MR-WIND 
 
 FSND 
 
 P&UL 
 
 ; 
 
GIFT OF 
 Ella Sterling 
 
o 
 
MR. WIND 
 
 AN D 
 
 MADAM RAIN 
 
 BY 
 
 PAUL DE MUSSET 
 
 TRANSLATED, WITH PERMISSION 
 OF THE AUTHOR, BY 
 
 EMILY MAKEPEACE 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY 
 CHARLES BENNETT 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 
 NEW YORK AND LONDON 
 
<WFTOF 
 
 17 
 

 THE STORY OF 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO 
 
 HER BELOVED YOUNG PUPIL. 
 
 GERMAINE DE MACHY 
 BY THE TRANSLATOR 
 
 892305 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 FRONTISPIECE. . PASS 
 
 How THE MILL TURNS AND THE CABBAGES GROW 11 
 
 MR. WIND PAYS A VISIT 16 
 
 MR. WIND 18 
 
 MADAM RAIN DROPS IN 23 
 
 THE MILLER'S DISMAY 29 
 
 THE MILLER SEEKS MR. WIND 32 
 
 MR. WIND DISTURBED AT DINNER 33 
 
 THE SILVER CASK 38 
 
 THE BARON NO LONGER WANTS A COOK 45 
 
 MR. WIND is OFFENDED 49 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE GOLDEN CASK 51 
 
 MADAM RAIN 58 
 
 THE MILLER DISCOVERS MADAM RAIN 60 
 
 THE GOVERNESS 73 
 
 PRINCE CHRISTIAN, KING ARTHUR, AND EGLANTINE 77 
 
 EGLANTINE AND THE LION 93 
 
 PETER AND THE VIPER 95 
 
 THE FIRST Kiss 96 
 
 THE MILLER ENJOYING HIMSELF 98 
 
 MR. WIND LAUGHS 99 
 
 MR. WIND CRIES 100 
 
 POOR MADAM RAIN 104 
 
 MADAM RAIN CAN NOT HELP HERSELF 106 
 
 MR.WIND AT LIBERTY 110 
 
 THE DEFEAT OF THE CORNISH REBELS 121 
 
 MR.WIND AND MADAM RAIN ARE RELEASED 124 
 
 VIGNETTE MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN SPORTING WITH THE SUN AND 
 MOON . 125 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 You must know, my dear children, that there 
 was once upon a time in Scotland an old blind 
 man, with beard of silvery whiteness, named 
 Ossian, who played exceedingly well upon the 
 harp, and who went about the streets singing 
 songs of his own composing. His father, whose 
 name was Fingal, had been a great warrior ; 
 and therefore Ossian loved most of all to sing 
 the exploits of his great warlike sire. When 
 Ossian was dead, other bards continued to chant 
 his poems, and so it has come to pass that his 
 productions have come down to our time. Oth- 
 er verses, however, were added by these bards 
 to those of Ossian ; so that, as some sang the 
 deeds of the great warrior in one way, and oth- 
 ers in another, it became at length impossible 
 to trace the real history of the great Fingal. 
 
8 PREFACE. 
 
 At last an Englishman, named Macpherson, 
 determined to extricate the truth from this mass 
 of confusion. He went to Scotland, and there, 
 collecting the different songs of the bards, so 
 arranged them as to show their agreement one 
 with another. From these he composed other 
 poems, which the Emperor Napoleon I. was 
 very fond of, and used often to read. It has 
 been suspected, but never proved, that Macpher- 
 son drew a great part of these poems from his 
 own imagination, and set them down as those 
 of Ossian. But what matters it whose they be, 
 if only they are beautiful and entertaining ? 
 
 It has been the same with Mr. Wind and 
 Madam Rain as with the great Fingal. My 
 grandmother used to tell the story of Madam 
 Rain without mentioning Mr. Wind ; my uncle 
 knew the history of Mr. Wind, though he never 
 spoke of Madam Rain. But my nurse, who 
 was a native of Brittany, had heard the two 
 stories, and she jumbled them together into one, 
 more complete and more wonderful than either 
 taken alone. 
 

 PREFACE. 9 
 
 Now I went myself to Brittany a long time 
 ago, and, following the example of Macpherson, 
 I collected all that was there related to me about 
 Mr. Wind and Madam Rain, who are still fre- 
 quent visitors in that part of the country 
 
 Well, as your mammas doubtless teach you 
 to abhor deception, I will not say that I have 
 added nothing to the unconnected recitals of 
 the Breton peasants, because that would be tell- 
 ing an untruth ; but I have added only what was 
 necessary to link together the different events, 
 and to supply passages that were entirely want- 
 ing. 
 
 May this nursery tale, my dear children, 
 amuse you still more than the history of the 
 great Fingal did the Emperor Napoleon. 
 
 PAUL DE MUSSET. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 HOW THE MILL TUBN8 AND THE CABBAGES GEOW. 
 
 CHAPTER L , 
 
 ABOUT the time when the 'good Khlg Rob- 
 ert sang at the chorister'^ ^ek : , thc^ie -lived in 
 Brittany a poor miller named John Peter, whose 
 
|2 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 only wealth in the world consisted of a mill, a 
 wretched hut, and a kitchen garden, in which 
 he planted cabbages and carrots : but John 
 Peter was unfortunate ; for he often saw his 
 neighbor's mill-sails turning round on the hills, 
 while his own stood still, because the wind nev- 
 er blew in his direction ; and the vegetables in 
 his garden withered from drought, in spite of 
 the pains he took to water them. John Peter 
 was not a man of much spirit, and so he went 
 on and spent his time in exclaiming, " Alas ! 
 Mr. Wind, why won't you blow on my mill? 
 and alas ! Madam Rain, why won't you fall in 
 my garden, so that I may gain a little liveli- 
 hood ?" His lamentations, however, were of 
 no avail ; the wind did not hearken, and the rain 
 troubled itself very little about them. In order 
 to dispel his melancholy, the miller married a 
 pretty peasant girl named Claudine, as poor 
 as himself, but active, and a good housewife. 
 Claudine cleaned the house, mended the linen, 
 put every thing in order, kept poultry, and car- 
 ried the eggs to market ; and after a while, just 
 
when 1 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 13 
 
 en her household affairs began to prosper, 
 she became the mother of a little boy, who re- 
 ceived the name of Peter. All the money that 
 Claudine had hoarded since her marriage was 
 scarcely sufficient to purchase baby -linen, a 
 cradle, and other things requisite for a mother 
 and her child. Indeed, when these articles were 
 bought her last farthing was spent. To com- 
 plete her misfortunes, she was now taken ill, 
 and the village doctor had to be called in. John 
 Peter neglected his work that he might wait 
 on Claudine, for he had nothing to pay a nurse 
 with; and thus these poor people found them- 
 selves reduced all at once to frightful misery. 
 
 One night, while John Peter was sitting up 
 watching near his wife and child as they slept, 
 and reflecting on his and their wretched condi- 
 tion, he thought thus : " If all my troubles over- 
 whelmed myself alone, I should not complain, 
 for I am strong enough to endure cold and 
 hunger ; but. my wife will need fire to warm 
 her, good nourishment to strengthen her, and 
 medicine in her sickness ; and I have neither 
 
14 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 wood to put upon the fire, nor meat to make 
 broth with, no, nor money to pay the doctor. I 
 love my Claudine and her child more than all 
 the treasures of the world ; and I do not regret 
 that I married a girl as poor as myself. The 
 want of wind and rain is the sole cause of my 
 distress. If only the wind would blow on my 
 mill I should soon be able to get myself out of 
 this scrape." 
 
 As John Peter uttered these last words, he 
 saw the flame of the candle flicker, and heard 
 the rusty weather-cock turning on the top of 
 the cottage. The wind was just beginning to 
 blow. The astonished miller ran quickly to 
 his mill, and put grain enough into the hopper 
 for the night's grinding. He untied the cord 
 which held fast the mill-sails, and then they be- 
 gan to turn round, and the mill set to work to 
 grind the corn into flour and bran. John Pe- 
 ter now went back to his wife, who was still 
 sleeping, and he rubbed his hands together as 
 he thought of the good things he had to tell her 
 when she awoke. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 15 
 
 The rusty weather-cock, however, creaked 
 louder and louder, and the candle had to be 
 placed behind a curtain to prevent its being 
 blown out ; there were so many holes and 
 chinks in the walls of the cottage that the 
 draughts came in every where. The window 
 shook, and the door moved on its hinges, and 
 the ashes from the hearth flew all about the 
 room. 
 
 In the midst of this commotion John Peter 
 thought he heard the voices of the wind-spirits 
 whispering these words in his ears : 
 
 "Let us whistle," said these spirits; "let us 
 whistle through this broken pane, and let us try 
 to tear off the paper that stops it up. Let us 
 moan, let us moan through this hole. Let us 
 cling to the thatch of this miserable cabin. Let 
 us push against this ill-fastened door. Let us 
 murmur, let us hum in this chimney." Notwith- 
 standing the astonishment which these myste- 
 rious voices caused the miller, still he was not 
 frightened ; and he answered, " Whistle, moan, 
 hum as much as you like, so that my mill turns." 
 
16 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 At the same instant the latch went up and the 
 door burst wide open, and John Peter saw a 
 most extraordinary figure enter. It was a per- 
 
 MB. WIND PAYS A VISIT. 
 
 sonage who bore more resemblance to one of 
 the Genii than to a man. His body could bend 
 itself in every direction, it was so supple and 
 elastic. His eyes shone like phosphorus, and 
 his ample chest sent forth a noise equal to that 
 which proceeds from a smith's bellows. The 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 19 
 
 two large wings which were fastened to his 
 shoulders could not have spread themselves in 
 the cottage. A red mantle of thin stuff floated 
 around him, falling into so many folds that the 
 shape of his body could not be precisely distin- 
 guished. His feet glided lightly over the floor 
 without walking ; yet he seemed rather fatigued, 
 as though he had come a long distance. 
 
 "Give me a chair," said he to John Peter, 
 " that I may rest a moment with you before pro- 
 ceeding on my way." 
 
 The miller eagerly offered his best straw- 
 bottomed chair. " Sit down, my lord," said he, 
 " and rest yourself as long as you like in my 
 cottage ; only have the goodness not to speak 
 so loud, or you will awaken my wife, who is ill." 
 
 "Fear nothing," replied the stranger; "the 
 murmur of my words will make her sleep more 
 soundly. I am Mr. Wind. Thou hast several 
 times addressed petitions to me. Thou wilt 
 not wonder at my being a little out of breath 
 when I tell thee that in less than an hour I have 
 visited the entire sea-coast of Brittany, and trav- 
 
20 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 eled a long distance over the ocean. Thy lord, 
 who lives at the neighboring castle, would not 
 receive me ; his servants have shut all the doors 
 and windows, and secured them with large bolts, 
 and solid, well-wadded shutters ; and I have 
 scarcely been able to penetrate into the stair- 
 cases through a skylight in one of the towers, 
 or into the kitchen through a little air-hole. 
 Nevertheless, I revenged myself on the senti- 
 nels who are on guard in the courts of the cas- 
 tle by throwing down their sentry-boxes. At 
 thy cottage, however, I found the walls in ruins, 
 and the latch without a fastening, and I entered 
 forthwith. This is just the sort of cottage I 
 like. Thou possessest but one poor straw-bot- 
 tomed chair, and that thou didst most willingly 
 offer at my entrance. I thank thee for this hos- 
 pitable reception. Ask, therefore, some service 
 of me, John Peter, and I will render it thee most 
 freely." 
 
 " Mr. Wind," said the miller, " all I ask of you 
 is to blow for three or four hours a day on my 
 mill" 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 21 
 
 " My poor John Peter," replied Mr. Wind, 
 "I am not permitted to go out every day. Mad- 
 am Rain occupies the sky for a third part of the 
 year, and, like an ungrateful creature, she drives 
 me away after I have brought on her clouds ; 
 and the Sun agrees still worse with me. I some- 
 times live shut up in my cavern for months ; but 
 I will take care to send thee zephyrs and little 
 spirits, who go out at my order to scour the 
 country morning and evening, and I will order 
 them not to forget thy mill. When thou art in 
 trouble, unhappy, or persecuted, come and see 
 me at my cavern, and I will give thee assist- 
 ance. I live up above there, at the top of the 
 southern mountain." 
 
 " Ah ! Mr. Wind," exclaimed John Peter, " I 
 am unhappy and in trouble at this very mo- 
 ment. If you would but come at once to my 
 assistance !" 
 
 " It is too late for'me to do so to-day," replied 
 Mr. Wind ; " I must start directly for Paris, 
 where I have a dozen chimneys to throw down, 
 and in half an hour I must be at home, for here 
 
22 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 is Madam Rain close at my heels. Good-by, 
 John Peter!" 
 
 So saying, Mr. Wind sprang at one bound 
 out of the cottage, spread his large wings, and 
 disappeared. At the end of half an hour the 
 whistling, the moaning, and the humming dimin- 
 ished, and afterward died away altogether, and 
 the miller then knew that Mr. Wind had re- 
 turned from his voyage, and had re-entered his 
 cavern on the peak of the southern mountain. 
 But the little spirits he had left behind him were 
 strong enough to keep the mill going. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after Mr. Wind had departed, 
 rain began to fall; gently at first, and after- 
 ward in torrents ; and the brooks were swelled 
 to overflowing And when the parched earth 
 had well drunk, pools were formed here and 
 there, into which the rain dropping sounded 
 like little bells. Again John Petej; fancied he 
 heard the voices of the rain-spirits, saying, 
 
.. T 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 23 
 
 
 " Let us fall, let us fall on this thatched roof; 
 let us wet, let us wet the whole of this cottage ; 
 let us water the leaves of the cabbages ; let us 
 cover these pebbles with water; let us ring in 
 this spout ; let us run along this beam ; let us 
 jump through this hole ; let us fall ; let us wet 
 all that we can ; little drops, drip, drip, drop !" 
 Instead of being afraid, John Peter repeated, 
 
 " Fall, wet ; water as 
 much as you please ! 
 To-morrow my gar- 
 den will be greener, 
 and my cabbages the 
 better for it." 
 
 As Mr. Wind had 
 broken the latch, and 
 gone out without 
 shutting the door, it 
 remained three or 
 four inches ajar, and 
 through this narrow 
 space John Peter saw 
 enter a tall lady of 
 
 MADA.M BAIN DROPS IN. 
 
24 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 singular appearance, bearing more resemblance 
 to a fairy than to a woman. She was some- 
 what transparent, and her face pale and thin, as 
 if she were recovering from an illness. Her 
 hair was straight, and fell down to her feet 
 Her eyes were dimmed by two streams of tears, 
 and her nose was a little swelled from a cold 
 in the head. Her dress and mantle were gray. 
 Upon her silken scarf shone the seven colors 
 of the rainbow. The lady advanced slowly, 
 without seeming to move her feet, and stretched 
 her arms, and yawned, more as if overcome 
 with ennui than with fatigue. 
 
 " Give me a chair," said she to John Peter, 
 "that I may rest for a moment before I go 
 down into the valley." 
 
 " Sit down, ma'am," said the miller ; " only 
 have the goodness to speak a little lower, for 
 my wife is ill and my child is asleep." 
 
 " Fear not !" replied the lady ; " the noise of 
 my words will make them sleep more soundly. 
 I am Madam Rain, whom thou hast so often 
 invoked. But five minutes ago I was eighteen 
 
hundn 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 25 
 
 undred fathoms above the earth, and my de- 
 scent has made me a little giddy. The lord of 
 the neighboring castle has shut his doors and 
 windows in my face, but I have revenged my- 
 self by drenching his sentinels to the skin. I 
 found chinks in the walls of thy cottage, and 
 window-panes broken, and the door open ; so I 
 like this cottage of thine ; and I will remember 
 thy kind welcome. If I can serve thee in any 
 thing, take advantage of this opportunity, and 
 ask me for whatever thou wilt, and I will give 
 it thee." 
 
 " Madam Rain," said John Peter, " what 
 could I ask of you but to be kind enough to 
 fall two or three times a week on the vegeta- 
 bles in my garden ?" 
 
 " Alas ! friend," said the lady, " I do not gad 
 about as often as I should like. The glorious 
 time of the Deluge is past, and Mr. Sun is stron- 
 ger than I ; and when I am abroad he is con- 
 stantly driving me back to my grotto. And 
 then there is my Lady Moon. Ever since the 
 time of Adam I have been trying to find out 
 
26 MR. WIND AND MADAM BAIN. 
 
 whether she is favorable to me or not, and I 
 have not yet been able to settle the question ; 
 but, with the aid of astronomers,! hope to know 
 exactly, in three or four thousand years, what 
 her intentions really are with regard to me. 
 Except at thy cottage, I am looked crossly upon 
 every where, and am shut up about two thirds 
 of the year ; but I will send thee the morning 
 dews, and the little clouds to which I give the 
 key of the fields between the gleams of sun- 
 shine ; and should any misfortune befall thy 
 wife or child, do not fail to inform me, and my 
 protection shall not be wanting." 
 
 " Ah ! Madam Rain," replied John Peter, 
 " protect them now ! My wife is ill, and, if she 
 lose her milk, my little Peter will die." 
 
 " Thou oughtest to have told me that at first," 
 replied the dame : " thou art but a clumsy fel- 
 low, John Peter : I am obliged to set off direct- 
 ly to wet the plains of Normandy and Beauce. 
 The Sun, too, is coming soon to dry all my 
 work. So adieu, honest John Peter ; I live in 
 my western grotto by the sea-shore," 
 
 , 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 27 
 
 Madam Rain slipped through the partly-open- 
 ed door, and descended to the bottom of the 
 valley. At the end of an hour Aurora began 
 to blush; the rain-spirits murmured less loud- 
 ly ; the brooks became threads of water, and 
 were voiceless ; and the sound of the little bells 
 died away. A flood of sunshine soon dispersed 
 the clouds, and the miller now understood that 
 Madam Rain had retired to her western grotto 
 by the sea-side. 
 
 John Peter left his cottage and went to his 
 mill; there he found flour sufficient to fill two 
 sacks. He then went to his garden, and gath- 
 ered cabbages and lettuce, which the rain had 
 quickly brought to perfection. The flour he 
 carried to a farmer, who gave him two crown 
 pieces for it ; and the vegetables he sold in the 
 market. His wife was still sleeping when he 
 returned home with a fagot of wood on his 
 shoulder, good provisions in his basket, and 
 money in his pocket. 
 
28 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 JOHN PETER'S wife, having slept till morning, 
 had heard neither Wind nor Rain, so she was 
 surprised when told that the mill had been turn- 
 ing all night, and to see the money and provis- 
 ions which her husband had brought home. 
 Sleeping had already hastened her recovery, 
 and the joy she now felt completely restored 
 her to health. John Peter, however, did not 
 say a word to his wife about the two extraor- 
 dinary visitors who had been at the cottage. 
 Claudine, thought he, has more sense than I 
 have, but then she is rather fond of tattling, and 
 she would go and tell my secrets to her gos- 
 sips, and that might injure me. 
 
 On the following days the mill turned morn- 
 ing and evening; the dew came down on the 
 garden ; and with a good fire on the hearth, 
 John Peter and his wife fared pretty well. 
 Claudine quite recovered her strength, and lit- 
 tle Peter looked fresh and blooming like a rosy 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 20 
 
 apple. In short, happiness and cheerfulness 
 again visited the miller's dwelling. 
 
 One day the lord of the neighboring castle, 
 as he was going out hunting, passed before 
 John Peter's cottage. Now lords at this time 
 possessed great power; and when they were 
 good they made their vassals happy ; but when 
 they were bad they tyrannized over them, and 
 treated the poor peasants very cruelly. This 
 lord, to whom John Peter was vassal, was very 
 hard-hearted ; he was excessively fond of mon- 
 ey, too, and, in order to procure it, oppressed his 
 people with taxes. He made them pay a poll- 
 tax that is, a tax for 
 every person, poll being 
 an old word for head 
 a tenth of their property, 
 and for the queen's gir- 
 dle, and found out for 
 them a hundred other 
 vexations. The miller, 
 on seeing his lord, was 
 struck with dismay, for he thought the visit 
 boded him no good. 
 
 THE MILLEE'B DISMAY. 
 
30 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 "Ho! there, John Peter," cried the Baron, 
 without alighting from his horse, " thou owest 
 me six months' taxes, and to-morrow I shall 
 send my steward to thee for the sum of ten 
 crowns." 
 
 " My Lord Baron," replied the miller, " grant 
 me three months' delay. My wife has been ill ; 
 and if I give you ten crowns, which is all I pos- 
 sess, I shall have no money left for myself." 
 
 " I will not grant thee even three days," re- 
 plied the Baron. " If thou dost not pay to-mor- 
 row, all that thou hast shall be sold, and thou 
 shalt be dragged from thy cottage, and I will 
 make thee work in my fields under the lash." 
 
 The Baron then galloped away without list- 
 ening to the complaints of his vassal. 
 
 On the following day came the steward from 
 the castle, carrying a money-bag, and John Pe- 
 ter was obliged to pay him the ten crowns. 
 This sum was all that the miller had been able 
 to put by during a month ; so the benefits of 
 Mr. Wind and Madam Rain were now lost, and 
 Claudine began to weep bitterly. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 31 
 
 "Do not cry," said John Peter to her; "ev- 
 ery body is not as wicked as the Baron. Give 
 me my hob-nailed shoes, my stick, and my wool- 
 en mantle ; I have a visit to pay. Do not be 
 uneasy if I be not at home till late ; I shall have 
 some good news to bring you." 
 
 Claudine guessed directly that her husband 
 was keeping a secret from her. She therefore 
 dried her tears, and began to ask the miller a 
 thousand questions, for the purpose of drawing 
 this secret from him ; but he would not tell ; 
 and he set out with his hob-nailed shoes, his 
 stick, and his woolen cloak. After crossing 
 some fields and meadows, John Peter at length 
 arrived at the foot of the southern mountain. 
 After climbing for the space of three hours 
 through a wood of fir-trees, he carne to wild 
 heaths, and at last to steep rocks, which he as- 
 cended with the help of his hob-nailed shoes 
 and his stick. Before sunset he arrived at the 
 summit of the mountain ; and seeing the en- 
 trance to a cavern, the miller thought it must 
 be the habitation of Mr. Wind ; but as the cav- 
 
32 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 ern looked deep and gloomy, John Peter did 
 
 not feel quite in spir- 
 its. He summoned 
 up all his courage, 
 
 however ; and enter- 
 ed cautiously, feel- 
 ing along the ground 
 with his stick. He 
 had scarcely taken 
 five-and-twenty steps 
 before he heard the 
 voices of the little 
 spirits. 
 
 " Let us blow upon 
 this stranger," said these voices. " Let us tear 
 off his mantle ; let us blow off his hat." 
 
 But John Peter held his hat on firmly with 
 one hand, and his woolen plaid with the other. 
 At length he perceived a light, and recognized 
 Mr. Wind, who was seated before a table eat- 
 ing his dinner. Jack-o'-lanterns danced round 
 the table to light it, while other spirits brought 
 dishes and flagons of wine from the bottom of 
 
 THE MILLEB SEEKS MB. WIND. 
 
MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 33 
 
 
 two great holes that served for kitchen and 
 cellar. 
 
 " Who goes there ?" demanded Mr. Wind. 
 
 "It is I," replied the miller. "I am John 
 Peter. Your Excellency deigned to rest him- 
 self at my house about a month ago." 
 
 " Well, what do you want with me ?" 
 
 " I don't know, my lord," replied the miller, 
 stammering. 
 
 MB. WIND DISTUBBED AT DINNER. 
 
 " Thou idiot !" exclaimed Mr. Wind ; " thou 
 comest hither, and disturbest me when I am at 
 table, and thou dost not even know thy errand. 
 
34 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 I see very well that I have given my protection 
 to a simpleton.'* 
 
 " Excuse me," replied John Peter ; " respect 
 for you deprives me of the power of speech. 
 Since you first began to favor my mill, I have 
 gained ten crowns ; this morning my Lord Bar- 
 on sent and took them away from me, under 
 the pretext of a tax. I beseech your Excellen- 
 cy, therefore, to help me, for I have nothing to 
 trust in but your generosity." 
 
 " I have no time to occupy myself with thy 
 affairs, nor to give thee advice." said Mr. Wind, 
 in a surly tone. " Try to find out what thou 
 desirest, and let me know in a few words." 
 
 "What I desire?" replied the miller; "why, 
 whatever you are, pleased to give me, provided 
 that it keeps me from dying of hunger, which 
 is the fate I am threatened with." 
 
 " Thou shalt not die of hunger," said Mr. 
 Wind, more gently. " Give this creature here 
 my little silver cask." 
 
 A spirit with wings like a bat immediately 
 brought a pretty silver cask no larger than 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 35 
 
 those in which olives are packed. Another 
 spirit brought a wand, also of silver, which he 
 laid on the table. 
 
 "Here, take this cask and this wand," said 
 Mr. Wind, " and when thou art at home, strike 
 the casket with the wand, and thou shalt see 
 what thou shalt see. Now go to the dogs, and 
 leave me to dine in peace." 
 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 NIGHT had closed in when John Peter left 
 the cavern of Mr. Wind. He nearly broke his 
 neck among the rocks; his woolen cloak was 
 torn by the bushes, and his feet got wet in a 
 marsh in spite of his hob-nailed shoes ; but he 
 never quitted hold of either cask or wand. He 
 arrived at his own house at nine o'clock in the 
 evening, and found his wife beginning to get 
 anxious about him. 
 
 " What is that ?" asked Claudine, as soon as 
 she saw the little cask. " Where have you got 
 this magnificent jewel from ? I knew very well 
 
36 ME. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 that you were keeping a secret of importance 
 from me. You must explain this mystery to 
 me directly. Are there any precious stones in 
 the cask ? Even were there nothing in it, the 
 silver alone would be worth at least a hundred 
 pounds, without reckoning the workmanship. 
 A goldsmith would give a large sum for it. 
 Speak, then, John Peter ; I am dying to know 
 the secret." 
 
 The miller then related how he had received 
 a visit from Mr. Wind, and how that supernat- 
 ural personage had promised him his protec- 
 tion, and had given him the cask and the wand, 
 and had shown him how to use it. John Peter 
 strongly advised his wife not to speak of this 
 event to the gossips of the neighborhood ; but, 
 instead of listening to his advice, Claudine be- 
 gan to chatter again. 
 
 " You see," said she to him, " how wrong it 
 was of you to conceal this secret from me; I 
 am shrewder than you are, and I should have 
 given you good counsel, and then you would 
 not have stood with your hands before you. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM BAIN 3? 
 
 looking stupid as you did when Mr. Wind asked 
 you what you wanted. I should have told you 
 to reply, without the slightest hesitation, give 
 me ten thousand francs ; then you would have 
 returned with ringing crown-pieces instead of 
 this silver cask, which will cost us some trouble 
 to get rid of." 
 
 " Who knows ?" replied the miller ; " my cask 
 may be worth more than you think. Let us 
 first of all give it a trial." 
 
 John Peter placed the little cask upright on 
 the floor, and then, with a trembling hand, struck 
 it with the silver wand. The barrel instantly 
 opened in two parts like a cupboard. On one 
 side there was a little kitchen, and on the other 
 side a very small pantry. In the kitchen were 
 seen spits about the size of needles, pots like 
 thimbles, and little saucepans and frying-pans, 
 that were enough to make one die with laugh- 
 ing even to look at. A cook, three inches high, 
 with a cotton nightcap hanging over his ear, 
 and two little scullion-boys, were seen moving 
 about before the kitchen stove, blowing the fire, 
 
38 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 turning the spit, and tasting the sauces. They 
 were roasting turkeys about as large as bees, 
 and chickens no bigger than flies; they were 
 also frying fishes thinner than silkworms just 
 hatched, and cutting cabbages which appeared 
 like pins' heads. All this while two men-serv- 
 ants, of the same height as the cook, were ar- 
 ranging the plates and dishes in the pantry 
 
 THE SILVKR CASK. 
 
 They were wiping little china plates about the 
 size of threepenny pieces, and glasses which 
 seemed made for Jenny Wren to drink out of. 
 They filled the bottles with two drops of wine, 
 and put two drops of water into the crystal de- 
 canters, and dinner was ready in a trice. 
 
Th 
 
 * xl 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 39 
 
 The miller and his wife stood amazed, watch- 
 ing these little folks, who were so quick and 
 handy. Their amazement was, however, much 
 greater when they saw the two dwarf men- 
 servants come out of the little cask, jump upon 
 the table, place on it all the smoking dishes, and 
 lay covers for two ; then, having arranged the 
 first course in order, and put the bottles and the 
 decanters in their proper places, and afterward 
 set out the second course and the dessert in a 
 corner of the room, they re-entered their small 
 pantry. The little silver cask shut up at once, 
 and John Peter and Claudine saw nothing 
 more ; but, at the same instant, the dishes upon 
 the table became real dishes of the ordinary 
 size ; the roasted chickens, real roasted chick- 
 ens ; the fish, fine large fish ; the bottles, large 
 bottles filled with delicate wine ; and the cover- 
 dishes, fine large ones of good silver. John 
 Peter and his wife found themselves suddenly 
 before an excellent supper, served for two per- 
 sons, but sufficient for four. They placed them- 
 selves at table and ate heartily, for they were 
 
40 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 hungry. The ragouts were perfect, and the 
 fowls done to a turn. John Peter drank Mr. 
 Wind's health three times, and, as the wine was 
 heady, the miller went to bed a little muddled ; 
 he fell asleep and snored sonorously. 
 
 Claudine went to bed also, but she did noth- 
 ing but turn first on one side and then on the 
 other, and could not go to sleep. She was 
 anxious for morning to come, that she might 
 go and relate the adventure to her neighbor the 
 milk-woman. This woman opened her eyes 
 wide when she heard the story, and she several 
 times repeated, with a sigh, that Claudine was 
 very happy to be the friend of Mr. Wind and 
 the possessor of the silver cask. As soon as 
 the miller's wife had left her, the milk-woman 
 put her basket on her head and went to carry 
 her butter and cream to the castle. There she 
 did not fail to relate what she had heard to her 
 friend the cook. The cook told the news to 
 the valet de chambre, and the valet, while he 
 was assisting his master to dress, informed him 
 of what had happened to John Peter. The 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 41 
 
 Baron immediately conceived the design of 
 possessing himself of the little silver cask by 
 force ; so he mounted his horse and rode off to 
 the mill. 
 
 When the Baron arrived, John Peter was 
 but just up, and Claudine had not yet returned 
 home ; for, on leaving the milk-woman's, she 
 had run to tell the adventure to the washer- 
 woman, then to her gossip the woodman's wife, 
 and then to her cousin the milkmaid. 
 
 "John Peter," said the Baron, " Mr. Wind, 
 who is a friend of mine, told me this morning 
 that he had given thee a little silver cask, in 
 which there was a magical kitchen. Now, 
 what need hast thou of eating roast turkeys in 
 such a ruinous cabin as this, in ragged clothes, 
 and with worm-eaten furniture ? It would be 
 much better for thee to get thy tumble-down 
 house repaired by the mason and carpenter, 
 and to buy warm clothing and dresses for thy 
 wife, and cupboards, and linen, and arm-chairs 
 to furnish thy cottage. Sell me, then, thy mag- 
 ical kitchen, and I will give thee ten thousand 
 
42 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 francs for it. With that sum thou canst build 
 another house, purchase fields, cattle, and horses, 
 and so thou wilt become a rich landowner." 
 
 " My Lord Baron," replied the miller, "when 
 I have laid out my ten thousand francs I shall 
 have nothing left ; while with my little cask, I 
 have victuals assured me for all my life." 
 
 " What !" returned the lord ; " is it nothing to 
 possess a good house and to cultivate fields ?" 
 
 " That is true," said John Peter ; " productive 
 land is worth more than roasted fowls. Be- 
 sides, my wife scolded me for not asking Mr. 
 Wind for ten thousand francs ; and, since you 
 offer me this sum, why, I accept the bargain." 
 
 " Well and good," said the Baron ; " thy wife 
 is a sensible woman. Here are a thousand 
 francs, which I have brought with me ; I will 
 pay the rest in a fortnight, and will at once 
 make thee a written promise for it. Now give 
 me thy silver barrel." 
 
 The miller gave up the cask, and took the 
 bag containing the thousand francs ; and, as he 
 did not know how to read, he accepted his lord's 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 43 
 
 written promise without knowing its contents. 
 After the Baron had gone off with the little sil- 
 ver cask, Claudine was not long in returning 
 home, and John Peter told her what a good 
 bargain he had just made. Immediately she be- 
 gan to utter the most lamentable cries and tear 
 her hair. 
 
 " Ah !" said she, must I then have for my hus- 
 band a man who allows himself to be tricked 
 like a fool ? Unhappy am I to have married 
 such a blockhead !" 
 
 John Peter went into a dreadful passion. 
 "Capricious woman!" cried he, "did you not 
 reproach me yourself for not having asked Mr. 
 Wind for ten thousand francs instead of this 
 cask ?" 
 
 " Great simpleton !" replied his wife, " when 
 I said that, I did not yet know the value of the 
 wonderful little cask. Don't you see that the 
 little dwarfs have left us plates and dishes ? 
 Every day they would have given us good sil- 
 ver spoons, which we might have sold to the 
 goldsmith. Why do people wish to have lands, 
 
44 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 and houses, and cattle ? is it not that they may 
 have roasted fowls to eat ? Since we had these 
 roast fowls, what need was there to run after 
 fields and cattle ? The crops might be de- 
 stroyed by hail, and the cattle might die of the 
 murrain; but with the little cask we should 
 have been certain of never wanting any thing. 
 The Baron has made a fool of you. He does 
 not know Mr. Wind ; he deceived you in saying 
 that he was one of his friends. Perhaps even 
 he will not pay you the other nine thousand 
 francs which he promised to pay in a fortnight." 
 
 John Peter began now to understand his stu- 
 pidity ; but, instead of owning it, he only became 
 more violent. " Then," said he, " it is by your 
 gossiping that the Baron got to know my se- 
 cret. You went off this morning to spread the 
 news about." 
 
 Claudine, instead of confessing her fault, re- 
 doubled her lamentations. She called her hus- 
 band a fool ; John Peter called his wife a jade ; 
 and then they quarreled as millers and their 
 wives do; after which they were reconciled; 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 45 
 
 for, in the main, the miller was a good husband, 
 and Claudine a good wife. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 IT happened just as Claudine had foreseen. 
 The Baron, having become master of the little 
 magical cask, troubled himself very little about 
 his promises ; and when the milller went to the 
 castle and presented his note, he was turned 
 out, and told that he was an insolent fellow for 
 daring to ask his lord for money. So John 
 Peter received but one thousand francs instead 
 of the ten thousand which he had been prom- 
 ised. His regret and sorrow were increased 
 
 when he was told 
 that the wonderful 
 little barrel supplied 
 splendid dinners ev- 
 ery day, in the din- 
 ing-room of the cas- 
 tle, for as many 
 
 BABON HO LON6KE WANT8 A OOOK. 
 
 SOUS 
 
 it 
 
46 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 the Baron to invite. The Baron no longer 
 wanted a cook, and turned away his scullions. 
 At every entertainment the little dwarfs re- 
 newed the table-linen, the plates and dishes, and 
 the silver spoons and forks ; and, though very 
 miserly, the Baron often feasted his friends for 
 the sake of getting such valuable leavings; and 
 he soon had so many forks and spoons that he 
 did not know what to do with them. John Pe- 
 ter swore by all that was sacred that never again 
 would he let himself be deceived by the offers 
 of his lord; and Claudine firmly resolved never 
 more to confide a secret to her gossiping friends. 
 Unfortunately, these wise resolutions did not re- 
 trieve past folly. With the thousand francs they 
 had received, the miller and his wife had their 
 cottage repaired a little by the mason and car- 
 penter, and they bought a few household arti- 
 cles ; and then, by dint of economy, they lived 
 on the rest during a year. At the end of the 
 year the money was all spent, and John Peter 
 no longer had the heart to work. Claudine, 
 too, being inconsolable, neglected her needle 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 47 
 
 and poultry-yard. The remembrance of the 
 happiness they had lost embittered the lives of 
 the poor people, and they found themselves 
 more miserable and more cast down than ever. 
 At last John Peter decided on paying another 
 visit to Mr. Wind ; and, to avoid all blame, he 
 consulted his wife. 
 
 " This time," said Claudine, " you must try 
 to reach Mr. Wind's before his dinner-hour. 
 Do not venture to tell him of your past folly, 
 but say that the Baron came and took the silver 
 cask away by force. If he ask what you de- 
 sire, answer directly that you would like anoth- 
 er little cask, or something else just as wonder- 
 ful." 
 
 The miller, having his lesson ready, set out 
 at break of day, with his hob-nailed shoes, his 
 stick, and his woolen mantle. As he knew the 
 way, he lost no time, and arrived at the cavern 
 at six o'clock in the morning. The sky, how- 
 ever, was covered with red clouds to the very 
 horizon, and a storm was coming on. The 
 spirits of the cavern were all speaking at once. 
 
48 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 Mr. Wind was calling for his traveling-dress, 
 and was getting ready to go out. When he 
 perceived the miller, he cried out in a stento- 
 rian voice, 
 
 " Master John Peter, thou hast the talent of 
 always coming at unseasonable times ! In a 
 quarter of an hour I must be in the middle of 
 the ocean, where I have two ships to wreck ; 
 so get thee gone instantly, or else I will throw 
 thee down from the top of the mountain into 
 the plain below." 
 
 " Oh, my lord," said John Peter, " instead of 
 tormenting those poor vessels that have never 
 done you any harm, listen to me. I am unhap- 
 py and persecuted. The Baron came to my 
 house this morning with his men-at-arms, and 
 took away from me by force my little silver 
 cask." 
 
 " That can not be," exclaimed Mr. Wind. 
 " If any body had tried to take the little silver 
 barrel by violence, it would have become so 
 large that they would have been unable to get 
 it out of the house, either by the window or by 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 49 
 
 e door ; so that thou hast either sold it or 
 given it away willingly. Thou art a knave 
 and a liar, and I do not know what prevents 
 me from breaking thy head !" 
 
 John Peter fell down 
 
 ^^^^^44fc on both his knees. "For- 
 JTC f f,Ji give me,my lord," saidhe, 
 
 whimpering; "if I have 
 lied, it was because my 
 wife told me to do so. I 
 am grieved to the very 
 heart at having incurred 
 your displeasure." 
 
 " Well, and what dost 
 thou want of me ?" 
 
 " I should like another wonderful little cask," 
 said John Peter. 
 
 " Let my little golden cask be given to him ; 
 but mind, it is my last present. If he ever put 
 his foot in my house again, let his neck be wrung 
 instantly." 
 
 The spirits brought a pretty little cask and a 
 wand. John Peter put it all under his arm and 
 
 ii. WIND 18 OFFENDED. 
 
50 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 ran off Scarcely was he out of the cavern 
 when the storm broke out, and he heard Mr. 
 Wind flying over his head with fearful rapid- 
 ity. The spirits of the tempest accompanied 
 the miller home with bursts of laughter. 
 
 "How happy he is !" said they ; "how happy 
 he is to possess the little golden cask !" 
 
 "Yes, I am happy," replied John Peter. "You 
 may laugh as much as you like ; I don't care for 
 you." 
 
 Claudine was awaiting her husband's return 
 with the greatest impatience ; and when she be- 
 held the little golden cask, she clapped her hands 
 and jumped for joy. 
 
 " Here we are," said she, " rich for all the rest 
 of our lives. 'Tis not silver services that we 
 shall now have, but forks and spoons of gold. 
 We shall sell them, and with the price we shall 
 be able to buy lands, and houses, and castles. 
 And though the Baron should offer us a hund- 
 red thousand crowns, we will not let him have 
 this little golden cask. Make haste, John Pe- 
 ter, make haste, and strike it with the wand, for 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 51 
 
 I have not prepared the dinner, so great was 
 my confidence in the goodness of Mr. Wind." 
 
 John Peter put the little barrel down on the 
 floor, and struck it with the golden wand. The 
 iron hoop flew off^ and the barrel opened, and 
 out came a black smoke which rose to the ceil- 
 ing. This smoke took a human form. John 
 Peter and his wife distinguished a head and 
 then a body; but such a head! as large as a 
 pumpkin, with horrible features, and a body like 
 the trunk of an oak. The miller found himself 
 in the presence of a giant of extraordinary 
 strength, armed with a club. As soon as the 
 
52 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 giant could stand upon his feet, he ran to John 
 Peter, and caught hold of him by the collar of 
 his coat with one hand, while with the other he 
 gave him five-and-twenty blows on the back 
 with his club such terrible ones that the poor 
 man roared out most piteously. That done, 
 the giant vanished into smoke again, and re- 
 entered the little cask, as he had come out of it. 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 THE miller and his wife were inconsolable. 
 John Peter lay groaning on his bed for an 
 hour ; Claudine wept bitterly, and little Peter 
 screamed with all his might. The miller's wife 
 was just putting on her things to go and relate 
 the sad adventure to her neighbor the milk- 
 woman when the Baron passed by on his return 
 from the chase, accompanied by his grooms and 
 huntsmen, and he entered the cottage to refresh 
 himself. 
 
 " Why, what do I see there ?" said he ; " is 
 that little golden barrel a fresh present from 
 Mr. Wind ?" 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM AIN. 53 
 
 " Precisely so, my lord," replied the miller : 
 "I am but just returned with my wonderful 
 cask, and do not yet know what it contains." 
 
 " Thou must sell it me, friend," said the Baron. 
 
 "No, no, my lord," said John Peter, with a 
 crafty look. " It is enough to have sold the lit- 
 tle silver cask. I am not going to commit the 
 same folly again." 
 
 " If I were, however, to offer thee a larger 
 sum than I did the last time twelve thousand 
 francs, for instance ?" 
 
 "I. would not let you have it for fifteen thou- 
 sand !" answered John Peter. 
 
 " Well, then, I'll give thee eighteen thousand 
 for it." 
 
 " And I," returned the miller, " will not take 
 less than twenty thousand." 
 
 "The sum is enormous," said the Baron; 
 " but, as I have a regard for thee, I will make 
 the sacrifice. Here, thou shalt have two thou- 
 sand crowns in ready money, and I will give 
 thee a written promise for the rest." 
 
 " No, indeed, my lord ; I know too well 
 
54 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 happens with your written promises. You shall 
 give me twenty thousand francs ready money, 
 in good crown pieces, or you will never have 
 the little golden cask ; for perhaps I am again 
 making a bad bargain." 
 
 The Baron was so afraid of losing his oppor- 
 tunity, that he sent off a special messenger to 
 the castle to ask the steward for the twenty 
 thousand francs. In a quarter of an hour twen- 
 ty sacks full of money were brought. John Pe- 
 ter verified the sum, placed the sacks in order 
 in his cupboard, locked it, and popped the key 
 into his pocket, and then delivered the cask into 
 the hands of the Baron, who set off delighted 
 with his acquisition. 
 
 On his return to the castle the Baron shut 
 himself up in his own room in order to try his 
 wonderful little cask. He struck it with his 
 wand, and directly out came the smoke, taking 
 the form of a giant ; and the giant gave the 
 Baron twenty-five blows with his club. The 
 servants of the Baron heard him uttering pierc- 
 ing cries. When they ran in, they found their 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 55 
 
 master stretched on the floor ; but the giant had 
 already re-entered his dwelling, and nothing re- 
 mained in the room save a slight smell of smoke. 
 As the Baron s back was not as tough as the 
 miller's, he was confined to his bed tor two days 
 with the pain ; but he knew better than boast of 
 the blows he had received, therefore not a word 
 did he say to any body of his adventure. He 
 even feigned being highly pleased to possess the 
 little golden cask. 
 
 In the mean time the miller and his wife em- 
 ployed their twenty thousand francs profitably. 
 They bought fields and meadows ; and they 
 pulled down their miserable cabin, and had a 
 beautiful farm-house built in its place, with barns, 
 cow-sheds, and stables ; and a sheepfold besides, 
 where they put a flock of sheep. John Peter 
 had also plowmen and day-laborers, and a man 
 to attend to the mill. Instead of grinding corn 
 for others, he made flour of the grain which he 
 reaped. Claudine bought herself a silk dress 
 to go to church in on Sundays. As soon as 
 Peter was big enough, he was sent to school to 
 
56 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 learn to read ; and at six years old knew more 
 than either his father or mother. These good 
 people might have lived peacefully and happily 
 had it not been for the wickedness of the Bar- 
 on, who bore them a grudge for the blows he 
 had received, and the twenty thousand francs 
 he had paid them. He diverted himself by let- 
 ting game loose on John Peter's land, and then, 
 under pretense of hunting, he, with his dogs, 
 horses, and huntsmen, laid the fields waste. In 
 vain did the miller complain ; nobody paid the 
 least attention. 
 
 One day the Baron had a quarrel with a 
 neighboring lord, and declared war against him. 
 This was only an excuse for levying imposts 
 on his vassals : he overwhelmed John Peter 
 with them, and took away his plowmen to be 
 made soldiers of, and his horses to carry his 
 soldiers to battle. The miller, seeing himself 
 threatened with the chance of falling again into 
 his former state of poverty, bethought himself 
 of the promises made to him by Mrs. Rain. So, 
 without saying a word to his wife, he took his 
 
UADA.lt BAIN, 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 59 
 
 hob-nailed shoes, his stick, and his woolen man- 
 tle, and set off and traveled a long distance un- 
 til he came to the sea-shore and the western 
 grotto. A gray light reigned in this grotto ; a 
 thin fog veiled the entrance, and the damp oozed 
 out from between the rocks. Little spirits, with 
 fin-like wings, fluttered about. In passing John 
 Peter, they threw water on his nose and whis- 
 pered, 
 
 Let us wet, let us soak this silly fellow. Let 
 us drench his mantle for him. Let us penetrate 
 through his shoes and stockings." 
 
 But John Peter turned up the collar of his 
 mantle, and walked boldly on till he reached 
 the end of the grotto. There he found Madam 
 Rain, surrounded by gray nymphs, each as lan- 
 guishing, and with as bad colds as herself. The 
 dame was taking advantage of its being sum- 
 mer to lay in her stores. Little spirits were 
 bringing one by one the drops of water which 
 the sun had caused to rise from the sea, the riv- 
 ers, the woods, the marshes, and the meadows. 
 These drops the nymphs collected into golden 
 
60 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 cups, and then threw them into a large reser- 
 voir. When Madam Rain saw John Peter she 
 began to gape ; she blew her nose, and said to 
 him in a lamentable voice, 
 
 THE MiLLER DISCOVERS MADAM BAIN. 
 
 " Who is this tiresome fellow that comes to 
 disturb me in my employment ?" 
 
 " Madam !" replied John Peter, " a long time 
 ago you rested yourself a while at my house, 
 and then promised to interest yourself in the 
 fate of my child. Little Peter will soon be sev- 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 61 
 
 en years old, and I am come to beg of you to 
 do something for him. He deserves it for his 
 good conduct, for he already knows how to read 
 and write." 
 
 " What dost thou want me to do for him ?" 
 
 " Madam, I am a poor peasant with no ideas, 
 and I am unable to imagine any thing, so I will 
 leave it entirely to you." 
 
 "Booby that thou art!" said Madam Rain, 
 sneezing, " to come here disturbing me, and not 
 to know what thou wantest ! I must, however, 
 get rid of this man. Since his son knows how 
 to read, let my large copper box be given to 
 him, with the wand and the gilt-edged book. 
 If little Peter is less stupid than his father, it 
 will be quite enough to make his fortune." 
 
 The spirits brought the large copper box, the 
 wand, and the gilt-edged book. John Peter put 
 the whole under his arm, and ran off as fast as 
 his legs would carry him. 
 
62 MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " WIFE !" said the miller, as he reached his 
 own house, quite out of breath, "look, here is a 
 fine present which Madam Rain has just made 
 me ! and she assured me that, if our little Peter 
 should turn out less stupid than I am, there was 
 something inside it which would make a fortune 
 for him." 
 
 " Good gracious !" exclaimed Claudine; "then 
 you had another secret that you did not tell me 
 of. Is it possible you could have kept it so 
 long ? Who is Madam Rain ? and what is this 
 copper box ? But be quick, and speak, for I 
 can scarcely contain myself, I am so longing 
 to know the secret." 
 
 John Peter then told of the visit he had re- 
 ceived from Madam Rain the very night of the 
 one he was favored with by Mr. Wind, and how 
 she had promised to interest herself in the wel- 
 fare of their little Peter ; and that he had been 
 to see her at the Western Grotto ; and that she 
 
MR WIND AND MADAM RAIN. (53 
 
 had given him the copper box, with the wand 
 and the gilt-edged book. 
 
 " Good ! good !" said Claudine, trembling, " if 
 there is no new giant in the box, to wind up the 
 matter with a fresh beating." 
 
 " Give me the book, mother," said little Peter ; 
 " I will see what is written inside." 
 
 Peter opened the gilt-edged book, and read 
 the title on the frontispiece. It was, " Twelve 
 Plays, composed by Madam Rain for the 
 Amusement of Little Boys and Little Girls, 
 and performed by the Wonderful Puppets in 
 the Copper Box." 
 
 " Strike the box with the wand, father !" said 
 Peter; "don't be afraid; this box is a puppet- 
 show." 
 
 The miller put the copper box on the table, 
 took the wand, and struck the lid. The box 
 opened immediately, and the compartment in 
 front fell down, and they saw a stage with a red 
 curtain before it, and little lighted wax tapers 
 for the foot-lights. The bell announcing the 
 commencement of the piece was heard to ring 
 
64 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 three several times ; the curtain was raised, and 
 they beheld beautiful stage scenery representing 
 a forest. A wooden puppet, five or six inches 
 high, issued from the side-scenes, and began to 
 gesticulate with so much expression that Peter 
 immediately recognized the performance of the 
 first act of the play, the words of which were 
 in the book before him. He went behind the 
 table, and read aloud the part of the little actor. 
 Soon after, another character entered, and Pe- 
 ter, changing his tone, read his part also. He 
 recited thus the whole of the first play, entitled 
 "The Adventures of Merlin the Enchanter." 
 At the close of the last scene the little wooden 
 actors bowed to the audience, the curtain fell, 
 and the copper box closed smartly. 
 
 " Father," said Peter, " strike the copper box 
 again ; we shall then be sure to see the second 
 play, which is called ' The Love Adventures of 
 Sir Jessamine and the Princess Eglantine.' ' 
 
 John Peter struck the box again with the 
 wand, and the theatre opened, and, sure enough, 
 they saw the beautiful Eglantine appear, dressed 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 65 
 
 in her rose-colored robe. Peter recited the parts, 
 assuming a softer tone of voice when the Prin- 
 cess spoke, and a graver one when the knight 
 was supposed to be speaking. After the second 
 play the box shut up as before ; but John Peter 
 struck it again with the wand, and they saw the 
 third play, called " The Gifts of the Fairy Fly- 
 foot." The miller and his wife sat up till mid- 
 night to see all the twelve plays, and Peter re- 
 cited so many fine speeches that he made him- 
 self quite hoarse. 
 
 " These plays are certainly very amusing," 
 said John Peter ; " still, this theatre is but a toy 
 after all, and I can not understand how it is to 
 make a fortune for Peter." 
 
 " I understand well enough that I do !" cried 
 Claudine ; " every body will wish to see our 
 wonderful show. Peter will have to go to the 
 neighboring chateaux with his copper box, his 
 wand, and his gilt-edged book. He will amuse 
 the children of the great folks ; they will feast 
 him, and he will have presents made him ; and 
 who can tell but that some day he may mar- 
 
66 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 ry a Princess Eglantine, just like Sir Jessa- 
 
 /1>J 
 
 mine r 
 
 " Pack of nonsense !" muttered John Peter, 
 dozing off to sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE next morning Claudine rose at day- 
 break, put on her bonnet, and went out of the 
 farm to go and tell the news to her neighbor 
 the milk-woman. But in her account she so 
 jumbled together Madam Rain, the Western 
 Grotto, and the nymphs, with Merlin the Ma- 
 gician, and the Princess Eglantine, that her 
 neighbor thought her crazy. The milk-wom- 
 an, however, when she took her butter and 
 cream to the castle, did not fail to relate the 
 adventure, as well as she could, to the cook. 
 The cook spoke of it to the valet, and he went 
 off immediately in search of the Baron. Soon 
 after John Peter saw his lord arrive at the 
 farm. 
 
 " My friend," said the Baron, " I have just met 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 67 
 
 Madam Rain, who is a friend of my wife, in a 
 wood. She spoke to me about a copper box, 
 with a puppet-show in it, and she advised me 
 to buy it of thee to amuse my children with." 
 
 " But this box does not belong to me," said 
 the miller ; " it was given to my boy Peter." 
 
 " Well, then, I will buy it of Peter," replied 
 the Baron. " What dost thou want with a pup- 
 pet-show, Peter ? It is all well enough for rich 
 people like us. Wilt thou go and throw away 
 all thy time in looking at dancing dolls instead 
 of minding thy work ? A hundred crown-pieces 
 would be more worth to Peter than all the dolls 
 in the world." 
 
 " That is just my opinion," observed John 
 Peter; "but my wife scolded me so much for 
 selling you the little silver cask, that I shall do 
 nothing without consulting her first." 
 
 Claudine entered at this moment, and the lord 
 offered her first a hundred crowns for the mag- 
 ical theatre, and then a thousand, and at last two 
 thousand ; but she would not hear a word. The 
 Baron at length grew quite angry, and said that 
 
68 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 they refused his offers merely for the sake of 
 annoying him, but that he would take care and 
 have his revenge. Little Peter, hearing this, 
 doffed his cap, and, bowing to the Baron, said, 
 " My father has told you, my lord, that the pup- 
 pet-show belongs to me. If you and the Bar- 
 oness have no objection, I will bring my theatre 
 to the castle, and make my actors play before 
 your children as often as you ask me to do so." 
 
 "Well, be it so," said the Baron; "you are a 
 fine little fellow. Bring your show this even- 
 ing after dinner, and I will reward you for your 
 pains." 
 
 When evening came, Peter put the copper 
 box into a wheelbarrow and trudged off with it 
 to the castle. The Baroness was a beautiful 
 and amiable lady, good and charitable, and she 
 endeavored, as far as it lay in her power, to soft- 
 en her husband's temper. She had three love- 
 ly children a girl and two boys. Peter was 
 received in the kindest manner ; he was ca- 
 ressed, and had cakes given him, and the Bar- 
 oness slipped some money into his hand. The 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 69 
 
 first time Peter made his puppets act the first 
 play only, and it was found so pretty that he 
 was entreated to return on the morrow. The 
 next day he showed the second play, and so on, 
 one after the other, till the twelfth day. When 
 the plays were finished, the children would have 
 them all over again. So Peter got into the habit 
 of going every day to the castle, and never did 
 he get back to the farm without having received 
 caresses, cakes, and money; and the miller, see- 
 ing his son return home every evening with his 
 pockets full, understood at length the full value 
 of Madam Rain's present. 
 
 The little daughter of the Baroness, who was 
 of the same age as Peter, was passionately fond 
 of the puppet-show ; her name was Marguerite. 
 She had the loveliest blue eyes and the most 
 beautiful light hair ever seen ; but she was good, 
 gentle, and always sweet-tempered, which is 
 even better than being beautiful. Peter loved 
 her very much, and Mademoiselle Marguerite 
 was very friendly toward Peter. One evening, 
 after the play, she sighed and said, "You are 
 
70 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 very happy, Peter, in having such a wonderful 
 theatre ; Madam Rain has given you a toy fit 
 for a princess." 
 
 " Mademoiselle," replied Peter, " I am indeed 
 happy in possessing something that pleases you 
 in order to give it you. If my theatre is fit for 
 a princess, perhaps you may find it worthy of 
 yourself, and I offer it to you with all my heart." 
 
 Marguerite had a great desire to accept the 
 present, but the Baroness would not consent to 
 her'doing so. 
 
 "Peter," said she, "you are too generous. 
 Keep your magical box ; my daughter does 
 not wish to deprive you of it." 
 
 " Leave him alone," said the Baron ; " if it 
 suits him to give his theatre to Marguerite, he 
 must not be prevented. Make yourself easy, 
 my boy ; my daughter will accept your present 
 without any pressing." 
 
 " Mademoiselle," continued Peter, " the thea- 
 tre is yours, and here is the wand : amuse your- 
 self as much as you like with the puppets." 
 
 When John Peter learned that his son had 
 
MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 71 
 
 given the copper box away, he fell into a great 
 passion. 
 
 " Don't be angry, father," said Peter ; " it is 
 true I have given the copper box and wand 
 away, but I have kept the gilt-edged book, and 
 you will see that they will send as usual for me 
 to-morrow to read the play." 
 
 The miller, however, would not hear a word, 
 and was on the point of beating his son, had not 
 Claudine fortunately taken little Peter in her 
 arms. 
 
 " John Peter," said she to her husband, " our 
 boy is a good deal cleverer than you are ; what 
 he says is reasonable. Wait at least till to- 
 morrow before you whip him." 
 
 The next day a servant from the castle came 
 to fetch him as usual, for he was wanted to 
 make the puppets talk. After the play Mar- 
 guerite again sighed and said, 
 
 " Dear Peter, if you do not give me the gilt- 
 edged book, your pretty present will be of no 
 use to me." 
 
 " Here it is, then," replied Peter ; " I kept it 
 
72 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 only that I might have the pleasure of showing 
 you the performances myself; but since you de- 
 sire to have the book, I am quite willing to give 
 it you." 
 
 John Peter again fell into a dreadful passion 
 on learning that his son no longer had the gilt- 
 edged book. 
 
 " Father," said Peter, " I could not resist the 
 pleasure of obliging Mademoiselle Marguerite, 
 and I hope we shall be the better for it. My 
 lord will not annoy us any more, you will see ; 
 my lady will speak in our favor, and I shall have 
 gained the friendship of the most amiable young 
 lady in the world." 
 
 The miller, nevertheless, was quite determ- 
 ined to chastise his son ; but Claudine carried 
 Peter away, saying, " Wait a while, John Pe- 
 ter; stop, at least, until we see whether what 
 our child says will happen or not." 
 
 But on the morrow the servant from the cas- 
 tle did not come as usual. 
 
 " They have no longer any need of me," said 
 Peter, " and I am forgotten ; but I do not regret 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 73 
 
 it at all, since I have gratified Mademoiselle 
 Marguerite." 
 
 CHAPTEK IX. 
 
 IT was not any fault in Marguerite that Pe- 
 ter came no more to the castle. She would 
 have wished him to be sent for to read the play ; 
 but the Baron's reply was that it would be bet- 
 ter to get the children's old governess to read 
 the piece, and thus they might dispense with 
 Peter altogether. Now, as the governess was 
 
 old, and wore large spec- 
 tacles which pinched her 
 nose, and her voice was 
 broken and drawling, all 
 the charm of the perform- 
 ance was destroyed. The 
 children regretted Peter, 
 and Marguerite was very 
 sorry indeed that she had 
 asked him for his gilt-edged book. 
 
 One day the daughter of a great lord in the 
 
 THB GOVERNESS. 
 
74 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 neighborhood came to the castle, and, to amuse 
 her, they had one of the plays of the wonderful 
 theatre acted. She had scarcely expressed her 
 admiration and pleasure when Marguerite ex- 
 claimed, " My dear friend, as my theatre seems 
 to please you so much, I am most happy to be 
 able to make you a present of it. Do take it 
 home with you." 
 
 The girl accepted the beautiful present, ten- 
 derly embraced her friend, and carried away the 
 copper-box, the wand, and the gilt-edged book. 
 The Baron, who was out hunting, fell into a vio- 
 lent passion when he learned what Marguerite 
 had done, and would have whipped her, but the 
 Baroness interfered to prevent him, saying, " If 
 our Marguerite is generous, it is a rare and good 
 failing, for which I will not allow her to be pun- 
 ished." 
 
 The children, however, were very much at a 
 loss now that they had their theatre no longer. 
 Their ordinary games afforded them no more 
 amusement, and they did nothing but gape and 
 yawn from morning till evening. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 75 
 
 At least, if Peter were here," said they, " he 
 would tell us the story of the Knight Jessamine 
 and the Princess Eglantine." So at last Peter 
 was sent for. 
 
 "Do not lose heart, my good friends," said 
 he to the children. You did well in giving the 
 wonderful puppet-show away. You must nev- 
 er regret having been generous. I work, you 
 know, at a carpenter's, and I will make you a 
 theatre of wood myself. It will not be so fine, 
 of course, as the other, and the little actors will 
 not move about so well ; but I will try to re- 
 member the play of the Knight Jessamine, and 
 I may still recite it to you, supplying what I 
 have forgotten by words of my own. So Peter 
 went and fetched his carpenter's tools; and then 
 he sawed some planks, and constructed a thea- 
 tre, with side-scenes and foot-lights all complete. 
 He painted the scenery on paper. An empty 
 jam-pot, on which he drew stone-work, repre- 
 sented the tower of a fortress. While he worked, 
 the Baroness made linen dolls, and cut out satin 
 and muslin to dress the little actors with. The 
 
76 MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 Chevalier Jessamine had a pretty white mantle, 
 and the Princess Eglantine a dress of rose-col- 
 ored silk. All the other characters were soon 
 finished, and each had a piece of wire fastened 
 at the top of the head. The stage curtain was 
 made out of the red lining of a dressing-gown. 
 The wax candles were lighted; Peter assem- 
 bled his actors ; then he gave the usual three 
 taps, and the piece began. 
 
THE CHEVALIER JESSAMINE 
 
 AND THE 
 
 PRINCESS EGLANTINES 
 
 A PLAY IN THREE ACTS FOR THE PUPPET-SHOW. 
 BY MADAM RAIN. 
 
 CHARACTERS. 
 
 ARTHUR, King of England (a bass voice). 
 
 EGLANTINE, his Daughter (a treble voice). 
 
 CHRISTIAN, Prince of Denmark (a falsetto voice). 
 
 SIR JESSAMINE (a natural voice). 
 
 PAQUERETTE, Waiting-maid to the Princess (a shrill voice). 
 
 GULDENSTERN, a Danish General (a gruff voice). 
 
 English Courtiers and Danish Soldiers. 
 
 The Lion of the Menagerie. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The Danish army may be represented by a dozen puppets held together 
 in one hand by the wires. 
 
78 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 The scene represents the garden of KING ARTHUR'S Palace in London. 
 
 SCENE I. 
 
 [Observe. As the Princess does not move during the first three scenes^ 
 she may be fastened to a nail.] 
 
 EGLANTINE and PAQUERETTE. 
 
 PAQUERETTE. 
 
 Mademoiselle, dear Princess, pray do not turn your back so 
 upon me. Do look a little at me : I am your Paquerette, your 
 friend. Confide your trouble to me. . . . You do not reply. 
 For the eight days that you have remained in this garden you 
 have not once so much as opened your mouth, even to eat. This 
 may hurt you ; and, in fact, I observe that your face is very pale. 
 You must indeed be very sad, to keep silent so long. At least 
 move your little finger, that one may see whether you are dead 
 or alive. It is to-day that your future husband arrives at court. 
 .... Ah ! what do you say ? It seemed to me that I heard 
 you sigh. Is it this marriage that grieves you ? Prince Chris- 
 tian is, notwithstanding, a most amiable lord. He has sent you 
 some superb presents from Denmark, but you have not even 
 looked at them. How can you dislike this prince, when you 
 do not as yet know him ? Come, come, Mademoiselle, do not 
 remain thus motionless as a statue. The King, your father, will 
 become angry at last, and, seeing that you will not stir, he will 
 put you into a closet. Here he is, I declare, coming this way ; 
 I shall run off; for I can see plainly by the shaking of his body 
 that he is in a passion. \Exit PAQUERETTE. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM KA1N. 79 
 
 SCENE II. 
 EGLANTINE, KING ARTHUR. 
 
 KING ARTHUR. 
 
 Ungrateful girl! will you not at length break this obstinate 
 silence ? Will you not deign to make a little movement, and 
 reply at least to your father ? Tell me the cause of your grief. 
 
 Speak ; I listen to you You will not ? This obstinacy is 
 
 becoming intolerable ! My patience is exhausted ! Take care, 
 child ; do not force me to use my authority ; you may repent it. 
 Prince Christian has landed from Denmark, and is going to pay 
 his respects to you. Prepare yourself to receive him graciously. 
 Here he is, coming this way. For God's sake, Eglantine, answer 
 him when he speaks to you. 
 
 SCENE HI. 
 
 The same, PRINCE CHRISTIAN. 
 KING. 
 
 Approach, son-in-law ; my daughter is as happy as myself to 
 see you in London. 
 
 CHRISTIAN [bowing}. 
 
 Incomparable Princess ! flower of Great Britain ! the whole 
 of Denmark inclines before you in my royal person. War is now 
 forever at an end between our states ; and henceforth I shall 
 never draw the sword but to proclaim you the loveliest of the 
 lovely, as I am myself the most valiant of knights. 
 
 [Performs a pirouette. 
 
80 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 KING [aside to his daughter]. 
 
 Salute him, Eglantine reply. [Aloud.] My Lord Christian, 
 my daughter is so affected at your gallantry that she dares not 
 answer. Excuse, I pray you, her modesty and inexperience. 
 Leave me alone with her for an instant ; I will loosen her tongue 
 for her. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 Willingly, my lord ; I will return in a moment, when the tongue 
 of the peerless Eglantine shall be unloosed. 
 
 [Jle makes several pirouettes as he goes out. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 KING, EGLANTINE. 
 KING. 
 
 Unhappy child ! Will you then drive me to despair? See in 
 what a dreadful dilemma you place me. If I have to confess to 
 the Prince of Denmark that my daughter has become as motion- 
 less as a statue, I shall fall ill with shame. You deserve to be 
 shut up in a dark dungeon in the vaults of the citadel, along with 
 spiders and wood-lice. But, first of all, I arn determined that 
 your marriage shall take place ; and I shall order you to be con- 
 ducted by main force to church. If you will not pronounce the 
 " Yes," I shall say it myself, and you shall be married by force. 
 
 EGLANTINE [throwing herself at the King 's feet]. 
 Ah ! sire, have pity on your daughter. Do not force me to 
 marry this prince, whom I detest, or else you will see me expire 
 before your eyes. 
 

 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 81 
 
 KING. 
 
 Here, then, is the cause of this obstinate silence? Why do 
 you detest this young prince ? He is not very plain, and he says 
 himself that he is brave and witty. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Sire, I think him frightful ; and if he had wit and courage, he 
 would not himself say that he had. Did you not observe his af- 
 fectation and his pirouettes ? 
 
 KING. 
 
 There is nothing to find fault with in his twirling himself round 
 and round, for that is applauded at the opera. It is the sign, too, 
 of ease, grace, and a good education. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 After all, my dear father, if I prove to you clearly that this 
 prince is nothing but a silly, boasting fellow, will you excuse me 
 from marrying him ? Know, besides, that the fairies themselves 
 are opposed to this marriage. 
 
 KING. 
 
 Oh heavens ! there is a mystery in all this ! What will become 
 of us if the fairies interfere ! But how will you prove that the 
 prince is a fool and a boaster ? 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Leave that to me ; let him come now. 
 
82 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 KING [calling]. 
 
 Approach, ray Lord Christian ; my daughter desires to speak 
 with you. Her tongue happily is loosened. 
 
 SCENE V. 
 The same, CHRISTIAN. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Illustrious Prince, before marrying you, I ought to inform you 
 of a singular event that occurred at the moment of my birth. My 
 nurse was carrying me in her arms, when she saw a fairy come 
 out from the wall ; the fairy touched me with her wand, and 
 bestowed several gifts upon me, and said that I should marry a 
 knight capable of vying in wit with me, and who should save my 
 life on our wedding day. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 Charming Eglantine ! there is nothing to alarm me in this 
 prediction. Let us try our wits together ; I am quite willing. 
 My courtiers say I am made of wit. Does any danger threaten 
 you ? I am ready to save your life. 
 
 [He assumes an apish air^ and pirouettes. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 The fairy will no doubt furnish you with an opportunity of 
 saving my life to-day. As to our vying in wit, in consideration 
 of the wishes of my father, I will reduce it to a very simple test. 
 I shall propound you an enigma. If you guess it, we shall be 
 married ; but if you can not find it out, nothing in the world will 
 ever persuade me to become your wife. Pray tell me, then, what 
 

 MB. WIND AND MADAM KAIN. 83 
 
 is that short-lived flower whose perfume is devoid of charm when 
 it blooms alone, but which exhales a delicious odor when placed 
 in the company of other flowers, shedding at the same time a par- 
 ticular brilliancy on all that surrounds it ? In the bouquets we 
 see, it is the first to fade, while its companions live for a much 
 longer time. A vain and beautiful woman will desire to be adorn- 
 ed with this flower alone ; a wiser one will rather choose others. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 Amiable Eglantine, I am not acquainted with botany ; but if 
 you will give me a quarter of an hour for reflection while I walk 
 in the garden, I shall find out this extraordinary flower to a cer- 
 tainty. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Go walk, my lord ; I will wait for your answer. 
 
 [CHRISTIAN goes out like a Tom-fool. 
 
 KING. 
 
 How can you, my daughter, expect the Prince to guess what 
 this flower is ? There are so many in my garden that I should 
 not be able to find it myself. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 The Prince must, nevertheless, find out the riddle if he wishes 
 to wed me; for these were the fairy's last words: "If Eglantine 
 marry a prince who can not expound the enigma, and who does 
 not save her life, she shall be turned into a statue." You have 
 already seen, my dear father, how very near I have been losing 
 the power of speech ; be careful, then, how you wish to counter- 
 act the fairy. Her prediction must be fulfilled. 
 
84 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 KING. 
 
 Alas ! what a strange affair ! Still, if seeing you dumb were 
 all, one might in time get reconciled to that ; but to have a stat- 
 ue for a daughter! such an idea is not to be endured. I feel 
 overwhelmed with grief, and will go and try to weep in my 
 closet. \He goes out. 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 The stage represents another part of the garden. 
 
 SCENE I. 
 EGLANTINE, the KNIGHT JESSAMINE. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 Princess, what have I heard that you are going to be mar- 
 ried to-day to a foreigner ? You promised to choose me for your 
 husband ; but, alas ! I am but a poor knight, and you wish to be 
 Queen of Denmark. I see there is no longer any hope for me ; 
 I am come, therefore, to bid you farewell, and to look on you for 
 the last time. To-morrow I set out for the Holy Land, and I 
 shall seek death in battle with the Turks. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Ungrateful man ! how dare you make me these reproaches, 
 when I am giving myself so much trouble to get your rival out 
 of the way ? Instead of going to Palestine, think rather of ren- 
 dering yourself worthy of my hand. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 What must I undertake in order to be so, beautiful Eglantine? 
 

 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 85 
 
 I am capable of any thing. I would swim across rivers ; I would 
 dash into fire. Give me lions to combat, serpents and dragons 
 to cut to pieces with my sword. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 What you have to do is simply to wait for the opportunity 
 of saving my life, as the fairy bade. You must keep yourself 
 quiet. Do not bound thus over the trees and flower-beds. Be 
 prudent, and endure patiently the presence of your rival. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 Ah ! how can I do so, Princess ? Love makes me bound ; 
 jealousy and anxiety cause me to jump over the trees and flow- 
 er-beds. I can not help it. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Jump, then, if you like. Every body will see your love and 
 jealousy ; my father will be told of it ; I shall be imprisoned in 
 the citadel ; you will never be my husband, and I shall die of grief. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 Ah ! it would indeed be an unpardonable weakness to disobey 
 you, dearest Eglantine. I will become reasonable in order to de- 
 serve you. See ! I have already left off jumping, and I keep my- 
 self as steady as a doctor on my legs. Love alone has changed 
 me thus ; at least, love and the hope you have given me by the 
 charming words I have just heard you utter. Permit me, at 
 least, to throw myself at your feet and kiss your hand. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 No, Sir Knight, that would not be proper ; besides, the gold 
 
86 MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 lace on your mantle would catch hold of the embroidery on my 
 dress; we should not be able to separate them; and thus it 
 would be seen that you had thrown yourself at my feet. Your 
 excess of tenderness does not, however, displease me. Adieu, 
 Chevalier ; I am going to sigh a little in my boudoir, for I feel 
 my heart very much agitated. [She goes out. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 JESSAMINE, CHRISTIAN in pursuit of a butterfly. 
 
 KNIGHT [aside], 
 
 Who is this stranger who is running after a butterfly ? Let 
 me observe him in silence. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 There ! it has settled on a flower. It is a tulip. The butter- 
 fly ought to know. I will tell the Princess that her mysterious 
 flower is a tulip. But here is a person belonging to the court. 
 
 KNIG HT [approaching] . 
 You are a foreigner, sir, no doubt ? 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 Yes, sir ; I am the equerry of the Prince of Denmark, and am 
 delighted to make your acquaintance. I was amusing myself 
 by reflecting on an enigma, which you may perhaps assist me in 
 solving. What flower is that whose charms are increased two- 
 fold when placed among flowers less brilliant than itself? A 
 beautiful and vain woman desires to possess it in preference to 
 its neighbors, but a wise woman would desire rather to possess 
 the others, which are less fleeting. 
 
MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 87 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 It must b youth, sir. Its brilliancy is doubled when talents 
 and virtue attend it. It passes away while the other flowers 
 remain. The frivolous woman will desire no other advantage 
 than brilliancy ; the wise one will prefer talents and virtue, which 
 survive youth. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 I thank you very much, sir. You are right. That's just it. 
 I will go directly and find the King and the Princess. What 
 happiness ! I have guessed the riddle. Oh, how fortunate a 
 Prince of Denmark is in being endowed with sense ! 
 
 [He goes out in a pirouette. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 KNIGHT [alone]. 
 
 What did he say ? find the Princess ? guessed the riddle ? 
 Have I then been furnishing arms against myself? Is this for- 
 eigner the Prince of Denmark ? Should this be so, I have noth- 
 ing to do but to drown myself. Jealousy is tearing at my heart. 
 In spite of my promises to the beautiful Eglantine, I can not con- 
 ceal the transports of my passion. My agony is dreadful ! \JH*> 
 jumps over trees and flower-beds.'] I can endure it no longer. 
 Love carries me away to commit a thousand extravagances. I 
 will go ; I will fly in search of the Princess, and get before my 
 rival if it is yet time. \Ht goes out. 
 
88 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 The scene represents a fortress. 
 
 SCENE I. 
 
 The KING and several Courtiers, PRINCE CHRISTIAN, and tie 
 KNIGHT JESSAMINE at the top of the Citadel; EGLANTINE at 
 the foot of the tower. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Oh dear ! what will become of me ? The Prince of Denmark 
 has already found out the riddle. Nothing now remains for him 
 to do but to save my life in order to merit my hand. The fairy 
 has been to see me in my boudoir, and has told me to fear noth- 
 ing; but if it is her design to make me wed this Christian, whom 
 I do not love, I shall be the most unhappy of queens. Never will 
 I consent to it ! I prefer rather to become a statue. 
 
 KING [from the top of the tower]. 
 
 Admire, son-in-law, the prospect from this tower. Regard 
 those plains that stretch far out in the distance the sea, which 
 one may perceive in the horizon. Is it not fine ? 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 Exquisitely fine, sire. The keen air we breathe up here will 
 give us an appetite for the wedding feast. We will amuse our- 
 selves again soon in guessing some more riddles. I am uncom- 
 monly clever at that game. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Oh heavens! I see the Chevalier up above there behaving like 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 89 
 
 a madman. He will be committing some imprudence or other. 
 The fairy is forsaking me. Ah ! unhappy Eglantine, thou hast 
 nothing left thee now but to die. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 The same. PAQUEEETTE running. 
 
 PA QUERETTE . 
 
 Mademoiselle, fly quickly ! the lion from the menagerie has 
 broken loose out of his cage. He is coming this way. He will 
 devour you if you do not run away. [Exit, running. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Help ! help ! the lion has broken loose from his cage ! He is 
 coming toward me! I am lost! He will devour me! Help, 
 my dear papa ! 
 
 KING [from the top of the tower]. 
 
 Wait a moment, daughter. I am coming down with my sol- 
 diers, and we will slay the lion. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Alas ! my father, it will take you a quarter of an hour to get 
 down, and the lion is only two steps off. He will have time to 
 eat me. Jump down from the tower, or I am dead ! 
 
 KING. 
 
 My poor daughter, I am no longer nimble enough to jump a 
 wall two hundred feet high. 
 
90 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Lord Christian, behold now the opportunity of saving my life. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 Consider, Mademoiselle, that if I jump, I shall break my arms 
 and legs at least; and could I kill a lion with broken legs and 
 arms? 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 And you, Knight, my dear Jessamine, friend of my childhood, 
 will you leave me to be devoured by this terrible lion ? Hark 
 to his roaring ! Here he is ! here he is ! 
 
 [The lion roars behind the scenes, and comes bounding on to 
 the stage. 
 
 KNIGHT [from the tower]. 
 
 Compose yourself, Princess ; I fly to your succor, though I 
 break all my bones. 
 
 [He jumps from the tower, rushes on the lion, and slays it. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 You have saved my life, Chevalier ; you deserve to be my hus- 
 band. But wherefore, alas ! did the Prince of Denmark guess 
 the riddle ? 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 It was I that guessed it. I told him the answer a little while ago. 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Oh, how glad I am ! The fairy has not deceived me ! you 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 91 
 
 shall be my husband. You may now throw yourself at my feet, 
 Sir Knight, and if your mantle does get entangled in my robe it 
 will not matter. 
 
 CHRISTIAN. 
 
 It shall never be said that the Chevalier Jessamine has outdone 
 me in courage. Since he has jumped, I intend to jump also. 
 [He throws himself headlong down, and lies stretched mo- 
 tionkss at the foot of the tower. 
 
 KING. 
 
 Oh, unlucky accident ! the Prince has broken his head, and I 
 very much fear that no one can mend it again. Though one sees 
 fathers marrying their daughters to men with no head, it would 
 not be prudent to imitate them. But I espy an army advancing. 
 It is the Danes coming to revenge the death of their Prince. 
 Alas ! they will have time to ravage the whole of ray kingdom 
 before I can reach the bottom of the tower. Already do I hear 
 their trumpet sounding the attack [A trumpet is heard. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 I am ready to fight them, sire ; I will repulse them and kick 
 them back into their own country again. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 The same. GENERAL GULDENSTERN at the head of the Danes. 
 
 GULDEXSTERN. 
 
 Restore us our Prince, or we will set fire to the city and slaugh- 
 ter all the inhabitants. 
 
92 MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 There your Prince is ; carry him away, and rid us of your 
 presence. 
 
 GULDENSTERN. 
 
 I accept not that Prince. I must have a Christian in good 
 condition, with a whole head, and not a split one. Since you 
 have broken our sovereign, you must pay for another for us. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 He broke his own head of his own accord. Quit England im- 
 mediately, foreign rabble, or you will have me about you. 
 
 GULDENSTERN. 
 
 Soldiers, strike this knight ; surround him ; fell him to the 
 ground ! Long live Denmark ! Vengeance ! vengeance ! Let 
 us pillage the city of London. 
 
 KNIGHT. 
 
 I'll take good care you don't. Long live old England ! \He 
 rushes against the Danes and kicks them all away.~\ Sire, your 
 kingdom is delivered of its enemies. 
 
 KING [from the top of the tower]. 
 
 Brave Jessamine ! thou hast merited my daughter's hand ; I 
 give her to thee. As soon as I get down thou shalt be married 
 to her, and thou shalt be my heir. But I am afraid Denmark 
 will begin a terrible war against me. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM KAIN. 
 
 93 
 
 EGLANTINE. 
 
 Oh no, dear father, we shall have no war, for the play is fin- 
 ished. The curtain is going to fall, the wax candles are dying 
 out, and I have scarcely time to bow to the audience and beg 
 their pardon for all the nonsense we have just been saying. 
 
94 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A FEW days after the representation of the 
 play, the Baron's children went out for a ram- 
 ble accompanied by their old governess. The 
 good lady seated herself on the grass while the 
 children engaged in play, or ran about in the 
 meadow. To pass away the time, the govern- 
 ess, putting on her spectacles and drawing a 
 newspaper from her pocket, perused the " Foot" 
 story with the deepest attention and the liveli- 
 est interest. It was a long romance that had 
 been going on some three years back, and had 
 reached the eight hundred and thirty-sixth chap- 
 ter ; and as the tale made no progress, but stop- 
 ped always at the same point, the poor govern- 
 ess fell into a profound slumber. 
 
 While their guardian thus slept, the two boys 
 were engaged in climbing trees to gather ap- 
 ples, and little Marguerite was roaming in search 
 of flowers to the extreme borders of the mead- 
 ow. She there found herself on the bank of a 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 streamlet which noiselessly threaded its way 
 through the long grass. On the other side of 
 a thorn hedge ran a path, along which Peter 
 was passing on his way back from the village. 
 Hearing piercing cries come from the meadow, 
 he stopped all of a sudden. It was Marguerite, 
 who was calling for help. " Oh, how dreadful !" 
 she exclaimed. " Here is a large serpent crawl- 
 ing in the grass ; it is coming to bite me. Gov- 
 erness ! brothers ! come and save me ! Alas ! 
 they do not hear me. Oh, if I should die !" 
 
 Peter crossed the thorn hedge and ran into 
 the meadow. "Don't be afraid, mademoiselle," 
 
 said he. " What you see 
 there is not a serpent ; it 
 is a little viper, which 
 will not bite you if you 
 do not touch it ; but, to 
 reassure you, I am go- 
 ing to kill it." With the 
 heel of his shoe he then 
 crushed the head of the 
 
 PETKB A^iD TUB VIPEB. 
 
 viper. 
 
96 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 " How courageous you are !" said Margue- 
 rite. " Come with me to the castle ; I will tell 
 mamma that you have saved my life." 
 
 " There is no great merit, mademoiselle," said 
 Peter, " in what I have done. I am obliged to 
 go now to my master the carpenter's house; 
 but I will come and see you at the castle some 
 other time " 
 
 " Go to your work, dear Peter," replied Mar- 
 guerite ; " I shall never forget your brave ac- 
 tion. Let us embrace each 
 other, for to-day I am hap- 
 py to see that your face is 
 not too dirty for me to 
 kiss." 
 
 Peter kissed the little girl 
 on both her cheeks, and 
 Marguerite, in returning 
 his embrace, said, 
 
 "If my prayers are heard, 
 you shall one day be my Jessamine, and I will 
 be your Eglantine." 
 
 The next day the Baroness came to the farm. 
 
 THE FIRST KISS. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 97 
 
 She, too, embraced Peter, and presented him 
 with a box of carpenter's tools, and a dozen 
 books bound in morocco, among which were 
 works on geometry, ancient history, and the 
 history of France from the times of Pharamond 
 to King Robert. Afterward she put a well- 
 filled purse into Claudine's hands, and bade her 
 employ its contents in procuring instruction for 
 her son. 
 
 Peter, full of gratitude, opened the books after 
 the departure of the Baroness, and set himself 
 to study in order to become soon as wise as he 
 was courageous. By the end of six months he 
 knew by heart the whole contents of the books ; 
 others were given him by the Baroness, and 
 these he perused as assiduously. He was soon 
 advanced enough to be able to instruct the vil- 
 lage schoolmaster. 
 
 CHAPTEK XL 
 
 ONE night John Peter and his wife were qui- 
 etly seated in the chimney-corner of a snug 
 
98 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 room. The shutters were closed, and the win- 
 dows hung with thick curtains. The room and 
 the anteroom both had double doors, so that not 
 
 the least draught was 
 to be felt. The miller 
 and his wife were re- 
 joicing over the Baron- 
 ess's bounty, and they 
 enjoyed their comfort 
 the more fully as they 
 heard the wind howl- 
 ing without. The little 
 spirits could not find 
 the least hole by which 
 to effect an entrance into the farm-house. Clau- 
 dine, however, by dint of listening, fancied she 
 could distinguish their voices : " Thankless John 
 Peter," said they ; " thou owest all to us, and yet 
 thou refusest us a shelter. No more broken 
 panes, no more crevices where we may sigh 
 and hum. It is with the greatest difficulty that 
 we can manage to whistle quite softly through 
 the keyhole." 
 
 THE MILLER EiNJOYlMG H1M8ELF. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 99 
 
 " Does Mr. Wind want to come again into our 
 house ?" cried John Peter, somewhat alarmed. 
 
 " There would be no great harm in that," said 
 Claudine. " If he has a mind to do so, let him. 
 Perhaps we shall find ourselves as much the 
 better for it as we were the first time." 
 
 So saying, Claudine flung open all the doors. 
 At the same instant Mr. Wind appeared, and 
 came rushing and whirling himself round and 
 round into the room. The train of his mantle 
 rose to the ceiling, and his two large wings fill- 
 ed half the room. "Oh," said he, with his gruff 
 voice, " there's a change here ! You've made 
 your fortune, then, after all, in spite of your stu- 
 pidity, Master John Peter. 
 Why, you are as well housed 
 as a marquis. Give me an 
 easy -chair, that i may re- 
 pose myself on your cush- 
 ions, my lord miller." 
 
 Mr. Wind burst out laugh- 
 ing with such violence that 
 the window-panes shook, 
 
 MR. WIND LAUGHS. 
 
100 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 and little Peter woke up 
 suddenly out of his sleep. 
 
 " By Jove !" resumed Mr. 
 Wind, "how very comforta- 
 ble one is in this easy-chair ! 
 Well, thou art a good fel- 
 low, John Peter ; I forgive 
 thy faults, and I thank thee 
 for thy kind reception ; but, 
 as thou art now rich, I shall 
 not give thee any thing. So 
 adieu, friend !" 
 
 At the very moment Mr. 
 Wind was preparing to fly 
 away, Peter, who had slip- 
 ped down from his bed, shut 
 the four doors of the room 
 and anteroom. 
 
 Immediately Mr. Wind 
 was seen to totter on his 
 legs, and fall back again 
 into his easy-chair. His fat 
 cheeks sank in, forming a 
 
 MR. WIND OKIES. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM. RAIN. 101 
 
 thousand wrinkles. His trpad chest sji rank up, 
 his body gradually becatae- thinh6r and Jhjnner, 
 
 and his wings smallei; tKaft.ki'^p^^' 8 '-'' He 
 would have cried out, but his throat gave vent 
 to a faint, husky sound, as though he had grown 
 suddenly hoarse, and lost his voice entirely : " My 
 friends," said he, " do not detain me. It would 
 be an abominable trick to do so Give me air 
 I am stifling ! For pity's sake, open the win- 
 dow ! You can not wish to kill me, surely ? ' 
 
 " Mr. Wind can not die," said Peter. " We 
 are only going to keep you a prisoner, and you 
 must come to terms with us to be free again/' 
 
 " Good people," replied Mr. Wind, " what do 
 you want of me ?" 
 
 " I want a great deal of money," said John 
 Peter. 
 
 " We must have," said Claudine, " a recom- 
 pense for the blows which the giant who was 
 shut up in the little golden cask gave us with 
 his stick." 
 
 "And I," said Peter, "must be created a 
 knight or baron." 
 
102 ME. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 " Miserable, imprudent, mad that I was," mur- 
 mured Mr. Wind, ." to come into this house! 
 My jtfiei)d^l{Vvill give? you money and magical 
 casks enow ; but it is only the king who can 
 make knights and barons. Let me depart " 
 
 " You shall not," cried Claudine ; " Peter is 
 right ; you must give in to us." 
 
 Mr. Wind made a last desperate effort to es- 
 cape ; but John Peter, Claudine, and Peter all 
 three began to blow upon him, and he found 
 himself so weak that he could no longer offer 
 them any resistance. 
 
 They made him fly all about the room like a 
 feather, he had become so small and light ; and 
 so they drove him into an air-tight closet, with 
 two doors and no window, and they double- 
 locked him in. 
 
 John Peter had scarcely taken the key out, 
 and stopped up the hole with putty, when the 
 noise without ceased. The tempest, being de- 
 prived of Mr. Wind, fell instantly. The clouds 
 could no longer fly The leaves of the trees 
 stirred no more, and the mill-sails stopped. 
 
ME. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 103 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE miller, his wife, and little Peter were tak- 
 ing counsel together as to how they might ob- 
 tain a large ransom from Mr. Wind, when they 
 heard water falling in torrents, and the chatter- 
 ing of the little spirits on the roof: " Ungrateful 
 John Peter," said the little spirits ; " we have 
 made thy fortune, and yet thou refusest to ad- 
 mit us into thy house. We slip over the slates, 
 we flow from the spouts into the gutters, but 
 there are no more broken panes no more holes 
 in the walls ; so we can no longer wet thy fur- 
 niture, nor jump into thy room. It is in vain 
 that we fall by thousands, we little drop, drop, 
 drops." 
 
 " Does Madam Rain wish to come in again ?" 
 said the miller. 
 
 " Let us open the window for her instantly," 
 cried Claudine. As soon as the window was 
 opened M[adam Rain stepped in. Floods of 
 tears fell down from her eyes, her clothes were 
 
104 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 POOB MADAM BAIN. 
 
 more drenched than at her 
 first visit, and her nose more 
 swelled by the cold in the 
 head. 
 
 " What has happened here ?" 
 said she, in a whining tone; "I 
 did not know the house again. 
 Reach me a good arm-chair, 
 John Peter, for I am weary, 
 and want to yawn and lounge a while in this 
 nice apartment. From what I see, I presume 
 it is I who have brought you this good luck. 
 The copper box and gilt-edged book have 
 served little Peter a good turn. You have now 
 no more need of me, so I will go and do good 
 to others. Adieu, my friends !" 
 
 She was going to slip out at the window, 
 when Claudine hastily let down the Venetian 
 blinds, closed the shutters, and drew together 
 the double curtains. Madam Rain fell instant- 
 ly back into her arm-chair fainting, Her tears 
 ceased to flow, her swelled nose returned to its 
 proper size, her garments became dry, her face 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 105 
 
 smiled, and seemed almost rosy. " Oh, despair!" 
 cried she, in a less drawling voice: "I am 
 caught. Do not kill me, my friends do not 
 shut me up in this hot house. I am drying 
 up ! Help ! help ! For charity's sake, open the 
 window !" 
 
 " Madam Rain can not die," said Peter ; " she 
 shall not go out of this house without paying 
 for her freedom." 
 
 " Pay ! Good heavens ! and what do you 
 want me to pay ? Speak quickly, for I can no 
 longer endure it. If you do not give me back 
 my tears and my cold in the head, I shall have 
 an hysterical fit." 
 
 " That won't do," said John Peter ; " when 
 the fit comes on, I will throw a glass of water 
 in your face, the way I treat my wife when she 
 has a fancy to faint. You must immediately 
 make terms with us. I want some money from 
 you ; Claudine asks for a magical gift, and Pe- 
 ter desires letters-patent of nobility." 
 
 " You shall have money," said Madam Rain, 
 "and the magical gift; but Peter will not be- 
 
106 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 come a baron until he has distinguished himself 
 by brilliant achievements. Let me go. Fool- 
 ish, thoughtless woman that I was, to allow my- 
 self to fall into this snare." 
 
 Madam Rain sobbed aloud, and raised her 
 hand to her eyes to find a tear ; but there was 
 not water enough to make one. She then made 
 a last effort to escape ; but John Peter armed 
 
 himself with an um- 
 brella, Claudine took 
 up the warming-pan, 
 and Peter threw a 
 towel, which he had 
 warmed at the fire, 
 over the dame's con- 
 tracted nose. Down 
 she fell on the hearth- 
 
 MADAM BAIN CAN NOT HELP HEB6ELF. 
 
 rug in a swoon, and Claudine directly took hold 
 of her round the waist and pitched her into the 
 kitchen sink. They heard her slip down the 
 leaden pipe and fall into the cistern at the bot- 
 tom. And John Peter carefully closed the lid 
 by putting a large flag-stone on the top of it. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 107 
 
 At the same moment, the spout was empty, 
 the rivulets ceased to murmur outside, the leaves 
 of the trees dried, the earth absorbed all the wa- 
 ter that had fallen, and the sky put off its man- 
 tle of clouds and put on that with stars all over 
 it, and the moon shone out clear and bright far 
 away over the plain. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 AT that time William Duke of Normandy 
 undertook to conquer England. With this end 
 in view he gathered together all his soldiers, 
 and called under his banner the lords from ev- 
 ery country who were willing to take part in 
 the war. 
 
 The Baron, who had begun to feel weary of 
 the life he led at his castle, resolved to join 
 Duke William, and repaired to Caen for that 
 purpose. The army embarked in a number of 
 small vessels and landed in England. Prince 
 Harold, the English chief assembled his troops 
 in London, and marched with them to meet 
 
108 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 Duke William in defense of his kingdom. The 
 two armies met in the plain of Hastings, and a 
 dreadful battle was expected. The Baroness 
 was all this time very uneasy as to the safety 
 of her husband, who had not sent her any tid- 
 ings. The children, seeing the grief of their 
 mother, did not dare to play together, and Mad- 
 emoiselle Marguerite fairly wept when she 
 thought of the dangers to which her papa was 
 being exposed. One day Peter came to the 
 castle and found every body there in a state of 
 consternation. 
 
 " Do not grieve, my lady," said he ; " and you, 
 my dear Marguerite, dry your tears; in one hour 
 we shall have news of the Baron." 
 
 Peter ran to the farm, and entered Mr. Wind's 
 prison, and found him stretched on a sofa quite 
 benumbed, and so shrunken that his body was 
 scarcely discernible amid the folds of his gar- 
 ments. 
 
 " Get up, Mr. Wind," said Peter ; " I have an 
 important commission for you. Should you not 
 like to take a little air, and to go free over the 
 seas ?" 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 109 
 
 " Yes, undoubtedly," replied Mr. Wind. " I 
 should be very glad to do so, for I am wasting 
 away in this horrible dungeon." 
 
 " Well," said Peter, " 1 will give you your lib- 
 erty for one hour ; but you must promise me to 
 execute an important commission, and to return 
 within the hour." 
 
 " What commission ?" said Mr. Wind ; " an- 
 swer me quickly, and make haste to open the 
 doors, for I am ready to start." 
 
 11 In one moment," said Peter ; " but you are 
 not to set out on a journey in this off-hand way. 
 First promise me that you will return within 
 one hour." 
 
 "And what need is there of my promising 
 
 ? 
 j 
 
 " Why, if you do not promise, I sha'n't open 
 the door." 
 
 Mr. Wind made the promise immediately. 
 
 "Now," said Peter, "go to England; fly like 
 lightning to the camp of Duke William ; ob- 
 serve what is passing there, and bring me news 
 of the Baron. You have no need of more than 
 
110 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 one hour for all this ; but I give you a quarter 
 of an hour's grace, to play truant a little." Pe- 
 ter opened the door ; Mr. Wind inhaled a puff 
 of air, and his breast swelled out directly just 
 like a balloon. Then he opened his large wings, 
 and darted away over tall trees and church 
 steeples, making a most terrific whistling. 
 
 MB. WIND AT LIBERTY. 
 
 He had been gone about an hour and a quar- 
 ter when Peter saw him coming back. 
 
 " Oh," said Mr. Wind, " what a fine journey 
 this has been to me ! and I have been amused 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. HI 
 
 beyond measure. The two armies fought in 
 the plain of Hastings. Duke William was vic- 
 torious, and Harold was killed. The Normans, 
 when I left the plain, had commenced a march 
 toward London. The Baron conducted him- 
 self right valiantly ; he is quite well, and the 
 Duke has promised him lands and honors as 
 rewards for his bravery." 
 
 " Very good, very good indeed," said Peter, 
 shutting the doors ; " I thank you for your 
 promptitude ; go to sleep now till to-morrow." 
 
 Peter flew to the castle to give the Baroness 
 and the children this good news, but he would 
 not say by whom it was conveyed to him. The 
 news was so good that it was readily believed. 
 
 At the end of fifteen days the Baroness re- 
 ceived from her husband a letter, in which, to 
 her astonishment, she read word for word the 
 intelligence she had received from Peter so 
 many days before. She rewarded Peter by load- 
 ing him with various presents and delicacies, 
 and she gave him permission to come to the 
 castle every day to see his friend Marguerite. 
 
112 MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MONTHS and years passed away, and Peter, 
 one fine day, attained his fourteenth year. As 
 he was tall and robust, he wished to go and seek 
 his fortune in England. So he bade adieu to 
 the Baroness, and embraced the children. He 
 was provided with every necessary for his ad- 
 venture money, provisions, and a horse. Mar- 
 guerite presented him with a beautiful handker- 
 chief embroidered by herself, as a token of her 
 friendship. John Peter wished him good luck, 
 and Claudine pressed him in her arms and wept. 
 
 " Don't cry, mother," said Peter ; " I shall re- 
 turn to you very soon, after becoming perhaps 
 a rich and great lord. Now, mind, do not let 
 Mr. Wind and Madam Rain escape. Send them 
 to England every morning, and they will bring 
 you back some news of me. I shall make good 
 use of them in the service of Duke William. 
 Above all, do not forget to force them to take 
 the oath before you permit them to go out." 
 
Cla 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 113 
 
 Claudine promised to attend to these instruc- 
 tions of her son. 
 
 Peter now mounted his horse and set of 
 pressing to his heart the handkerchief embroid- 
 ered by Marguerite's own hand. He traveled 
 through a part of Brittany, and at the end of 
 three days reached Caen. Here he found some 
 Normans about to proceed to England, and 
 they took him into their vessel ; and Mr. Wind, 
 whom Claudine had let out very propitiously, 
 filled their sails. On the fifteenth day from the 
 time he left his home, Peter entered the great 
 city of London, where Duke William's resi- 
 dence was. Peter took lodgings at a small inn, 
 and awaited an opportunity of presenting him- 
 self at court. One morning, as he was enjoy- 
 ing the air at his window, Peter saw Mr. Wind 
 coming swiftly toward him ; and on reaching 
 the window, he said, " Peter, thy mother has sent 
 me to know how thou art, and to ask if thou re- 
 quirest my services." 
 
 "Give my love to my mother," said Peter, 
 " and tell her I am quite well. I have no other 
 
114 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 orders for you to-day, but do not fail to come 
 to me again to-morrow." 
 
 Madam Rain could not travel so fast as Mr. 
 Wind, and did not arrive in London before the 
 afternoon. 
 
 " Hast thou any orders to give me ?" said she. 
 
 " No orders to-day," replied Peter ; " but do 
 not fail to return to-morrow." 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DUKE WILLIAM adored his wife, the Princess 
 Matilda, whom he had left at Caen. Every 
 week he sent her an express ; but, as eight days 
 elapsed before the return of the courier, he nev- 
 er had any news from her of very recent occur- 
 rence. Peter went to the Duke, and, throwing 
 himself at his feet, said, " My lord, I have at my 
 command a courier much more expeditious than 
 any one of those you employ, and if you will 
 intrust your expresses to me, they shall be con- 
 veyed to your palace at Caen, and answers to 
 them brought you daily." 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 115 
 
 The Duke was willing to make trial of Pe- 
 ter's services. On the morrow came Mr. Wind, 
 at the same hour as on the preceding day, and 
 Peter immediately dispatched him to Caen with 
 an express for the Duchess. An instant had 
 scarcely elapsed before Mr. Wind returned, and 
 Peter was acquainted with all that had been 
 done by the Duchess in the course of the morn- 
 ing. He conveyed the details to the Duke, 
 who was perfectly astonished ; and the more so 
 when, a few days after, his own courier arrived, 
 bringing him letters which confirmed all the 
 information that he had received from Peter. 
 The Duke now wished to engage permanently 
 a messenger so skillful and expeditious in the 
 transmission of expresses. He therefore took 
 Peter to his own residence to live, and made 
 use of him every day, without suspecting the 
 means which Peter employed. 
 
 Other noblemen had recourse to him also, to 
 know what their wives were doing ; and some 
 of them were by this means made acquainted 
 with many facts which they would much rather 
 
 
116 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 not have known ; and so, not being such good 
 husbands as the Duke William, they soon gave 
 up this quick way of sending their expresses, 
 and returned to the ordinary mail. Peter, not- 
 withstanding, made his fortune by his profes- 
 sion. He managed to save one hundred thou- 
 sand crowns, and he sent this sum to his father 
 and mother, requesting them to purchase the 
 first chateau for sale in their neighborhood. 
 And he wrote a very tender and loving letter 
 to Marguerite, in which he told her that he had 
 but one step more to make, and then he should 
 become a knight, like Jessamine. t 
 
 After a while, Duke William was crowned 
 King of England. And when he was prepar- 
 ing to enjoy in peace the results of his con- 
 quests, he was apprised that the Danes and the 
 Saxons were each sending a considerable fleet 
 against him. Great preparations were instant- 
 ly made for preventing an invasion of England 
 by these enemies. At the same time Peter 
 went to the King, and said, " Sire, do not waste 
 your money nor fatigue your soldiers to no pur- 
 
MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 117 
 
 pose. I will deliver you from the Danes and 
 Saxons before their fleets arrive in sight of the 
 English coast. You need not send out a single 
 ship to meet them." 
 
 " Thou art a little sorcerer, then !" said the 
 King, laughing. 
 
 " No, sire, I am a good Christian. Do you 
 rely on me, and in four-and-twenty hours you 
 will have no more enemies." 
 
 " Well, I will wait four-and-twenty hours be- 
 fore I give orders to prepare for war." 
 
 Next morning Peter was very early at his 
 window, looking out in the distance for Mr. 
 Wind, and he soon saw him coming with great 
 speed. 
 
 "Do not lose time in resting yourself, Mr. 
 Wind," said Peter, " but go and meet the Danes 
 and Saxons. Blow with all your might on their 
 ships, and scatter them over the ocean. Pre- 
 vent them from approaching England, but drown 
 as few of the men as possible." 
 
 "A very agreeable commission," said Mr 
 Wind. " I will go and execute it properly." So 
 
118 MR. WIND AND MADAM BAIN. 
 
 off he darted, swift as an arrow. He distended 
 his cheeks, and blew up waves as high as mount- 
 ains ; and in less than an hour the ships of both 
 the fleets were dispersed and destroyed. A cou- 
 rier carried to court tidings of what had been 
 done the very same evening, and the King was 
 so overjoyed that he embraced Peter, and was 
 going to bestow on him a magnificent reward, 
 when another courier, covered with dust, enter- 
 ed the King's cabinet, and announced that the 
 province of Cornwall had revolted, and that a 
 countless host of armed men were approaching 
 to surprise the city of London. The King now 
 commanded the trumpets to be sounded ; all the 
 lords armed themselves, and took to horse. The 
 soldiers marched out of the city and arranged 
 themselves on the plain in battle array. The 
 enemy had now arrived in sight. 
 
 These Cornish rebels were fierce ; they ut- 
 tered savage yells, and slaughtered with blood- 
 thirsty eagerness all those who fell in their way. 
 The great King William, though intrepid, began 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 119 
 
 to feel somewhat concerned at his present po- 
 sition. Just as the two armies were about to 
 give battle, he saw near him a cavalier in black 
 armor, with the visor down. 
 
 " Who art thou ?" said the King to the cava- 
 lier ; " and why dost thou place thyself so near 
 to me ?" 
 
 "I am one of your majesty's servants," re- 
 plied the black cavalier ; " I am watching over 
 your person, and I am come to insure you the 
 victory." 
 
 "And what are those strange personages 
 whom I see behind you ? Who is that tall fig- 
 ure in a mantle, and that woman with a scarf 
 of rainbow hue ?" 
 
 " One is my equerry, and the other my serv- 
 ant," said the cavalier; "it is to them that we 
 shall presently owe our safety." 
 
 The King gave the signal for combat ; the en- 
 emy advanced with fearful yells ; the black cav- 
 alier turned to the two figures behind him, and 
 shouted, " Do your duty !" Instantly the two 
 
120 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 strange personages were seen to soar to a pro- 
 digious height in the air. Then a terrible wind 
 blew in the faces of the enemy, mingled with a 
 pelting rain, which drenched their very skins, 
 and threw them into complete disorder, without 
 in the least inconveniencing the Norman army. 
 At the first charge the rebels were driven back 
 and beaten by the King's men. In the thickest 
 part of the battle the King observed the black 
 cavalier behaving right valiantly, and dealing 
 terrible strokes with his sword on the enemy 
 around him. Ten thousand rebels were slain 
 on the spot, and the rest took to flight. The 
 King ordered the cavalier to be called, and said 
 to him, in presence of his court, 
 
 " Young stranger, it is to thee that I owe the 
 success of this day. Have the goodness now 
 to make thyself known to me, and, for the serv- 
 ice thou hast rendered, ask of me some great 
 favor. Whatever it be, I promise thee before- 
 hand it shall be granted." 
 
 The black cavalier then raised the visor of 
 

 DEFEAT Oif THE CORNIbH REBELS. 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 123 
 
 his helmet, and the King and all his court rec- 
 ognized Peter. 
 
 "Sire," said he, "I am Peter, your humble 
 messenger ; since you wish to recompense my 
 feeble services, bestow on me letters of nobility 
 and make me a knight." The King instantly 
 embraced Peter, and dubbed him knight. On 
 returning to his palace he wrote out letters of 
 nobility, and Peter was called the Chevalier de 
 la Pierre. 
 
 "And now, sire," said he to the King, "if 
 your majesty wishes to make me the happiest 
 of all men, your majesty has only to ask the 
 Baron, whose vassal I am no longer, to give me 
 his daughter in marriage. I am rich enough 
 to aspire to so noble an alliance." 
 
 William the Conqueror demanded Margue- 
 rite of the Baron, and gave Peter a hundred 
 thousand francs to pay his wedding expenses. 
 The knight took leave of the King, and return- 
 ed to his own country with squires and a reti- 
 nue corresponding to his new position and title 
 
124 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 The Baroness freely consented to bestow on 
 him the hand of Marguerite, and the marriage 
 was celebrated with great splendor at the cha- 
 teau. The Chevalier de la Pierre retired soon 
 after to an estate bought by John Peter with 
 the money sent from London. Mr. Wind and 
 Madam Rain wished to make the young couple 
 a wedding-present. The Chevalier received 
 from the hands of Mr. Wind a magical ring, by 
 virtue of which Peter, after the lapse of twenty 
 years, found his wife still as beautiful as on the 
 day of her marriage ; and Madam Rain put on 
 Marguerite's neck an enchanted necklace, which 
 made her see her husband always young and 
 amiable. 
 
 Having received these precious gifts, Peter 
 could no longer, with a good grace, detain Mr. 
 Wind and Madam Rain as prisoners; so the 
 doors of the farm-house and the lid of the cis- 
 tern were opened, and they returned, the one to 
 the Southern Mountain, and the other to the 
 Western Grotto. They had, however, got so 
 
MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 125 
 
 MB. WIND AND MADAM RAIN AKB EKLEABED. 
 
 much into the habit of crossing and recrossing 
 the Channel, that they have still a particular lik- 
 ing for England, though King William no longer 
 needs their services. Hence it is that in Lon- 
 don macintoshes are worn, and that an English- 
 man never travels without taking his umbrella 
 with him. 
 
 The newly-married couple lived happily, and 
 never quarreled but once, and then only because 
 they had forgotten on that day to wear the mag- 
 ical ring and the enchanted necklace. Ever 
 after Marguerite was good-tempered, and the 
 Chevalier enamored of his wife. They had a 
 
126 
 
 MR. WIND AND MADAM RAIN. 
 
 great number of children, and it is from them 
 that the great and noble family of the Pierrots 
 de la Pierre has descended, so celebrated to this 
 day in Lower Brittany. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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