And, by the way, Jackson, you had better have 
 the place enclosed with a light wire fence and keep 
 it so in perpetuity." 
 
 " Yes, m'lud— perpetuity." 
 
 " And, Jackson. If the deer or poachers or 
 people go inside the ring, the keepers shoot them." 
 
 " Certainly, m'lud." 
 
 " Oh by-the-bye, Jackson, as you go, tell Binns to 
 send me up a glass of claret and some chicken. I 
 feel actually robust. Hungry, in fact." 
 
 From that hour Lord du Bourg improved in 
 health, happiness and estate. He never played 
 again except for love. 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
 
 f 
 
 in 
 
 \ * 
 
 II 
 
 U 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A CASTAWAY. 
 
 This happened in the fairy camp : 
 
 It was a singular sunset. For days the sun had 
 risen and set as red as blood, and during the day 
 had glared of a brick-dust colour. Hours after 
 the orb was beneath the horizon, the whole western 
 sky was illuminated by a ruddy glow, as by the 
 reflection of some immense conflagration. The 
 most experienced seamen along that coast pawned 
 their souls that they knew not what to make of 
 the weather, unless it might be that the end of 
 the world was coming. It was afterwards sur- 
 mised that the celestial phenomena arose from 
 volcanic dust cast out, and floating in the upper 
 atmosphere, from the greatest convulsion that has 
 occurred in modern times.* A strong breeze from 
 the east had been blowing for some days. 
 
 Some of our men — hee-fairies, as the poet 
 Spencer calls them — went to the sea beach to 
 witness the war of the elements ; the winds fight- 
 ing with the sea. Sea fowl had all flown inland, 
 for driving spray dashed over the face of the 
 
 * In Java, a few years since. 
 ii8 
 
A Castaivay. 
 
 119 
 
 rocks on wliich the wliito-wiiij<ed j^ulls usually 
 rested. Not a living thing was to he seen on the 
 surf -beaten shingle, excepting two amphibious 
 tishermen who were smoking pipes under the lee 
 of the wreck of a boat. Our men-fairies passed 
 on until they came beneath a bluff, 'split with 
 crevices, where they took shelter to look out on 
 the hell of waters. While there, their quick senses 
 heard a kind of mewling like that of a kitten 
 or a sea-mew, and they saw something whitish 
 blown ashore and hurled into a cleft of the bluft*. 
 Quickly securing it, they found themselves in 
 possession of something in shape like a child, 
 yellow, water-sodden and shrunken, but with 
 ragged wings, from which they knew it was 
 some kind of a being of their own nature. One 
 of them took it under his arm and hurried back 
 to the haunt, where they gave it over to the 
 care of the women-fays. 
 
 These kind souls, having no other place to dis- 
 pose of the derelict, took it into their wardrobe 
 cave, and made for it a bed of moss, which they 
 covered with their swan's-down winter mantles. 
 Next they douched it with fresh water to take out 
 the salt, and kindly watched by it. 
 
 The creature thawed out rapidly, and its wings, 
 which had been shrivelled like a bee's just out of 
 the coml), expanded wondrously, and the watchers 
 found the waif was a female fairy of surpassing 
 loveliness. On awaking, much developed in ap- 
 pearance, from a long, refreshing sleep, she spoke, 
 but none of them could make out what she said. 
 
 M 
 I' 
 
 ,'J 
 
 v,.!;, 
 
 fi. 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 :l 
 
 1 
 
 
 Oil 
 
 
 ii^i 
 
 
 ■S'' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4^H 
 
 
 1 
 
 
I20 Annals of tJte Court of Oberon. 
 
 Queen Titania sent for me to interpret, and 
 was quite cross that I could not speak Sanscrit. 
 But a very ancient fairy was found as intrepreter, 
 who knew the sort of linguci franca that all the 
 aerial orders understand more or less. The words 
 the stranger uttered in a soft tone, as she lan- 
 guidly opened her eyes, were, — 
 
 " Sisters, where am I ? Is this a cave of ocean ? " 
 
 Under the gentle care of the fays, the castaway 
 speedily recovered. When found, she was quite 
 naked, excepting a necklace, of which each bead 
 was a small coiled serpent of gold, with ruby 
 eyes ; also a long, pendant, drop-shaped carbuncle 
 in each of her tiny ears. The interpreter re- 
 cognised the necklace as being made by the 
 Eastern djins. 
 
 Fairies are very handy with their needles, so 
 they made her a suit of clothes, according to her 
 own design; but she preferred wearing over all 
 a white stuff wrap of Queen Titania's, about six 
 yards long, in which she draped herself from head 
 to foot, and, bringing it over her head, made a 
 yashmak or face cover, so that nothing of her 
 countenance was visible, save her large, black eyes. 
 
 Several days were given her to recruit. Mean- 
 time the incident caused much excitement. The 
 men were curious to know what she was like, but 
 all they could learn was that her hair and eyes 
 were black — in itself an exciting circumstance, 
 seeing that our local fairies generally have fair 
 hair, with eyes the colour of violets. The stranger 
 made herself very popular with the girl-fays, who 
 
 '^ 
 
 J 
 
A Castaway. 
 
 121 
 
 
 brought her flowers and gossiped with her in lier 
 broken tongue. In fact, they almost adored her. 
 Hence it came that when the time arrived for her 
 to be officially presented to the King and Queen, 
 she was led along by a band of little fairi&s to the 
 grassy Tynwald mound, where their Majesties 
 were seated with their Court. The stranger, 
 draped from head to foot in her white shroud, 
 looked among her young attendants like a tall, 
 white lily in a plot of daisies. 
 
 She made a profound obeisance in the Eastern 
 manner, and stood silent. 
 
 " Welcome, proud cousin," said Titania, for that 
 is the etiquette by which fairies receive honoured 
 strangers of their race. 
 
 The stranger again made an obeisance and stood 
 still. 
 
 " We are uncovered," said the Queen, with a 
 slight wave of her hand, whereupon the rescued 
 castaway, by one touch of her finger, let the yash- 
 mak fall, and stood before them in her strange 
 foreign beauty. All the males, from Oberon down 
 to Titania's smallest page, made a murmur of ad- 
 miration. The young girls had all seen her before, 
 so they were prepared, but the married ones dis- 
 liked her from the first, and whispers went around : 
 
 " I don't like her complexion — do you ? " 
 
 "Sallow." 
 
 " Bilious." 
 
 " Like a copper tea-kettle." 
 
 She was neither sallow, nor bilious, nor like a 
 tea-kettle, but of the highest order oi petite brunette 
 
A'^mi 
 
 mmm 
 
 II 
 
 122 Annals of the Court of Ober on. 
 
 beauty. In stature medium, lines ravishing. 
 She had satin-lidded eyes — great orbs, languishing 
 and sleepy. Her hair fell like a fountain. Her 
 hands and bare feet were exquisite. No heart of 
 rose could be lovelier than her lips. Her complexion 
 might be described as a transparent brown, as if 
 the thinnest film of palest gold had overlaid light 
 bronze. From her beautiful shoulders depended 
 long, graceful, rosy wings in shape of those of the 
 luna moth. Her manner was quietly self-possessed. 
 At first as she spoke, her utterance was slow, though 
 soft, but as she proceeded, she became almost voluble. 
 The following is a sufficiently correct report of her 
 words. As she stood there before the Court of 
 Faery, she slowly raised her dark, languishing eyes 
 and shot one glance full at the King. I chanced to 
 be looking at his Majesty at the moment, and saw 
 that the shaft had struck home. I think Titania 
 saw it too. 
 
 "Gracious Lady and Great King, my cousins," 
 began the stranger, " thanks for your generous hos- 
 pitality to a shipwrecked sprite. I was sojourning 
 in the land of Dwaja, of the thirty-six volcanoes, 
 where the malignant Divs are imprisoned beneath 
 the rocks. The angry Divs, struggling, burst the 
 hills and fire streamed up high — oh so high ! and 
 a number of us were carried in the fire-sparks, up 
 to the stars. Then a strong wind set in from the 
 Eastern sea, and with the volcanic dust, that made 
 the sun red, we were hurled along floating. My 
 companions were lost one by one, but I was swept 
 ever on, day and night, over many lands, and then 
 
- 
 
 A Castazvay. 
 
 123 
 
 over the sea, angry and cold, and I was irighteued. 
 Oh, the terrible sea, roaring and leaping beneath ! 
 Then I was dashed down and these kind friends " 
 (here she swept a seductive glance around the 
 circle) " saved me, and I am here." 
 
 Murmurs of sympathy and astonishment passed 
 around, 
 
 "And do you not pine for your own land, my 
 cousin ? " asked the Queen. 
 
 " No. How can I, among friends so kind ? " 
 
 " If it does not recall your grief," said Titania, 
 not unkindly, " we would hear more of the visitor 
 whom a dreadful but fortunate chance has cast 
 upon our shores." 
 
 The stranger's voice was as thrilling and sweet 
 as that of Israfil, who has the most musical voice 
 of any of the angels. Using sometimes the lingua 
 franca of fairydom, and sometimes oriental words 
 which the ancient interpreter had to translate, she 
 went on, — 
 
 "I am a Peri, Perizadeh — Peri-born — in the Un- 
 equalled Valley that lies between Amberabad, and 
 the City of Delight, which is the capital of Shadu- 
 kiam, built of gems, in the county of Peria, and the 
 realm of Jinnestdn. The realm of Jinnestdn is large, 
 and extends wherever are the Moslemah." (Here 
 our visitant turned and made a salaam towards the 
 east, in the direction of Mecca.) " We Peris are 
 created of smokeless flame. My mother is the 
 Princess of Peria, more beautiful than Nourmahal, 
 the light of the harem, who was afterwards called 
 Nourjehan, the light of the world. Like Maraouna, 
 
 ^ ■IH 
 
 I 
 
t^m 
 
 !i 
 
 
 124 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 the ever-youthful enchantress, she and I are ever 
 young. We Peris are half-sisters of the houris of 
 Paradise. Our life is happy. Men love us" — (again 
 that seductive glance addressed to the male portion of 
 the audience) — " and we can love other aerial beings, 
 or even mortals, and sometimes mate with them." 
 (His Majesty was observed to be very attentive to 
 this explanation.) " My name is Merjan, or, the Pearl." 
 
 A little movement of surprise was visible among 
 the ladies, who seemed to think that the appellation 
 of Pearl did not suit her dark complexion, but when 
 the Peri smiled, they; had to admit that her teeth, 
 ut least, were pearls. 
 
 " Our land," she resumed, " is fair, oh, so fair ! It 
 is carpeted with light. Beautiful trees, that ye 
 know not, clothe the hills up to where the rose- 
 coloured snow on peaks of the ghauts pierces the 
 azure of the sky. The venerable lady who is so 
 good as to interpret, tells me that this, your land, 
 is over-peopled. Come, oh come ! Fair Queen and 
 Great King, to the land whence I flew in the vol- 
 cano storm." 
 
 *' We would learn of your life and employment 
 in that fair but frightful country," said the Queen, 
 with some appearance of interest. 
 
 The Peri replied, — 
 
 "We wander in the shade of the marvellous 
 trees. We feed on perfumes, and revel among the 
 flowers. Our promenades are on the scented turf 
 when the Samaur wind blows from the south- 
 there we hunt the demoiselle flies. We search for 
 the delicious blossoms of the negacesara — so delicate 
 
 i 
 
 -m^i 
 
i 
 
 A Castaway. 125 
 
 we eat them. We skim after the antelope fawns 
 and httle pigmy deer, and when we catch them 
 lead tliem in flowery chains, for they can see us, 
 you know, though men cannot always. We set 
 traps for turtle-doves and singing-birds, and teach 
 them to fly about with us. Besides, we sometimes 
 haniess swans to great leaves and sail about. 
 When we find gems, such as diamonds and 
 emeralds, they are of no use to us, and we pelt 
 one another with them, but not with the opal, 
 because it has a heart of fire. We put petals to 
 steep in shells and hollow crystals, and make attar 
 trom the life of the rose. Sometimes we have 
 concerts of syringas and vinas, and melodious 
 stones that ring like bells, but oftener we join in 
 the chorus of the singing-birds, whose language we 
 know, and whose notes we sing. Sometimes we 
 light tapers, and launch them in tiny boats on the 
 breast of swift rivers, while we fly along the bank 
 to see how long ere the light be extinguished. 
 We like to amuse ourselves in garden kiosques 
 when the owners have retired, and then we enjoy 
 the dripping of the fountain, or the chatter of the 
 nme-brown-sisters in the thorn, and the plaining 
 of the bulbul, and the odour of the scented blooms. 
 When the harem is closed, we glide through the 
 zenana and find pleasure in looking at the beauti- 
 ful persons and things, and we know the sleepers' 
 dreams. Dancing is your fairy pastime; we 
 Pens are sprites volant. Often we fly up to the 
 empyrean, and listen at the gates of Paradise to 
 hear what they are saying within." 
 
 fill 
 
 
 ; * 
 
 :■■ 11 
 
 ill" 
 
 
 o^^ssis^ssaiA 
 
■HP 
 
 1 ■ 
 
 li 11 
 
 126 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Titanicu " A species of eaves-dropping, is it not ? " 
 Feri. "Yes, and so interesting. Sometimes we 
 peep through the key-hole, and see grave people 
 drinking and telling stories about Queen Maya 
 and the Princess MahApraj^pati, We even hear 
 the crystal bells on the trees of Paradise. Then 
 .^'ain we attend mundane processions in our land, 
 and take note of the handsomest young men, but 
 never of the old or decrepit, for we never look 
 upon anything that is hateful or ugly, nor mention 
 death, or age, or sorrow, or sickness, or pain. Ah ! 
 lady! ours is the If^nd of Love. The lily there 
 loves the sun, and the lotus the moon, the night- 
 ingale the rose, and we Peris love the land. 
 Come ! Oh come 1 I will pilot you the way to 
 sunrise." 
 
 " Pearl," said the Queen, with more show of 
 feeling than she usually exhibited, " w^e fairy-folk 
 differ from you Peris, the fluid in whose veius is 
 flame. Our ways are not as your ways. Our 
 tastes are not for splendour. We are of a domestic 
 order, and this is our own land. We have an 
 interest in it ; we know the people — have seen 
 them born, live, marry, and die ; we share in their 
 joys, and have a chastened sympathy with their 
 sorrows. Your race seems to have the whole East 
 for a home, and to live among the ruins of a dead 
 civilisation ; our home is the quiet rural nook, and 
 our surroundings quiet country toil. Nevertheless, 
 we will consider the information you have given 
 us, which is not without a certain degree of in- 
 t-erest. With that discretion which distinguishes 
 
^ Castaway. 
 
 127 
 
 to:/:?';^!' try"".^; sir' '^^^^''-^ » -^ 
 
 under aviaemenf ^1r 1st t T' ,''*i'"'^'" 
 P^duces such daughter AnS^,?^ 'l"^ "«" 
 
 The Pen ca.t down her eyes. 
 
 onTn\vrrroo!;:r 'r • 'r -"^^^ -'^^ 
 
 in courtesies tn f ^! !!' ^^ ^^^en-fairies all vied 
 «r ineir taces, in the manner of yashmak., w,-*k 
 
 Coir dis^ s'-c'S^rtl'"' *^ «r 
 
 guest, member of a wwerfn^ f • '""''"'"'"•y 
 consulting the Sovereir On 'the ^^ l'"^?^!- 
 is admitted tnat the Oueen i. *t f- ''^"^ '* 
 fashion, and, although i^ i Le tt/pt ''''' °' 
 yet the fashion, there wal cTsldtrnW ^ ™' ""' 
 her becoming so. Her MaTeX tb.^^ ''*"2*'' °' 
 three old l^ies to LS ^ k! fr"""^' "^ 
 Peri (who, in truth, .TLZtlZ^oi It" 
 
 ■' The ,dea," e«laimed the Quoen, "of men being 
 
 
 I 
 
 . t 
 
 
 m^m 
 
 '1 
 •j 
 
 11 
 
 
 ttgf 3 SUB 
 
 
 
 "1 
 
 Sb ^^^hB 
 
 \ 
 
 -A 
 
 IH 
 
128 A niials of the Court of Ode yon. 
 
 deluded by creatures like that! What do you 
 think of her. mother?" she asked with some 
 
 anxiety. , , •m ^ 
 
 « An odious, foreign, squinting, tawdry deceittul. 
 
 designing baggage," promptly replied the Mother 
 
 of the Maids. , . • l t. 
 
 In a literal sense the Peri did not squint, yet 
 
 the charge of squinting did not seem altogether 
 
 inapplicable. She had a ..ort of moral obliquity 
 
 or strabismus. , . , u 
 
 " Strange," soliliquised Titania, « that men should 
 
 be suc/i fools. What they can see in her I cant 
 
 think. . . . Mother, she had better be sent 
 
 ^""•^On a broomstick, the hussy 1 and joy go with 
 her " said Madre. 
 
 </Not so," replied the Queen. " She shall go 
 with every appearance of courtesy. His Majes y 
 would not be pleased if she were not treated with 
 
 consideration." ^, • „ „„»,„ 
 
 " He would notr said the mother, in a very 
 
 significant tone. j i.u„ 
 
 The Queen actually blushed, and changed the 
 
 subject. It was, however decided nem con m 
 
 the Council of Four that the frail fay of the East 
 
 "" hI^ Majesty sent for the beauteous Oriental, 
 and held a long, confidential communication with 
 her It is surmised that the Queen represented 
 to the thoughtless thing how unseemly is light- 
 ness of conduct in a young person, especially 
 when absent from the protection of her relatives, 
 
A Castaway, .^^ 
 
 vto'a: Sn ~ "T^ '' ^ "- 
 
 ground that the PenT„f„ ^""l"*^ '' <»» 'he 
 embrace the ^ni^^ Tf "'J^' ^e longi:,g to 
 mentioned that TZlly 'J""' •"'' 'Majesty 
 
 vided to convey her tin T r"" ^ P™' 
 »e« coast, where was a °1'™^' .P'»=« » 'he 
 a %ht to the Conrnent *^ ^''^''"g-point for 
 
 be given ^^.^ZT'tL^^ t' T'' 
 at the same time th«t ., ™'''*J- Regretting, 
 
 « the treasurrat t ' ™' ''"''"y """"ing 
 
 the opulent East the S'™* 'f '?"'« '««" 
 eonvey to her moth! S"''" Pegged her to 
 
 the assurances 0? her"ot'"fr '" P^™"" 
 sideration. " *""■ ^stinguished con- 
 
 -bS'orthf ^'^ZT' '^''^^^*- » the 
 I^own to the p„b"c Z ™^' ™^ »<" ^ly 
 th.^ne enabled me t; ovl^ P"'"'"" "^"^ "-e 
 convention oHl,. • ^^ ""^ 'han one 
 
 was to be .^mirt^d to T"""? ^''^'' *be Oriental 
 attired in huTtt 'l " ™ °''°"' *''" ^'°S' 
 andcasually^m:?!,:"!!"^' ^^^^ ^'-"»g alonf; 
 
 «on. If I were hJcV Tu *° ^'"^^^^ ^tten- 
 
 appoint a 00^.^:70?^ ^"f- ' "^"^^ 
 
 dash it! you eanw . .^""'^^'^^^^^ ' fe«t» 
 
 you cannot expect a commissioner 
 
 T 
 
 { ! 
 
 4'x 
 
 r J 
 
gtm 
 
 wimesBrrT- 
 
 ,30 Anmh of th Couyt of Oberon. 
 
 Better keep our interesi^ius 
 
 longer." ^ Titania. "/ liave 
 
 .. She-goes-to-day. saia "^ statistics. 
 
 n^adearrangementsrespecUng^^^-^^^^^^^^ ^^^ 
 
 I have aommoned an auuiomy . 
 
 will respeof You know my toness y 
 
 tUingJoWing a matter o^pn-ple. ^^^ 
 
 Titania; the fact tang ^^^\^^^^ head- 
 trlf ril'y^eS along ofast . the 
 
 3t»tr.:err::^t2 
 
 '''''f' v^m^ to pre-arrangement, a pelaton of the 
 According to pre an** s 
 
 archer-gnard were paraded ™ f°» ^^f ,„ ^ju. 
 
 escort t« the b-Bh^JX„,Xe been com- 
 
 '"^tdTv a inr, tt the colonel, in gala 
 manded by a iiew-«ua , colonel 
 
 harness. himse« to* — n • J^hepoo _^ ^^ ^^^ 
 
 was oneo£ the ''='~^'' "" Ji„„, foce indeed as 
 
 • See next Chapter. 
 
A Castaway. mi 
 
 the bugler, blew his best. Arrived on the summit 
 ot the green headland overlooking the sea, an 
 atfectionate farewell took place. Merjan the Pearl 
 gathered a spray of eidelweiss, and, with her own 
 hand stuck it in the colonel's buttorihole. He 
 spoke of it for weeks after as "a tooba-bud that 
 blooms only for love." At length the Peri un- 
 veiled her beautiful wings and spread their rosy 
 splendour, the great bronze, purple, green and 
 azure plaques on each pinion gleaming like pea- 
 cocks' eyes. After one or two premonitory hops, 
 the volant sprite rose spirally, describing a series 
 ot graceful, ever-lessening circles, until almost lost 
 m the blue; then, like an arrow from a bow 
 she shot away aslant to the south-east. As 
 she rose, she sang in a voice of ravishintf 
 melody : — ^ 
 
 " O'er earth and sea we Peris fly 
 To heaven's gates, 
 Where Nakir waits. 
 Although he will not let us in, 
 
 We list outside, while standing by, 
 The soft, restrained, melodious din 
 Of houris and of Moslemin— 
 
 We fly ! we fly ! 
 
 1 
 
 1^ 
 
 (if 
 
 O'er earth and water now I fly 
 To heaven's gates 
 To meet my mates. 
 And once again, while standing by 
 
 The golden grate to hear the strain 
 Of angel chitars sounding nigh. 
 
 i ♦ 
 
1 3 2 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Home, where the Orient glowa amain I 
 Back to njy natal East again 
 
 I fly! I fly!" 
 
 The colonel concealed his emotion in his hand- 
 kerchief. The troops, who were standing at 
 "present arms," could not do so, but there was 
 not a dry eye in that armed guard. Sadly they 
 returned to camp. 
 
 Now, our gracious Queen is a most conscientious 
 lady, of tine executive powers, and performs her 
 full share in the duties of administration. In 
 fact (be it whispered) it has been hinted that 
 bhe, like that much - maligned dame, Lucrezia 
 Borgia, has sometimes taken upon herself more 
 of public act than might be supposed to have 
 fallen legally within her province. Oberon, on 
 his part, is, as husbands go, a loving spouse, but 
 somewhat careless withal, and is, besides, much 
 taken up with out-door sports. Husbands will 
 therefore be at no loss to understand why and 
 how it is that a good deal of the minor executive 
 is done unconstitutionally by the Queen, but 
 always with a view to keeping up the credit of 
 her consort. On this occasion the subject of 
 emigration from their overcrowded haunt to a 
 less peopled locality had really engaged the atten- 
 tion of the fairies; and Titania having, woman- 
 fashion, first made up her mind on all points 
 of the case, thought she would like to hear 
 evidence. An embassy of three gnomes was, 
 
 . , , . T 1..-J yfi\\^\^ who 
 
 thcfciore, 
 
 .,^r.o»->n.t;fJiefl to a LaDland 
 
A Castaway. ij« 
 
 iyed in a basaltic cave on the northern coast, 
 directing her to summon before the Fairy Court 
 by her spells a functionary who had much fame 
 in her day as one of the lesser prophets.* I 
 reserve details for next Chapter. 
 
 • Mother Shipton, • celebrated spaewife in Henry VIII. '» time. 
 
 1 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MOTHER SHIPTON. 
 
 Scene — The Fairy Court. Oheron, Titania, 
 Fairies and Mother Shipton. 
 
 Titania. Witch ! we have sent for thee ; for 
 we do own 
 Your fame, e'en at the Faerie Court, is known ; 
 Tradition tells how thou hast shown thy skill 
 To Wolsey and the rest, for good or ill ; 
 And now we have a matter on our hand 
 With reference to this fast-decaying land. 
 
 Mother Shipton. Fairy! for thee I've donned 
 my best attire ; 
 Fairy ! for thee I'll wake prophetic fire, 
 And grade-school grammar shall my lips inspire ; 
 For though to Yorkshire boors I've had to screech, 
 To royal audience I can frame my speech. 
 
 Titania. Time was, O Prophetess! when fairy 
 folks 
 Their homes had underneath the Druid oaks. 
 When fresh and fair from the Creator's hand 
 Was given to us to hold the happy land ; 
 Our place was in the sempiternal plan, 
 
 134 
 
Mother Shipton. 
 
 135 
 
 Aye to be near to, but apart from man. 
 
 The Saxon thane and thrall our habits knew, 
 
 And would not trespass where our harebells grew ; 
 
 E'en the fierce Norman o'er the narrow seas 
 
 To Britain brought faith in the Breton f^es, 
 
 And, when the races mingled, grudged not rood 
 
 For our small haunts, and called our folks " the 
 
 Good." 
 There have we by possession made a home, 
 And in the dell and woodland, thorpe and combe, 
 In green depressions on south sides of hills, 
 On level swards by marge of singing rills, 
 We aye have lived and married men, and maids. 
 The harmless spirits of the peaceful glades.* 
 
 Mother Shipton. Agreed. 
 
 TiTANiA. Good witch, 
 
 Our life needs solitude. 
 But now, o'er field and fell, through dell and wood. 
 Come men with tripod and long chains in hand, 
 And run gridiron roads across the land. 
 And dire-wheeled monsters fed on fire and steam. 
 Like penal cars where tortured genii scream. 
 With horrid shrieks rush on in fell career, 
 And split the tympanum of fairies' ear ; 
 Wire strings round bottles' necks on tall masts 
 
 strain, 
 
 * Says Chaucer : — 
 
 " In old^ day^s of the King Artour, 
 Of which that Breton speken gret honour, 
 All was this lond fulfilled of faSrie ; 
 The elf-quene with her jolie companie 
 Danced full oft in many a gren^ mede." 
 
mmmmmmm 
 
 136 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 To carry hello-pipes athwart the plain ; 
 
 And post-hole diggers, sprawling 'neath our trees, 
 
 Drink rum and beer, and lunch on pork and 
 
 cheese. 
 The rustics, too, are changed ; the open brow 
 Is turned to moody discontentment now ; 
 They cease "God-den!" they prate with angry 
 
 fuss, 
 And, would you think it ? don't believe in ua.'* 
 
 Mother of the Maids. Aye! women huzzies, 
 with their Woman's Rights, 
 Who dress themselves like Japanese and frights. 
 
 TiTANiA. A Woman's Rights lie in the cradle, 
 mother. 
 
 Old Fairy. Ill would the world speed did she 
 claim aught other. 
 
 Mother Shipton. In my day, madam, the true 
 rural-born 
 Were as a band of brothers honour-sworn ; 
 Bom on the land, they lived there all their days 
 In full, rough plenty, and the dells and braes 
 Were to them State and home ; together grew 
 The lord and peasant, each respective true, 
 For bonds of kindly feeling anchored fast 
 The lowly labourer to the higher caste ; 
 Society was one, nor " great " nor " small," 
 Nor " boor " nor " upstart " did each other call. 
 For Giles met kindliness in " master's " hall ; 
 When accident befell or sickness came, 
 Giles's women sought their bountiful liege dame, 
 
 ? 
 
*' 
 
 Mother Shipton. 
 
 ^37 
 
 3, 
 
 fry 
 
 ies, 
 
 lie, 
 she 
 rue 
 
 Or castle leech, or butler of the bin, 
 
 With all the confidence of poorer kin, 
 
 For aid, not charity, but as a proof 
 
 That castled court protected cottage roof. . 
 
 If trouble rose beyond their homestead cot, 
 
 They knew nought of it, and they sought it not, 
 
 But left to monarch, noble, church and fate 
 
 The happy guidance of the wholesome State; 
 
 Yet patriot they, lor quick in war's alarms 
 
 They strung the bow and clad themselves in arms. 
 
 Rushed to the front, and back the invasion rolled 
 
 From the 1 I given to them " to have and hold." 
 
 All loyalt; , :o truth and honour went 
 
 When men were first permitted to dissent ; 
 
 For now knaves find dull dupes to aid their tricks, 
 
 And stab the State, and call it " Politics," 
 
 Whose noxious branches, growing down, take root, 
 
 And, cropping, fill the land with poisonous fruit. 
 
 That whoso eats thereof becometh mad 
 
 With the fierce madness the berserkers had. 
 
 TiTANIA. 
 
 0, this is dreadful 
 
 Mother Shipton. Nor is it only manner that 
 hath changed ; 
 Respect, truth, gratitude, are class-estranged 
 Under a sham equality which craves 
 To pile up millions with the greed of slaves. 
 The age is smitten with a leprous itch, 
 A pitiless, irritant fever, to be rich. 
 Money, the deity, is all the same 
 As Moloch, the Greedy-god — 
 
■■•MHMnrflihf 
 
 
 ■^ 
 
 138 Annals of the Co7irt of Oberon, 
 
 TiTANiA. 0, what a shame ! 
 
 'Tis time we fled. If we knew where to go. 
 Bo tell us, Shipton. Surely you must know. 
 
 Mother Shipton. The only vacant land is 
 Congo-land, 
 A stretch, I think, of Afric's darkest strand, 
 A land of jungle, forest, sand and fen, 
 A land, they say, of lions — 
 
 Oberon. Ho ! my men, 
 
 Shall we go hunt the lion ? 
 
 Men. ' Count us in 1 
 
 Oberon. I fain would slay a lion for his skin. 
 
 TiTANiA. The land you speak of seems so far 
 away; 
 The balance wavers — shall we go ? or stay ? 
 Should we remove from this o'erpeopled place. 
 What means of transit ? what toils must we face ? 
 
 Mother Shipton. Ere you reach any land of 
 plains and thickets, 
 You scheme for berths, and pay for passage tickets. 
 To feed five times a day in long saloons, 
 And wat<ch the captain take the sun at noons ; 
 And loll about on quarter-deck ; and then 
 You meet conditions and all sorts of men — 
 Modem Oresteses pursued by duns ; 
 Levanting cashiers ; shipped-ofl*, black sheep sons , 
 Finical persons making summer jaunts ; 
 Brisk business agents, and bluff emigrants ; 
 
 A 
 
 k 
 
d is 
 
 Q. 
 
 far 
 
 Lce? 
 d of 
 
 kets, 
 
 i 
 
 s 
 
 Mother Shipton. 139 
 
 Which would be disagreeable for fays — 
 I think you best had go as stowaways. 
 
 TiT>NiA. Never! no, never! Dame, we have 
 decided 
 That what cannot be helped must be abided. 
 We'll try our country still. We could not bear 
 To leave her bracing, fresh and wholesome air, 
 To see no more her hedgerows white with may, 
 To trip no more her swards in galliards gay, 
 To chat no more with friendly rustic folks — 
 Milkmaid or peasant — 'neath the village oaks. 
 To leave the friendly woodland creatures wild, 
 That each we've known as playmates from a child ; 
 Though other home invites, far, vast and lone, 
 And fair to see, yet it is not out own. 
 Here were we born, and here we best had die. 
 Content if kindly hearts regretful cry — 
 " Once o'er the gladsome meads the fairies flew, 
 We grieve for them, alas ! " 
 
 Good witch ! adieu ! 
 
 {Mother Shipton bestrides a broomstick, and exit.) 
 
 )ns 
 
I 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MAODALEN. 
 
 Although I do not know much about it myself, 
 I am told there are women and women. In like 
 manner there are fays and fays. Some of these are 
 as artless, yet feline, ^s kittens. There was, be- 
 fore my time, such a woman-fay n Fairylflnd. 
 She married the Chevalier de Bulrush, accord- 
 ing to the fairy ceremonial of hand-fasting across 
 a fountain, and a daughter was born to her, 
 about as big as a midget. The prettiest child. 
 
 Biographers usually begin their narration by 
 giving some account of the ancestry of the sub- 
 ject of their biography. Following this custom, 
 I would say that baby belonged to an old family 
 settled in Fairyland as early as the time of the 
 Emperor Tantalabute, but Court scandal, that 
 spares not the whitest, whispered of a mes- 
 alliance that had introduced a taint of mortal 
 blood into the race. The strain was probably 
 Hibernian. The infant's pet names were Mag 
 and Len and Lenay. Allowing, therefore, no 
 more latitude than philologers allow themselves, 
 we are justified in supposing that the name to 
 which she was entitled by ancestry was Mag 
 
 140 
 
Magdalen, i^j 
 
 Delaney Be that as it may, MdUe. de la Force 
 justly observes that parents cannot be too cautious 
 in selecting' names for their offspring.. Think 
 what dire jealousies arose in the Wood of Won- 
 ders from a too fond king and queen naming 
 their little daughter Fairer-than-a-fairy i 
 
 Magdalen was a coqne-te from her birth up 
 1 am at a loss how to describe her. Perhaps 
 the nearest approach to description would be to 
 call her a Rogue Baby. For she was a little 
 rogue When old Aunt Favourable, a fairy of a 
 school, a as! rapidly pa-ung away, rocked her in 
 her cradle of shell and sung " Hush-a-bye, baby." 
 the httle imp would look up and smile. When 
 all the young f.ys of the neighbourhood would 
 cluster about the bassinette with that singular 
 longing that all young females have to pull 
 babies about she would purse up her lips to 
 be kissed One of the delights of her infancy 
 was to lay hold of gentlemen by the beard 
 and remark "Goo-oo, goo-oo-o-o-o-o " in a tone 
 like the cooing of a dove. Woe's me I as she 
 grew up this was one of the habits that she did 
 not wholly relinquish. 
 
 When Madge could toddle, her delight in her- 
 self was wonderful. "Me pretty, me pretty" 
 was a remark but too common on her pulpy 
 lips, fehe would say to inanimate things,—" I love 
 00 I love 00." although she had never read Lytton 
 Bulwers love-letters. She was subject to no rule 
 of guidance. Such a little Quilp has never been 
 seen smce tne nonage of time. She would make 
 
 m 
 
 is 
 
142 Annals of the Coitrt of Oberon. 
 
 cheeses till she was as squat as a toad and then, 
 springing up bright as a sunbeam, dance around 
 with her skirts whirling out, and her shapely 
 legs, cross-gartered like Malvolio's, twinkling be- 
 neath. She was a pet, a partially-draped love, 
 a thing of beauty, a duck o' diamonds and a joy 
 forever. Wherever she went and in whatever 
 she did, she sought for adoration. Even in the 
 child's game of Little Bo-Peep, referring to the 
 person who unfortunately mislaid his sheep, she 
 always conveyed the impression that she was 
 looking for the absent shepherd. 
 
 Thus did lovely Mag de Lena grow into girl- 
 hood, increasing in attractiveness and mischievous- 
 ness day by day. I remember as well as if it 
 were yesterday, when posting up my Annals, 
 being disturbed by a splash and a yell, and 
 found it was my gay Madge who had shown 
 herself to Squire Dump's cub of a son and in- 
 duced him to follow her until he fell into a 
 horse-pond, when she abandoned him with shrieks 
 of merriment. I fear, too, she nearly perilled 
 the soul of the spotless young curate of Tithem- 
 cum-Pig. The details never clearly transpired, 
 but they seem to have borne a resemblanco to 
 the pranks of he White Lady of A venal. Among 
 our own fairy folk she reigned supreme. Not 
 a youth but pranked himself to gain from her 
 some distinguishing smile, ^he distiTiguished them 
 all! even to the breaking of hearts. In the 
 melancholy twilight time such a congregation of 
 man-fairies would sit cross-legged all in a row, 
 
Magdalen. 
 
 »43 
 
 like howadjis, on a fallen poplar that spanned 
 the brook called Runnel-that-sings, and such the 
 suspirations they drew in their despair, that the 
 tree was appropriately spoken of as the Bridge 
 of Sighs. It was whispered that King Oberon 
 himself was taken with Magdalen. 
 
 Among the many admirers of the seductive 
 fay, Nip was the most gallant and best. He 
 followed her like her shadow — only, it is true, 
 fairies have no shadow. If she had ever heard 
 of Peter Schmeyl (which she never had) she 
 would doubtless have got rid of her wooer as 
 Peter got rid of his shadoM', by rolling him up 
 and selling him. Nip made a point of falling 
 on his knees and beseeching her every time he 
 met her from home. Quite in vain. 
 
 "I am such a wicked thing," she said; "I don't 
 deserve you to care for me, so please don't. I 
 am a good-for-nought." 
 
 Then Nip became jealous. Jealousy, they say 
 sharpens wit. Now, the gallant Nip had ob- 
 served that whenever the fair Magdalen absented 
 herself, she took the way towards a hamlet at no 
 great distance, inhabited by clodhoppers. More- 
 over, beyond the hamlet lay the preserves of a 
 great lord, and Robin Roughead was his keeper. 
 Beyond that again stood the ruined church of 
 
 AUhallows. As Sidonia, the sorceress, says, " The 
 
 chawbacons of that county 'are Christians, but 
 they, in some sort, worship the devil." In truth, 
 they were God-forgetting knaves, more apt to 
 respond to the kale-bell than the angelus. Nip 
 
 I' 
 
 < ', 
 
».IM 
 
 I '\ 
 
 ^ 
 
 144 Annals of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 upbraided his wayward love with habitually stray- 
 ing towards this miserable collection of huts. 
 Magdalen responded, and gave him the final 
 mitten. Then Nip went to the wars, and has 
 not come back since. 
 
 About this time a change, not for the better, 
 was perceptible in our fay's attire. She had 
 always had a taste for the little vanities of her 
 sex. From the time of the early fathers, through 
 Savonarola and John Knox to modem times, 
 divines have always railed without efifect against 
 the adornments of women. Magdalen had never 
 heard a divine, and was therefore excusable. 
 She however constructed a cage-work of rose- 
 petals and hid it under her skirt, giving her a 
 ridiculous appearance, and causing her to waggle 
 as she walked. Not content with the golden 
 cataract of her hair, she snipped it semi-short 
 in front, like unto a Skye terrier's, and out of 
 the fringe her eyes looked wickedly. She would 
 have worn high -heeled boots, but they crippled 
 her so. At her waist she placed a sunflower. 
 Low in stature, she was loud in belonginga All 
 this was very sad. It was a subject of general 
 regret when Magdalen took to dressing like a 
 mortal. 
 
 Ye who frequent Courts know that there are 
 as many spies as there are pairs of eyes. The 
 fierce light that beats around a throne, enveloped 
 Magdalen. All the pairs of eyes took notice 
 of her dress, and as they could not discover any 
 bachelor fairy who was exceeding his legitimate 
 
Magdalen. 
 
 M5 
 
 expenditure, the conclusion became general that 
 she must be running hopelessly eara over in 
 debt that would bring a crisis some day. The 
 spies further discovered that she wa^ becoming 
 subject to long fits of reverie. Paul Prys climbed 
 up trees and concealed themselves to spy: thev 
 dived under gnarled roots, they hid under droop- 
 mg shrubs. They discovered that the belle of 
 the Court, the tricksy girl, the spoiled child, the 
 rogue baby, often wept. They put this and that 
 together, and were at no loss to know why she 
 absented herself so often, and took the road to 
 the hamlet of clodhoppers. 
 
 Two young imps, who had strayed out of 
 bounds, reported that during one of Magdalen's 
 mysterious absences, they had seen a seemingly 
 young peasant woman, extraordinarily like Macr- 
 dalen, leaning over a fence in earnest conversa- 
 tion with Robin Roughead the keeper. 
 
 This Roughead, as his name imports, was one 
 ot those coarse, healthy persons who are irre- 
 sistibly suggestive of bulls, boars, brewers' horses 
 and the like, and who seem to have been made 
 expressly to show how near the biped form can 
 approach m characteristics to the mere muscular 
 beast. He was massively built, with brown, curly 
 hair, blue eyes and nut-brown cheeks, and could 
 crack a walnut with his teeth, and all the milk- 
 maids were in love with him. He was free 
 with his fists. His laugh was loud and long, 
 and voice high, but both equally showed vacuity 
 of mma. In short, he was a fine animal sped- 
 
 K 
 
 U 
 3 1 
 
 w 
 
 .« * L 
 
 ;r ' 
 
 I **' 
 
 4 ., 
 
146 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 men. Storiea were told of his selfishness and 
 cruelty. It was ^sf^n said (but one can scarcely 
 C. edit such atrocity) that he would shoot a hare 
 sitting. Such was Robin Roughead, the good- 
 looking animal who was keeper to the great 
 lord. 
 
 The tittle-tattle that the imps set afloat grew 
 into a scandal, and at length reached the long 
 ears of the leaders of society. 
 
 Now, in every Court there is a matron who 
 is responsible for the virtue of that Court. At 
 that of Oberon, as in the harem of that Sultan 
 whom Byron wrote about, was one with the 
 title of "the Mother of the Maids." We have 
 seen her in her milder mood, in Chapter XL, 
 fulfilling the easy duty of chaperoning Vivien 
 in that high-toned fay's matrimonial campaign 
 at Newville-on-the-sea ; and in Chapter XV. con- 
 ferring with the Queen. Ordinarily, slie was 
 very terrible. People did say that she was as 
 stony-hearted a stepmother as Oxford Street was 
 to the English opium-eater. Of that 1 am not 
 a competent judge. At all events, her virtue 
 was something stupendous. She found out, or 
 thought she had found, with the intuition of a 
 duenna, that Magdalen's life - history was be- 
 coming, or had become, like that of Undine — but 
 without Undine's beautiful aspiration for a soul 
 — an acquisition that Magdalen did not have the 
 slightest ambition to attain. Then Virtue per- 
 sonified, poured out on Frailty supposed all the vials 
 of social ire, the biting sarcasm, the scornful slight, 
 
Magdalen. ,.- 
 
 tenin'J"'!"' °^. '™'°''?' ""' ••''«>»*'^™ as^rtion, 
 „ Tf u J"° {"""♦•ess invective. • The scene 
 
 not been for oi cast on tl,e stormy tide by good 
 
 RIhTJ k ■"• ,'f '" ''''• yo-'t'' "h^ was Little Rod 
 R.d.ng.hood. Most persons will remember the Zt 
 of her really exacting gr.„dmo-,>,er, who "-nrso 
 deceitfully made awav w' h !.v il, L • , .^ 
 wolf. Her own na^w .t I't tat'':^".'"'"" 
 formed the subject of her .^ ^;ay Lrind" 
 
 »e7L7X"';rertr«V^''- 
 r:7f r 9?-Xrreort 
 
 torrent of the mother's vituperation, until as a 
 
 V icTim to IT r"" "' ''"'"' ^'<' »— t-mW ng* 
 lTZt,^A , '^'^'^^'^y Uprose Magdalen likf 
 an embodied tempest, and with a look at the 
 virtuous tyrant that had murder in it, ° tered un 
 her skirts and in the words of that agrLbk cynic 
 Trois EtoUes, " walked off with the long strides of 
 a Seripture-reader," until a turn in the rfad hfd her 
 
 advTce"-Tf V """"''^ ^"^ '"-"^ Montcsqnieul 
 !f T; \^^ T '"'™'«' °f ^'''"""g the towers 
 iLf 7. ^rf'>°'* «' ""cel" The only tWna 
 
 Pel'wv of h"'"""' "" thatswcet'wS 
 h:f not r^r^' '" °™ '^^' ™° "*'- '- »<» told 
 Perhaps the strain of human blood in herancestrv 
 predisposed her to hanker after an affectT„neeper 
 than the hfe of the butterfly. Cross-breedtH 
 dangerous, and unless conducted on the fiSest 
 
 <n 
 
 ml 
 
148 Annals of the Court of Obei'on. 
 
 physiological and psychological principles, may 
 produce Frankensteins. But these be Eleusinian 
 mysteries. We are privileged to follow poor Mag- 
 dalen in her exodus. No moon came up that night ; 
 in fact, it was the first night of new moon, and the 
 stars looked very cold and unsympathising. What 
 became of our errant fay until the clock on the dis- 
 tant church struck midnight, no one knows. About 
 that hour she passed along the street of the ham- 
 let when the clodhoppers were asleep and dream- 
 ing their unfanciful dreams, and came in sight of 
 the farm. On the farmer's roof was the warbling 
 of cats. Sonorous in the farmer's bam arose the 
 snoring of the hired men. In the farmer's first- 
 floor front was his daughter Bella, packing up two 
 gowns and a chemise in a hand-bag, preparatory to 
 descending a rope-ladder to cast herself into the 
 arms of young Beechin of the Leas. On the farmer's 
 staircase was Susan Py the housemaid, with her 
 apron at her mouth, surreptitiously peeping with 
 intention to betray the elopement ; and sniflSng at 
 the farmer's door was his mastiff Towser, prepared 
 to give tongue and bite the elopers as they came 
 out. 
 
 Our fairy passed the farmhouse with its little 
 world of intrigue to carry on an intrigue of her 
 own. Entering the preserves of the great lord, she 
 came to the keeper's lodgv in the shadow of two 
 giant trees that covered a large space of greensward 
 with their arches. Here she took her stand in the 
 gloom of the boughs, and whistled like a woodcock 
 as a signal. Again and again. At length an attic 
 
1 
 
 Magdalen. 
 
 149 
 
 window was violently thrown open,' and Robin 
 Rougheads rough head, with a red night-cap on it 
 appeared, and his rough voice bawled,— 
 
 "Go away, you baggage. I have done with you ! 
 Get out of this." ^ 
 
 The window was shut with a vicious snap, -. id 
 m a few minutes Magdalen could hear her human 
 --not humane-lover snoring like a trombone. She 
 turned away distractedly, not caring whither she 
 went. 
 
 Woe's me, for poor Lena ! 
 
 Here the moral comes in. You cannot construct 
 a silk purse from an ass's ear. A pearl had better 
 commit suicide than cast herself before a swiiie. 
 Ihe plays of affection are lost on a dull clod. Like 
 IS necessary to like. Even when the most elevated 
 spirits— embodied as women and men, or partially 
 disembodied as fairies are -come within love's 
 mtluence, the affair is risky :— 
 
 " Alas ! how easily things go wrong ; 
 A sigh too much, or a kiss too long, 
 There follows a mist and a weeping rain." * 
 
 A stream of which the name is not as mellifluous 
 as its flowing waters, is an error and a grievance 
 In the other hemisphere fluvial appellations such as 
 Cow, Sheep, Dog, Dirty, are not names to provoke 
 respect. Imagine romance excited by the banks of 
 Dog ! English meads by the shores of rivers with 
 sweet names are the haunts of English fairies. The 
 
 * Geoi^ge Macdonald. 
 
 i\\ 
 
150 Aiwais of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 IW *^% ^°^^' *^« Avon, Derwent, Kibble, Trent. 
 Ihames Severn picture themselves to the fancy 
 So do the Scottish Tweed, the arrowy Rhone, fS 
 Rhine, Volga, and Vistula, the rushing Guadal- 
 
 which IS not blue. It was on the left bank of a 
 
 XZtZ\ '"" ^^f ^^^^* ^^" ^^ ^^"«d the Dirty 
 that Magdalen sat down at dawn. Like the daugh^ 
 ter of Agamemnon, she buried her face in her 
 robe and wept. 
 
 No'^m!?' ^^l"^ '''"''^ *^ *^'" ^« ^^^*^y ^ the stream. 
 No Maiaoum^, or stream-sprite, came out of the 
 turbid water to ask what ailed her With a nnr! 
 
 sat on the steppmg-stones and soothed herfbut not 
 on the Dirty. So she choked and sobbedld^y ?or 
 a long time The sleepy lash of the water on the 
 pebb es made her shudder. A raven lit on a blasted 
 
 Iwt .. ^* was very eerie. She walked slowly 
 away, and for some months that was the last Zli 
 was seen or heard of wilful Magdalen 
 Mary Queen of Scots, poor soul! was accomplished 
 
 hers If L ':r- ^f *'^ ^^y ^-^^ ^' France, a^d 
 herself an especially graceful dancer, therefore 
 when she came to stern Scotland, had t not been 
 tor the sour fanatics around her, she would never 
 have issued an edict .rbidding "women to sing or 
 dance around trees." Such an arbitrary interfer' 
 ence with the liberty of the subject woufd not for 
 a moment be tolerated in Faeryland 
 
 For It was the late close of an autumn d-- i- 
 
Magdalen, 
 
 151 
 
 Keats' season of mists and mellow f ruitfUlness. The 
 forest leaves had scarcely yet put on their crimson, 
 but here and there in patches had turned to dead 
 gold. A balmy air alike removed from the crisp 
 and the sultry, and that in inhalation seemed to be 
 perfumed with apples, had pervaded all the after- 
 noon. A new dance had h^en put on the verdant 
 taipia by Signor Velocidito, tne Ballet-Master Royal, 
 and had become quite the rage. The measure was 
 a happy combination of the gliisade and the leaping 
 step of the fauns. It was performed in a wide, re- 
 volving circle around a tree, and beneath an umbra- 
 geous umbrella of growing boughs. The music was 
 vocal, accentuated by the joining in of flutes, and 
 at stated bars the toot of a trumpet to reverse the 
 figure and prevent the dancers from flying into 
 space from centrifugal motion. As it was, the living 
 circle whirled like the rings of Saturn. They had 
 practised this agreeable pastime till fatigue called 
 for a respite. Meantime the field of golde"n sky had 
 turned to a faint shade of violet, and then to haze. 
 Imperceptibly a mist rose slowly out of the dells 
 and crept along the vistas of the woods. Small 
 globules of damp gathered on the gossamer spiders' 
 webs and threw out prismatic colours. The mist 
 intensified until it became a drizzle. 
 
 Now, if there is anything the fairies detest, it is 
 a drizzle. It damps their spirits and spoils their 
 gauds ; and well it may, for if aught can thoroughly 
 depress the mind, it is the precipitation of moisture 
 that soaks and yet has not the courage to be rain. 
 Faii-y folk are but ill-provided against wet grass, 
 
 -X 
 
 -i .11 
 
 Ij 
 
152 Annals of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 for the most audacious imagination cannot fancy 
 fairies squashing about in goloshes. So when mists 
 come up or rain comes down, they run away and 
 hide under leafy eaves, beneath gnarled roots that 
 roof in violet-paved caves, or inside the dry, mossy 
 hollows of old trees. So they had done on the pre- 
 sent occasion. None were visible. Their favourite 
 haunt appeared as if dancing feet had never there 
 beat time. 
 
 But, as becomes a royal camp, there were videttes 
 and outlying piquets all around. These guardians 
 were wont to signal the coming of intruders by 
 imitating the cry of the owl, who is not really a 
 bird you hnow, but only a " bust in feathers." 
 Suddenly a note of alarm was heard, repeated from 
 post to post, and two scouts came running in with 
 news that caused all the fairies to leave their hiding 
 and crowd around, despite the drizzle. For wearily 
 and painfully a young peasant woman (as she 
 seemed), with a bundle in her arms, and dad in 
 hodden grey, made her way into the circle. It was 
 the unfortunate Magdalen. Laying her bundle on 
 the wet grass, she cried, — 
 "Kill it— I cannot!" 
 
 And the horrified crowd saw it was a new-born 
 babe. Consternation seized on all. Fairies are not 
 noted for collective presence of mind. They do not 
 act as of one mind on the spur of the moment as do 
 men of the barricades. So they ran ^bout scream- 
 ing. When at long and length they timidly ap- 
 proached, Magdalen had fallen on her face, and wae 
 not only dead, but had exhaled. Her aerial body 
 
 V 
 
 ? 
 
'^ 
 
 » 
 
 '4 
 
 Magdalen. le^ 
 
 and spirit had returned to the elements !rom which 
 they jointly had sprung. Nothing remained but a 
 httle heap of grey clothing, which Zug, the handy 
 gnome— who always had a tinderbox about him— 
 quickly reduced to ashes. The child was stone- 
 dead and cold. As soon as they discovered that the 
 animating spirit of the infant had fled, the fay 
 Myrrha took a wand and flew over a neighbouring 
 hawthorn hedge into a farmer's garden, where was 
 a range of bee-hives. There she sped from one hive 
 to another, tapping them gently with her wand. 
 The bees, thus disturbed, made a grave, humming 
 sound liKe a psalm. This was a custom the fairies 
 had learned from the Sussex peasants. It was 
 called " the awakening of the bees," and was meant 
 to speed the soul on its way, wheresoever flown. 
 News of the sensational occurrence was conveyed 
 to our lord the King, who directed that as near an 
 approach to a Christian burial as they could should 
 be given to the dead child on the morrow; and 
 meantime, that a sentry should be placed over the 
 remains. They laid a wreath of rosemary on the 
 little corpse, and covered it over with leaves. The 
 gnome Zip was detailed for guard. He passed his 
 watch agreeably by perambulating his beat with 
 long strides, occasionally bringing up suddenly in 
 attitudes of the most renowned statues of antiquity. 
 Now and then he would dance a double-shuffle, and 
 relieved the monotony of sentry-go, by standing on 
 his head and walking about on his hands. 
 
 n 
 
 \\ 
 
 I M 
 
* 
 
 mi 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A FAiay FUNERAL. 
 
 The King v,.. , up and aw^y a-lmnting with his 
 merry men bythe h^,H of .tars. He mLioned he 
 would meet the ;.i,ejal procession of the child at 
 the Hunter 3 Rii :, By starlight, too, Zug and Tu^. 
 the industnoua gnomes, set about their task. 
 lo bury ihe child, however, it was first necessary 
 to commit burglary, so they broke into a farmer's 
 tool-house and stole a pick-axe and shovel, them- 
 selves invisible. Had any mortal eye witnessed. 
 It must have appeared singular to see a shovel 
 and pick-axe suspended in air at about the height 
 A J a""^*. ^r'^^ proceeding along the road. 
 Arrived at the ruined church of Allhallows 
 the gnomes dug a grave in the dry, gravell^ 
 soil, and lined it with sward, so that it was 
 very snug indeed. They then constructed a 
 iitter of the sweet-smelling evergreen boughs of 
 the white cedar (cupressus thoyoides), which 
 they abstracted from the great lord's shrubbery 
 and having done so returned to camp. 
 
 There was a general feeling of excitement as 
 ot a fete to come when the fairies one after 
 another opened their eyes, which they did long 
 
 «S4 
 
,^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 A Fairy Funeral, i^e 
 
 tr!^!. f ".i"'"^* ''^''^^'' ^°^i°"« l^°k8 were 
 turned o the eastern horizon to see if the signs 
 presaged a fair day. The fixed stars. tS 
 centres, perhaps, of systems, were waning, and 
 
 tlJlT f r"^^^ *^"°^ ^'^' From^hese 
 astronomical observations the people were re- 
 called by the tap of a drum, summoning them 
 to dress. Considerable discussion had previously 
 taken place as to what they should wear. For fairies 
 
 IZl 7 .r"'"!"^'" ^"^ ^^ '^'y «^«d to mourn. 
 Such death as is their lot-or rather cessation 
 
 mJll ^^'^^ ^°*^^^°« «^d5 thus habili- 
 
 tT^o i^ .r' ^^^"^known. So they decided 
 to go in their prettiest walking costumes. Fair 
 ladies whose eyes look on these true pages, 
 and who have wardrobes and stupendous tmf ks 
 
 where the women-fairies kept their "things" 
 1 answer, m a wardrobe with which the treasure- 
 House ot no princess on earth could vie Their 
 haunt, which had been occupied by the race from 
 time immemorial, lay along the base of a range of 
 oolitic hmestone hills which descended to the 
 plain m a succession of green mounds, like the 
 lines of some giant circumvallation of old In 
 places the bare backbone of rock protruded 
 through the turf, showing entrances ?o caves. 
 In the mouth ot one of these, a deep pool of 
 pellucid water had formed beneath a lowbrowed 
 natural arch that spanned it not a yard above' 
 the surface level. Within the hill was the 
 women-fairies' bath and dressing-room. When 
 
 111 
 
'56 ^»na/s of ihe Court of Oberon. 
 
 arch Md lo! they stood in a marvellous hall 
 ereteh„g ...terminably _ the floor of partide 
 
 U^Tl ''"''?■ "^.^ '"'"^ °f many-coloured 
 tCw 1,- i Tv S''"""'* '''"' stalactites that 
 the 7/. i °' "«'•'• •^'' P'"'"« of SP*' hung 
 ioe r f T- " ™' " •^vishing sight tf 
 note the frocks, cymars and mantillas mnged 
 m order each reta.ning some semblance of the 
 form and .-ndividnality of the wearer. The 
 men.fa.nes had, of course, a cave of their own 
 where man-I ke. their appurtenances wertosrd 
 ^^ety-p.ggkty in heaps-coats, hats, hosen »d 
 boots-hke the properties of a theatre. Out from 
 under the arch of their dressing-room, on th" 
 mommg of our tale, skirred the lady.fays, and 
 
 «twf V' '^':t T'^ " g^Z-d'^viWd 
 assembly. It was rather late in the season for 
 
 their favounte sceptre-flower, the foxglove, there' 
 fore many of them supplied its pla,S wihX 
 rods to carry in their hands. ^ 
 
 As might have been expected, there was 
 considerable trouble in arran^ng he order of 
 precedence. All the ladies of bngest stenin" 
 who we,* naturally the least attractive, TsS 
 on goii^ first; to which the Mother of the S 
 objected, that some staid persons should bring 
 up the rear, to prevent the young girl-fays from 
 nnsdemeamng themselves. The heralds ^had" 
 l^ *'r "* ''• Marshals ran along the line 
 with the.r wands, tapping delinquents' toes, and 
 getting them into column, causing thereby sup- 
 
-•i.ss^f^infj'j'w"**' — ' 
 
 « 
 
 J 
 
 A Fairy Funeral. 157 
 
 pressed giggles. A few skirmishers we're mean- 
 time thrown out to drive away rabbits, toads 
 crows and snakes, from the line of march, for 
 tairy folk share in man's superstition that it is 
 unlucky to meet any of these creatures. After 
 much exertion, the procession was formed in 
 
 the lollowmg order: 
 
 I myself--(as the nearest approach to a Chris- 
 tian they could procure)-in my Armenian robe, 
 tor like Jean Jacques Rousseau, I wore that 
 garb. 
 
 Behind me the gnomes Zug and Tug, as grave- 
 diggers. " ^ 
 
 A rosebud garden of girls with garlands. 
 1 he Mother of the Maids in lurid propriety 
 Old fairies with steeple hats and irutch- 
 nandled canes. 
 
 Matrons, who attended unwillingly and merely 
 in deference to the order of the King, but feared 
 his Majesty's morality was growing lax, and 
 wondered what the world was coming to. 
 
 The bier, on which the corpse, coffinless, covered 
 with a white veil garianded with autumn crocuses 
 and baby.faced pansies ; the trestles carried by 
 four gBomes, and the four ends of the gariands 
 by eight young fays. 
 
 Half-grown giris, who thought the whole thine 
 
 The men, marching four abreast. 
 
 The boy populace. 
 
 The gnomes Zip and Hurra, as beadles. 
 
 The blare of a trumpet called attention, and 
 
 -! 
 
 ? 
 
IN 
 
 1 58 Anm/s 0/ . , i. , / of Oberon. 
 
 the voice of the commanding officer, Lieut -Col 
 Spadille, gave the word,-" Left footlhaltl a' 
 you were,-Try again, stoopids !-lef t foot forward 
 -slo-ow march .-vorwartz-in,.,,. .rwartz! 
 
 A baudJet of flutes struck up an air, a com- 
 pos>t.on of Titania's bandmaster, that breatM 
 the veiy soul of sadness, like some of Weber's 
 almost torgotten music, and the procession moved 
 alon, tto base of the hill, beyond which opened 
 a clau.pa.gn landscape as fair as the delightful 
 plam oi Arene or the enamelled mead over wh"h 
 
 .°nl^f !^r ■"' Z^l ''"*'•<' ">* ■""«■> twitter- 
 
 ~id H Tf'"*^ '"/'''• *°^ ^''»' "■' P^ts have 
 
 whit . ■ .'7 i *'■'' '^°™- I 'I" ■»' know 
 what spec.es of fowl a phiUipaweeken (MA, some 
 
 there too. Then across wheat-stubble, wh.re 
 partndges mr. all ways like feluccas ;scaping 
 
 LZh'ull'of ddf*- ""^ '""'y ^'"■"^'^ 
 marsh full of puddles, „ sort of 1 edy Thraw 
 
 mene, where they L -.-d l„e plove. and cuS 
 
 of twtr;™^*"" "','' «"«'P'P^r«. with their note 
 of tweet tweet, viator; 'rem beach»s. Pitch.r- 
 
 OuTnf^r ^^"'1''^''' W of wate ■ for blooms. 
 
 Out of the marsh oozed a brown strram, loved 
 of carp, and here they saw a king^she^ on a 
 bough, and on a distant stone a ,e h ™n stand 
 .ng on one leg. Alon,, the ru el .nk. ferns 
 stood hke patentologic palms. Beyond S 
 ca-xe .n .nterchange of downs, odorous of wTu 
 
A Fairy Funeral. i,- 
 
 Uiyme and gay with plant«genet bl'ooms, and 
 
 ii>B the shape of trees, and over-topping their ever 
 green nurses. Thence a daisied turf cald 
 iZf \t\>\ Hunter's Rill, and he«,Te 
 
 fa;?^i:ha,t''^'"°""^-«"j-'''«'>>-."-y 
 
 The spot was very lovely. Out of a fissure 
 
 n the top stair of the tc.ace of a smiJl 
 
 ledge of rock that protruded through the ^ 
 
 water oozed and fell in diamond drop, on^e 
 
 econd star. From the second it dropL in 
 
 ong pendants upon the third. From the thi^d 
 
 a taid • " !"'' "'^^ '■"» » rock-basin of 
 a Wi„'° '''^'"^'*.'' ^'"' y*""^ g™vel and 
 flowed at "''"'''' '" "■' '»'*°'"' ^-d tl-ence 
 £<? ^l '" " ^P*'-''""g ""• Here they 
 W» 1 A .*''\<='"'P^«' "nd King Oberon, dipping 
 )m hand „ the living water, sprinkled the f<^f 
 and sa.d,- Is child's name is Perdita." 
 
 led to «r """If "P * "''"""e P""" that 
 'ed to the venerable ruin of AUhallows. As 
 
 the procession curved and counter curved up 
 
 the green ascent, it looked like an embroidered 
 
 ribbon or a beautiful lamia,— 
 
 "AGordianknotofdazzliiighue, 
 Vcmilion-spotted, golden, green and blue, 
 itnped like a zebra, freckled like a pard, 
 Eyed hke a peacock, and all crimson barred." • 
 
 They entered what had once been the ?r»ve- 
 
 i 
 
 'Its 
 
 \ I 
 
 f t^!l 
 
 mtk:^ 
 
1 60 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 yard enclosure. Around the church, in the shadow 
 of Its grace, lay the d.ad of five previous centuries, 
 but not of this, for when tlio cure fell into decay 
 the clodhoppers of the hamlet turned Jumpinc;' 
 Methodists, and when they died, thoir coffins 
 were taken in a cart with straw to a special 
 Gods-acre seven miles off. Fractured fragments 
 of moss-clad stone half-buried in the mould were 
 now all that marked the tribute of successive 
 races to the dust beneath. The procession entered 
 the roofless church. Rural iconoclasts had long 
 ago carried away the slates and rafters for roof- 
 ing and firewood, so that within the walls was 
 a grassy space the sheep had nibbled and shade 
 had rendered verdant. In what had been the 
 floor of the chancel the babe's grave had been 
 dug. There were no entombments within the 
 walls excepting where a massive table of stone 
 surmounted by a recumbent, cross-legged figure 
 of Sir Guy du Var, with his nose knocked off 
 and alongside of him Dame Alice his wife, suffer- 
 ing from a similar deprivation of feature, showed 
 where that knight and his lady reposed, but 
 they slept very quietly and would not hurt the 
 child. 
 
 The little corpse was lowered into its restinff- 
 place A thoughtful young fay. with a vague 
 Idea that it somehow typified immortality, threw 
 after It a wreath of the flower amaranthus, 
 which m Germany they call, "thousand fair" 
 Then as fames have no clergy and have never 
 felt the want of them, the King stepped forward 
 
A Fairy Funeral. j^j 
 
 ^d dropping a handful of white buds into the 
 
 " Lay her in the earth, 
 And from her pure and unpolluted flesh 
 ■Let Violets 8])ring." 
 
 Zug and Tug shovelled the gravel in. Then 
 
 Htaok „n . f 1'"'- "^ "'" "«"'"'•■ The land 
 ^nto »7 ^"^ ^ "' "^ "'" procession dissolved 
 into Its gay and scintillating units, and the in- 
 
 The incidents of the day were not over. It 
 
 was generally known throughout the haunt 
 
 that a m,l,tery expedition would leave camp 
 
 wo hour, after dark. We have already S 
 
 !^r »n 1° Tr- *I«^»^°S«'-B were sent to 
 our alhes, the Jack-o'-Lamps, for the loan of a 
 sergeants guard of that fatuous body, and ac 
 cord.ngly. at the time appointed, our fo^e, under 
 the command of Yowl, stole away in sil nee in 
 the d.rect.on o the hamlet, where they drew 
 
 Kobin Roughead w«s within. Three or four 
 of h.s dogs were lying about, so our men at once 
 
 and" wl *?.'""' u""''' **"^' P"" their oars! 
 and walk them about on their forelegs like 
 wheelbarrows. The poor brutos howled pLusly 
 
 1 Ti"74f !d *=r"""'' ""^'' ''""«" 
 
 s-.j^ncad m a state of inebriety. 
 
 
 .M 
 
 roll 
 
 
1 62 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Two files of voltigeurs having chevied off the 
 dogs at racing speed, the select corps de garde 
 prepared to accompany Robin. When he finally 
 reappeared they leaped on his back by fours 
 and boxed his ears. They pinched him black 
 and blue, tore out his hair and tweaked his 
 nose. They pulled his feet from under him 
 and set him up again. Then the Jack-o'-lamps 
 uncovered their lanterns and dazzled him with 
 dancmg fires. For miles they led him out of 
 his way, through swamps and over stones, amid 
 shrieks of eldritch laughter, until he came to 
 where a bluff overhung a deep and sullen pool, 
 ihere was a heavy splash, and that was the 
 last of Robin Roughead. 
 
 Towards morning the expeditionary force 
 covered with glory, marched into camp, their 
 pipers playing a Muscovite Hymn of Victory 
 
 )^ 
 
IF 
 
 y 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 AMONG THE TOMBS. 
 
 Return we to the venerable ruins of Allhallows, 
 standing lone and grey in the solitude - an 
 
 wafltT""' °'/^'^"^ "^- -hi^-t"" 
 was not a jerry job of brick and lath, but a 
 
 science of mathematical exactitude and of rever- 
 ential and suggestive thought. 
 
 No one, unless a remarkably good spinner 
 such as Arachne the spider, cant/ist'three tCds 
 at once into one Even the Parc^ could not do 
 
 by with scissors to snip the twine when it ^ot 
 ravelled. Modern fiction is full of attempts to 
 
 are neither t '° ^ ^'''^^'' ^^''' ^^^^^^ 
 
 tr,u nl '*''''' ""^^ ^^ ^t^e^Pt to spir vet 
 in this Chapter the story has three strands^of 
 
 thrTd-f ?'' ^- ^- this same summer day 
 three d^stinct parties of mortals, without con^^ 
 cert or knowledge of each other, took their 
 
 hXs" "'" '^ "" ^'''''^' -- of All- 
 
 ^3l.^''\^''^y ««°«i«ted of a lady and a 
 genJcxuea wno came on foot, having left their 
 
 163 
 
 il 
 
 fl 
 
 h*>\ 
 
1 64 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 rather stylish equipage at a liostelry near. The 
 
 lady was dressed in some quiet, self-coloured 
 
 fabric, only noticeable for its simplicity and taste; 
 
 the gentleman wore that convenient and becom- 
 
 «g style of morning walking costume of which 
 
 the original is the gamekeeper's jacket. Behind 
 
 the pair trudged a fat footman in livery, groan- 
 
 ing under the burden of two sketching-Le^s, 
 
 a like number of umbrellas and a brace of camp- 
 
 stools the united weight of which might have 
 
 been fourteen pounds avoirdupois. Both visitors 
 
 bore noble names with which I am unacquainted, 
 
 AJd. Of the lady I shall merely say that she 
 3. J7 ^^d^/ike and self-possessed, and rather 
 pretty than not. The gentleman with the tawny 
 
 whom on! """" r *^P' "^ "^' '^^^"^ ^^ ^°«d houses 
 whom one meets every day in clubs, easy in his 
 
 manners and with pleasant but not intellectual 
 countenance The time had come for him to 
 marry. Unless he did marry and have an heir, 
 the system of thmgs could not go on. This weli: 
 matched couple were, therefore, engaged, and the 
 world through the county paper and the " Fashion- 
 able Intelligence," had been made acquainted with 
 the fact Ada actually loved him a little- 
 sufficiently for her to wish him to conform to 
 all her habits and opinions. Reginald, on his 
 part, thought there was really a good deal in 
 Ada, and that, on the whole, she was one of the 
 nicest girls he knew. They would rub along in 
 married life very weU together. She would be 
 
Among the Tombs. ig, 
 
 a success as matron, mother and dowaeer- he 
 
 rsettZel' r."''t'"''"'<' "^ f-4libe,t 
 in settlemente, taking due care of his and her 
 
 honour not confiding all his affairs to her rf 
 
 course, but as much as was judicious; and when 
 
 they grew old as a model pair, she ;ould Tome 
 
 mto his particular den or stady and read to Tm 
 
 par^ editorials when he was'iaid u^wi^h th" 
 
 gro?ndsTliru-^ ""1"'"'^' "^ ^^y '°'» «'^ 
 £ J 1 ■f"'"'Uo«'8 that summer noon num- 
 bered three individuals, namely, two female re 
 lahves and an adult, who, as'^'it did not ,vea 
 petticoats, was ostensibly of the male sex. C 
 on record the raiment of this phenomenon lest 
 
 port on of the human species at the close of the 
 n n teenth century. No doubt coming editions 
 of the la e J. R, Hanch^'s History of CotuZ 
 ^11 embalm a class fast dying out' fL ~ 
 tion His shming s.lk hat had little brim to 
 speak of, but what there was, was curly An eye- 
 g ass attached to a black ribbon was screwed into 
 hlseye from which it frequently fell down. A stiff 
 upstanding shirt-neck, the shape of a dog-collar of 
 men-or It might have been tin-nearly cut off 
 h.s ears. His body-clothes were a mystery appear 
 .ng inaccessible to get into, and im^ossib^i; Tge 
 
 ating in shmmg boots, long and narrow sug- 
 gestive of sheathed claws instead of toea S 
 and etcetera were fearfully and wonderfully built 
 
 1 
 
 ■ f 
 
i 
 
 I 
 
 1 66 
 
 Anvals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 to show the malconstruction of his person. Over 
 his tight and short fancy vest (under which he 
 wore corsets) was festooned a massive gold chain 
 ot the galley-slave pattern ("in this style 5s. 6d. 
 free by rnail "), to which was appended a bunch of 
 the goldsmith work of a Birmingham Novelty 
 Company. His watch was ormolu, and he carried 
 a cane with a danseuse's \^g for a top. His speech 
 wa. drawling his gait a crawl, and his whole 
 aspect effete to the last degree. A few of him 
 still survive at the present time of writing. As 
 to his two female relatives, they seemed to regard 
 this specimen as the ideal and architypal man 
 and were proud to be in his company. 
 
 The third party whom chance drew that day 
 to the seven acres of ground around AUhallows 
 represented a working variety of life, more useful 
 than the ornamental. These visitors heralded their 
 
 bTr^nr^i f -7"' ^""^^*^^ ^"^ good-natured 
 but unpolished jokes, and drew up their hired 
 
 carrya with loud ejaculations of " Whoa ! " behind 
 
 t^Z}-f^ u'^'l ^° '^^'' P^'^^"^' ''^ ^^« ^ith no 
 little difficulty they managed to extricate them- 
 selves and unslmg the hamper that had rung a 
 chime of stoneware all the way like rejoicing bdls. 
 This hearty party belonged to the Workers (the 
 real smew of national eminence), and compr Led 
 Mrs Ruddles, a stout, matronly person, with her 
 two marriageable daughters. Mary Ann and Julia. 
 
 21''^",^"^^^*'^^ ""'''^ P»-^' together wh 
 their brother Sam-..-el, a vacuous-looking boy. 
 Iwo respectable young mechanfrR. TT«rv,. .^a ri 
 
 % 
 
\1' 
 
 1 
 
 Among the Tombs, 167 
 
 who had taken a day off, were their escort. Harry 
 and Mary Ann "kept company," as the English 
 saying IS. Juha and Joe were unattached. Ruddles 
 Vere the breadwinner, had promised to meet his 
 tamily on the way home when he knocked off 
 work. Lastly, there was Uncle John. Uncle John 
 had seen nothing of the great world. The fine 
 old man had not even been a school trustee, but 
 had spent his long and blameless life wholly in 
 bucohc pursuits, until his wits had gone a-wool- 
 gathering. His habit of conversation was cm- 
 barrassing to a person who did not know his 
 antecedents. 
 
 "I remember in the year One," he would remark. 
 apropos of nothing-but meaning perhaps the 
 year 1821. ^ 
 
 •' Yes, uncle," Mary Ann would reply. 
 ^^ '"Twas the same year," uncle would continue 
 preacher brought his new wife home, her as is 
 berried down thereaway." 
 
 "Certainly, so it was," Mrs Ruddles would 
 assent. 
 
 "Ay, ay, deary me," the patriarch would pur- 
 sue, " 'twas that year Rick Gubbin fulled over 
 a toad. Ha ! ha ! he ! Ye remember, Juley ? but 
 that was afore you was born." 
 
 Julia, in getting the old man to a seat, would 
 respond, — 
 
 ;l remember if finite well, uncle, but never 
 mind now ; take this eomfortable cup of tea " 
 
 • ^^*?u"A^ *^'^ ''^''^''^ ^'^ ^^^ ludicrous, there 
 IS notiiiiig more ^^ easing— perhaps nothing that 
 
 
 n 
 
 .^1 
 
 I 
 
 Iff 
 
 ^;t 
 
T*. »IS,-,^ '^^ 
 
 1 68 
 
 y^nnais of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 the angels love better to look upon-than youth 
 bestowing care on the physical and mental weak- 
 neas of age. 
 
 Having now brought all the personages on the 
 ground, we must leave them to pursue their own 
 deviees „ut,l the incident shall occur that w™ 
 bnng these groups and their accessories into one 
 dHou^t. Suffice it at present to say that the 
 aristocratic pair, Ada and Reggy did a littl! 
 sketching, and a good deal of hi^^iwn co^vei^* 
 tion The epicene, supported by his two admiring 
 
 fam vTL'^^m'' "f"™'' "''"' "^» ''holesomf 
 
 fr Witt T?^ ^ '"■'°^''' '^'^^^-^ in the fresh 
 
 aLt^e f„. i' T"' ^?'""'' *° 8'^» 'hem an 
 appetite for luncheon. It need only be further 
 
 added that on that day a band of boy-fairies under 
 
 Coquerico, a mischievous lad, a. d„I held ahalf 
 
 holiday on the grounds of Allhallows, and having 
 
 ^L^ffi *" «°°'' ''^'«'"°"' had solemnly 
 promised to be innocent and lamblike 
 
 Among the minor features of Gothic architectu-e 
 none are more interesting than gurgovles * Th.v 
 are so diabolically humun-like. ^ftenthey It™ 
 horns, and almost always Jewish features, which 
 
 mmd, and the feeling towards Israel at the time 
 
 J.lT.r''!. "'"''• °™ Surgoyle of heroic sj 
 called by the rustics Holus Bolus, presided over the 
 Allhallows graves. The original design had been 
 a lofty square tower, with stone masques as spouts 
 
 • Usually groteaqu,, some of thein raall, bortUc. 
 
 '/ 
 
 ? 
 
r 
 
 ? 
 
 yf 
 
 Among the Tombs, jg^ 
 
 under the eaves but two walls of the tower had 
 fal en, leaving Holus Bolus perched high in air 
 at the topmost angle, where his original mask of 
 
 a taS 't""T'"" ---gf4enerationsa 
 as W confl,' 7 « ;^ne-throwing-was now pitted 
 as by confluent small-pox. The greyish-white tint 
 
 stona'nTfH n"'"'?^ "^"^"^* *^^ ^^^^^ red sand- 
 stone of the wall, made it conspicuous-but of this 
 Pan-hke mask we shall speak further anon. 
 
 nrnK^r .T"""^'"^ ^^^ '^«^^«' camp-stools, and 
 umbrellas at due artistic distance from the tower 
 In setthng to his work he could not help noticing 
 approvingly that his fianc4e^s brown eyes, with 
 their long, dark lashes, were very fine 
 
 place IS full of holy associations." 
 
 "Well, yes, rather jolly," said Reginald 
 'How can you, Reginald?" returned the lady 
 with a marked expression of surprise. Then she 
 industriously laid in a basis of red ochre 
 
 "Yes," she resumed after a pause, "think of the 
 holy men who have lived here. Perhaps even on 
 coLlv ^"^T T""'^ ^orm^r,^, repentant of 
 
 Cr^J'^'r ^"' .^'^'^^ ^" P^^y^^^"' remorse. 
 
 There seems to me always an association-almost 
 
 an actual feelmg-of calm and quiet where these 
 
 old religious have dwelt." 
 
 " Those monkish parties," replied Reginald as he 
 squeezed a tub. of flake white, "made rather a 
 good thing of It you see. Always picked out the 
 best site for their buildings and miUs. coll..r,pH l.t.! 
 ot tithes and had no end of presents of corn lands 
 
 ■Isf' 
 
 *■ !''l 
 
 
1 70 Annals of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 and vineyards, and fish-ponds, in return for which 
 as far as I can see, they taught the people to say 
 their prayers and brew decent beer. I wish I had 
 a cool glass of it now." 
 
 Ada looked hurt. 
 
 "My dear Reginald," she said, "it pains me to 
 hear you talk in this inconsiderate strain, I 
 cannot imagine any life more noble than the 
 conventual." 
 
 "Yes. To be sure. Very tnie. By Jove ! Ada, 
 1 thmk you would make a good sister yourself ; 
 you seem to have a hankering that way." 
 
 " I might have felt such an inclination once, but 
 not now," said Ada, with a blush that was very 
 becoming. 
 
 " Of course not. You are a darling," responded 
 her lover cheerily. 
 
 They continued to paint for some time in silence, 
 until Reginald suddenly threw down his brush and 
 exclaimed, — 
 
 " Ha ! I have him now ! Looks like Punch " 
 " Who ? What ? " cried the lady in alarm. 
 "That figure of fun with the goat's face up 
 there," said ^^ggy, " reminds me of a man I have 
 seen in the city—' to the nobility and gentry, money 
 to lend on 'personal security and reveraiona '—that's 
 he." 
 
 "How you frightened me, dear," began Ada, 
 much relieved. " Yes, it does look very grotesque. 
 1 he Gothic mind — " 
 
 " Remarkable old boys, those Goths. I remember 
 
 a Wholfi rniV of noi'lrr.rl «.r^^,,.^»,„ --,-.!• .1 
 
 __.. ^i ^/v.»T^^u vwxuuuuo i c|;restjutiing tne 
 
 ) 
 
 t 
 
 fl 
 
) 
 
 ,. 
 
 Among the l^omds. 171 
 
 seven deadly — ahem - but those — ah — urn —of 
 course you can know nothing about. Let us 
 stroll. 
 
 Here they were joined by a tall, thin gentle- 
 man m black, who introduced himself as the Rev 
 Athanasius Pyx. perpetual curate of Allhallows 
 but who now celebrated divine service in a church 
 built on the outskirts of the parish, and where (as 
 he took pams to inform them) a pew was always 
 reserved for respectable strangers. Ada, pleased 
 to have met with a sympathetic auditor, resumed 
 her disquisition on monastic life, adverting, among 
 other things to the extent of those ecclesiastical 
 remains, and thence educing what a controlling 
 influence the Church must have had on affairs 
 
 'Do you think so. madam ? " said Rev. Athan- 
 asius, with a very vinegar smile; "for my part I 
 see m the extent of these ruins but the too wide 
 sway of a bigoted superstition." 
 
 " But the prominent place given to religion in 
 the affairs ot life," urged Ada. « The regularity of 
 the observance of worship could not but be bene- 
 hcial ; not to mention the lesser facts of the example 
 the recluses set of patient industry ; their hospit- 
 ality ; their open board where the pilgrim and 
 wayfarer and even the criminal was welcomed and 
 
 "A table d'hote with nothing to pay Free 
 lunch we call it now." 
 
 This remark originated with Reggy. 
 
 " Even the tender mercies of the wicked are 
 cruel, broke out the holy man with some appear- 
 
 K 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 4i] 
 
 .1 
 'I 
 
 if.; 
 
I 'f 
 
 172 Aftna/s of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 "Ztt f ^operation-farther instancing the nlleffed 
 
 StGudtr ^^Y1^'''^ '""* "P ^^ thfconvenfof 
 St Gudeale (which the profane of the neighbourhood 
 Will persist an calling Sweetheart Abbey) Cn 
 aid who had seen the hole in the wall r ferX" 
 ^herei;^^:l^ *^t T^-- it was a cupLa!^' 
 the Z^/I^P 't"^7^k«P* ^ private keg rather than 
 nerif , * ]^r,cked-up nun, said nothing. Space 
 permits on y of one more quotation from the worthv 
 clergyman's Jeremiad, as follows :--" From tiTe t^e 
 w Jof '"°i'' ?^"^^ ^^^^*^' -he- theln tuty 
 
 a^ostics and Ignoramuses, evolutionists, geologists 
 StonhT' ^^^f ^^>- A-^lekites, dise'stabSg 
 geneXthe^^ "nd crafty, and sons of dubiety 
 
 ^c«.l^^o.e godless knigh'Tsc:::^ 
 buried in this very spot, and no doubt under^oin^ 
 the reward of his deeds, one Guy du Var Zo 
 seized the Church lands belonging to t4 very 
 estabhshment and the unhallowed Lsequence '^ 
 that mine is a poor parish/' 
 
 "It is very sad," said Ada. 
 
 They had now made the circuit of the ruins and 
 
 Tr eTabV' "^f ^^^'^^-^-^^-^^ but during ih"' 
 brief absence had occurred a miracle ! Need it be 
 said that the tHcksy elf Coquerico was the ^tfcl'e! 
 TrT ?'"^^^ ^^^ *he first to discover it 
 
 of the hi?H '' '?^""^' ^"^^*^^"^' q-*e forgetful 
 of the heathen nature of the invocation,- ^ 
 
 I e gods ! look there ! " 
 
Amon^r the Tombs, 
 
 \ 
 
 173 
 
 Ada clung convulsively to her lover's arm. The 
 Perpetual Curate dropped his cane iu affrf^ht Fo 
 
 Wbwi ''' "''' ^ '^^^ ^^ livi^ellow ochre 
 lampblack eyes, a vermillion iou^ lolhn. ou 
 
 of his mouth, and a gay. vandyke-brow vrd 
 the inaccessible Hoius Bolus 1, ered dow. he 
 
 spectators ! ^^^ 
 
 The cler^^yman was the first to exclaim with a 
 VICIOUS snap, — 
 
 "It is boys ! I know it is boys ! They have 
 B den you, paints and gone up in a balloon o 
 
 sa™i™,"° ''^ ""' "' * ""^ ^ -»•»" 'his 
 tried not to choke. At length the good man bo- 
 
 the outrage, and have the offenders caned • while 
 Ada, despite her tender heart, hoped he would hurt 
 the profane httle wretches very much. Further 
 sketching was now out of the question, so Jeames 
 
 mtrvith't^ "r "^ ^pp°™'"-'' -- "- 
 
 L fl7 }" !r''- '=™P-»t«>l« and umbrellas, 
 and told to order the carriage. 
 
 While the amateur artists were thus meetiuT 
 with adventure, the epicene or Dudean party lad 
 been faltering about, taking in oeone in a^mHd 
 manner adapted to the odic force of the principa 
 
 OmU "Yaas." 
 
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 1 74 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Both Female Relatives. « Oh dear I what shall 
 we do ? " 
 
 Dude. " Engine-dwivers and people should come 
 with things and smooth off the gwound. Gwavel 
 would be bettew than gwass. It is exhausting to 
 stwuggle over hills." 
 
 Some mysterious incidents had happened even to 
 this trio, as well as to the others, on this eventful 
 afternoon. At one time a bleating as of a large 
 flock of sheep was heard nil around in the ears of 
 Dude, but on looking over the wall no sheep were 
 there. Again an invisible ass brayed so close to 
 Uncle John that the venerable man began to 
 remark,—" In the year one I knew a moke "—but 
 was stopped by the attentive Julia. Yet again, 
 when the exhausted youth was leaning languidly 
 on a grassy mound of the broken wall, a sudden 
 roar as of an angry bull broke out behind him, 
 causing him to spring forward two yards with 
 surprising alacrity. Also, a cloud, seemingly of 
 wasps, kept buzzing around Dudius's head, keeping 
 him flicking with his white handkerchief in abject 
 terror. His female supporters could neither see nor 
 hear anything to cause him alarm, and they feared 
 the young man had lost the little sense he ever 
 had. Why should we need to say that these 
 divertisements were likewise due to fairy agency ? 
 Meanwhile, hungiy-time having come, the labour 
 party busied themselves in a practical way. Harry, 
 in his shirt-sleeves, bustled about collecting sticks 
 and building a fire to boil the tea-kettle. Joe 
 tossed cups and plates out of the hamper. Julia 
 
 < 
 
Amon^ the Tombs, 
 
 
 •75 
 spread a fair white table-cloth over a erassv 
 
 dXe of ?r? ^"^ ' ""'^- "" ««<'<"'« took 
 
 forTll, . '"'P?*' P"""S '" O"* spoonful 
 tor each person and one for the pot, with m 
 addi ,„nal one for Uncle John. TsL Ct to^ 
 the httle print of butter out of a cfbC-W 
 and patted it with her own fair paCs to ma^ 
 >t look nice. Uncle John smiled bhZly aHhe 
 
 atrthrvirr---^^^"^^^ 
 
 to^!t x^^t ""^'agood shake and told her 
 
 to get away to play, and not come there with 
 
 looks rr- . ^"^ '=''"'* «''^''**'» '^i"' m^y 
 
 JhW i-J . ."^ Proceedings, especially in any- 
 
 tK. ' "'""'y- «> "^^ '-^s had climbed Tp 
 the shading yew tree where they sat amons the 
 
 ^^mavh?™ ■""■f being unspotted, her Miy 
 
 ronTfhat ~„t;^f z"r °' " "'"''' 
 
 reality I «'°^"-"P People thmk nonsense, are 
 
 All was hilarity, and no shadow warned that 
 pleasant company of any coming catastroX Buf 
 1 happened the fairy boys, hafing Tl W do;n le 
 tree were playing at Aunt Sally behind thlwaJl 
 
 Sy\tatK^^r'^^ 
 PoS th« • ?f ° u*!^ ^'^''°^' Therefore he de- 
 posited the gnstly emblem of mortality in the hat. 
 
176 Annals of ike Court 0/ Oberon. 
 
 and covered it with a red cotton handkerchief he 
 found in the crown. 
 
 The feast, as I have said, was spread and com- 
 fortable, and Dudius and his damseli^, who were 
 strolling past, were hospitably invited to join, 
 which they condescended to do, and did, though 
 not without causing jealousy and disquiet to Harry, 
 for Mary Ann could not keep her eyes off a beau 
 so stylishly and fashionably dressed as was their 
 new acquaintance. The pleasure was only tem- 
 porarily marred for a moment, for as our cheap 
 Adonis was reaching over to pass the muffins, 
 his over-tight small clothes (a little assisted by 
 Coquerico) burst with a leport like a pistol-shot 
 and he nearly fainted away. The sympathising 
 women-kind secured the aperture with pins, and he 
 resumed his place at the friendly feast. 
 
 Affairs had reached this culminating t when 
 the clergyman with Reginald and Ada, waiting for 
 their carriage, came strolling.by, and the two latter 
 looked at the pleasant party with a kindly smile. 
 Harry, to do honour to the approaching trio, whom 
 he designated " the swells," picked up his hat, when 
 the skull fell out, and as it chanced to fall right 
 side up, there it sat in the centre of the tablecloth, 
 wearing on its fleshless countenance a complaisant 
 yet ghastly grin. The clergyman was so scand- 
 alised by what he conceived was a premeditated 
 trick of Sam-u-el, that he fetched that luckless lad 
 a box on the ear that sent him sprawling among 
 the plates. The skull incidenii, with Samuel's mis- 
 hap, was so unexpected and horrible, yet so closely 
 
 
t*i 
 
 Among ty Tombs. " ,7, 
 
 allied to the comic, that Reginald burst into a most 
 unanstocratic fit of laughtlr. The thing waHo 
 preposterous that he held his sides and tLZ 
 IIV H ""^"^ '^S^^-g "t hin, with mi^S 
 stnC t *""°'- T^o tableau was certafnly 
 
 iTth K?\, ^ r'T '™'* ^"^ *"">»?; Harry 
 w^thhjs ha.r standing on end with affright; jZ 
 mthhis hsts clenched, wanting to hit somebody; 
 
 dishes, the dude in the attitude of prayer; Uncle 
 John smiling and nodding at the ca^^/^oCm 
 
 ^tl ^hf fi r"""! "' ^""'^ J"""- On the 
 wnole the finale was dramatic 
 
 Ada stalked off the scene with her head very 
 erect, followed by Eeginald, making vain attemnto 
 to pacify her. The dude was taken care of by hi 
 women. Harry .nd Joe after mutual recriminT 
 t.on had a set-to with fists, and Joe having p™ved 
 the victor, walked off with Mary Ann on hfsTm 
 and harnessed the horse, while tL othe'gtLZ 
 
 Zf^.. •T'* °' "•' ''»''■ Uncle John was de- 
 posited m the carryall and fell asleep. The reverend 
 gentleman reverently placed the dead relic on a 
 
 ft ChH«? PT'lT '» <'«''™™ff it to the sexton 
 tor Christian burial, but Coquerico, stealing behind 
 
 orAuS;^ -'' ^^^ ''- '^'' ---^ ^^'^'^^^ 
 
 spring! how complicated a current of events from 
 the minutest act I Like those appalling sums S 
 arithmetic where a blacksmi*^ - ' 
 millions " 
 
 «" ucuif»uus sev€ 
 
 sterling for shoeing a horse at a farth 
 
 m 
 
 li' 
 
 fi 
 
 M 
 
 mg 
 
! ' 
 
 1 78 Annais of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 a nail, the inconsiderate action of young Coquerico 
 produced consequences by arithmetical progression 
 which, in their turn, will result in others to latest 
 eternity :— (1) It caused a worthy clergyman to 
 exhibit so much of the old Adam, that his par- 
 ishioners lost faith in him and became Freethinkers. 
 (2) It caused an innocent boy to have his ears 
 boxed without cause, and in consequence that boy 
 grew up an Anarchist. (3) It nearly broke off a 
 suitable match between the scions of two noble 
 houses, and when they did marry, left such coldness 
 between them, that both families became extinct. 
 (4) It drove Harry to drink. (6) It induced Joe 
 and Mary Ann to marry, from whom, in time, may 
 descend members of Parliament who may work 
 inextricable confusion in the State. And (6) it 
 led Me to write Chapter XVII. of these Annals, 
 thereby adding another to the valuable historic 
 chronicles of Richard de Devises, Matthew of West- 
 minster, William of Malmsbury and Ingulphus of 
 Croyland. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A WATER PARTY. 
 
 the chariot of the day an"/ T' '^'^"^^°' *« 
 Aurora, daughter of IW /^' ^osy-fingered 
 
 on the scent In pi'^'^'r'r.r^-dy to appear 
 about to rise on fh. "^'''^' *^« «"« was 
 
 day on which LfairiesTn^^ "' *^' ^""^"^^^ 
 selves the diversion of ? wl^^ Pp'""^^^^^ t^^"'" 
 rim of his disc ffraduaL i. '^ ^^''^^- ^« <^he 
 and shot slantw£l:fc^^^ '""''^ *^« P-- 
 '^orn, the youn^ Inni ^°!^'" ^^"«^« of the 
 across the meadow tl ^ '"'^'^^ helter-skelter 
 stream flowed ^ af te^ ^ ' '''K '"* P^^"^ 
 miles, debouched into a'^^Vrnrn'of 'r ^^ ^^'^ 
 known as Ydle Lake Th^ i ? '^' '''^^'^^ 
 
 who had regard to ^h/^ f'"" ^^^ ^^^e^s, 
 little procession thus J *^^^^^«^-^^, formed a 
 Band under Cheeks the Bu«.ler 
 
 1 he King with his Suite. 
 
 ihe Queen with her Maries 
 Annalist and Chancellor. 
 -I lien the people, 
 
 179 
 
 ,# i 
 
 . 1 • 
 
 > A 
 
 i ;i 
 
II 
 
 . -. il 
 
 llHi :i 
 ■li I 
 
 I' t 
 
 li 
 
 1 80 Annals of the Court of Obcron. 
 
 At some distance behind came the friendly 
 gnomes, Gnurr, Grymyrg, Houroush, Tumblebug, 
 Xip, Yowl and Zug, a heptarchy of them— 
 seven in all. 
 
 Arrived at the natural stairs that gave upon 
 the water, the waiting flotilla lay before them, 
 light, gilded and gay with fluttering whips and 
 pennons. There is nothing miraculous in Nature. 
 Where we do not comprehend, it is simply our 
 ignorance, and that is all. I do not know 
 who was the builder of that fleet, who laid 
 the hulls, or who the rigger that cut the silken 
 sails, or whether it were ever builded at all, 
 or where the vessels lay when not in use. Enough 
 to say they were there now, a showy squadron. 
 
 Etiquette demanded that the King should first 
 embark, which he did with due ceremony on 
 board of a bucentaur of birch bark, not unlike 
 its Venetian namesake in form, long and low, 
 with the figure-head of a swan, crowned and 
 collfired. On either side of the cutwater was 
 a ringbolt, apparently of gold, for the purpose 
 of harnessing water-fowl thereto to propel the 
 barge in calms. Numerous gondolas attended 
 the royal float, and were quickly marshalled. 
 The respective bands of their Majesties were in 
 separate boats, the King's musicians comprising 
 brass and drums and a pied piper, and the Queen's, 
 strings. Attended by half a dozen of her Maries^ 
 the Royal Lady took her place under an awning,' 
 while her remaining Maids of Honour found places 
 in attendant boats. But how shall my feeble 
 
A Water Party. 
 
 i8i 
 pen depict the scene when the pageant becan 
 
 was aa the barge that Mark Anthony saw, and 
 TUanja as the Serpent „f Nile, only ire lov^y 
 tOT ,i history belies her not, Cleopatra had a 
 
 cmft U.arr ,, ^ ,'7' "'^''' "o^Pieious-seeming 
 cratfc, that looked hke a torpedo boat, held the 
 
 gnomes and went ahead as 'scout, or' iilvan ed 
 guard or water-uhlan. Next followed the music 
 boats abreast Then, under various ensigns, kTff 
 full of courtiers flashed around the Kint ^d in 
 near proximity came the Queen with her ?rai ° 
 
 current the sailors bent to their oars, one manly 
 ablTti'l'^^TK' j'"""'^ '" ^»"»'-« '" -^-- 
 
 ROWING SONG. 
 
 Water glowing, 
 Ripples flowing, 
 Litherly pull the oar,— 
 
 Keep the time in measured rhyme 
 Of the songs of summer time. 
 Elf and imp and gnome and mine, 
 Refrain. Fr>y,n the shore 
 Pull the oar, 
 
 Oar,— oar, etc. 
 
 While the tide reams to the brim 
 Stretch the chest and arm and liirb 
 Bonnie chaloupe ! make her swim, * 
 Refrain. Pull tlie oar, 
 
 CheerUy oar— oar. 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 
 .'H' 
 
1 8 2 Anmh of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Km/ all I feather oar 
 ReraAis. Forthttkn. 
 
 Ydle Lake spread before them in solitary ex- 
 
 »„H ri l"^ '•""''''y *l"'^'»' '<"■ "'«!■• Majesties 
 
 otro^'"/'!'^'"'''''' "'» "•"" '" '•ig>"««d east' 
 Oberon, it is true, strolled about, e«lianri„» 
 comphmonts with the handsomest ol the 1^ "s 
 and (a g^ deal bored) l«>ked on at the sporU 
 
 ?oi'heftj.''»' 9,r° '^'""■"'^ -hose st^tTon 
 forbade her to be iamihar, had little to do beyond 
 loUmg on her cushions or taking little prom- 
 enades mider the shade of a tilm^ paralol Z 
 the others enjoyed themselves to the Z\ 'K^ 
 presence of the young people's dog, Tycho iirahe 
 had been strictly forbidden (injudicbusClthSk.' 
 and a gnome had been detailed to sl^l a 4e 
 
 ?ri . .? T.""" <"^'P"^ ">« absence of the^ 
 favourrte, the httle ones enjoyed themselves greatly 
 m rolhng and romping as children will wi h 
 
 see saw. Girls in their white frocks ran about 
 playing shuttle-cock with fir cones, or hu„W 
 
 thZhl^-'""/'""^ '"^ ^''■"' °f "^^ ^^ 
 nirfh >l «"^"^' '^'""S *"' semi-transparent 
 pink shells. Bigger girls strolled about in twos 
 and threes, with their arms around each otS 
 waiste, whispering of I know not what. ^ZZ, 
 
 The striplings had great fun in ^er-chas^ 
 foot-races, flymg kites, and throwing the djereel 
 
ing 
 
 A Water Pariy. 
 
 183 
 
 but not in swimming, for it must bo remembered 
 that the specific gravity of their bodies being 
 less than that of water, they can neither splash 
 nor dive. Mature men grow vastly excited in 
 ^eap-frog, which is the national game of the 
 fairies, as cricket is of Englishmen, lacrosse of 
 Canadians, and base-ball of Americans. Even 
 the old he-fairies took flying leaps over the 
 younger, in any number of consecutive "backs." 
 Differing from the human race, everyone was 
 brimful of life and gladness, with nothing to 
 regret m the past or present, and no care for 
 the coming. 
 
 As a number of the maids were sauntering a 
 missel-thrush suddenly poured forth such a strain 
 ot melody, intertwisted, thrilling and pathetic, that 
 sentimental Lalalu put her finger on her lip and 
 said to the Mother of the Maids,— " I think it is a 
 bulbul." "Think it is a bullhead," retorted the 
 mother, for she wn^ not aympatica. Meanwhile 
 the throstle sang c a, until Lalalu began to chirp 
 and imitate him so exactly that the bird, thinking 
 some fowl of his own species was mocking him 
 became annoyed and flew away, for not even a 
 missel-thrush likes to be made game of. 
 
 So the day ran cheerily on. Even fairies, how- 
 ever, must eat, and towards mid-afternoon a re- 
 fection of honey and fruits was spread on the 
 grass, the repast being enlivened with songs and 
 chatter. Thereafter the literary coterie among 
 us adjourned to the immediate vicinity of the 
 Queen to have a turn at rhyme=in4he-ring. 
 
 
 tWM 
 
 IS 
 
1 84 Annah of the Court of Oheron. 
 
 Fairies' heads not being mathematical enough 
 for double acrostics, rhyme-in-the-ring is an in- 
 tellectual exercise of which they are fond. The 
 performers seat themselves in a circle, facing in- 
 wards, and it is decided by lot who shall be 
 called on for an extempore stanza of what 
 passes for poetry. On this occasion the Chancel- 
 lor, being officially the highest, took on himself 
 to address Titania: — 
 
 "Would your Gracious Majesty deign to in- 
 voke the Royal muse and honour us, your sub- 
 jects in love and duty, with a stanza?" 
 
 The Queen smiled that ineffably sweet smile 
 of hers that lights up her lovely countenance as 
 a sunburst the landscape. 
 " A distich will do," said she,— 
 
 "Oood friends, my fairies all, 'tia ray beheHt 
 For the poetic crown you strive your best " 
 
 Great applause. 
 
 The lot fell on Amina of the sharp tongue, who 
 gracefully enough recited,— 
 
 "With flowery world to fly about, 
 With long, long life of glee. 
 Without a care or carking doubt 
 Who happy are but we ? 
 
 "There are three more lines," continued she 
 meaningly, — ' 
 
 "Oh, who would be a mortal lout 
 To be so out of place in the rout 
 Of the Court of Fa-e-rie ?" 
 
 i 
 
 % 
 
 ? 
 
? 
 
 A Water Party. 
 
 185 
 
 All eyes were turned sarcastically on me, but 
 I cast down my looks in pretended u.iconscious- 
 nesB. One would need a keen lance to tilt with 
 Amina. 
 
 Belted Will had the reputation of a trouba- 
 dour among us, and was known to be much 
 addicted to the society of Zuzu. When his turn 
 came he slid forward with a dramatic slide, and 
 catching up a guitar struck it till it twanged 
 again, as he sang,— 
 
 "Though I shut my eyes, witliin them beams 
 The lovely lady of my dreams ; 
 Though I close my ears, her dulcet voice 
 "Whispers contentment with my choice." 
 
 (Cries of « Good ! " « Bravo ! " - Not a doubt of 
 it ! " " Another stanza, Will.") 
 
 "My love is like, oh my love is like 
 
 All charms that do the fancy strike, 
 A pearl, gem, star, sunlight, moonray, 
 All beautiful things of night and day." 
 
 Here Zuza was observed to be blushing violently, 
 and our troubadour continued, 
 
 "The wealth of imagery fails to tell 
 The worth of the lady I love so well ; 
 She is all that gracious or joyous shows. 
 Oh my love is like the red, red rose." 
 
 Excitement among the girl-fays grew unbear- 
 able. There were cries of " Who is she ? " " Name ! " 
 " We all know," "Now for the moral," "L'envoy " 
 etc. 
 
 III 
 
 
 
 \A 
 
1 86 Annals of the Court of Oheron. 
 
 "And if you think earth can disclose 
 Anything lovelier than the Eose, 
 You may take your affidavit flat 
 I would liken my loveliest Love to that ! " 
 
 •j "Three cheers for Will!" croaked the gnome 
 ^ug from behind a tree, which, with the Queen's 
 permission, were given, and our son of the Gai 
 Science retired, looking as modest as a young 
 poet usually does when he thinks he has made 
 a hit. 
 
 A willowy miss in white now stood up and 
 repeated — with a ftmning commentary — in as 
 charmingly mincing a voice as if she had just 
 graduated from a ladies' seminary where the 
 education is thorough, 
 
 " When days are short and nights are cold, 
 And snow besprinkles iield and wold, 
 Eobin (Eobin Redbreast, don't you see ?) seeks the farmer's 
 
 hold (for crumbs, you know). 
 For lack of grubs hath made him bold. (For he couldn't 
 
 get any in winter, could he ?)" 
 
 " He I he ! " laughed the fairies. 
 
 Babee next stood up, blushing like a delicate 
 rose, and leaning over me in her coaxing way 
 (I did like that girl), faltered,— 
 
 " Dear Mr Annalist, I have two such lovely lines, 
 would you, please, continue them for me ?— 
 
 The nightingales sing through my head, 
 The nightingales, the nightingales. 
 
 But I would like to say something about white 
 lilies — nodding, you know." 
 
H 
 
 ^ Water Party. 
 
 187 
 
 i 
 
 And she looked so beseechingly that I did finish 
 the stanza for her, although poetry is not my 
 forte. '' 
 
 " The nightingales are all nid-nodding, 
 
 With their yellow beaks among the white 
 Lilies, in a contemplative mood prodding 
 For the worms that have been out on the loose all night." 
 
 This was received with qcclaraation. Even the 
 xMother of the Maids deig. i to say, " How true ! " 
 probably with reference to the dissolute behaviour 
 of the worms. 
 
 Other members of the joyous company tried 
 their poetic powers with more or less success, until 
 none remained but the Chancellor and myself. 
 The former gentleman's verse was 
 
 " The Searcher learns, the Wise discerns. 
 The Proletarian thinks he knows ; 
 The Council reigns, the King go-vfirns, 
 And doth not care a dump for those." 
 
 Nobody clearly understood this, therefore we 
 accepted it as very wise. 
 
 It now came to my turn, and I, stretching forth 
 my hand in rhetorical attitude, pronounced these 
 words, ore rotundo, in dog Latin :— 
 
 " Vah tenues Umbrae ! clara de stirpe Virorum, 
 jactatis vos ! ridiculi Mures tamen estis ! " * 
 
 Being pressed to translate, I mentioned that the 
 apophasis could not be literally rendered, but 
 by frer translation it lauded the fairy people. 
 
 * Oh, thin shadows ! who thiuk yourselves men. but ara ridi- 
 ouloua mice. 
 
i88 
 
 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Need I add that the poetic crown of paraley was 
 tinammously awarded to the ChanceUor ^ 
 
 W hen sunset approached, preparations were made 
 mL *!, "^ '"^*ee. Old salts-by whom is 
 meant those who had been on like previous f^h! 
 wat« «cur8ions-bustled about with great expen- 
 d.ture of misapplied nautical phrases but noffn 
 the stram of him whom Thackeray ca Is the bU° 
 phemous mariner; for imprecation is to the fdri^, 
 
 ^Z■^^ p,' T''^ ■' -^ "-« ^^■^-^ toT^ 
 UtXt ^If'-^y^ Susan patter than it would 
 be to hear them execrate their eyes, or pray for 
 Wight on their thoracic vicera, or invoke condem^ 
 
 the gnzzled sea-dogs of Queen Artimesia's quin- 
 queremes at Salamis must have thonglt the 
 yachtemen of Cleopatra's galleys a lot of^* 
 
 Again the flotilla was put in motion with the 
 
 Doats like Ariel s dispersedly A gentle breeze wai 
 U^ng. sufficient by the aid of slils to mTeZ 
 BhV3 glide against the current, and a short, w^ 
 person, by mime Jeanpetit, assumed the r,J& of a 
 Canadian voyageur to guide the skifis over the 
 strongerswifte At the sound ottheboWs wL He 
 
 Jh! ^aT° T"'^^'* *° *« E°««* Fi«t Lord of 
 the Admiralty, equipped in a colossal cocked hat 
 
 -which last was really unnecessary, seeing that 
 there was no possibility of meeting an^ othe^^ 
 -took his place on the foredeck of the state bucen 
 
i : 
 I i 
 
 A Water Party. 
 
 189 
 
 taur, uplifted his voice in a fine contralto, and gave 
 the words of command, — 
 
 " Up-hoist the rose-red sails, ahoy ! 
 Eig out the level sweeps, 
 And be our course the silvery wake 
 On which the moonlight sleeps." 
 
 Instantaneously the slender masts and spars were 
 clothed with rosy-tinted silken sails, and the oars 
 simultaneously fell into the water with a splash all 
 along the line. Then at another signal the fleet 
 moved on. The rowlocks groaned, the gondolas 
 following in the wake of the sails, the voices of the 
 rowers singing, in time with the oars, this ca+ch 
 from a barcarole : — 
 
 " Join voices as we bend 
 Above the sweeping oar, 
 And joyously a good-night send,— G'ood Night! 
 To Echo on the shore." 
 
 Taken up by the boats at various distances, a 
 volume of broken sound sped to the land and split 
 into spray on the projections of the shore, astonish- 
 ing the nymph Echo, and putting her to her mettle 
 to return suitable reply. Her voice, in different in- 
 tonations, came to the ear as if there were many 
 echoes, broken in upon by a succession of quick, 
 joyous yelps, as from behind a rock dashed the dog 
 Tycho Brahe with about four yards of rope trailing 
 from his neck where he had broken loose ; and the 
 faithful animal, uttering glad remarks, accompanied 
 them along the bank, to the great delight of the 
 children. 
 
 li 
 
 i i| 
 
'i i 
 
 190 Anna/s of the Court of Oberon. 
 stafr^"^ ^ pleasant voyage they reached the landing 
 
 When the last passenger had debarked, the gay 
 flaunting colours of the fleet gradually dimmed, 
 then the hulls and spars grew fainter and fainter, 
 as If vaguely formed of mist, until they disappeared 
 altogether. I rubbed my eyes, but could see nothing 
 save the surface of the river shimmering in the 
 moonhght. The fairy fleet was gone. ^ 
 
 An agreeable walk across the meadows and the 
 Haunt was reached. Their Majesties, with a pleasant 
 leave-takmg. retired, whereupon a knot of the most 
 gamesome ran to the top of a knoll and lifted up 
 their voices m song— ^ 
 
 " Up, fays ! draw nigh, 
 Come let us fly. 
 Fitter, patter, as with wings, like the gnats in spiral rings j 
 Come ! from sward and flowers and leaves 
 In balmiest this of all the eves. ' 
 
 A hall ! a hall ! a fairies' dance 
 Upon the floor of elf romance. 
 All in this sweet, soft summer time, 
 
 Thnn^i, ^Y'\ '"f ^'*' ^""^ ^"^^** ^^*^ moonlight rime. 
 Though, indeed, the time for loving is the all and only time. 
 
 Moonlighters we 
 Who gladsome be ; 
 And^ouMightly-tripping heels, skilled in rupid rounds and 
 
 Pit-a-pat will whirl and bound 
 
 In many a graceful merry-go-round • 
 
 While stars shall wink their lanterns' light 
 
 Aloft, and all the livel'^"^ night 
 
 The fairy bells shall ring the chime 
 
A Water Party. 191 
 
 Tlmt pulsates all life's loving time, 
 The throbbing life of nature's prime. 
 For, indeed, '.he time for loving is the all and only time. 
 
 Call in those fays 
 Who cause delays, 
 Splishing-splashing 'mong the liliea— joy betide the thought- 
 less sillies ! 
 
 They to-night must foot the sands 
 In toe-twinkling sarabands. 
 Till a flush from out the sea 
 Shall enrosy gradually 
 The fresh, sweet face of morning-prime. 
 In sunburst time, in loving time. 
 For mete of time is but love's rhyme. 
 And, indeed, the time for loving is the all and only time." 
 
 The vocalists came down from the knoll, and all 
 the fairies formed a circle, which, from the practice 
 they had in round dances, was as perfectly circular 
 as the O of Giotto, and took hands. Then Bloe, 
 the wind soloist, with Pans, pipes, and Tinkatinc,' 
 with a zel or pair of cymbals that made a sound as 
 soft and not much louder than the tinkle of a tray 
 of champagne glasses, took their places, while the 
 chorus, with all manner of instruments, scattered 
 themselves here, there and everywhere to strike in 
 at the bolder passages of the rondo. The orna- 
 mental stars on the foreheads of the fairies, scintil- 
 lating in the moonlight, marked out the circumfer- 
 ence of the circle of terpsichoreans with a gleam of 
 living fire. At a given signal the wheel set itself 
 in motion and began to revolve on an imaginary 
 axis. There was no vulgar stamping or shuflaing. 
 
192 Avnais of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Silent as the orbit of the suns-nay, more silently 
 tor the planetary system veys an idea of whW- 
 ri^flf-their feet fell on the award. Slowly at first, 
 but gradually increasing in rapidity, fast, faster, 
 fastest, until the individuality of the links was lost 
 axid the circle seomed but one large diamond hoop 
 throwing off coruscations of prismatic light. At 
 a signal the rapid wheel would reverse its motion, 
 flinging the rays from left to right in silvery spray 
 And when the pace became too break-neck even 
 tor fairy feet, the music would slacken and the 
 dame be again resumed with recovered breath. 
 
 While the fairies were thus gladdening them- 
 selves with ziraleet and rigadoon, my eyes grew 
 heavy, and incontinently I fell asleep, awaking 
 just m time to see the revels done and exeunt 
 omnes. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SWEETHEART ABBEY. 
 
 the rSined chle, of s^» 't'"" ^ ^""'^ » 
 were oh«„hmT and i f ^f^ '^'"^y- ^oth 
 jective pe.uSon":' T" ^ ,°' *^'' ^«- 
 do not know the names of fL fP^^''^ ^ 
 
 therefore would prX th»J 1-'?"°'' '"">"»•* 
 ■•■nagine them their ow„ttf . ■'' '■"'*''*'^ "'» 
 there was little differ^ce'^ n t'"""' ^'""""Sh 
 haps in their habits, ^ewal^ff/^u ' °' P*'" 
 presence with a J->«fe«„Tin hi ^ """"^ 
 
 features that eminently ml°ked T"""" "'"' 
 popular preacher nnd „ .f™ him as the 
 for Sunday Cdin" T," ""' ^^ ^^'^^ 
 spiritualism of thHouHl "'J"" ""^^ ">'' Pa'e 
 but qualified by a Sr^ P<"'^hed ascetic, 
 
 f u. The .po^;'^,:;^ ^niff -p- 
 
 caviare to tho m»u-* , "^^ ^^ the learned is 
 fanatic. Le notThtTtn""^ "'^^''^'^y to the 
 Annals dew it L'titC '^^•" '"^'' "' «>-« 
 
 N 
 
 m 
 •i 
 
 J 
 
1 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 94 Amtals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 - The acoustic properties of these old churches 
 are wonderfully fine." said the first. "The appro- 
 priateness of the pointed arch, its vibration and 
 resonance is, in fact, demonstrated You, whose 
 service is in vaulted halls, must find it so. For 
 me I have a fine field for investigating into how 
 many dissonant angles air can be broken in an 
 edifice in the shape of a packing-ca^e, and further 
 deadened by heavy galleries and whitewash. 
 
 "Yes" replied his companion, "the voice seems 
 more symphonious, more solemn when it soars 
 high among the resonant arches. A fanciful 
 mind might picture aerial beings undulating on 
 the air-waves of the organ, and bearing the tribute 
 of praise heavenwards." 
 
 Said the first,-" When I was in the East on a 
 mission for my Church. I heard much of the class 
 of intermediate aerial beings. Such may be 
 Apropos of such intelligences, this abbey is said 
 to be a haunt of the fairies." 
 
 The other replied smiling.-" In the archives 
 of the Chapel Royal are many records of trials 
 for dealing with evil spirits, but none for com- 
 merce with the gentle fays-amr/m?(B. vagnl<x, 
 hlandnlcn. Revelation, though it does not state 
 their existence, leaves it to be inferred. Mans 
 observation, which we call tradition, has outlined 
 the features of their character, intelhgent and 
 on the whole, good. A place such as this might 
 well dispose to give fancy the rein, dismounting 
 reason for a while, and assume their presence. 
 "Brother," said the stout divine, "St Anthony 
 
^t 
 
 urches 
 appro- 
 in and 
 whose 
 .. For 
 to how 
 in an 
 
 further 
 
 I) 
 
 I seems 
 t soars 
 fanciful 
 iing on 
 tribute 
 
 ast on a 
 
 ihe class 
 
 nay be. 
 
 is said 
 
 archives 
 Df trials 
 'or com- 
 
 vaguloe, 
 lot state 
 „ Man's 
 
 outlined 
 ent and, 
 lis might 
 mounting 
 nee." 
 Anthony 
 
 Sweetheart Abbey. 
 
 '95 
 'o^tnt uf^/t'eH""- ">— ^ to the 
 
 th«i". lot us preuciT to tt T"'' ™P'"°'' '" 
 
 fitly spoken may reach etn """ ^ ""^J 
 ^i^„ S reach even a congregation in 
 
 around invisibi/ Thev nt '^ ^^ '""^^ ^«^ 
 
 able projection, WgrTverct "TP ^^^ 
 to hear. gravely composed themselves 
 
 The Dean in a musical voice ih.^ 
 apparent effort, and, althougMow l'"""^^^ ^^^'^^^^ 
 tmte every „ook and craf „y of .u "^ ^ ^'°'" 
 addressed his aerial listeners^n .^'^ ^alls, 
 
 to the effect that as thev aro'" '*^^'^^ ««" 
 unburdened with the Jsser b? ^^"' ;«*«"'gence 
 perfecting of that inteS e at "' ^'^' *^^ 
 should strive, would Drodnp! • "^^^^^ *hey 
 
 of happiness, which hap; n 3 "s'T V"^^"«'*^ 
 was somewhat above his audL. .""'^'P- ^^'^ 
 perfectly still. audience, who remained 
 
 The stout divine, with his robust oh. 
 
 then spoke in a warm tone of h '^ 'P''°^' 
 
 as he might have addressed 1 T^"" ^^^'^^^'^^ 
 
 parishioners. The SrieA ^""'^ °^ ^«^ed 
 
 but when he called on the^st T T^^^^^^' 
 
 ^^ves, that if there were an^ 1 "" "^'^'^ *beir 
 
 --.itn.,ht.et.s.rLrorit':: 
 
u 
 
 ,96 Ama/s of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 came over their browa The worthy exhorter 
 TiS fallen into the fundamental error of Islamism 
 a^ other systems -that « paja to be good 
 tpremiuma for piety in the nature of pnze com- 
 litionB)-torgetting that Goodness is its own 
 reward, and that Fate is pasBionleat,. 
 Te conduet of the fairies themselves during 
 these discourses was grave and b;ir»»& ^^ 
 a little incident occurred, for which I confess 
 myself to blame. The day was sultry and I 
 wL sitting (invisibly to the preachers, of coui^e 
 on the edge of a tomb, wherein some old kmght 
 W under his cross-legged effigy, when drowsi- 
 '„Tss stole over me, and I toppled ^^f^TtlZ 
 «.n attitude of abasement on the floor, where 
 ^ontt." young fays tittered. Laughter was not 
 Xaiy heard' audibly, nor were the offenders 
 ;itent to any of the human senses, but the 
 nreacher felt that there was merriment m the 
 r and stopped short under the impression 
 that his viewless audience was laughmg at h.m 
 Zt eiy is it to reason from imperfect pre- 
 
 "'xhe two divines strolled away arm-in-arm to 
 their respective carriages, and just then several 
 groups of visitors, casually meeting, entered by 
 frSeat portal. They were of the usua types 
 of holiday strangers, of different classes m hfe 
 
 "JneNeatu^re t^y ^^X^"^- :Z^^^'^ 
 ::: irV wb- 'iTerheard call ea«h ol^er 
 Sll^ld and^ Q'-^enie, and by these names shall 
 
Sweetheart Abbey. 
 
 197 
 
 speak of them Accompanying these two was 
 tho official guide, an average specimen of that 
 tolerated nuisance, whoso twaddle puts senti- 
 ment to flight and destroys veneration for the 
 most venerable places. Considerably modifying 
 the provincialism of his speech, this official's 
 description of the interesting old abbey ran 
 thus :— 
 
 "Lady and genf, these here ruins have been 
 built a many years, and were the scenes of great 
 to do m old times bygone, as you can read in 
 histories and church missiles. The ruins belong 
 to Lord Grabemall, and he thinks a heap on 
 em ; but Master William, that's his son, has 
 spoke of removing of 'em when he comes to his 
 own; and a fine stone quarry they will make, 
 sure-ly, to build his new stables. The ruins 
 was given by King Harry, the Eighth King of 
 ^ngland, to his forefathers which went before 
 him, and was inhabited by papists which he 
 was down on, and brought about the blessed 
 Reformation. That 'ere hole is where they 
 builded up a nun that had been a misbehaving 
 of herself, but I don't see as any regular brick- 
 ayer would have took the job, but mayhap 
 they gave it to some of them travelling free- 
 masons to do it. The small windows high up 
 all along the side of the chapel waU is the 
 gallery where the abbot used to walk inmsible 
 in his slippers, and when he saw any of the 
 congregation asleep, he sent down the beadle 
 with his wand to wake 'em up. Step this way. 
 
 1 
 
1^8 Annais of the Lourf oj Oberon. 
 
 lady and gent'. Thank 'ee. That fearsome face 
 on a pillar, with horns, is a portrait of him as we 
 call ISquiro Voland* in these parts, but you will 
 know him bettor by his t'other name o' The 
 Old Gentleman or Old Stratch. It is reckoned 
 a good likeness. This font in the wall has 
 letters on it (the lettering was — w-vj^on anJ/ijj/ta fin 
 iMm o-i^iy) which they do say means, 'Give ray 
 face a wash as well as my sins.' That long 
 range of broken pillars is the clysters. That 
 deep crack in the floor is called St Pol's pur- 
 gatory, and you sometimes hear groans, specially 
 when the wind blows from the nor'-east, and 
 when folks hereabouts iiear it, they say, 'Hark, 
 the souls ! ' This is the draw-well where they 
 tried to lower the abbot into when a godless 
 baron swore to have his head ; but the diameter 
 of the abbot being greater than the diameter of 
 the well, he could not be got down, and the 
 baron, who really had an affection for the church, 
 let him off on condition of dancing a jig with 
 his mitre on. This here stone statue is St Eloi, 
 and that there stone flame like a ham \ o.ant 
 for the soul of King Oagobert," etc., '.\\. : 
 Thus the wretched creature ran on till iie passed 
 into another room with new visitors. 
 
 The youth called Harold stayed behind the 
 •shsr sight-seers, and remarked to his companion 
 
 '^b.i< a pity this fine place has no legend of 
 khe." 
 
 V 
 
 k(( 
 
 • A local uaiue iu some rural districts for the Devil. 
 
 I : 
 
MH^ 
 
 Sweetheart Abbey. 
 
 190 
 
 " I beg your pardon," said, politoly, a young man 
 whom they had observed writing rapidly in a 
 note-book, "there is a legend of modern date in 
 connection with this part of the abbey, and which 
 I think is interesting. In fact it coukl be worked 
 up for the stage with a little change in the third 
 act. With your permission, I will relate it." 
 
 " Pray do," said Harold, touching his hat. 
 
 " Every family of consideration," said the young 
 man, "has a skeleton in the cupboard, which it 
 is a point of family honour to keep more or 
 less carefully locked up. In process of time the 
 skeleton comes out and takes its place in the 
 history of the house. My tale is of a skeleton 
 so recent that the bones have scarcely yet had 
 time to dry ; in fact, it happened in my father's 
 time, and is connected with that apartment high 
 up in the south tower, the arched doorway of 
 which you see from here, and from which the 
 stairs have fallen, rendering it inaccessible, other- 
 wise we would go up and visit it. The family 
 that owned the particular skeleton of which I 
 speak, was the respectable one of Thorpe, of 
 Thorpe's Thorpe. Those grey gables, which you 
 may observe rising above yonder trees, are the 
 residence of that ancient name. Feud had long 
 existed between the Thorpes and the rival family 
 of Vavassou!. What would you have? The 
 only son of the house of Thorpe loved the only 
 daughter of the last lineal descendant of that 
 Gilpin le Vavassour whom William the Norman 
 knighted for having lont him a change of linen. 
 
■p 
 
 200 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 They aay the course of true love never does 
 run smooth, an assertion I take the liberty to 
 doubt. It is after true love has run smoothly 
 into matrimony that anxieties arise respecting the 
 butcher and baker. In my legend the course 
 ran so far smooth that Gaston de Thorpe stole 
 away his hereditary enemy's daughter Cleanth^ 
 Vavassour. When he got her he did not know 
 what to do with her or where to put her, so he 
 fitted up the chamber you see high up in the 
 tower, and visited her by stealth. Unfortunately 
 he was laid up with brain fever, caused by get- 
 ting his feet wet in his nocturnal visits, and his 
 prisoned dove was left without food fo.v a fort- 
 night. One night the sick man's father was 
 restless, and, looking from his window, saw a 
 light in the tower of the old abbey. Confident 
 it was poachers, he armed his retainers and 
 sought the turret stair. There, in the prime of 
 youth and beauty, but pale as statuary marble, 
 and as thin as — as anything, lay the Lady 
 Cleanth^, she who ought to have reigned in state 
 in the halls of Thorpe — prostrate at the foot of 
 a crucifix—dead— dead ! The old Thorpe, stricken 
 with compunction, cut off his son with a shilling, 
 which he raised on mortgage, the estate being 
 already heavily plunged, and forbade the young 
 man ever to see his face again. Gaston went 
 to the wars, and so distinguished himself that 
 he rose to the rank of Deputy-Assistant Pay- 
 master, and fell in the moment of victory, Mr 
 Thorpe, senior, soon faded away, a broken man. 
 
 
Sweetheart Abbey. 
 
 20I 
 
 ,• 
 
 and the lands passed to a distant relative of the 
 same name, in whose hands they now are. The 
 ghost of Cleanth^ is sometimes perceived in the 
 archway of the door, as if looking for the stair- 
 case, and in stormy nights a light is seen to 
 glimmer from the loop-hole of the turret. Gentles, 
 my tale is told." 
 
 Here the young man bowed dramatically, and 
 took himself off. 
 
 " Who is that young gentleman ? " asked Harold 
 of the sexton, who at that moment came up. 
 
 " Oh, him ! " replied the official, " he is a writer 
 of serials for the Sunday papers. He is always 
 spinning some fool's yarn or other. If he has 
 been reeling you off any story about the abbey, 
 be sure he made it up out of his own head." 
 
 "That can hardly be," said Harold, "for the 
 legend is closely connected with the family of 
 Squire Thorpe, whose house you may see over 
 there among the trees." 
 
 " Thorpe ! Thorpe ! " exclaimed the sexton, " there 
 never were no Thorpes in these parts, and that 
 there house belongs to Mister Gubbins, the 
 malster." 
 
 Queenie looked disappointed. Whether or not 
 the feuilletonist invented the legend, I cannot say. 
 
 Our lovers, for such they evidently were, 
 strolled into another apartment and sitting 
 alone on a grassy mound, resumed their con- 
 versation. 
 
 " You are chagrined," said Harold to his fair 
 companion, "that the legend we have heard 
 
 ;ii 
 
 111 
 
 P /I 
 
 ! >l 
 
I; ' 
 
 J i 
 
 202 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 rests on slender foundation, but I will tell you 
 a true story of an abbey, and this is it : — 
 
 "It is not often, my dear Queenie, that when 
 a mighty prince and a priest lay their heads 
 together, they knock out much for the benefit 
 of the human race — " 
 
 *' Stay ! " interrupted Queenie, " you have read 
 this in a book. You should tell me the author's 
 name. Do I know him?" 
 
 " Not likely. His name ? — let me see — his 
 name has escaped me;* but, as I was saying, 
 these two, the priest and the prince, laid their 
 heads together, and determined to found an 
 abbey on new principles." 
 
 "Oh! how delightful!" 
 
 "Yes. They built it, and it is called the 
 Abbey of Theleme. The establishment is both 
 for ladies and gentlemen, and none are admitted 
 unless they are young and handsome" — ("Oh! 
 indeed ! " said Queenie) " — and virtuous. Full 
 dress is insisted on. Costume varies with the 
 season, but in general the ladies dress in a pretty 
 kirtle or varquin of silk, covered with a tabby 
 vardingale, above that again a gold-embroidered 
 jacket, and, over all, upper coats of satin or 
 velvet—" 
 
 " How nice ! " 
 
 "Yes. And their garters are the colour of 
 their bracelets." (Queenie looked conscious). 
 " Their hats are from Paris and Spain and 
 Tuscany. The winter furs that are most in 
 
 * Babelais. 
 
Sweetheart Abbey. 203 
 
 fashion are hynd-wolves, or speckled lynxes, 
 ermine, martlets of Calabria, sables and other 
 costly pelts, and, of course, sealskin. Jewel- 
 lery is much worn— diamonds, carbuncles, rubies, 
 baleas, sapphires, emeralds, garnets, agates, berilles 
 and excellent margarites." 
 
 " It must take a fortune to dress." 
 "It does. But dress and jewels are provided 
 out of the abbey funds, as being necessaries of 
 life. The building itself is superb and com- 
 modious, and each inmate has a drawing-room, 
 an oratory and a boudoir lined with looking- 
 glasses." 
 
 "You describe a palace." 
 
 " Oh no ! my dear, you forget that all the 
 abbey residents are virtuous. The men do not 
 make guys of themselves in black coats, but 
 appear in cloth-of-gold jerkins and velvet trunks, 
 each man with a jewelled dagger which he 
 chiefly uses for peeling water-melons and pine- 
 apples. . The motto of the abbey is— 'Do as you 
 LIKE HERE,' and the Church Father from whom 
 I quote says,—' For this reason when the time 
 comes that any man of the said abbey hath a 
 mind to go out of it, he carries along with him 
 one of the ladies, namely, the one whom he had 
 chosen for his sweetheart, and they are married 
 together. And if they had formerly, in Theleme, 
 lived in good devotion and amity, they do continue 
 therein, and increase it to a greater height in 
 their state of matrimony, and do entertain that 
 mutual love till the very last day of their life 
 
 
asim 
 
 ■ 
 
 I 
 
 204 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 in no less vigour and fervency than at the very 
 day of their wedding." 
 
 Here the narrator assumed an aspect of the 
 blackest despair, and added, — 
 
 " But why do I tell you this ? Alas ! my fate 
 is foreordained to shut myself up for the brief 
 remainder of my cheerless existence, in the austere 
 and silent monastery of La Trappe, with nothing 
 to eat and drink but disgusting black bread and 
 snow-water, which I am sure will disagree with 
 me, and nothing to wear but a horse-hair dress- 
 ing-gown that must tickle dreadfully, and no 
 amusement but to hew my own grave in the 
 rock, and no one to we-e-ep when I drop into 
 it." 
 
 Queenie started to her feet. 
 
 "Oh don't, you horrid! Why should you do 
 this ? " 
 
 " Because, my dearest Queenie," said the subtle 
 youth, falling on his knees before her, "because 
 I love you ! Have you not long seen that my 
 heart is yours ? With one word you can change 
 the tone of my life from despair to joy. Queenie, 
 dearest, will you be my Queen, my loved, my 
 honoured wife ? Breathe but the one little word 
 * Yes 1 ' " 
 
 The maiden looked down blushingly, and mus- 
 ingly. 
 
 "Is it true," she said, "that in this place, on 
 new principles, the inmates do entertain mutual 
 love to the very last day of their life ? " 
 
 " True ? of course it is true— true as anything." 
 
\i I 
 
 Sweetheart Abbey. 205 
 
 " Then, dear," murmured she, " let us go into 
 the Abbey of Theleme." 
 
 The loving couple imagined their ears had 
 deceived them, for they certainly thought they 
 heard the clapping of hands all around them as 
 if in applause. And so they did. It was the 
 fairies rejoicing, as they ever do, in the success- 
 ful issue of true love. 
 
 "Hist!" whispered the now engaged Queenie, 
 *I hear voices. Strangers are near, and indeed 
 seem to be occupied much as we are, love. Listen ! " 
 
 Here through the open gap of the wall two 
 clear, honest voices were overheard." 
 
 " — And will you really, really be a good wife 
 to me, Jenny ? " 
 
 " That I will, John." 
 
 "Then that's settled. Give us a bus, old girl, 
 to bind the bargain." 
 
 A sound followed, indescribable in type, but 
 which was no doubt the bond required. Just 
 then came from another part of the ruins a clear 
 but somewhat rollicking baritone, carolling, — 
 
 " When we dwell on the lips of the lass we adore, 
 Not a pleasure in nature is miss-ing." 
 
 A good many love anthologies were said and 
 sung in Sweetheart Abbey. 
 
 I ^ 
 
 ■I -1 
 
 ■J ' I 
 
 "i 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 pippa's wedding. 
 
 As everybody who is anybody has, no doubt, 
 taithfully done his ruins by the aid of a guide- 
 book and a more or less stupid cicerone, he or 
 she has most probably visited the remains of the 
 monastic church of St Gudeale, to which I have 
 already referred, and which the vulgar of the 
 neighbourhood persist in calling Sweetheart Abbey. 
 At the risk of being thought prosy, a word 
 heie on ruins. With the prehistoric remains of 
 the Seven Empires and of India and China we 
 have nothing to do, nor with the graceful forms 
 of Greek architecture, any more than with the 
 ruder designs of the Latins. Our remarks are 
 conQned to those edifices still standing, whose 
 history stretches back through the Middle Ages 
 Their vestiges may be briefly cited as the ecclesi- 
 astical and the lay. The square, massive keeps 
 and battlemented walls, frowning from almost 
 inacessible positions and dominating the country 
 around, are typical of the age of oppression and 
 of the mail-clad barons who were the oppressors. 
 Those noble ruffians, whose names and deeds are 
 connected vaguely with heroic story, contented 
 
 206 
 
 i hi 
 
\> 
 
 Pippcis Wedding. 
 
 207 
 
 \%^ 
 
 themselves with house accommodation that would 
 be considered severe in a modem jail. Plunder 
 was the sole object of their lives, and their castles 
 were but as the eyrie of the vulture and the 
 eagle. It was otherwise with the builders of 
 the vast religious foundations, the ruins of which 
 offer a mine of interest to the artist and anti- 
 quarian. Always located in the midst of cultiv- 
 able land where the dependents that clustered 
 in the shadows of the walls might till the soil 
 and advance the arts of peace, these monastic 
 and ecclesiastical establishments were the nucleus 
 around which grew the settled state of society 
 that has come down to our time. While the 
 secular knight or baron was destitute of personal 
 cultivation or refinement, his highest development 
 being but a barbaric ostentation, the spiritual 
 lord was usually cultured in all graces of his 
 era, and his personal tastes and habits were 
 refined. The inmates of the castle lived in the 
 rude camaraderie of the robbers' cave; life in 
 the abbey was ameliorated by the refinements 
 that intellect and its amenities produce. While 
 the successful warrior showed his prosperity by 
 adding another line of defences to his stronghold, 
 and increasing the number of his armed retainers, 
 the priest decorated his house with all the adorn- 
 ments of current art. Hence the distinction 
 between the two classes of ruins,— the rude 
 right-angled pile of the laic, and the romance 
 in mortar and stone of the clergy. 
 The particular abbey among the ruins of which 
 
 in 
 
 .1 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
•■■• 
 
 1 1 
 
 208 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 our scene is laid, is of comparatively recent date, 
 being not more than six or eight hundred years 
 old. Its early chronicles are amissing, for towards 
 the close of the fourteenth century a mob seized 
 and burned the charter-chest, in which were 
 sundry bonds and notes-of-hand of theirs, which 
 they took this summary way of retirinj'. Being 
 remonstrated with by Abbot Ingulphus, whom 
 they looked on as their chief creditor, they slew 
 him by way of settlement in full. After ransack- 
 ing the chartulary, they adjourned to the cellars 
 and drunk all the wine — a task which took them 
 a week — besides drowning the cellarer in a butt 
 of wine of Guienne which was too acid to please 
 their palates. A number of Fathers of no import- 
 ance met their death at the same time, and the 
 spoil (ear crucifixes and beads) in horses, mules, 
 cattle, hawks and greyhounds was great. In one 
 of the chambers was found an assortment of 
 women's gear — Calais shawls, Carcasonne fans 
 and vizards, together with tunics of various 
 stuffs; and it has never been clearly explained 
 how they came to be there. The abbot who 
 succeeded Ingulphus laid a fine on the district, 
 and the abbey's strong-box again became plethoric 
 with bonds and mortgages. This Abbot Hilarius 
 was a foreigner who had his nomination from 
 the Pope at Avignon in defiance of the laws of 
 the realm, which circumstance did not so much 
 matter as the king had other affairs to attend 
 to, having just sent the regalia to the pawn- 
 brokers to raise money for invading France, so 
 
;nt date, 
 ed years 
 towards 
 lb seized 
 sh were 
 3, which 
 Being 
 i, whom 
 ley slew 
 ransack- 
 e cellars 
 ok them 
 I a butt 
 )o please 
 » import- 
 and the 
 9, mules, 
 
 In one 
 ment of 
 ine fans 
 
 various 
 explained 
 bot who 
 
 district, 
 plethoric 
 
 Hilarius 
 ion from 
 
 laws of 
 so much 
 ;o attend 
 e pawn- 
 rance, so 
 
 ^Ippa's Wedding, ^^^ 
 
 of England but™TvT„ ^T «"' *''^ "■"«"> 
 
 Hilarius wke a Toor ^ Pawn-ticket for it. Abbot 
 
 night-hawking He it r T "^^^^ "^ "*'" ^"^ 
 believed mav Hp 1 ,, ''''° '"'""'• ""d. it is 
 
 chapel in 7s^'!r "1°"'. '"''^'"■«'" P^^^g the 
 
 kniekerCkerrrlr;!' '"".?''"« ^'eeves, .atin 
 
 hawk on hirL l/' T ";*." P^*""' ""J » 
 
 tioned that the pdffi f .""'^ ''^ *""«"• »»- 
 
 towera, in outline ttthi "'H'"""^ '"° **" 
 Dame in Paris l^,t 7; ■ ^7"" '""^"'^ "^ Notre 
 
 (Btill partirZll : ':k "" "'^ "'••'hed roof 
 of short grass had f:. • ""^P''' ^-'^ « ^"'"d 
 
 above groSlevef ^tZ" T 'J f""' '"''^ f^«' 
 a favourite jia—d of the 1 -^'"^ P'"' "^ 
 
 were unattended. OberonTn ,4 T- ^^i"^*'^^ 
 bank of thyme P^r TV "* ™ ""^ ^a™«ite 
 of grace, on^n ArZil % .''''''"'"'' ""^ "eal 
 been made for her Tv thr^^^^'f **"" '''^ 
 pattern that tookflj nrt f °"' ^'P '^o™ " 
 red moss-rose bud afdT" t™J?-'7- A 
 
 together by a spray of sSSl:,1~i.erTp' 
 
 % 
 
ipp" 
 
 ^9^m 
 
 i\ 
 
 .n. 
 
 ' i 
 
 
 2IO Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 where some of the young fays had thrown it in 
 passing (for they all loved her) and an unfinished 
 triangular piece of Berlin wool work, represent 
 ing Malmaison roses on a turquoise ground, and 
 with a needle sticking in it. with which she ad 
 been stitching, had fallen from her blender fingers^ 
 for it is an amiable error of her sex that all 
 males have an insatiable craving for worked 
 slinners a longing that I have only observed 
 X 'curates' toat. chuckle-headed bumWe- 
 bees iith orange sterns, of the k^d recently 
 exported to New Zealand, buinme<l sleepily about, 
 and the scent of mignonette and jasmine hang- 
 ing heavily on the air, made it a perfect nook 
 of drowsihead. The unseen plash of water that 
 was vomited by an absurd leaden image of Dutch 
 extraction into a basin where the open cups of 
 the nymphs lilies lay made a restful undertone. 
 Trumpet flowers, Antwerp pipes, and other climb- 
 ing vines, plaited around the stems of half a dozen 
 leafy trees, kept the place in shadow. 
 
 «« By the way, what is this I hear ? " said Oberon. 
 « Little Pippa wants a husband ! Lito is the man, 
 of course. Bless me, how those children do grow. 
 I remember having been asked to plant a tree 
 when she was bom-an oak, I think-and i. 
 cannot be more than thirty feet high. I suppose 
 she is marriageable ? " 
 
 «I have long seen her pure heart expanding 
 into bloom," replied Titania. 
 
 « Dear, dear ! how time flies, to be sure. Yov. 
 ' look as young as ever, Titty." 
 
a it in 
 inished 
 iresent- 
 id, and 
 he had 
 fingers, 
 ihat all 
 worked 
 bserved 
 bumble- 
 recently 
 f about, 
 3, hang- 
 ct nook 
 ,ter that 
 I Dutch 
 cups of 
 idertone. 
 sr climb- 
 : a dozen 
 
 1 Oberon. 
 the man, 
 do grow, 
 it a tree 
 : — and it 
 I suppose 
 
 sxpanding 
 
 ire. You 
 
 Pippa's IVedding. 
 
 211 
 
 Parents' consent, and all that? Even-thfrJ 
 beseems our Court Tli«,r „:ii """"^y'n'ng as 
 kind of a couple " ^ '" "'"''' " P'^^^-g 
 
 jo/ne'd'ti: Que:f-rt "^^t^zc" '- 
 
 Of course, of course, ray dear," said Oberon 
 
 whatever j,o» ™h"-(Titania sraUed)-^^' 
 
 wra,;;^""'" '"--<•)-" but you ne^» d^ 
 
 Sei::^^"^ ''■•™-<»>aWe"-(Titania gave a 
 
 . Their Majesties continued their coniugal chat 
 in the course of which Titania ob^rved.f ^ *' 
 
 to,„„ 7 ."?'' unchanged are the marriage cus- 
 toms of a certain class. Hundreds of yeara have 
 taught hera nothing new. Really, theyTe very 
 th?* '" love-making. Your Maj^tyUeraS 
 
 Oberon could not say that he did. 
 r.^Tn ^'^f ^^^"b'^dour. ' Here is your bride 
 
 II you iike. 'Sir/ said Guy Archimbaut, 'if she 
 does not gainsay, I never was so willing to take 
 anything m my life' Then the lady fn^Ld t 
 
 see that you hold me in your power, as you 
 
 
 1 1 
 
Ill 
 
 2 1 2 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 give me away so oaftily ; but as it is yonr will 
 I consent.' Then Archimbaiit retired and Flani- 
 cnca showed no pride, but bade him good-night, 
 saying, ' God bo with you.' How hke is the 
 same thing after the lapse of seven hundred 
 years or so. One of my Maries overheard an 
 aristocratic couple in Sweetheart Abbey the 
 other day, and these were the exact words of 
 proposal and acceptance, — 
 
 *' ' If such are your sentiments you had better 
 speak to papa.' 
 
 " ' I have already the duke's sanction.' 
 
 " ' Then, in that case, of course I must submit.' 
 
 " ' Thanks, Lady Jane, I daresay we shall rub 
 along very well in double harness.' 
 
 " Now, I daresay Li to and Pippa will rub along 
 very well in double harness if your Majesty will 
 indulge their little romance, and let them be 
 married in the abbey. It would gratify us all." 
 
 " Certainly, certainly, my dear," said the King, 
 " wo will be there." 
 
 The summer day waned and evening came. 
 Visitors having all departed, the abbey lay in 
 solitude so far as human presence was concerned. 
 Out of the corn lands to the east rose the full 
 moon, a ball of red fire like a Chinese lantern, 
 and slowly ascended, clearing in colour as it rose, 
 first to amber and then to silvery whiteness — 
 a large round burnished shield, so bright that 
 the shadows it threw were black. The area of 
 greensward, already mentioned as overlying the 
 roof of the chapel, lay in the full light of the 
 
Pippas Wedding, 213 
 
 moonshine and sliimnierod like a sheet of poliahed 
 silver. Hero the fairies had asseinblud for Pippa's 
 wedding. To a mortal eye the Hceno would have 
 appeared fantastic. Graceful figures that threw 
 no shadow, moving and shifting gaily on a sheeny 
 platform, high up between the gi«im old towers, 
 was like nothing actual, but rather seemed a 
 fantasy evoked in an artist's or visionary's 
 dream. It was, however, an assemblage very 
 much alive and very interested in the little 
 drama going forward. 
 
 The official ceremony was simple. The Mar- 
 riage Herald, in his professional tabard, blew a 
 blast on the trumpet, and in a ringing voice 
 called, — 
 
 " Stand forth, O Loving Ones ! " 
 
 At the word, twenty couples, involuntarily 
 acting on the spur of the moment, took a stej) 
 forward, but remembered in time to retreat bash- 
 fully. Then Lito advanced, leading his bride, who 
 sank gracefully at the Queen's feet. 
 
 "Rise, child— come, let me kiss thee," said her 
 Majesty kindly. 
 
 The King, who happened to be in one of his 
 pleasant, breezy humours, chucked the blushing 
 bride under the chin and said,— 
 
 " Ha ! you little rogue, is this what you have 
 been about ? Nice girl. Lucky lad, Lito. Ton 
 our sacred sceptre, if we were not Oberon we 
 would be Lito, for this night ox^y—mteris paribus 
 —hem 1 " 
 
 I do not think the Queen altogether relished 
 
 f 
 
 |. 
 
 ''.% 
 
 
 
 
2 1 4 Annals of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 
 these remarks of his Majtsty, but was too well- 
 bred to show it. 
 
 Suddenly recollecting his oflBcial character, the 
 King, who, it will be remembered, is also Flamen 
 or High Priest, put on a look such as I have seen 
 in the Courts of country Justices of the Peace, 
 and sternly demanded, — 
 
 "Which be the parties?" 
 
 The bride and bridegroom were led forward 
 by their smiling maids and grooms, and took 
 their respective places modestly hand in hand. 
 Then his Majesty, in a solemn voice, repeated 
 the marriage service : — 
 
 " Dearly beloved, 
 ^ Hand feat ! Live your best ! 
 
 You, Lito, all your life love your wife ! 
 And you, Pippa, don't be chary 
 To increase the folk of Faerie I 
 
 " Now take good heed to this, both of you, lest 
 it end in amazement." 
 
 With this simple but impressive ceremony, 
 Pippa took her place in the matronage of the 
 land. 
 
 I have already so fully portrayed the sports 
 of the fairies that I need not describe how on 
 this occasion everybody kissed everybody, and 
 how troops of friends slapped Lito on the back 
 and slyly poked him in the ribs, and quite made 
 Pippa blush by calling her "Missus." Nor how 
 the pipers piped and the blowers blew, and fiddlers 
 strummed and the drummers rub-a-dubbed. Nor 
 
 
Pippa's Wedding. 
 
 215 
 
 how the night flew on swiftest wing, and the 
 revels were prolonged joyously till the day broke 
 and the red dorking on the farmer's roof-tree 
 shrilly crew. May the pair be happy 1 which 
 they will probably the rather be that they were 
 not hand-coupled by a rescript from Geneva or 
 Italy, nor on the strength of a hypocritical docu- 
 ment costing five pounds and purporting to come 
 from the Archbishop of Canterbury, greeting, but 
 were united heartfest-and-handfest, in view of 
 their own people, within the hallowed precincts 
 of Sweetheart Abbey, 
 
 5. h 
 
 i ill 
 
 m 
 
 \ 
 
 k-f 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 I 
 
 MY NOVEL. 
 
 On one wet, disagreeable day which confined us 
 all to the haunt, it; occurred to me that I would 
 write a novel. The task is easy, and, from the 
 proverbially facile nature of publishers, the profits 
 to authors are large, I felt myself qualified for 
 the undertaking. Before I accepted my present 
 position of Annalist, I lived in the capacity of 
 nephew with a relative, and in return did odd jobs 
 about his place. The gentleman was by profession 
 a dealer in waste-paper, and in the course of his 
 business had amassed a large collection of modern 
 fiction, which he had saved from the pulpmakers, 
 and which I read with avidity. The various 
 schools of composition were therefore familiar to 
 me. As a novel is, or ought to be, a premeditated 
 work of art, I proceeded in my design secundum 
 artem, according to art, by making a list of the 
 leading styles that have brought fame and fortune 
 to their writers. Of these were— the Goody, not 
 applicable to real life ; the Adventurous, " played 
 out " (so to speak) in boys' papers ; purely Historic, 
 never a success ; the Religious involved the ques- 
 tion, "Which religion?" the Notable Numskull, 
 
 216 
 

 My Novel. 
 
 217 
 
 ' 
 
 adapted only to the serious elderly ; the Atheistic, 
 difficult to prevent being at once dull and blas- 
 phemous, and mostly written by college girls ; the 
 Political was not to be thought of; the Nigger, 
 oppressively prevalent among boot - blacks and 
 newsboys, but among them only; the Detective, 
 so simplified by overdoing that any schoolboy can 
 follow the scent with his nose, and unwind the 
 clue as if from a reel ; the Gynarchian — Eureka ! 
 I had found it. I need seek no farther. The 
 Chivalric tone has had its day ; funny men have 
 utterly extinguished wit in the Humorous; the 
 Natural has ceased to exist since syndicates re- 
 vived Grub Street ; but Gynarchy, or Government 
 by Woman, including Gush, is exactly suited to 
 the tone of the time, and in every way adapted to 
 the taste and range of the average typewriter. To 
 her, therefore, I would address myself. 
 
 From the fact that I myself was the loyal ser- 
 vant of an Irresponsible Dynasty, it was natural for 
 me to look around for a republic in which to lay 
 my scene, and, need it be said, I found one looming 
 colossally across the Atlantic. Therein lies a city, 
 the rise of which is the most astonishing event 
 which history has produced — namely, that within 
 the brief period of less than three centuries, on the 
 foundation a handful of Dutchmen laid, has arisen 
 a metropolis of commerce and intelligence that 
 excels in magnitude the capitals of Continental 
 Europe founded we know not when, and has out- 
 run them a hundredfold in energy. Here was a 
 magnificent setting for the incidents of My Novel, 
 
 
 i\ 
 
 illi 
 
2 1 8 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 and in no other part of the world could those 
 incidents have eventuated with any show of pro- 
 bability, or with such brilliant success. 
 
 In carrying out my design, I made my heroine 
 "the elder of the two daughters of a drunken 
 father by an angelic mother. This elder maid, 
 just entering her teens, was Alinda, and her young 
 sister was Fluffie. The father, on his sudden 
 demise, was found to be deeply indebted, chiefly 
 in taprooms, and his elder daughter formed the 
 noble resolution of wiping out these old scores 
 out of her earnings. Backed by her mother (but 
 reading somewhat amiss the adage that 'labour 
 is honourable'), the daughter would not go into 
 domestic service; yet the honest parent, volun- 
 tarily and praiseworthily undertaking an amount 
 of household drudgery worse than any slave's, 
 started a men's boarding-house, while Alinda, 
 prescient of the future, held aloof from degrading 
 toil, and continued to cultivate her mind. Fate, 
 however, is the stronger. The bloom faded from 
 the hard-worked mother's cheek, and she died; 
 and Alinda, now in full consciousness of the 
 omnipotence of Cultured Womanhood, felt herself 
 capable of coping with fate, and kept on the 
 boarding-house, although the rent was six months 
 in arrear." 
 
 [Having got thus far with my tale, I read it 
 aloud, according to a habit I have, and on looking 
 up saw before me the gnome Tumblebug, seated on 
 a ledge, and listening intently. This is the only 
 gnome who has really some superficial acquaintance 
 
My Novel. 219 
 
 with English literature, though where he picked it 
 up I cannot say, excepting that he has a taste for 
 lurking near educated mortals, and invisibly lis- 
 tening to what they say. At all events he is the 
 last person whom I should wish to have for a 
 collaborator.] 
 
 To resume,—" When Alinda took the head of the 
 table, and served out the soup for the first time, it 
 was instantly obvious that there was something 
 ideal in her eyes, which showed a new phase to be 
 opened in the boarders' life history. They felt 
 themselves exalted and refined by the spell of 
 \^omanhood. With her advent a new condition 
 of things inaugurated itaelf— higher, holier. Her 
 bills, made out on gilt-edged paper, were placed in 
 addressed envelopes every Saturday night, and 
 were expected to be promptly paid. Tobacco in 
 any form was put under ban, and if any of the 
 'guests' (as the boarders were now called) 
 wanted beer, they had to go round the corner for 
 it, and eat cinnamon to kill the immoral odour. 
 Wiping boots on the mat was strictly enforced, 
 and, in short, Alinda's establishment 'combined 
 with refined society all the comforts of a home.' 
 Her advertisements said so. 
 
 " Among the resident guests was a wholesome, 
 broad-faced young man, Rodolph Plowshear by 
 name, from the rural districts, but who had a 
 situation in a shop, where he was esteemed by his 
 employers for his business steadiness and obtuse- 
 ness to all the finer emotions. He was a silly, 
 good-natured lad, somewhat given to telling long, 
 
 II 
 
 
 
220 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 pointless stories, at which no one laughed much 
 but himself. On one memorable occasion he was 
 in the middle of one of his prolonged laughs, when 
 the Irish help — whom her new mistress had 
 recently dignified with a French appellative— I 
 do not know whether it was id I suivante or 
 hold ! quelq'une, but it sounded like that— tapped 
 him on the crown of the head with a spoon, and 
 notified hira that Miss Alinda required his attend- 
 ance in her boudoir. Roddy (as his fellow-boarders 
 called him for short) blushed all over, pushed back 
 his chair awkwardly, grasped his hat from the 
 sideboard, and followed the suivante. 
 
 " Arrived in the boudoir up three pair back, he 
 found the lady of the mansion gracefully re- 
 clining in a rocking-chair. Motioning him with 
 a queenly gesture to a seat, she fixed her calm, 
 contemplative eyes on him, as he sat with his tall 
 hat between his knees, and feeling in all his bones 
 that if he had not been conscious his board was 
 paid up to date, he would have sunk through the 
 floor. 
 
 " • What is your salary, Mr Rodolph ? ' said she 
 at length, with a masculine firmness of mien. 
 
 " ' Fifteen dollars a week, miss,' replied Rodolph, 
 meekly. 
 
 " ' 1 have decided to change my condition, and 
 have done you the honour to select you,' continued 
 the glorious creature, still fixing him with her 
 eyes. 
 
 " • But, miss,' stuttered the terror-stricken youth, 
 ' I have— not — made up — my mind — ' 
 
My Novel. 
 
 221 
 
 "'That is Gi no consequence,' said Alinda, 
 sweetly ; ' may I trouble you to touch the bell ? ' 
 
 "Like one in a dream he obeyed, and Bridget 
 appeared, to whom the lady remarked, — 
 
 •' ' Go to the clergyman next door, and request 
 him to step here.' 
 
 " In very brief time a dissolute-looking man 
 appea'od, who tied the knot, pocketed the fee, and 
 disap[;oared. Then Alinda, with that fine adminis- 
 trative talent that is inherent in the cultured of 
 her sex, took Rodolph's arm, and leading him 
 downstairs to the apartment in which the boarders 
 still sat chatting, introduced him as her husband, 
 and further intimated that wedding gifts would 
 now be in order. 
 
 " From that date began Rodolph's experiences of 
 the realities of life. The spoons, knives and forks, 
 crockery and table linen, were handed over to his 
 care ; he was shown the coal-hole, the ice-house, and 
 the pump, and was instructed to build the fires 
 each morning, because Bridget, being a domestic 
 and not a servant, refused to do it. He was sent 
 on errands, and rated if he lingered by the way. 
 In short, he fell into the groove which Providence 
 in its reconstruction of society intends man to fiii. 
 What with his daily ten hours at the shop, and 
 several hours night and morning at home, his 
 whole time was occupied with household drudgery. 
 What he took the most unkindly to was being 
 forced to hand over his salary of $15 a week to his 
 liege lady every Saturday night. Formerly he 
 had paid her |G weekly for board, and now it cost 
 
222 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 him thrice that amount, with galling tasks imposed 
 on him besides. He could not in his own mind 
 see the propriety of this. Alinda, however, was a 
 generous creature, and allowed him half-a-doUar 
 a week to expend in works of art. 
 
 " Relieved from the minor cares of housekeeping, 
 Alinda, still under her maiden name, made a dash 
 at public life. Her first venture was, as a matter 
 of course, recitations: — 'Come into the garden, 
 Maud,' and ' Enoch Arden.' Equally, of course, 
 she next essayed the Prohibition and Women's 
 Rights platform, whereon she made a triumphant 
 success. Money flowed in on her. She dressed 
 superbly, and denied herself nothing, and sold the 
 boarding-house. Thereafter she instituted a psy- 
 chotheurgic salon, and twice a week gracefully re- 
 ceived the fashionable world, who wanted to know 
 what that study meant. Woman's flight in her own 
 empyrean could go no higher. She never allowed 
 Rodolph the entree to any of her receptions, but 
 made him sit up for her on her evenings out, 
 which her servants would not do. FluflSe was 
 entered at the Conservatory of Music, with the 
 intention of bringing her out as Signorina Lila- 
 bulera. 
 
 "Leaving Rodolph at home on board wages, 
 Mdme. Alinda went to the recent gathering of 
 women of all nations at Chicago, U.S.A., and was 
 there unanimously elected to a conspicuous post. 
 Thereafter, her fame was world-wide. The only 
 disappointment she met with was, that when she 
 tried to run Roddy for Congress, on the ground that 
 
My Novel. 
 
 223 
 
 he was Ut husband, he failed to receive a nomina- 
 tion. The Advanced Sisterhood, however, took the 
 matter up, and by dint of lobbying and other 
 political arts in which they had become experts, 
 petitions with many thousand signatures were 
 poured upon the Government, demanding that a 
 lady-nominee of the Woman cause should bo ap- 
 pointed to the command of the army, and the 
 nominee's young sister, aged seventeen, who had 
 so highly distinguished herself on platforms as 
 champion of Compulsory International Arbitration, 
 be given the navy, with rank of Grand Admiral. 
 The measure, however, for the present, was not 
 carried, but received a large legislative vote, and 
 confident hopes are entertained that another session 
 may see it become law. 
 
 "Having now full time to devote to platform and 
 committee work, her splendid intellect and mag- 
 netic personality gave her an influence far exceed- 
 ing that of any empress, or queen, or reigning 
 duchess on earth. Men feared her— at which she 
 rejoiced— but no other lady ever so reigned in the 
 hearts of her countrywomen." 
 
 [The number of pages allotted by publishers 
 being nearly exhausted, it became necessary to 
 wind up my story with a dramatic finale— which 
 I did in this wise : — ] 
 
 " Bridget confessed to Rodolph that when she was 
 sent to fetch a clergyman, she could not find one, 
 but took the first man that came to hand. He 
 chanced to be a travelling tinman, who undertook 
 the job for the sake of the fee. Consequently there 
 
 ^t 
 
 • r 
 
 II 
 
 if 
 
■MM 
 
 224 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 had been no marriage and the supposed husband 
 was free as air. Rodolph leaped up with a joyful 
 shriek, kissed Bridget, seized his liat and rushed 
 from the premises. He never came back. When 
 last heard of he had taken passage for Corea, in- 
 tending to run the blockade. How dreadful must 
 have been the moral state of a man who could so 
 throw oflF woman's beneficent guidance ! " 
 
 Hero ended my Gynecian novel. Having care- 
 fully sealed the manuscript and hidden it in the 
 cleft of a rock that served me for escritoire, attend- 
 ance on his Majesty occupied me for some days. 
 On again being at leisure, I sent the packet by the 
 hands of a countryman to the nearest post-office, 
 addressed to a publisher, and with stamps for return 
 postage, should it (which was unlikely) be deemed 
 unsuitable. 
 
 Time hung heavy on my hands for weeks, with 
 great anxiety of mind, until at length the sanie 
 countryman brought me from the post-office a 
 package seemingly of equal bulk with the one I 
 had sent. Opening it nervously, my eye fell on a 
 printed slip which said, — ''Declined with thanks. 
 It is understood that this evasion is not founded on 
 the literary demerit of the MS. Our Reader's 
 report is enclosed." The fatal enclosure was as 
 follows : — 
 
 {Marginal notes pencilled on MS.) 
 
 " MS., page 185. The incident of Alinda hitting 
 her husband on the head with a frying-pan, is per- 
 haps more infrequent in domestic circles than the 
 writer would make out in the context. 
 
My Novel. 
 
 225 
 
 "Page 201. To enlarge that the heroine's uncle 
 was a pawnbroker does not seem essential. 
 
 " Page 367. The writer ought to have consulted 
 the Dress Reform Association before exposing his 
 ignorance. The divided skirt is not put on "over 
 the head. Quite the contrary. 
 
 "Page 403. Here is one of those lapses that 
 genius higher than the writer's inadvertently falls 
 into, but very corruptive of public morals. Rodolph's 
 salary had been raised from $15 to $17 a week, yet 
 he deliberately conceals the fact, handing over 
 only the former amount to his wife, and applying 
 the balance to his own uses. This is teaching so 
 insidious a lesson to married men in shops and 
 oflSces, that the publication of this MS. cannot be 
 recommended." 
 
 I was paralysed. The shock inflicted on my 
 feelings by this heartless scroll was very severe. 
 I was completely mystified by these references to 
 passages that I was confident I had never written. 
 Truth at last flashed on me. During my neces- 
 sary attendance on the King, that villain Tumble- 
 bug had opened the parcel and added several 
 chapters ! 
 
 
tmm 
 
 mmm 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MIDSUMMER EVE. 
 
 On a 1-ugged coast, the latitude and longitude of 
 which need not htere be specified, but where the 
 long roll of the North Atlantic is smashed uito 
 spray that flies three hundred feet high on the 
 granite cliffs, a round-topped head juts like a 
 promontory. Here engineers, not by faith alone 
 but by dynamite and other superhuman powers, 
 are engaged in performing the miracle alluded to 
 in Scripture, and art casting a mountain into the 
 sea Locally the head is called the Tor. 
 
 The formation of the Tor is peculiar. In form 
 it resembles a giant knob of treeless green with 
 a bald crown. The body of the hill up to the 
 bald spot is covered with a short sheep-sward, so 
 shallow, that were you to dig a turf you would 
 come to the underlying rock, yet flocks, belong- 
 ing to the farmers below, find sustenance on it 
 during the summer. Half way down, the hill is 
 terraced naturally into stairs or plateaux, while 
 towards its base it becomes still steeper and broken 
 with ravines in which brooks, which occasionally 
 swell into torrents, tumble, and along their banks 
 larches grow. Midway up, great excavations 
 
 226 
 
Midsummer Eve. 
 
 227 
 
 have been opened, baring the rock's bones, and at 
 their base black pools of water accumulate. All 
 day at intervals, horns sound, followed by ex- 
 plosions from which avalanches of stone hurl 
 down the slides to the plain beneath, whence the 
 blocks, partly prepared or in the rough, are hauled 
 to their destination. Enormous rocks piled in 
 confusion, heaped-up dehvia and mounds of splin- 
 ters make the quarries look like the scene of a 
 battle of Titans among "the tumbled fragments 
 of the hills." The men who work there are a race 
 of giants. No others could endure the severe 
 physical toil. Stalwart, bearded men are they 
 who swing their ponderous hammers and drills 
 as if playthings ^i. ir rude dwellings of one 
 low storey of uiidressed stone are built on a 
 higher platuau, out of the range of flyin(^ 
 splinters. " 
 
 Several years before the opening of our tale, a 
 respectahly-clad woman of middle age, who held by 
 the hand a child of about four years of age, whom 
 she called by the pretty English name of Bessy, 
 came to the quarrymen's village at the fcuL of the 
 Tor, and took possession of a deserted two-roomed 
 cottage which had been secured for her by the itin- 
 erant Methodist preacher who served the spiritual 
 wants of the locality. She was a respectable per- 
 son, but profoundly silent as to her antecedents. 
 Some pittance of an annuity came to her quarterly, 
 but as the rent of her cottage was less than two 
 pounds per annum, she managed to eke out a livino- 
 by knitting and other woman*s work. From the 
 
 1 ; 
 
 'ill 
 
*5» 
 
 MM 
 
 228 Annais of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 age of four years, little Bessy had a sweetheart in 
 the shape of a sturdy, round-faced boy called Bill, 
 without other name, employed in the quarries. 
 From the first glimpse he had of the little maiden, 
 love's refining influences permeated that boy. Her 
 first toy was of his manufacture-a go-cart con- 
 structed on the model of the massive trucks with 
 solid wheels used for hauling huge blocks of stone. 
 A few years later he bought her a canary in a cage, 
 the price having been accumulated by putting 
 saved pennies do^n the chimney of a tin save-all 
 house with the word "Bank" painted on the door. 
 At the age of ten or twelve Bessy had become use- 
 ful by guiding tourists to nooks on the hill where 
 "rare" ferns grew, which were afterwards found 
 to be common to all parts of the country. Thus 
 she lived until the age of eighteen, helping her 
 mother and leading a blameless life. Then the 
 mother died, her annuity dying with her, end the 
 young girl was homeless. 
 
 Bill meantime had got on in the world. At 
 first he had a small charge to keep tally, serve 
 out powder, and keep the blasters from smok- 
 ing pipes in the magazine, give account ot the 
 quota and repair of tools and see to things 
 generally, but at the time of this story had 
 risen to be foreman. His old mother lived with 
 and looked on him still as a boy. In many 
 respects, such as simplicity of character, in- 
 genuous truthfulness and warmth of affections, 
 hfi was. in truth, all that boys should be but 
 seldom are. When Bessy's mother died, there 
 
Midsummer Eve. 
 
 229 
 
 was no affectation in that primitive community 
 that the orphan should mourn her loss for a 
 year. Bill was the girl's beau, and therefore 
 he ought to marry her out of hand. Accord- 
 ingly, nothing loth, he sent for the preacher, 
 who spliced the pair in a trice. The bride- 
 groom's comrades slapped him on the back and 
 shook hands, while the bride's friends gave her 
 little presents of nightcaps with enormous frills, 
 cotton handkerchiefs, aprons, and ends of ribbon ; 
 one elderly dame, more provident than the rest, 
 giving a pound of tea ; while another old lady, 
 ahead of her era, anticipated time by bestowing 
 a pin-cushion which said in solid-headed pins, 
 "Welcome, little stranger." Arm-in-arm the 
 young couple walked up the hill to the cottage 
 where the bridegroom's mother kept open house 
 for the day in a way that outdid anything that 
 had ever been done on the hill. The thirty-two 
 printed lines of this page would not suffice to 
 catalogue the varieties of cakes — short, long, 
 round, square, rhomboidal, polygonal, fruit, sugar, 
 treacle and criss-cross buns — not to mention a 
 barrel of ale on tap in the corner, free to all 
 comers. When day fell, and the quarrymen 
 had knocked off work, they came in a body 
 around the door of the new-married couple 
 and demanded a speech; which was given, 
 and as it possessed a quality not common in 
 contemporary oratory (that it carried the 
 audience with it), it is worthy of preserva- 
 tion : — 
 
 ill 
 
 ill 
 
 ill 
 
 '! I 
 
'{ J|l!.li.L,J±J??Sl 
 
 ^U- ' ->JJi 
 
 230 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Bill's Speech. 
 
 " Mates ! and you women over there ! I'm 
 not much of a jawing man— but I've gone and 
 got me a wiie— (laughter). And a good wife she 
 be. (Cries of " True for you, Bill ! " " Bonny lass ! " 
 etc.) Mates! and you women over there! me 
 and my wife is glad to see ye— (applause). Men, 
 there's a plenty of good lasses adown the vale; 
 and you go and ask 'em, and see if they say No. 
 Not they \— (laughter). Mates ! me and my bonny 
 lass is glad to bee ye. Men! I'm not much 
 hand at a jaw nor yet a heavy-drinking man 
 neither, and the ale's done — clean cup out — 
 (marked symptoms of disapprobation). But when 
 ye next go to the town you go to the ' Quarry- 
 man's Arms ' and you drink a brace o' pots apiece 
 and score it to me — (joyous manifestations). 
 Mates ! all on you ! and you wenches over there ! 
 me and my lass is glad to see ye." (Cries of 
 " Good enough, Bill. Let's gi'e him a hup — 
 hip ! hip ! hooraw ! hup ! " in the midst of which 
 popular ovation the married couple retired, both 
 covered with blushes.) 
 
 The pair lived happily and in due time a 
 daughter was born to them, whom they named 
 Bessy, after the mother. The growth and de- 
 velopment of that baby punctuated the parents' 
 life. The first time it "took notice," the first 
 time it grasped a coral, the cutting of its first 
 tooth, were all epochs, and the memorable time 
 when the infant toddled across the floor to its 
 
Midsummer Eve. 
 
 231 
 
 father, an era looked back to and dated from. An 
 infant is generally "mother's child" or "father's 
 babe." Little Bessy was essentially father's child. 
 The whole soul of the male parent was wrapt up 
 in the small friend whom he had left at home, 
 when he went to his work on the hill. 
 
 When the little girl grew big enough to stray 
 about cilone, her favourite resting-place was a 
 stone bench at the cottage door, facing the direc- 
 tion in which father would come. Here she would 
 iv.i5.it patiently, amusing herself with her toys 
 » " >nning over the steps she had traversed in the 
 thorny path of literature — " Pa-pa, papa ; c-a-t, cat ; 
 d-o-g, Flora," for that was the name of a pretty 
 King Charles spaniel that some tourist had lost, 
 and which the quarryman who found it had given 
 to Bill's little lass. As soon as she saw her father's 
 hat topping the rise about a hundred yards off, 
 she would run to him with all speed and climb 
 up on him as on a tower, and be carried back to 
 the cottage in his protecting arms. Under the 
 watchful care she met with she ought to have 
 thriven, but had grown somewhat languid of late, 
 and there was a want of elasticity in her motions. 
 She never complained of illness, and with the 
 blindness that over-aiFection sometimes produces, 
 the fond parents observed nothing amiss. Some 
 of the Qoodys shook their heads and said she 
 would never make old bones. There was a weary, 
 wistful look in her eyes, which at length became 
 habitual. She would often sit for a long time 
 silent and motionless, as in what, in an older 
 
 II 
 
 i ;;.;■ 
 
 1 
 
 M 
 
 
«»\^iy!lB'^WBWy^ 
 
 232 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 person, would be called reverie. When asked if 
 anything ailed her she would answer she was 
 sleepy. Had old Dr Doss, who had attended 
 her mother, been alive, a glance would have told 
 him that Bill's little Bessy was fading away. 
 
 On one midsummer eve the child, from some 
 inexplicable whim, insisted on being dresse'' in 
 her white frock. The mother, ever indul^^ont, 
 gratified the harmless fancy, and decked her in 
 her pretty white dress, smiling to think what a 
 surprise it would ibe to father to see his pet in 
 holiday costume. About a quarter of an hour 
 before sunset, little Bessy, so attired, took her 
 usual station on the bench to watch for her 
 father's return. The mother, knowing that the 
 dress was thin, wrapped her carefully in a shawl 
 and returned indoors. Flora, the spaniel, lay 
 beside its young mistress. Precisely as the sun 
 sank below the horizon the familiar burly form 
 appeared, but no little maid ran to meet him. 
 Disquieted, but not alarmed by her absence, he 
 quickened his pace, and, on reaching the threshold, 
 was met by his wife, who asked,— " Where is 
 Bessy?" "Is she not here?" cried he, vaguely 
 fearing he knew not what. Explanations ensued, 
 and the distracted father rushed forth, exclaim- 
 ing,— "Great God! the child is lost!" 
 
 Instant alarm was conveyed to thv. huts, and 
 instantly the whole population turned out. No 
 one had seen the missing child. Yet only twenty 
 minutes before she had been sitting by the door 
 singing softly to herself. She could not have 
 
 ^ 
 
'on. 
 
 Midsummer Eve. 
 
 233 
 
 3n asked if 
 r she was 
 d attended 
 1 have told 
 5 away, 
 from some 
 
 dresse'' in 
 
 indul^^ont, 
 ked her in 
 ink what a 
 
 his pet in 
 ■A an hour 
 1, took her 
 sh for her 
 ig that the 
 in a shawl 
 spaniel, lay 
 
 as the sun 
 burly form 
 
 meet him. 
 
 absence, he 
 
 le threshold, 
 
 ■" Where is 
 
 he, vaguely 
 
 ions ensued, 
 
 ih, exclaim- 
 » 
 
 ^ huts, and 
 d out. No 
 only twenty 
 )y the door 
 i not have 
 
 . 
 
 wandered far in the short time that had elapsed since 
 her disappearance. The sympathising men of the 
 quarry scattered in all directions, calling on the 
 child's name, while a few of the women went to the 
 cottage to comfort the bereaved mother with their 
 presence. They were practical fellows, those quarry- 
 men, accustomed to act in concert; therefore it 
 took no time to organise in gangs, each to take 
 a different space, and to signal by blowing a 
 horn if any trace of the lost was discovered 
 The face of the Tor was (as already described) 
 diversified by terraces covered with green sward, 
 on the highest of which the workmen's huts 
 were built. The terrace next below held no 
 habitations. The third or lowest overhung the 
 quarries, and was seamed by blasting, with deep, 
 dark pools at the base, and so steep that no 
 living thing might fall over and live. The day 
 had been of that close, sultry atmosphere which 
 causes the twilight to be dark, and the stars 
 seem to give less than their usual light. An 
 hour of anxious search had passed when the 
 heart of everyone thrilled at the sound of a 
 horn, that being the signal of any trace of the 
 lost child, alive or dead. Following the sound 
 and rapidly closing in, the searchers found them- 
 selves on the second plateau, and there beheld, 
 not the child, but her little dog, whining piteously 
 and scratching at the base of a mound that rose 
 from the level. The creature's behaviour was 
 inexplicable. Other dogs had already been put 
 on the search, but they seemed unable to find a 
 
 
 <,. ill 
 
 11: 
 
I 
 
 si 
 
 234 Amials of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 scent, and barked aimlessly. Lanterns were now 
 brought, and parties under e:^perienced leaders 
 set out to examine every inch of the ground. 
 Some even ascended to the summit, although 
 there was no probability that she could have 
 wandered so far. All night lights moved along 
 the face of the Tor, and the shouts of men con- 
 tinued to call to each other, but no sound of a 
 horn to give hope that the lost one was found. 
 Fear deepened into certainty that her body lay 
 at the bottom of 9ne of the cruel pools. 
 
 Leaving the men to continue their search, we 
 must here make a digresbion respe'^ting the re- 
 markable incident that really did befall the child. 
 The attentive reader cannot fail to be aware 
 that my office as Annalist necessitates residence 
 at headquarters in close personal attendance on 
 the King. Consequently I was not one of the 
 company on the occasion of the little maid's 
 adventure; but it was faithfully related to me 
 by a reliable gnome who was there, and I crave 
 leave to describe it as if I had myself been 
 present and seen it. Heaven only knows what 
 are illusions and what are realities— or, to put 
 it in plainer language, what illusions are, and 
 wherein do they differ from realities. Can the 
 most observant mad-doctor vouch that the fan- 
 tastic and unseen company that his patient con- 
 verses with are not present in actuality? Who 
 shall unriddle the mystery of the events of 
 dreams? No weak mind should even pursue 
 the inquiry whether we ourselves are. So many 
 
 
1 
 
 Midsummer Eve. 
 
 235 
 
 
 
 things had better be taken for granted. I do 
 not know whether the things I am about to 
 describe were or were not. All I can do is to 
 tell the tale as 'twas told to nie. 
 
 An encampment of fairies, then, under a prefect, 
 subject, of coi;rse, to King Oberon, had from 
 time immemorial held the Tor as their home. 
 When the hill was first invaded by engineers, 
 the hammering and blasting alarmed them much, 
 and they prepared to emigrate; but finding the 
 disturbance vs'as confined to one part of the steep, 
 and, moreover, that the men who made the tur- 
 moil were simple, ignorant people, who believed 
 in fajries, and would not willingly oflfend them, 
 they concluded to stay, and soon became as 
 accustomed to explosions as are vine-gi'owers on 
 the slopes of Vesuvius. Midsummer Eve is a 
 high festival with the fairy folk. On this eve 
 there was gala in an immense granite cavern, 
 glittering with crystals of feldspar, in the heart 
 of Tor. Artificial illumination there was none, 
 but light seemed to emanate from the crystals, 
 even as a diamond which has been exposed to 
 the sun's rays will for some time emit light 
 when taken into the dark. On ledges that here 
 and there jutted with surfaces of glistening 
 quartz the prismatic colours glowed or threw 
 patches of silvery sheen as moonlight on the 
 water does. The air was equable and cool, and 
 the tout ensemble at once dazzlingly beautiful, 
 chaste and delightful. 
 
 In this palatial hall were assembled many of 
 
236 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 the society fairies of the district. His Excellency 
 the Prefect was in presence in full feather, con- 
 sequential and pursy, as well as the stately dame, 
 his spouse, who bears the honorary title of Archi- 
 wif, and is addressed as Your Goodness. Both 
 were making themselves vastly agreeable, as it 
 is the duty of the great to do. A group of 
 fair young fays were conversing with the lady 
 patroness, and one said, — 
 
 "May it please Your Goodness, 'i is the love- 
 liest child ! Alas ! that the rose already in bud 
 will bloom on her bier." 
 
 " Woe for poor mortality," sighed the lady, gently. 
 
 " Woe, indeed," returned the fay, " for this child 
 is so bound up in human affections. Her father — 
 a strong man-— dreams not of the impending sorrow. 
 It will kill him. May it please you, we have sent 
 for the child. Have we your forgiveness ? " 
 
 "Good girls I" said the lady, "you have done 
 well." 
 
 A little buzz of excitement here arose as two 
 lovely fairies advanced, leading the lost little 
 Bessy by the hand. The child in her white frock 
 here If looked like a fairy, but to the prescient 
 lore of the aerial people death was written in her 
 dark, wistful eyes. Her cheek had not altogether 
 lost its roundness, but the complexion was of that 
 semi-transparency that indicates the wheels of life 
 are lagging to a standstill. The lady looked at 
 her compassionately, and extended her hand. 
 
 "Welcome, little one," she said. "Is it well 
 with thee, child ? " 
 
Midsummer Eve. 
 
 ^Z7 
 
 " I want my mama," said Bessy. 
 
 " Thou Shalt have thy mama. Wilt thou love 
 me ? " continued the lady, looking very motherly 
 as she said it. 
 
 The little mortal took one of those shrewd 
 glances that show in a child, however young, an 
 instinctive appreciation of character, and replied, — 
 
 " Yes, ma'am, please." 
 
 Here the Archiwif nodded to a group of fairy 
 children who were hovering with great curiosity 
 about the stranger, and they immediately closed 
 around her and bore her off, well pleased, in their 
 midst. 
 
 Having, according to programme, from sunset 
 to midnight unbroken for amusement, the assembly 
 separated into festal groups and followed their 
 various pleasures without restraint. The children, 
 with Bessy among them, were especially merry. 
 Fruits acceptable alike to fairy and mortal mouths, 
 and that had been abstracted from the glass- 
 houses of a mortal market-gardener, were in abund- 
 ance, as well as drinks compounded from the 
 honey of bees and the ichor of flowers. Banks 
 of wild blooms set in moss were likewise there, 
 with wealth of hot-house exotics borrowed from a 
 florist without his leave. Then there were rock- 
 ing-horses so like real ponies that they ran about 
 of themselves, and dolls that not only squeaked 
 when you compressed them, but did it voluntarily. 
 And such games ! goosey gander and eight white 
 mice and cat's cradle— the eldest girl among them 
 relating a rather doubtful story of a cat who went 
 
238 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 to ft shoemaker and ordered two pairs of topboots, 
 and had many adventures in them. Dancing, 
 however, was the main amusement of these 
 indefatigable little pti.^ons — in fact all the com- 
 pany danced. The Archiwif and her set mainly 
 confined themselves to the stately minuet, which 
 they walked through with all the suavity and 
 grace of the liaid co^ira, but did not disdain to take 
 part in contra dances. The young buffos of the 
 party hauled out partners, and flung their limbs 
 about in eightsome reels and jigs, the while the 
 couples who had reached the age of deportment 
 revolved in the orbit of slow valse. His Excellency 
 was a model patron. Blandly laying aside the 
 terrors of his official position, he moved among the 
 company, saying a kind word here, patting a young 
 hoyden's cheek there, exchanging gallant compli- 
 ments with the ladies generally, and slapping the 
 men on the shoulder as if he had not a care. But 
 he had. One would think the lot of a fairy of 
 such high rank would be exempt from anxiety ; 
 but no! nothing lives that is completely void of 
 care. Care is the penalty for being. Perhaps the 
 bird on the bough, when it sees the woodland turn- 
 ing first golden and then sere.'has a natural anxiety 
 as to how it will pass the winter, or may have 
 doubts whether its wing is strong enough for the 
 long migration to summer lands. Even the flower 
 may have to think twice before putting forth its 
 bud in view of coming weather. The gnawing 
 anxiety that tortured the worthy Prefect was, he 
 was afraid he was yroiving fat ! In his youth he 
 
Midsummer Eve. 
 
 239 
 
 httd been noted as a successful lady-killer, which 
 he rightly attributed to the agility of his figure 
 and the slimness of his waist, not to mention his 
 moustachios, so sharp and stinglike ; but now, oh, 
 horror ! his waist had disappeared, and threads of 
 grey were mingled with his hair. Himself sensi- 
 tively conscious of these misfortunes, he had the 
 fatuous idea, common to elderly gentlemen, that no 
 one perceived the change but himself. As his agility 
 waned he became the more solicitous to display 
 it. Hence it was (and being really a personage of 
 much honhommie), he selected Bessy for his partner 
 in the dance, and led her to the floor, calling loudly 
 — " A hall ! a hall ! " and ordering the musicians to 
 " strike up ! " Great applause followed the pleasant 
 whim, and a ring was quickly formed to witness the 
 performance. Bessy had no idea of "steps," but 
 ran about in the circle like a young fawn, the 
 Prefect gyrating around her in a rapid deux temps, 
 she occasionally stopping to laugh up at her pursy 
 partner, who thereupon would leap perpendicularly 
 a yard or so high, and come down with a thud 
 scarcely to be expected from one so light of sub- 
 stance as a fairy. The little maid enjoyed it 
 immensely, and would have danced till now (as we 
 read that mortals do when they tread a measure 
 with a fairy), had not failing breath induced the 
 elderly terpsichorean to bring the exercise to a 
 close, which he did with a graceful bow, amid pro- 
 longed congratulations. One matron in a turban, 
 who would have been sorely offended had you not 
 deemed her still young, remarked, " Pvcally, for a man 
 
240 Annah of the Court of Oberon, 
 
 of his tin.o of lif 3, the dear Prefect dances well. I 
 remember I opened a ball with him in the year that 
 some nation or other, I forget which, fought some 
 silly battle somewhere, called, I think, Trafalgar." 
 At this point the cheery bustle gradually sub- 
 sided, and a certain degree of solemnity seemed 
 to steal over the assemblage. The musicians took 
 post on the upper projections and coigns of 
 vantage, while the scattered groups drew to- 
 gether in the centre of the hall. Imperceptibly, 
 and without any mustering of marshals, the com- 
 pany arranged itself in the outline of a seven 
 pointed star, the Vice Court in the centre, and 
 awaited. Fairies are so free from engagements 
 that they do not carry watches, yet precisely 
 at the moment when midnight began to peal 
 from the clocks of cities in that latitude, and 
 at the exact instant when Time had climbed the 
 apex of the year, and his future course would 
 be downward to its close, the pursy Prefect pro- 
 nounced these words in a tone at once solemn 
 and glad, — " All good spirits, praise the Lord ! " 
 
 Then the music sounded, and from every throat 
 swelled the cadence of a glad choral hymn, a 
 grateful anthem. I cannot tell the words of 
 this song of praise, but it expressed a joyous 
 thankfulness to the Maker and Lord of all. The 
 strain swelled into a volume of adoration, that 
 rose and broke in a spray of sound on the vault 
 of the roof, whence being thrown back into mid- 
 air, it undulated and reverberated, awaking echoes 
 that seemed the voices of other sympathising 
 

 Midsummer Eve. 24 1 
 
 beings joining in the rite. This was true worship, 
 Hll joyous, nowise sad. An outburst of thanlc- 
 fulness for hfe and happiness enjoyed, and a 
 humble acknowledgment of gratitude that they 
 were indeed the creatures of the one Creator, 
 and the cared-for — rk of His hand. 
 
 The rite was <.ver t,:J the sports of the night 
 were resumed. Little J^essy. knowing nothL 
 of the words or .l.oci oi the hymn of adoration, 
 had jomed m it v. tU her childish treble, and 
 was now drooping and tired. Tho kindly Prefect 
 observed this and gruffly demanded, " What dVe 
 mean by keeping the child out of bed at this 
 hour of the morning? " At the word, two or three 
 gnomes disappeared, but ere long again became 
 visible with a sackful of soft moss, besides sheets 
 and a coverlet and pillows, that some family 
 would doubtless miss. With these materials, a 
 number of the young matrons made a snug bed 
 in a niche of the wall for sleepy Bessy.and tucked her 
 m, with a filmy veil belonging to the Archiwif looped 
 up for a curtain. Then, one after another, they 
 kissed her m the midst of which she fell asleep, 
 and who shall say that her dreams were not rosy? 
 Ihe tairy revels continued with unbated pleas- 
 ure until the first slanting ray of the rising sun 
 struck the top of Tor~which in that latitude 
 and longitude was precisely fourteen minutes 
 and thirty-three seconds past four o'clock— when 
 m an instant the music ceased, the company dis- 
 appeared, the light went out and the whole 
 pageant vanished like the fabric of a dream 
 
242 Annals 0/ the Court of Oberon, 
 
 Meantime, the searchers had spent the whole 
 night in traversing the hill, but the wheels of 
 labour cannot stand still, and in the morning 
 the men had to return to their work. The 
 wretched father was in a state of distraction that 
 rendered him unfit for anything. Actuated by 
 kindly motives, some of his fellow workmen 
 accompanied him to his dwelling, but when they 
 came within sight of it, they stood still with 
 astonishment as if turned into the granite of 
 Tor itself. For there on the bench by the door 
 lay little Bessy ,in her white frock, wrapped in 
 her mother's shawl, with the first level ray of 
 sunrise shining on her calm sleep, and her little 
 dog curled up at her feet ! Joy succeeded amaze- 
 ment, and was testified by blasts of horn-blow- 
 ing that might have awakened the seven sleepers. 
 One old workman, the Nestor of the quarry, but 
 quite able to give odds in a game of fisticuffs, abso- 
 lutely shuddered with awe as he uncovered his 
 head and whispered, " Midsummer eve, she has been 
 with the fairies." Father and mother rushed out 
 and caught their recovered darling to their hearts. 
 The little maid looked dreamily up and said, 
 " Mamma, where are the children and the angels % " 
 
 A few dajj and the life of little Bessy closed 
 peacefully. The too early flower had faded. On 
 the green mound where she lies are always mourn- 
 ing violets, planted by no mortal hand, and if 
 you visit the hill, you may see the cyclopean 
 w^all of granite that fences the grave of the 
 little girl who was taken by the fairies. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Thus pleasantly flowed my life in Faerie. My 
 position as Royal Annalist, being a Government 
 otfice, was virtually a sinecure, and left a good 
 deal of time loose for my own pursuits. Study 
 m the sciences was unattainable, unless it mi^ht 
 be m botany, for which there were facilities; 
 but I question if the flower -loving fairies would 
 have permitted vivisection of their floral favour- 
 ites with no better reason to offer for such 
 cruelty than that a child dissects her doll to 
 see if It is stuffed with sawdust. Therefore I 
 was driven into other fields of research. In the 
 course of my official duty at Court, I had large 
 opportunities of observing the human race, and 
 trom my observations, came to the conclusion 
 that where the proletariat are dragged off" the 
 streets and forcibly educated under one ironclad 
 system they are trained down to one dead level 
 of smartness, from which grow, as plants from 
 seed, sell- conceit, sham, falsity, greed, venality 
 and dishonesty, especially in public affairs, for 
 ail sense of honour is educated out of them. 
 
 243 
 
**• 
 
 ■ I I llllll 
 
 i 
 
 li > 
 
 244 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 Such being the case, I naturally turned my atten- 
 tion to political economy with a view to frame 
 a social constitution which would preserve the 
 best features of historic experience, and render 
 impossible any dangerous innovation. Herein, at 
 length, was scope for my powers. My theory 
 assumed as a basis the Commonwealth of Plato, 
 but under a chief officer, to be called the To- 
 Agathon, or Tyrant. The principle of heredity 
 was also provided for in a manner that would 
 preclude any break in the dynasty. Fully im- 
 pressed with the evils that arise from a people 
 attempting to govern themselves, my scheme pro- 
 vided a common -sense remedy, for, inasmuch as 
 the phrenesis and dikaiosyne of young and ardent 
 rulers are apt to range through a wide latitude, 
 I proposed giving the Sovereign Rule to 
 
 The Oldest Inhabitant, 
 
 with succession to the next highest in years, who, 
 on the now recognised principle of the Survival 
 of the Fittest, must naturally know more ( the 
 affairs of the realm than anybody else, and whose 
 sophroRyne, resulting from age, would necessarily 
 tend to that state of doing nothing which is, 
 after all, the perfection of government, and which 
 is so closely acted on in the subordinate depart- 
 ments of existing administrations. I drew up 
 this theory in a little prolegomena and sent it 
 to the opposition organ in a rising nation, where, 
 I am told, it was received with mucu acceptance 
 
Conclusion. 
 
 245 
 
 by thinkers. Thus, as 1 have said, my life was 
 ghding -leasantly, when the Chancellor (whom 
 I always hated because he was jealous of my 
 superior attainments) summoned me to instant 
 interview with the King. Let me be candid 
 enough to admit that the faulta of Oberon are 
 only those of a governing mind; that is to say 
 he instantly decides from imperfect premises, and 
 acts thereon with a promptness that closes the 
 case. Arrived in presence, his Majesty was pleased 
 to ask, in very crusty tone of voice, what the 
 deuce I meant by sending stuff (he called it 
 stuff!) to the papers? I respectfully attempted 
 to explain to him the true bases of the solidarity 
 of peoples, but he merely made a gesture show- 
 ing an intention not to be convinced, and ex- 
 changed a shrug with the Chancellor, on whose 
 crafty countenance it pained me to note the grin 
 of triumph so characteristic of a vulgar mind. 
 Finally, the King deigned to add, that if my 
 resignation were sent in within an hour it would 
 be accepted — casually mentioning that he had 
 appointed as my successor a college professor, 
 who had lost his chair because he declined to 
 admit the Mosaic cosmogony. The resignation 
 of my post as Royal Annalist of the High Court 
 of Oberon was sent in within the time specified. 
 1 think his Majesty afterwards regretted my dis- 
 missal, for he bestowed on me the white ribbon 
 of the Order of Gloriana, which decoration, on the 
 few occasions I wore it on earth, caused me to 
 bo mocked and asked sarcastically if I were a 
 
246 Annals of the Court of Oberon. 
 
 King's Daughter? He further tendered a testi- 
 monial under the seal of Chancery, which I re- 
 spectfully declined, as it would only have lowered 
 me to the level of advertising soap-sellers. 
 
 The affectionate leave-taking and hearty good 
 wishes of my Faerie friends of the Common Class 
 will never be forgotten by me. Sadly taking 
 my staff and scrip, I turned a last fond look on 
 Faerie, with its interesting people, whom I shall 
 never see again, and plodded on my way towards 
 my native vale. The next thing I remember is 
 that I awoke as if from a dream, and found 
 myself lying under the plane tree in the scallop- 
 shaped dell where I had ^rst met the little 
 gentleman. Meantime, in my quiet way, I am 
 happy. I shall never marry. The surpassing 
 loveliness of the fays has blunted my taste for 
 mortal beauty. Sometimes, in my wanderings, 
 I meet the fairies' dog. He knows me, but is 
 afraid to testify acquaintance; so, when I say 
 to him "Tycho! poor fellow! poor fel'!" he 
 gazes at me with a mournful expression, and 
 with a long howl takes to the woods. The 
 brute evidently thinks I am under the ban of the 
 empire. 
 
 
 THE END. 
 
 London : Diqby, Long & Co. , Publishers, 
 18 Bouverie Street, Fleet Street, B.C. 
 
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 Fragments from Victor Hugo's Legends and 
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 BY THE AUTHOR OF '«SONG FAVOURW. " 
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 London: DIGBY, LONG & CO., Publishers, 
 
 18 Bouverie Street, Fleet Street, E.C 
 
%. 
 
 I. 
 
 Iiandlord. 
 
 St Ernan's, 
 the Rev. H 
 Bvo, cloth, 6s. 
 
 of Ireland, anil of 
 a very InipreBting 
 .' . . . This very 
 
 OBEUT Wool 
 o, cloth, 6s. 
 
 Woolward writes 
 nesB of an old salt, 
 'ery eiitertaiaing." 
 
 ) Nisi Prius. 
 In handsome 
 
 lay mind an accur- 
 itial circumstances 
 end is executed in 
 
 i of a Russi.an 
 16 Letters of 
 nslated with 
 Portraits and 
 Immediately. 
 
 gends and 
 
 Meetkehke. 
 
 'renoh poetry into 
 translation of ' La 
 
 )UR1S. ■ 
 
 ION. Royal 
 
 J. The little book 
 me the fragrance is 
 d 1 ".vender, rather 
 ry. tn his sonnets 
 lla Domini.' Yet. 
 lim take heart, for 
 
 , Biographies, 
 e of each, free 
 
 lishevs,