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THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Education 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Louise Farrow Barr 
 
EDUCATION LIBR. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP 
 
 a f aitt Cale 
 
 BY 
 
 MARGUERITE BOUVET 
 
 AUTHOR OF "sweet WILLIAM," "LITTLE MARJORIE'S 
 LOVE-STORY," ETC., ETC. 
 
 HELEN MAITLAND ARMSTRONG 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY 
 
 1892 
 
Copyright 
 
 By a. C. McClurg and Co. 
 
 A.D. 1892 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 Sduoatloa 
 GIFT 
 
pri 
 Liorar 
 
 1 
 
 342 
 
PRINCK 'lll'-ior, lol.l.ow 1J> I'.N I'RINCESS CERULF.A, 
 KNlKkS iHK COLNCU. CHAMBRR. 
 
I MARGUERITE BOUVET 
 
 Vs c^cc^lu^heS at Ljilcaqo 
 
 A-C-nSCLURG AND Ct 
 
But this Isle, 
 The greatest and the best of all the main, 
 He quarters to his blue-hair'd deities. 
 
 Milton. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. Princess Cerulea 15 
 
 II. Prince Tip-Top 49 
 
 III. The Rainbow Valley .... 97 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "The most Winsome Baby-Girl that ever 
 
 blessed two fond parents" .... 25 
 
 The Queen suggests a Way out of the 
 
 Difficulty 35 
 
 The Young Princes are presented to the 
 
 Royal Couple 47 
 
 Prince Tip-Top captivates the Princess 
 
 Cerulea ^y 
 
 " No, Pattidan, I AM not going to marry 
 any one who has not the Bluest and 
 Royallest Blood in his Veins!" . . 69 
 
 By a Singular Coincidence, Prince Tip- 
 Top HAD also come OUT FOR AN EARLY 
 
 Walk 75 
 
 Prince Tip-Top, followed by Princess 
 Cerulea, enters the Council Cham- 
 ber . 87 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 pollyphrastus reads from the book of 
 
 Wisdom 93 
 
 Prince Tip-Top in Trouble ..... 105 
 
 "Prince Tip-Top he is, and Prince Tip- 
 Top HE SHALL ALWAYS BE " I09 
 
 A Remarkable Bear-Dance 120 
 
 His Excellency the worthy Prince Sum- 
 Fun 124 
 
 Princess Cerulea throws a Flower to 
 
 Prince Tip-Top 129 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 PRINCESS CERULEA. 
 
 N the days of 
 Nobody-knows- 
 when, and in the 
 land of Nobody- 
 know s- where, 
 there was once 
 a queer little 
 island called 
 Okushee, or the 
 Land of the Cerulites. It is a little 
 singular that a place at once so curious 
 and so attractive should be so entirely 
 unknown to many well-informed people. 
 Few persons have ever visited Okushee, 
 
l6 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 and, to be strictly truthful, I have never 
 met any one who had actually been 
 there, nor could I give you its exact 
 situation on the map. But I should not 
 be at all surprised if it were away 
 out in the middle of one of those 
 vast blue oceans somewhere near the 
 equator, where the sun shines pleas- 
 antly, and where the hills are always 
 green, and where the roses bloom the 
 year round, and where the people do 
 little but eat and sleep, and care for 
 nothing but frolic and fun. 
 
 The island of Okushee was, I am 
 sure, just such a place as this, and I am 
 sure, too, that it was in many respects a 
 most remarkable country, and that the 
 people who lived in it were perhaps the 
 most remarkable people on the face of 
 the globe. They had strange customs 
 and strange habits and strange laws. 
 They were strictly what might be called 
 an " out-of-the-way " nation, so out of the 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 17 
 
 way, indeed, that it proved a difficult 
 task for me to find them at all. They 
 looked as nobody ever did look or 
 would ever care to look in one's right 
 mind, and the most striking thing about 
 them was their hair. If you will believe 
 me, these curious creatures were all, for 
 some unaccountable reason, born with 
 blue hair, and that is why they were 
 called Cerulites. Now, a person with 
 blue hair is a sight not to be met with 
 every day. You have all heard, I dare 
 say, the most delightfully absurd stories 
 about a personage who was so distin- 
 guished as to possess a blue beard ; but 
 a whole nation with blue hair is, indeed, 
 a thing to be wondered at. 
 
 Nevertheless, these little people were 
 very proud of their hair; for the bluer 
 a person's hair was, the prettier he or 
 she was supposed to be, and the more 
 aristocratic. They entertained the pleas- 
 ing idea that blue hair was a positive 
 
l8 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 indication of blue blood. Hence, the 
 kings and queens and all the members 
 of the royal family had for generations 
 past been born with the most irre- 
 proachable blue locks, of all shades and 
 varieties of that color, from sky-blue 
 to indigo ; and one can scarcely imagine 
 what a winsome and alluring aspect 
 they presented. 
 
 As might well be expected of people 
 with such an unheard-of peculiarity, 
 their ideas and notions were totally 
 different from those of anybody else. 
 In the first place, they were blissfully 
 and supremely ignorant, — which fact 
 naturally led them to suppose that 
 they knew everything; and the conse- 
 quence was that they were the most 
 self-satisfied, self-complacent set of peo- 
 ple to be found anywhere. In contra- 
 diction to the dismal hue of their 
 hair, the inhabitants of Okushee were 
 anything but " blue " in disposition. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 19 
 
 They were always cheerful and happy. 
 In fact, it was considered a great crime 
 to be unhappy ; and those who were in 
 any way afHicted or distressed were 
 promptly drowned, that they might not 
 disturb the peace and contentment of 
 the rest of the community. To be sure, 
 they seldom had anything to make 
 them miserable, for, as I have said, the 
 island of Okushee was a pleasant place, 
 where the most delicious fruits grew in 
 abundance ; where no one had to work 
 to get a living, but lived from day to 
 day like the careless butterflies of the 
 fields ; where children were never made 
 to go to school ; where boys went swim- 
 ming and fishing whenever they liked, 
 and played all sorts of amusing games; 
 where little girls had picnics every day, 
 and had the most beautiful clothes for 
 their dolls, and ate all the chocolate- 
 creams they wanted. So you can easily 
 imagine what a heavenly state of things 
 
20 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 reigned, and how like a perfect fairy 
 land this little island seemed. 
 
 Another very pleasant thing about 
 the Cerulites was that they were all 
 young; and that is why, I think, they 
 never thought of anything but of enjoy- 
 ing themselves. The king and queen 
 were barely in their teens; the chan- 
 cellor of the exchequer was a mere 
 stripling, and a heedless, hare-brained 
 one at that ; and the lord high chamber- 
 lain and the keeper of the great seal 
 wore the most disgracefully youthful- 
 looking knickerbockers. All the great 
 dignitaries of the land went right in for 
 a good time just like the rest. Nobody 
 was too wise, or too great, or too im- 
 portant to indulge in the fashionable 
 sports of the season. The consequence 
 was that there was scarcely a day but, 
 had you happened to be in Okushee, 
 you might have seen everybody out in 
 gay holiday attire, frolicking and sky- 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 21 
 
 larking about in a way that would 
 certainly have shocked any well-regu- 
 lated kingdom. 
 
 Yet there was one thing, just one 
 thing, that kept the people of this 
 wonderful island from being supremely 
 happy. 
 
 Away back in the legendary days of 
 Okushee there had been a royal person- 
 age who had so far forgotten his royal 
 manners and his Cerulean ancestry as to 
 fall in love with and marry a chimney- 
 sweep's daughter. This was a serious 
 indiscretion, and one to be punished in 
 no trifling way. The Avenging Fairy of 
 the island forthwith issued a terrible 
 decree. She vowed that at some future 
 time this thoughtless young king and 
 all his noble line should be disgraced 
 by a descendant with black hair. There 
 was a general panic, as you may well 
 suppose, that threatened to overthrow 
 all the Cerulitic doctrines of perpetual 
 
22 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 happiness, until at last the Merciful 
 Fairy, who, you know, is noted for her 
 happy compromises, stepped in just at 
 the right minute, and declared that she 
 would provide some means whereby the 
 unoffending little heir might be par- 
 doned, and his baby locks restored to 
 the approved shade. 
 
 But the difficulty was that this means 
 was to be found only in the most hidden 
 and mysterious recesses of the Rainbow 
 Valley. And the little Cerulites said 
 they were blessed if they knew where 
 the Rainbow Valley was. Nobody 
 knew anything about it, nobody had 
 ever heard of it, and only the most 
 diligent and persistent search would 
 ever find it; and as they abhorred and 
 detested nothing so much as exerting 
 themselves, the Rainbow Valley had 
 not yet been discovered, and the Ceru- 
 lites were still living with this terrible 
 calamity hanging over them. Time 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 23 
 
 went on, and one generation succeeded 
 another, and as regularly as a little heir 
 to the throne was expected, there was 
 secret consternation in the hearts of 
 the royal couple, and, indeed, of all 
 their subjects ; and as regularly, too, a 
 great reward, sometimes in the shape of 
 a bag of treasures, sometimes in the 
 shape of a beautiful young princess, 
 was offered to the person who would go 
 and find the mystic Rainbow Valley. 
 Then, of course, for nearly a week every- 
 body went about with a great show of 
 enthusiasm, which, however, soon sub- 
 sided into the usual easy-going way. 
 And when the little heir of Okushee 
 appeared, and he was found to bear no 
 mark of disgrace on his small scalp, 
 these gay, light-hearted little people 
 went their way rejoicing, and troubled 
 themselves no more about the good 
 fairy's promise. But the custom of 
 dreading the birth of a new child in the 
 
24 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 royal family, and of offering the enti- 
 cing reward for the discovery of the 
 Rainbow Valley, had grown to be a 
 regular institution, which never failed to 
 be ceremoniously observed. 
 
 It so happened that the present king 
 and queen of Okushee had a little 
 daughter born to them, the sweetest, 
 dearest, most winsome baby-girl — ac- 
 cording to Cerulitic notions — that ever 
 blessed two fond parents. In the first 
 place, she came into the world with a 
 quantity of pale-blue ringlets, — just that 
 delicate, tender hue which we see in the 
 summer heavens. Her eyes were of a 
 deep azure, and her cheeks were pink 
 and white. Then, too, strictly in ac- 
 cordance with the moral code, she was 
 the brightest, happiest, most amiable 
 baby in the world. She was never 
 known to cry once, not through all her 
 babyhood, which lasted nearly six weeks. 
 Before she was a year old she could 
 
"The most winsome baby-girl tiiat ever blessed two 
 fond parents." 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 27 
 
 sing like a lark and discuss politics in a 
 way that shamed every statesman in 
 the kingdom. The day after she was 
 born she had cut all her teeth, — white, 
 cunning little teeth that shone like a 
 row of pearls when she smiled. This 
 was considered a most favorable omen, 
 and one which signified that her reign 
 would be a singularly prosperous and 
 happy one. 
 
 The most learned philosophers of the 
 kingdom came to pay their respects to 
 her, and to look at her, and to pass 
 their judgment on this small phenome- 
 non, and they all agreed — which is a 
 strange enough thing for learned men 
 to do — that she was the most remark- 
 able child ever born in the island of 
 Okushee, and the royal couple were 
 overwhelmed with joy. After a long 
 and animated session in the chamber of 
 parliament, it was decided that she 
 should be named Cerulea, on account 
 
28 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 of the ravishing hue of her hair ; and 
 Princess Cerulea she was from that day 
 forth. 
 
 If I were to tell you all the things 
 that this little princess had to make her 
 happy and comfortable, I greatly fear 
 that you might become discontented 
 wdth your own fortunes in this world, 
 and perhaps be a little envious of her 
 blessings. But the life of a child like* 
 Princess Cerulea can scarcely be imag- 
 ined by any one w^ho has not been 
 fortunate enough to be born in the 
 royal house of Okushee. She was the 
 idol of doting parents and, indeed, of a 
 whole nation. Not a day passed but 
 some festivities were held in her honor. 
 The rarest gifts and the costliest treas- 
 ures were brought to her from all 
 parts of the kingdom, and nothing 
 was thought too good £pr her. And 
 although her education was in some 
 w^ays sadly neglected, and she might 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 29 
 
 have been considered elsewhere a most 
 ignorant young person, yet her advice 
 was sought on all important matters of 
 state, and her wishes consulted in every- 
 thing. 
 
 But, like many of the good things of 
 this world, this happy period of maiden- 
 hood, though sweet, w^as short. For 
 among the many simple notions of 
 the Cerulites, was that of very early 
 marriages. Young women who were at 
 all eligible were married and settled at 
 the tender age of eight. A young per- 
 son of ten was deemed quite passee, and 
 at twelve she was a hopeless old maid. 
 So it was not long before the royal 
 couple began to think of finding a suit- 
 able husband for their daughter Cerulea. 
 One day, when the king and queen 
 were sitting cosily on their thrones, all 
 dressed up in their royal robes and 
 jewelled crowns, and looking very fine 
 indeed, the king turned to his wife, and 
 
30 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 putting his spectacles on his nose, said, 
 with a knowing air, — 
 
 " My dear, is n't it about time we 
 had a wedding ? In less than a month 
 our daughter will have reached the 
 mature age of seven, and we really 
 ought to be looking around us for 
 a — for a — '' 
 
 " Prince ? " suggested the queen. 
 
 " For a husband of some sort, unless 
 we want her on our hands for the rest 
 of our natural life." 
 
 " What ! " screamed the queen, with 
 much maternal indignation, " a husband 
 of some sort ! Why, how^ your Majesty 
 does talk ! Cerulea had twenty-six 
 offers last w^eek, and seventeen the 
 week before ; and she might — " 
 
 " Well, well, don't let our words 
 ruffle your sweet temper," returned the 
 king, majestically. " Our royal consent 
 is granted, and she may accept one of 
 them, at least." 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 31 
 
 The queen turned and gazed at her 
 loving consort with a look of wild 
 surprise. 
 
 " Sire ! " said she, " can it be that you 
 are committing the folly of supposing 
 that any nobleman in Okushee is 
 worthy of Cerulea's hand ? Think for 
 one moment ; compare their hair to 
 hers, and then answer me." 
 
 " We were not committing the folly 
 of supposing anything of the kind," 
 rejoined the young monarch, with a 
 sudden cough to hide his embarrass- 
 ment, for her last appeal was unanswer- 
 able, and he knew it; "but — but — " 
 
 " Then what was your Gracious 
 Majesty supposing } " interrupted the 
 queen, vehemently. 
 
 " I was only thinking that it is high 
 time Cerulea was married, if she is ever 
 going to be," responded the king, sud- 
 denly, forgetting his kingly phrases; 
 " and you and she may attend to it. 
 
32 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 / wash my hands of the whole busi- 
 ness ! " 
 
 Now this was just what the queen 
 expected and wanted most, — to have 
 the whole matter in her own hands ; for 
 she and Cerulea had discussed the sub- 
 ject before, and were about of the same 
 mind. So she looked up at her lord, 
 and smiling sweetly, said, — 
 
 " Ah, my liege, now you speak like a 
 king and a Cerulite. I, too, have been 
 pondering over this serious matter. 
 But it is plain that the Princess Cerulea 
 cannot possibly marry any noble youth 
 in Okushee, for there is not among 
 them a single one with just the royal 
 shade of hair." 
 
 The king put his forefinger to his 
 chin, and mused for some time over 
 this obstacle. Then he took his 
 wife's hand affectionately, and said, 
 " My love, have you not — a — could 
 you not — with your usual cleverness 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 33 
 
 and ingenuity — suggest — a — a way 
 out of this ? " 
 
 '' Since your Majesty is so gracious," 
 said the queen, with a modest courtesy, 
 " I think I can, if your Majesty will be 
 so good as to listen to me/' 
 
 " We are all attention," replied the 
 king, eagerly; and he bent his lordly 
 ear and wrinkled his lordly brow in 
 quite an earnest way. 
 
 " Your Majesty has perhaps heard the 
 wise Pollyphrastus, our most estimable 
 councillor, say that there are many 
 countries beyond Okushee, where kings 
 and great and worthy princes abound. 
 There is even, he says, a new country 
 across the waters, a country but lately 
 discovered, called America, which 
 might, perhaps, offer a prince to Ceru- 
 lea's liking. Now, we will send out 
 heralds to all these distant lands, and 
 have them proclaim the charms and 
 graces of our daughter the princess, 
 3 
 
34 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 and invite a score of royal personages 
 to attend Cerulea's birthday ball. It 
 is likely enough that among them there 
 will be at least one princely youth 
 deserving of Cerulea's hand and of your 
 royal favor." 
 
 "A great and wise idea! An un- 
 commonly great and wise idea ! " ex- 
 claimed the young king, with enthusi- 
 asm, and he gave his knee a sounding 
 slap to express his immense satisfaction. 
 " It shall be done at once ! " and then 
 he added, with a confidential air, " We 
 had been thinking of the very same 
 thing ourself, my dear, we had indeed ! " 
 
 Now^ the queen had certain doubts 
 about this, but she kept them to herself, 
 like a prudent, politic little queen that 
 she was. And then the royal couple 
 embraced each other lovingly, and the 
 queen went off to tell Cerulea the 
 happy news, and to make preparations 
 for the ball, while her liege summoned 
 
The queen suggests a way out of the difficulty. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 2>7 
 
 his chief advisers for a rousing good 
 game of tiddledywinks. 
 
 It was not many days before the 
 whole island was alive with interest in 
 the coming festivities. For a birthday 
 ball was, to the Cerulites, the promise 
 of all manner of merry-making. Every 
 one talked about it, every one conjec- 
 tured on the probable fortunes of the 
 fair Cerulea, and every one was delighted 
 with the unique idea of inviting strange 
 princes to sue for the hand of the prin- 
 cess. Such a thing had never been 
 heard of before ! The little scullions 
 in the king's kitchen seemed greatly 
 amused at the idea, and giggled over it 
 as only kitchen scullions can ; and the 
 cooks opened their mouths very wide, 
 and crossed their hands on their broad 
 white aprons, and said, " It was jest like 
 Miss Ceruly's noble ma ! " 
 
 In the course of time a dozen spright- 
 ly young heralds, splendidly gotten up in 
 
38 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 red and black suits, wearing cocked 
 hats and blowing long trumpets, set 
 out, according to the queen's wishes, to 
 all the nations they had ever heard of ; 
 and they took with them such glowing 
 accounts of their young princess, of her 
 beauty and virtues and learning, and 
 chiefly of the marvellous color of her 
 hair, which they said was the joy of the 
 royal family and the envy of all the 
 other noble ladies of Okushee, that very 
 soon all the eager kings and queens 
 were wild to have their sons try their 
 fortune. And as it was also rumored 
 that she was very rich, and that she 
 would inherit the whole of that won- 
 derful island called Okushee, the fair 
 Cerulea was considered an exceedingly 
 desirable daughter-in-law. 
 
 Consequently, a little more than a 
 fortnight after, these dutiful heralds 
 returned with a regular procession of 
 youthful suitors from nearly every polite 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 39 
 
 nation in the world. They arrived on 
 the very night of Ceruleas birthday 
 ball, and of course the greatest excite- 
 ment prevailed, since the young princes 
 were to be received with much eclat, as 
 became their exalted station. There 
 were torch-lights, red, yellow, and green, 
 illuminating every road which led up to 
 the king's palace. The gardens and 
 lawns were festooned with flowers and 
 Chinese lanterns, and every window of 
 the great white marble palace was aglow 
 with pink and blue lights. There was a 
 magnificent display of fireworks too, — 
 Roman candles, and " wheels " without 
 end, and sky-rockets shooting up in- 
 cessantly. The king's picked orches- 
 tra played the loveliest, dreamiest dance- 
 music, and the white fountains spouted 
 and tossed their jets in the moonlight, 
 and added their noise and light to this 
 enchanted scene, while the distant stars 
 looked down upon it all, and seemed to 
 
40 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 smile pleasantly because these little 
 people were having such a glorious 
 good time. 
 
 Of course the young Cerulite ladies 
 looked perfectly lovely in their gauzy 
 dresses, and bewitching little pink bows 
 in their hair. And the young gentle- 
 men seemed the picture of contentment 
 as they bent over their fair companions 
 and airily discussed the great topic of 
 the day. 
 
 " Dear me ! " said one fair damsel to 
 the young gallant at her side, " was n't 
 that a famous idea, to invite a lot of 
 strange creatures to the princess's ball ? 
 One would think there w^ere no charm- 
 ing gentlemen on the island," she added, 
 with an arch smile. 
 
 " One would, indeed," assented the 
 flattered youth. " But you think there 
 are, now don't you "^ " 
 
 " Oh, do I .? " laughed the fair Cerulite, 
 and her eyebrows went up inquiringly. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 41 
 
 " Of course you do. But I wish 
 those noble young persons would come. 
 Don't you wonder what they will be 
 like.?" 
 
 " Well, rather," smiled the little lady, 
 and she shrugged her pretty shoulders 
 and tossed her saucy head in a way that 
 ravished her companion. 
 
 " I really hope their hair will be blue 
 enough to suit her Majesty's notion," 
 said the young gentleman, sardonically. 
 
 " So do I ; but she zs very particular, 
 they say, and I don't blame her; for 
 there is no denying it, her own hair is 
 the most gorgeous shade I ever saw! 
 But see, there she is now ! " 
 
 Sure enough. Princess Cerulea had 
 just stepped into the brilliant garden, 
 accompanied by her royal mamma, and 
 followed by her maid Pattidan. She 
 seated herself on a little divan made of 
 daisies and violets, where throngs of 
 admirers came to pay their homage and 
 
42 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 congratulations to her. Indeed, she 
 was sweet and ravishing in her soft, 
 silvery gown, with her waves of pale 
 blue hair cascading down her white 
 arms and shoulders. She smiled and 
 bowed graciously to every one, and 
 swayed her ostrich fan in the most 
 fashionable manner, and cast such 
 languid glances at her young courtiers 
 that their gallant hearts began to 
 thump very loudly, and the other young 
 ladies were more envious than ever. 
 But it was quite plain to be seen that 
 in spite of all her pretty wiles and 
 graces, she was in a dreadful state of 
 expectancy. The foreign suitors had 
 not yet made their appearance, and she 
 was suffering for a sight of them. The 
 dancing had begun ; the ladies and 
 gentlemen were flitting about on the 
 lawn like bright butterflies underneath 
 the colored lights : some were walking 
 arm in arm in the more dreamy rays 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 43 
 
 of the moon, and talking together in 
 lover-like fashion, while others sat apart 
 in little groups, gossiping and flirting 
 in the most conventional manner ; but 
 all v^ere, like Cerulea, eagerly awaiting 
 the great event. 
 
 At last the majestic horns of the 
 heralds were heard in the distance, and 
 shouts of " Here they come ! Make 
 way for the cavalcade ! " resounded on 
 every side. Such shouting and push- 
 ing, and waving of banners, and general 
 excitement as there was ! 
 
 It was simply bewildering. Every- 
 body rushed to the front to behold the 
 new-comers. The king and queen, 
 quite forgetting their royal dignity, 
 came running down the palace steps 
 with the rest. The estimable Polly- 
 phrastus, in his hurry, tripped his 
 foot in his Oxford gown, and fell flat 
 upon his learned nose, and the princess 
 was in a state of agitation not easily 
 
44 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 depicted. All the festivities and merry- 
 makings were suspended for the time, 
 and everything else was forgotten. 
 For it was in truth the young suitors, a 
 whole regiment of them, advancing, with 
 great trumpery and clashing of cymbals, 
 and a prodigious amount of noise and 
 glitter. Each one was mounted on a 
 pretty little pony, such as only the 
 Cerulites have, and each was decked 
 out according to his notion of what 
 was befitting an occasion like this; and 
 you may believe that together they pre- 
 sented a most unique and grotesque 
 appearance. They made a beautiful 
 procession, such as the little Cerulites 
 had never dreamed of. They marched 
 up slowly and in great state towards 
 the palace, the heralds following on foot 
 and carrying the national flags of each, 
 while the band played all the way. 
 
 But as the suitors rode through the 
 open ranks, smiling, and doffing their 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 45 
 
 caps right and left, the expectant little 
 Cerulites were suddenly stricken dumb 
 with horror! As you have no doubt 
 guessed, not one of these civilized and 
 high-born princes was gifted with blue 
 hair! There were black, and brown, 
 and yellow curly heads, — indeed, heads 
 of every sensible color except the ap- 
 proved and much-sought blue ; and 
 the inhabitants of Okushee looked on 
 aghast, with woe and dismay written on 
 their countenances. Many of the ladies 
 went straight into hysterics ; the queen 
 fainted dead away, and came to only 
 after prolonged pokings and pinchings 
 from her maids of honor; and the dis- 
 appointed and mortified spectators 
 uttered little shrieks that were quite 
 heart-rending. There was a general 
 stampede, of course, and grief and con- 
 fusion reigned supreme. The young 
 king had a sad time restoring order, 
 which he did, however, after some effort. 
 
46 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 With great presence of mind, he called 
 for soda-water and smelling-bottles. 
 Princess Cerulea exhibited more com- 
 posure and dignity than the other 
 ladies, but she looked very pale and 
 weak, and Pattidan was obliged to fan 
 her vigorously, and to administer the 
 vinaigrette more than once during the 
 evening. 
 
 But, as you already know, the Ceru- 
 lites could not long remain in this 
 condition of moral depression, and 
 what with ices and smelling-salts and 
 other aids to comfort, they very soon 
 recovered from this severe shock to 
 their nerves, and their spirits rose 
 to a corresponding pitch. And when 
 they discovered what really great and 
 interesting personages they had invited 
 to their island, they willingly over- 
 looked that slight defect in the matter 
 of hair. 
 
 While the Cerulites are enjoying this 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 47 
 
 more comfortable frame of mind, and 
 becoming acquainted with their strange 
 guests, I will give you a little account 
 
 The young princes are presented to the royal couple. 
 
 of some of the more prominent figures 
 in this startling array of young suitors, 
 as each one alighted from his little 
 pony, and was ceremoniously presented 
 to the royal couple and their royal 
 daughter. 
 
II. 
 
 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 IRST of all there 
 came a little fat 
 Dutchman, a 
 jolly little prince 
 of the illustrious 
 house of Roth- 
 nase, whose an- 
 cestors were all 
 famous for the 
 beautiful bloom 
 on their noses, 
 and likewise 
 for their fondness for beer. This 
 little fellow was a worthy representative 
 of his noble line ; and when he was 
 offered a goblet of foaming soda, mis- 
 taking it for his favorite beverage, he 
 4 
 
50 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 plunged into it so eagerly that he 
 sneezed and choked in a way that made 
 everybody laugh. 
 
 Next came a little Frenchman, a thin, 
 wiry, black-eyed young Bourbon, who 
 " had no love for Napoleon,'' and who 
 gave himself a thousand airs, and yet 
 was so astonishingly civil to everybody 
 that he made a good impression at 
 first. I shall not attempt to tell you 
 what his feelings were when he found 
 himself in the company of such very 
 queer people ; because, in the first place, 
 some of his feelings were indescribable, 
 and secondly, because, being a little 
 Frenchman, he was too extremely 
 polite to show all he felt. 
 
 After him came a frowsy-looking 
 individual, with a bushy wig, dressed 
 up in the most remarkable fur coat and 
 cap, and looking for all the world like 
 a young bear. It was hinted by some 
 of the courtiers that he came from the 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 51 
 
 North Pole ; but I think he must have 
 been a Httle Esquimaux of very dis- 
 tinguished parentage ; and he was ugly 
 enough to please even the most fas- 
 tidious taste in Okushee. 
 
 Then there was a stout young 
 Briton, a Knight of the Garter, if I am 
 not mistaken, who evidently thought 
 himself of great consequence, and dis- 
 played all his grandpapa's orders and 
 ribbons, and who was considered a kill- 
 ing swell at home. He had an alarming 
 appetite too, and turned up his pretty 
 nose irreverently at the delicacies 
 offered him by the Cerulites, and ex- 
 claimed loudly, — 
 
 " Bless my buttons ! Where's the 
 roast-beef and the plum-pudding?" 
 
 The next notable was a youthful 
 Turkish pasha, in a gay red turban and 
 very loose trousers, who sported a long 
 pipe, and who turned out to be a des- 
 perate flirt. 
 
52 
 
 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 There was also a young nobleman 
 from Russsia, his Excellency the Che- 
 valier de Skzlawitchgnwski, about whom 
 we shall have little to say, as his name 
 is so very unpleasant. 
 
 Another most estimable personage 
 was little Prince Sum-Fun, lately 
 arrived from Ching-a-Lung-lang, a 
 Chinaman of great distinction, whose 
 chief attraction was a long and beauti- 
 ful pigtail, which trailed behind him in 
 quite a regal way, and which w^as the 
 wonder and admiration of all beholders. 
 I am sure, if it had only been of a 
 beautiful pale-blue tint, the guileless 
 little Cerulea would liave fancied him 
 on the spot. 
 
 At the very end of the procession, how- 
 ever, came the last, and by far the most 
 lovable, of all these youthful suitors. 
 This was a little American boy from a 
 very large city, who was duly presented 
 to the royal family as Prince Tip-Top. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 53 
 
 About this Prince Tip-Top I shall 
 have much to say, for he was certainly 
 the prettiest and dearest little fellow 
 that ever any Cerulite had seen. And, 
 as Pattidan well said to her young 
 mistress that night, after the ball, he 
 was '* as sweet as a pink, and looked as 
 if he 'd jest stepped out of fairyland." 
 He had a bright, rosy little face, and 
 the sweetest smiling mouth in the world, 
 — a mouth that looked as if it had never 
 said an unkind or ungentle thing. 
 And yet he had big dark eyes that 
 were brimful of wholesome mischief, 
 and the sauciest of little noses., and the 
 roundest of little chins, and the loveliest 
 of shining yellow curls falling all over 
 his straight shoulders, — all of which 
 made you fall in love with him before 
 you had been with him ten minutes. 
 Then he looked so graceful and courtly 
 in his silk and velvet clothes and his 
 dainty, plumed cap that there was not 
 
54 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 a more irresistible person on the island 
 that night, not even Cerulea herself. 
 
 Of course all the ladies were charmed, 
 the princess in particular; and of course 
 all the gentlemen were madly jealous, 
 for Prince Tip-Top made himself so 
 very agreeable, and had such fascina- 
 ting manners, that the other little noble- 
 men fairly paled beside him, and some 
 of them actually turned green with 
 envy. 
 
 He stood by Cerulea's flowered sofa, 
 airily twirling his cap in his hand, and 
 talking to everybody at once in his 
 most engaging manner, while his eyes 
 danced all the while with excitement. 
 
 " Indeed," he said, looking about on 
 the gay and festive scene, " this is the 
 grandest show I have ever been to. I 
 declare it reminds me of the Fourth of 
 
 July." 
 
 '' Oh, does it ? " said the princess, with 
 a killing look. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 55 
 
 "Oh, what is the Fourth of July? 
 Tell us about it, do, do !" cried a chorus 
 of ladies' voices. 
 
 " Don't you know ? " asked Tip-Top, 
 in some surprise. " Why, I thought 
 everybody knew about the Fourth of 
 July. Well, it's our national holiday, 
 and a jolly day it is, too, for us boys. 
 It 's ever so much like this, only as I 'm 
 thought rather young at home, I have 
 never been invited to quite such a swell 
 celebration as this ; and I have never 
 seen so many charming ladies, with — a 
 — with such — a — such beautiful hairl" 
 he added, with great gallantry. 
 
 The young ladies all laughed, and 
 admired Tip-Top's yellow curls in an 
 audible undertone ; and some, who were 
 very kindly disposed, said that blue and 
 gold were lovely together, and that he 
 and the princess made not such a bad 
 looking couple, after all. 
 
 " We have all sorts of larks on our 
 
56 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 Fourth of July," related Tip-Top, with 
 animation. " We have cannon shoot- 
 ing early in the morning, and fire- 
 crackers and brass bands all day long, 
 and the grandest fireworks and torch- 
 light processions in the evening. And 
 then big men go about making 
 speeches, and talk about George Wash- 
 ington and the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence ; for that is the right thing to 
 do on that day, you know." 
 
 " It must be very delightful ! " said 
 the ladies, who were really not taking 
 in any of these patriotic facts, but only 
 Tip-Top's bright glances and sweet 
 smiles. 
 
 "When I am a — " (he was going to 
 say " when I am a man," but he checked 
 himself, remembering that just now he 
 was supposed to be a full-fledged gentle- 
 man, and that he was playing the 
 part of one at least), — " When I am 
 married," he continued, with amazing 
 
Prince Tip-Top captivates the Princess Cerulea. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 59 
 
 coolness, " we will invite you all to go 
 to America with us and see for your- 
 selves, won't we ?" and he turned to 
 the princess and looked at her so that 
 she blushed rosy red. " And I hope 
 you will come, and that you will have 
 as good a time as I am having now." 
 
 They thought it would be delightful. 
 Indeed, anything in which Prince Tip- 
 Top was concerned would be delightful, 
 they were sure, and the gentle Cerulea 
 thought so too. 
 
 The king and queen were greatly 
 impressed by this generous invitation. 
 They had never before been asked to 
 visit any other country, they and all 
 their subjects, and it struck them as 
 being a pleasing novelty. Tip-Top 
 immediately won for himself the royal 
 favor by this stroke of policy. The 
 king told his wife privately that 
 " Prince Tip- Top " sounded like a very 
 noble name, and the queen agreed with 
 
6o PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 him; whereupon the king put his arm 
 in Tip-Top's and called him " My dear 
 fellow," in the most familiar way ; and 
 the queen danced three cotillons with 
 him, and pronounced him a most 
 accomplished dancer ; and the princess 
 waltzed with him so many times in 
 succession that people began to com- 
 ment upon it. 
 
 The fact was that Prince Tip-Top 
 was '* going on in a shocking way," as 
 his rivals expressed it, — that is, doing 
 his best to make himself most attractive 
 to his royal hosts, and succeeding admir- 
 ably well. So that the exasperated 
 young gentlemen who had been wall- 
 flowers most of the evening began to 
 make remarks upon his audacious beha- 
 vior, and the confident manner in which 
 he boasted of marrying the princess, 
 without so much as " by your leave," to 
 anybody! But Tip-Top did not mind 
 his rivals a particle; he was, without 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 6l 
 
 doubt, the Hon of the evening, and 
 he knew it, and was enjoying himself 
 hugely. He could not help wishing 
 secretly that his little friends at home 
 might behold him in his triumph. 
 What would they say if they could but 
 see him disporting himself in this free 
 and easy way with kings and queens 
 and princesses ! What fun it would be 
 to tell them about it when he returned, 
 and to sit back and watch the effect of 
 his astounding news ! It was his merry 
 little companions at home who had so 
 aptly nicknamed him Prince Tip-Top, 
 because he was always at the head 
 of all their sports, and was withal so 
 exquisite and pretty and dear, and 
 because they all admired and courted 
 him greatly. But with these foreign 
 princes, whom he was rivalling in the 
 affections of the fair Cerulea, it was very 
 different. They had none too high an 
 opinion of an American nobleman, and 
 
62 PRINCE TIP-TOP 
 
 his popularity and gracious airs were 
 insufferable. 
 
 When at last the ball was fairly 
 over, and the festivities broke up at 
 an unusually late hour, Prince Tip-Top 
 took leave of his new friends in a 
 way that was grace itself; and imme- 
 diately the queen invited him to stay 
 all night at the palace, and offered 
 him her very best and choicest 
 apartments, which he joyfully ac- 
 cepted, — at which crowning insult the 
 less-favored suitors, who were by this 
 time consumed with wrath and in- 
 dignation, straightway made up their 
 minds to check that young Top-Knot, 
 as they called him. And the little 
 English lord and the young Bourbon 
 proposed to look up his ancestry the 
 very next day, and find out how he 
 came by the title of prince, forsooth 1 
 and who his grandfather and great- 
 grandfather were, and very shortly 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 63 
 
 show him up in all his vulgar lineage 
 as an upstart and an impostor. 
 
 Dear little Prince Tip-Top! How 
 little did he dream, as he lay that night 
 in the best bed of the palace, and 
 thought over the splendid time he had 
 had, and of all the frolic yet to come, 
 and wondered which of his pretty suits 
 he should wear on the morrow, — how 
 little did he dream, I say, of the un- 
 pleasant intentions of his enemies, and 
 the downfall in store for him ! Indeed, 
 he was too happy to have any such 
 forebodings. He could think of 
 nothing but the pretty princess, and 
 of the king and queen who had been 
 so kind to him, and who were so young 
 that they seemed just like his own little 
 playfellows at home. And then he 
 tried to think of his family so far away 
 in America, — so far, indeed, that he 
 began to doubt whether he ever had 
 any family at all ; and somehow that 
 
64 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 charming little Cerulea, with her impos- 
 sible hair and her bewitching little ways, 
 was the only image that would stay 
 before him ; and the more he thought 
 it over, the more convinced he became 
 that blue hair was not such an extraor- 
 dinary thing after all. And gradually 
 all the strange things he had witnessed 
 had grown so natural and familiar to 
 him that he felt as if he had never been 
 anywhere but in Okushee, or known 
 anybody but these little Cerulites ; in 
 which hazy frame of mind he soon fell 
 sound asleep on his snowy pillow. 
 
 The morning after the party, Princess 
 Cerulea sat in her boudoir, before the 
 looking-glass, admiring herself, while 
 Pattidan arranged her long hair. She 
 did look unusually pretty that morning, 
 and Pattidan s tongue was particularly 
 lively in praising her mistress and tell- 
 ing her all the fine compliments she 
 had heard from the young gentlemen ; 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 65 
 
 for Pattidan had a way of hearing and 
 knowing everything that was agreeable. 
 But Cerulea was not thinking so much 
 about compliments as she was of a 
 certain little prince with shining yellow 
 curls and brown eyes ; and she did wish 
 that Pattidan would talk about him 
 instead of the others who were not half 
 so pretty, or half so sweet, or half so 
 noble looking. Pattidan knew this 
 very well, the artful hussy, but she 
 would talk right along about everything 
 else, just to plague her little mistress, I 
 suppose. 
 
 " I say, now. Miss, that little Chiny 
 lord with the sweet pig-tail, is n't he a 
 beauty, though !" 
 
 " Gracious ! Pattidan, how can you 
 say so," said her Highness, with a look 
 of intense disgust. " Why, I never saw 
 anything so ridiculous as that queue. 
 I never could abide a queue, any way, 
 — you know that very well." 
 5 
 
66 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 " La, Miss ! and was n't it yourself 
 as said his Majesty, the Prince Sum- 
 Fun, was a likely young man enough, 
 and would n't be at all bad-looking if it 
 was n't that his queue is black instead of 
 blue, like your own sweet ringlets," said 
 the wily Pattidan, patting and stroking 
 the ringlets in question affectionately. 
 
 " Oh, well, that was before I had seen 
 them all, Pattidan ; I had n't seen every- 
 body when I said that." 
 
 " Well, there is a whole regiment of 
 'em, I allow, and I don't see, for my 
 part, how your sweet ladyship is ever 
 going to make up your mind amongst 
 so many." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! " laughed Cerulea, 
 " that is easy enough, my dear ; for to 
 tell you the truth, I have seen only one 
 that I think is a really, truly prince! " 
 
 "And which one's that.^" asked 
 Pattidan, feigning to be eaten up with 
 curiosity. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 67 
 
 " Why, bless your stupidity, Pattidan, 
 can't you see ? " 
 
 " Lor ! Miss, I am dretful stoopid, 
 but maybe I can guess. It 's the young 
 Turkey-gobbler, with the red silk night- 
 cap and the blue silk pantaloons," 
 suggested Pattidan. 
 
 " No, it is not the Pasha of Turkey," 
 returned Cerulea, emphatically. 
 
 " Then it 's that wigglesome little 
 French Bon-bon." 
 
 " Pattidan ! I 'm surprised at you, I 
 really am. Give yourself the trouble 
 to look at his hair by daylight, and 
 then ask yourself if I could submit to 
 the agonizing mortification of such an 
 alliance." 
 
 " His hair is 'most as black as a crow's 
 feathers, indeed it is, your Worship; and 
 that 's a bad sign, a powerful bad sign." 
 
 " I should think it was," said Cerulea, 
 warmly, — "it is a sign one has no royal 
 blood in one's veins." 
 
68 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 " My good gracious, Miss, you don't 
 tell me I " ejaculated Pattidan, who was 
 pardonably ignorant on points of social 
 distinction. 
 
 "Of course I do;" and the little 
 princess admired her own heavenly 
 tresses, with an air of happy superiority 
 which she rarely indulged in, for she 
 was not, as a rule, vain of her great 
 attraction. 
 
 " But, your Highness, you don't 
 mean to say that all them fine dooks 
 and princes is n't royal born," inquired 
 Pattidan, in a horrified tone, " and that 
 you 're going to marry one of 'em, 
 anyhow ? " 
 
 " No, Pattidan, I am not going to 
 marry any one who has not the bluest 
 and royallest blood in his veins," replied 
 the princess, with a determined shake 
 of her head; and she little thought that 
 she should soon have cause to rue these 
 rash words. " So you need not be 
 
_jS£> 
 
 
 No, Pattidan, I am not going to marry any one who has not the bluest and 
 rovallest blood in his veins ! " 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 71 
 
 alarmed. And as for marrying a 
 person with black hair, why that is 
 the height of impropriety." 
 
 " Then, Miss, what 's your majestic 
 pa going to do with all them gay 
 birds, in their Sunday feathers ; they 're 
 every one of them just wild about 
 you, Miss." 
 
 " I really don't know," said Cerulea, 
 seeming greatly perplexed. " We shall 
 have to consult the wise Pollyphrastus. 
 But it is a great disappointment to 
 find all these young persons with such 
 absurd hair." 
 
 " That it is, your Majesty, and I 
 dare say it '11 be a great disappointment 
 to them, the poor young gentlemen. 
 I feel for 'em, I do, especially for 
 that sweet Httle young prince from 
 Ameriky, Prince Top-Knot, is it ? " 
 
 " Prince Tip-Top," corrected Cerulea. 
 
 " For my part, Miss, I never see 
 anything so aristocratic and sort of 
 
^2 
 
 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 elegant-like as those legs of his; and 
 he does look so bewitched with you, 
 Miss." 
 
 Here Princess Cerulea brightened up 
 astonishingly, and laughed a coy little 
 laugh, and said, in her most coquettish 
 manner, — 
 
 " Get along with you, Pattidan ; how 
 can he be bewitched with me when he 
 has seen me just once." 
 
 '* Indeed, that 's quite enough, bless 
 your sweet ladyship," replied the loyal 
 and devoted handmaid. " It 's quite 
 enough, as any of those young dooks 
 will tell you." 
 
 Princess Cerulea blushed at this 
 compliment in a way that was not in 
 the least unbecoming. If any of her 
 eager lovers could have caught a 
 glimpse of her just at that moment, 
 with that delicate bloom on her cheeks, 
 in dainty contrast to her beautiful blue 
 ripples of hair, they certainly must 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 73 
 
 have adored her frantically, and been 
 in despair about their own vulgar 
 chevelures. 
 
 " Now, Pattidan," said the little 
 princess, in a confidential whisper, " I 
 am going to tell you a secret, a very 
 great secret, Pattidan ! I am going to 
 tell you what I think about Prince Tip- 
 Top. I think that he is the only real 
 prince among them all." 
 
 " Just what I Ve thought all along, 
 Miss; only his hair — " 
 
 " Is beautiful," interrupted Ceru- 
 lea. " Golden hair may be a mark of 
 royalty in America, you know, for 
 gold is a royal color. But I shall 
 go and ask Pollyphrastus this very 
 minute." 
 
 " It 's a great pity, though, that Polly- 
 phrastus has n't been bright enough to 
 find the Rainbow Valley, in all these 
 years. Then that dear little Prince 
 Tip-Toe might have as blue a head of 
 
74 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 hair as anybody, and there would be 
 no trouble, and everything would be 
 lovely." 
 
 Cerulea gave a little sigh, and 
 said it was indeed a great pity. But 
 as it would have been deemed highly 
 presumptuous in her to cast reflections 
 on the wisdom of the great Polly- 
 phrastus, Cerulea did not pursue the 
 subject any farther. Her toilet being 
 by this time quite completed, she 
 sallied out into the palace gardens to 
 take a morning walk before going to 
 consult the king and his chief adviser 
 on the weighty subject which now 
 absorbed her thoughts. 
 
 By a singular coincidence. Prince 
 Tip-Top had also come out for an 
 early walk, so that almost the first 
 person Cerulea came upon as she 
 tripped down the white walk, was a 
 graceful and gayly attired young man, 
 who smiled sweetly the minute he saw 
 
il««/lATu»«.o^e»«rt-^ «» 
 
 By a singular coincidence Prince Tip-Top had also come out 
 for an early walk. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. ']^ 
 
 her, and dropped upon his knee before 
 her, and kissed her hand in the most 
 courtly and lover-like fashion. He was 
 dressed in a beautiful pale pink velvet 
 suit, just the color of the rosy morning, 
 with a satin ruff around his neck, and 
 satin puffs on his sleeves, and satin 
 rosettes on his garters, and beautiful 
 gold buckles on his dainty shoes. He 
 wore a neat little hat ornamented with 
 gold lace and white ostrich-plumes, and 
 he carried an exquisite bit of a cane in 
 his hand. 
 
 Princess Cerulea stood as though 
 transfixed when she saw this bewilder- 
 ing pink apparition ; she could hardly 
 speak for emotion. But Tip- Top, who 
 was always at his ease, and knew very 
 well how to make people feel comfort- 
 able, began by saying he hoped she 
 had slept well ; and he thanked her 
 again and again for the delightful time 
 he had had at her ball the night before. 
 
78 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 and said how much he had enjoyed it, 
 and what a pleasant place Okushee 
 was, and wondered why he had never 
 heard of it before. And then he told 
 her all about his home in America, 
 and his little friends there, and his 
 Aunt Jane, — all which seemed greatly 
 to interest the fair Cerulea. So they 
 walked on for nearly an hour, talking 
 as freely as if they had known each 
 other always, and having the best kind 
 of a time. And they were so happy in 
 each others society that Cerulea quite 
 forgot to go and consult the learned 
 Pollyphrastus on the perplexing ques- 
 tion of royalty without blue hair, — 
 indeed she quite forgot that Prince 
 Tip-Top's curls were only golden, so 
 agreeable and attractive did he make 
 himself to her. 
 
 But there were those who had not 
 forgotten their suspicions concerning 
 Prince Tip-Top's pretensions to royal 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP- 79' 
 
 lineage, — who believed, in fact, that his 
 claims had slender foundation. 
 
 It so happened, therefore, that just 
 as Tip-Top and the pretty princess 
 were walking about the garden hand 
 in hand, whom should they meet but a 
 half-dozen or more of Tip-Top's most 
 formidable rivals, who w^ere holding a 
 very animated consultation. Young 
 Bourbon began to gesticulate fiercely 
 with his wiry little arms and legs when 
 he saw the smiling couple advancing 
 towards them ; my lord's countenance 
 assumed a look of withering scorn ; the 
 Turkish pasha's wore a savage expres- 
 sion ; and Prince Sum- Fun gave way 
 to his feelings by viciously tying hard 
 knots in his pig-tail. They were all 
 consumed with envy. To think that 
 this young nobody — this upstart of the 
 day before yesterday — should get the 
 better of them in this fashion, just 
 because he could look sweet, and dance 
 
8o PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 well with those pretty legs of his, and 
 had yellow curls, which should have 
 been a disgrace to him in a country 
 where nothing but blue hair was toler- 
 ated ! It was scandalous ! 
 
 Of course Tip-Top did not suspect 
 the thoughts of these evil-minded 
 young gentlemen, so he smiled, and 
 greeted them in his kindliest manner. 
 But nothing could be less cordial than 
 their behavior towards him. They 
 utterly ignored his friendly speeches, 
 and after paying their respects to the 
 princess, they excused themselves, say- 
 ing they had affairs of the greatest 
 importance to attend to ; and with a 
 look of terrible meaning at Prince Tip- 
 Top, they departed. 
 
 Straightway they went to the king's 
 council-chamber and laid their suspi- 
 cions before his Majesty, who, greatly 
 agitated by the news, immediately 
 called in his clever-minded queen ; who, 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 8 1 
 
 declaring that it was too much for her, 
 referred the matter to the learned Polly- 
 phrastus. This gentleman of course 
 was much perturbed; he had by some 
 singular oversight omitted to look into 
 the politics of this new country whence 
 the eligible Tip-Top came, and he now 
 trembled lest he had committed the un- 
 pardonable blunder of admitting into 
 the kingdom a person with no blue 
 blood in his veins, and no blue tinge 
 in his hair. 
 
 He tried to dispute this question 
 with the base accusers, and called for 
 proofs regarding Tip-Top's low origin. 
 But these riotous young suitors only 
 shouted with laughter at the very idea. 
 
 " Proof ! My stars and garters ! who 
 ever heard of an American prince ? " 
 shouted the little Briton, whose noble 
 grandpapa traced his descent back to 
 William the Conqueror. 
 
 " Whoever heard of the royal house 
 
82 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 of Tip-Top!" roared the Russian with 
 the unpronounceable name. 
 
 '' Ha, ha, haT' cried the little French- 
 man, and he turned a somersault in his 
 excitement. 
 
 " Call the council to order ! " thun- 
 dered the king, in tones of awful sever- 
 ity; and Pollyphrastus pounded on the 
 back of the throne with the great seal. 
 
 "Now bring forth the Book of Wis- 
 dom, and summon his Highness, the 
 high and mighty Prince Tip-Top, of 
 the royal house of Tip-Top, and let him 
 make his own defence!" commanded 
 the king, with increasing dignity and a 
 magnificent wave of the hand. 
 
 The young suitors giggled ; whereon 
 the young monarch frowned savagely at 
 them. An attendant hurried out to 
 seek Prince Tip-Top. The anxious 
 Pollyphrastus pulled down the Book 
 of Wisdom from a very high shelf, 
 and fell to turning over its leaves and 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 83 
 
 running his finger up and down its 
 columns, in a way which plainly be- 
 trayed his agitation and the importance 
 of the occasion. 
 
 In a moment more Prince Tip-Top 
 appeared upon the scene, wondering 
 what had happened, and why he was 
 called up so suddenly, and what this 
 queer meeting was all about, and what 
 he had done to make everybody stare 
 at him so. In his excitement he 
 looked prettier than ever ; his brown 
 eyes grew big and inquiring, and his 
 cheeks were like two red poppies : but 
 his face was truthful and honest, and 
 showed that he was an innocent little 
 fellow, whatever was his ancestry. Prin- 
 cess Cerulea had followed him, and she, 
 too, was in an agony of suspense. 
 When she saw the councillor poring 
 over the Book of Wisdom, and observed 
 the wrinkle on her royal papa's brows, 
 and heard muffled whisperings of '' im- 
 
84 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 poster " and " upstart " and " humbug," 
 and saw all eyes directed to Tip-Top's 
 rosy figure, her worst misgivings were 
 confirmed. 
 
 The king proceeded to business with- 
 out delay, and called upon Prince Tip- 
 Top — albeit with great respect and 
 courtesy — to relate the history of his 
 descent, to tell the assembly how he 
 came by the title of Prince Tip-Top, 
 and, in fine, to state what his claims to 
 royalty were. 
 
 " Well," said Tip-Top, throwing back 
 his head, " I will ! " and he spoke with 
 the confidence that comes of knowing 
 one's self in the right ; for he had 
 been very careful to go through all the 
 branches of his family-tree before start- 
 ing out on this eventful journey. " In 
 the first place, I am called Prince 
 Tip-Top because — because — " he 
 stammered, with becoming modesty, 
 " because the boys at home liked me ; 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 85 
 
 and secondly, because I 'm descended 
 from Henry the Eighth of England ! " 
 
 This statement was received with 
 deafening applause on the part of the 
 courtiers who sympathized with Tip- 
 Top, in which the king and queen and 
 the princess, and even Pattidan, joined 
 vociferously. 
 
 " How are you descended from Henry 
 the Eighth ? " demanded Pollyphrastus, 
 with a judicial squint. 
 
 Tip-Top pulled a bit of a note-book 
 from one of his pockets, and opened it 
 at a certain well-worn page, — only to 
 get " a start," as it were, for he had it 
 all by heart, like his catechism, — and 
 then he began with great stress : — 
 
 " My grandmother's great-aunt was a 
 Jenkins, and /ler grandmother's great- 
 aunt was a Simmons, and Aer grand- 
 mother's great-aunt was a Jones, and Aer 
 grandmother's great-aunt was a Robin- 
 son, and s/ie married her sisters second 
 
86 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 cousin-in-law, and he was a Tudor; and 
 the Tudors, as every one knows, are all 
 descended from Henry the Eighth." 
 
 Everybody drew a long breath. The 
 king looked enchanted. Pollyphrastus 
 beamed at Tip-Top over his spectacles, 
 and the dismayed rivals began to wilt 
 one by one. Before such a battalion of 
 facts it seemed as if there was really 
 nothing to do but submit. 
 
 " Nothing could be more clear and 
 satisfactory," said the king ; and he was 
 on the point of shaking hands with 
 Tip-Top and congratulating him, when 
 that suspicious, interfering little French- 
 man called out, — 
 
 " Nossing could be more foggy or 
 more ^//^satisfactory. Look in zee von- 
 derful Book of zee Visdom, and see if 
 it ees correct ! " 
 
 " Look in das buch ! " echoed the fat 
 Dutchman, with owlish glee. 
 
 " Look in the Book of Wisdom, bv 
 
Prince Tip-Top, followed by Princess Cerulea, enters the Council Chamber. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 89 
 
 Jove ! " shouted the little Englishman ; 
 for in this bright thought there was yet 
 a ray of hope for them. 
 
 Tip-Top was agreeable. He felt per- 
 fectly safe, for he was sure that he stood 
 on firm conviction. His royal blood 
 was perhaps a little removed, but what 
 of that ? he had never doubted for a 
 moment that he was a full-fledged 
 Tudor. Had he not heard his Aunt 
 Jane boast of it hundreds of times, and 
 did n't she always sign herself " Jane 
 Tudor Jenkins," and had n't the whole 
 family signed themselves Tudors for 
 generations past.^ So he walked up 
 very boldly, and laid his little open 
 book down by the broad page which 
 Pollyphrastus had before him, and 
 calmly awaited results. 
 
 Now, this Book of Wisdom was a 
 very curious book. It was a sort of 
 encyclopaedia which furnished inform- 
 ation upon any and all subjects of 
 
90 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 interest to the Cerulites, and to the 
 Cerulites only. It told them everything 
 they wanted to know, it proved every- 
 thing they wanted to prove, and dis- 
 proved everything they wanted to 
 condemn ; and they believed in it as 
 in an oracle. It was the most obliging 
 and remarkable volume imaginable, and 
 its value could not have been overes- 
 timated by the Cerulites. The one 
 thing which it had not done, however, 
 was to tell them where the Rainbow 
 Valley was situated; and this was mys- 
 tifying. But there was a reason for 
 this. This book had been compiled, 
 so tradition went, by an inspired Ceru- 
 lite, who died very suddenly, — just as 
 he was preparing to begin on his 
 column of V's ; and it was the com- 
 mon belief that the fairies of the 
 island, becoming jealous of his learn- 
 ing, and fearing lest he might divulge 
 their secret concerning the mysterious 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 91 
 
 Valley, had taken him off rather un- 
 ceremoniously. 
 
 Pollyphrastus was the sole custodian 
 of this Book of Wisdom, and the only 
 person who knew all its ins and outs ; 
 and he understood its mysterious work- 
 insfs as w^ell as he did his alo^ebra. So 
 he immediately compared Tip-Top's 
 statement with that on the correspond- 
 ing subject in the book before him. 
 And sure enough, there they were, 
 
 — the Jenkinses, the Joneses, the Sim- 
 monses, the Robinsons, — all branching 
 down to the trunk of the family-tree 
 with the most astonishing correctness 
 and precision, until it came to that 
 heedless person w^ho had married her 
 sisters second cousin-in-law. Here, if 
 you please, matters took a sudden turn, 
 
 — melancholy enough for poor Tip-Top. 
 Pollyphrastus's countenance fell when 
 he came to that place. What could it 
 mean ? The Book of Wisdom had never 
 
92 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 played him such a trick. He read, in 
 hollow tones, — 
 
 " And she married her sister's second 
 cousin-in-law, and he was — was — was 
 not a Tudor, — but a Toodle ! " 
 
 " Impossible I " cried Tip-Top, his 
 eyes as round as saucers. " There must 
 be some mistake. It can't be that we — 
 that I — that my Aunt Jane — that they 
 have all been mistaken. Oh, please 
 look again, do ! " 
 
 He leaned over the page anxiously 
 while Pollyphrastus pointed to the fatal 
 words a second time ; but there they 
 were, in black and white, as plain as 
 plain could be. That person's name 
 was actually Toodle instead of Tudor; 
 and the Book of Wisdom was infallible. 
 Tip-Top was forced to resign himself to 
 the inevitable. 
 
 " Well, I am surprised," was all he 
 said, and tears of shame and disappoint- 
 ment stood in his pretty eyes. 
 
Pollyphrastus reads from the Book of Wisdom. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 95 
 
 It was certainly a most humiliating 
 state of affairs, — to have thought one's 
 self a Tudor all one's life, to have 
 held one's head up for thinking one 
 was a Tudor, to have aspired to the 
 hand of a princess on the strength of 
 one's being a Tudor, and then by 
 a luckless accident to discover that 
 one was only a Toodle, — a low-born 
 Toodle ! Tip-Top could not under- 
 stand it. Doubtless some remote and 
 uncultured great-aunt had pronounced 
 Tudor Toodor, and afterwards Toodor 
 had gradually become Toodle, and there 
 lay all the trouble; but Tip-Top felt 
 that he could never, never right himself 
 in the eyes of all these aristocratic 
 Cerulites. 
 
 The council broke up in an unusually 
 solemn and gloomy manner. The vic- 
 torious rivals did not dare show very 
 much exultation over Tip-Top's dis- 
 comfiture, for the king's face was a 
 
96 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 sight to behold; and I think, too, that 
 in their inmost hearts they felt rather 
 sorry for poor little Tip-Top, who was 
 thus suddenly fallen into disrepute on 
 account of his Toodle ancestry. They 
 walked away, rather wondering what 
 would happen next. As for the prin- 
 cess Cerulea, she was carried away to 
 her bed-chamber, where, utterly regard- 
 less of consequences, she wept and 
 wailed just one hour and a quarter by 
 the clock. 
 
III. 
 
 THE RAINBOW VALLEY. 
 
 N the follow- 
 ing morning 
 the entire 
 nation was 
 apprised of 
 the events 
 just recorded. 
 Nothing so 
 nearly ap- 
 proaching a 
 calamity had befallen the Cerulites 
 since the days of that reckless young 
 king who had fallen in love with and 
 married the chimney-sweep's daughter. 
 The royal family were steeped in a 
 state of melancholy which, for them, 
 amounted to despair. In vain did the 
 councillors of state protest against the 
 
 7 
 
98 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 indulgence of such dangerous senti- 
 ments on the part of their liege, and 
 endeavor to persuade him that things 
 were perhaps not as bad as they seemed, 
 and that it was always darkest before 
 the dawn ; the king would not be com- 
 forted for the loss of such an eligible 
 son-in-law as Prince Tip-Top. All this 
 was felt in the atmosphere, and the 
 air was full of gossip and conjectures 
 about that little American impostor. 
 Tip-Top could bear it no longer; he 
 longed to get away and hide himself 
 from everybody. Sympathy w^as not 
 what he wanted just then ; much less 
 could he face the revilings of his 
 enemies. 
 
 He started out to seek the quiet of 
 the woods and hills, choosing an unfre- 
 quented little path that led nobody 
 knew whither. He could think of 
 nothing but his late misfortune, and he 
 wanted to think of it alone, and perhaps, 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 99 
 
 after cool deliberation, find some way 
 out of it. It is needless to say that, 
 like all disappointed lovers, he had not 
 slept a wink the night before. He was 
 very miserable, — a state of mind which, 
 for political reasons, he felt obliged to 
 confide only to the trees and flowers 
 and the murmuring wavelets that came 
 lapping up against the shore. Every- 
 thing was bright and warm and 
 summery. A soft haze rested on the 
 landscape. The birds floated lazily in 
 the air, and their songs came from out 
 the far distance as though they had 
 been sinofino: in some other world. The 
 hills rose one after another like green 
 billows. The sea was blue with the 
 reflection of the cloudless sky, and the 
 fragrance of the budding trees filled the 
 whole air. 
 
 In the midst of this loveliness poor 
 little Tip-Top sighed, and he was very 
 wretched. 
 
lOO PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 " Everything is happy," he thought, 
 " everything is happy but me." 
 
 He walked on and on for hours, not 
 knowing whither his steps were leading 
 him, and not caring very much. He 
 tried to think calmly, but it was a con- 
 fusing business. Finally he gave way 
 to his feelings. 
 
 " I wish I could lose myself," he said, 
 misanthropically ; " I wish I could lose 
 myself so that they could never find me, 
 and then perhaps she would care a little, 
 and be sorry for me, and not believe 
 that I am a real impostor, who tried to 
 deceive them, when I never dreamed of 
 such a thing as being a Toodle." 
 
 For if there were two thins^s that 
 hurt poor little Tip-Tops feelings more 
 than anything else, it was having been 
 called a " humbug " by those boasting 
 rivals of his, and the thought that the 
 Princess Cerulea might think him un- 
 truthful. You have no doubt guessed 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. loi 
 
 that, by this time, he was very much in 
 love with the gentle Cerulea. Indeed, 
 he thought he had never loved any one 
 so much. This was partly because, as 
 matters stood then, there was no chance 
 whatever of his getting her, and partly 
 because she really was a very amiable 
 little person, in spite of her pale-blue 
 hair. To tell the truth, Tip-Top had 
 actually grown to admire this more 
 than anything else about Cerulea. It is 
 a curious thing enough, but you know 
 that when we love people very much, 
 even their little blemishes have a 
 certain charm for us. Not that I 
 am dreaming of calling Cerulea's hair 
 a blemish, but Tip-Top himself had 
 thought it a little queer at first ; and he 
 could hardly account for the strange 
 new feeling in him which made him 
 think that blue hair was the most desir- 
 able thing in the world. 
 
 With all these feelings in his troubled 
 
I02 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 little heart, he still walked and walked 
 without stopping. He seemed to be 
 inspired, so to speak, to walk until he 
 had walked off his melancholy. He felt 
 he would soon come to a stopping- 
 place, — what place, he did not know; 
 but he felt sure that he heard voices in 
 the whispering leaves all around him 
 telling him which way to go. 
 
 He was not mistaken ; for, as he 
 came to a sudden turn in the road, 
 he found himself in the midst of a 
 beautiful little valley buried deep 
 between two green hills. It looked so 
 cool and quiet that he longed to stop 
 and rest awhile under its inviting 
 shades. There was a little spring bub- 
 bling out of the side of a rock, whose 
 clear, colorless water ran out to fill a 
 small lake near by. Tip- Top thought 
 he had never seen any water look so 
 tempting. He went up to it and drank 
 several times out of the cup which he 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 103 
 
 made with his hand, for he had gone 
 a long way, and he was very warm 
 and thirsty. Then he spied a mossy 
 plot underneath a blossoming olive-tree, 
 with just a little patch of sky forming a 
 blue canopy above it. Tip-Top guessed 
 that this must be the couch of some 
 woodland nymph, and he began to 
 wonder if he had really stumbled into 
 fairy-land by accident. He had seen so 
 many strange things of late that this 
 seemed quite possible. 
 
 " As long as there seems to be no 
 one else here just now," he thought, 
 " I don't think it would be wrong for 
 me to lie down and rest awhile. I 
 ani so tired, and I do want to forget 
 my trouble so. Perhaps a fairy will 
 come along after a while, and then I '11 
 ask her to help me make Princess 
 Cerulea forgive me for being a Toodle. 
 Good fairies always help people out 
 of their troubles ; and I am sure only 
 
I04 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 good fairies can live in this beautiful 
 place." 
 
 He stretched his tired little figure on 
 the cool green moss, looked about him 
 once or twice, and almost immediately 
 his eyelids began to droop, and in 
 a moment more Tip-Top was sound 
 asleep in the mystic and unknown 
 realms of the Rainbow^ Valley ! 
 
 As soon as his eyes were closed, he 
 began to dream the strangest, most 
 delightful dream he had ever had. He 
 thought that a perfect legion of fairies 
 hovered over him, and smiled and 
 talked, — not to him, but about him, — 
 in the softest, silveriest voices that 
 sounded like the whisperings of angels. 
 
 " What a dear little fellow ! '' said one 
 of them. 
 
 " And what a nice good boy he is, 
 too," said another. " Of course you 
 know that he was in total ignorance 
 about that vulgar-minded great-aunt of 
 
>^ ^ 
 
 \/ i 
 
 Prince Tip-Top in trouble. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 107 
 
 his, who SO inconsequentially married a 
 Toodle instead of a Tudor." 
 
 " Of course ; and what a disappoint- 
 ment it must have been to him ! " 
 
 " And how sweetly he takes it," said 
 a third. " I 'm sure it is a great pity; 
 for if any one deserves and ought to 
 win the princess, it is Prince Tip- Top." 
 
 Tip-Top was surprised to hear them 
 speak his name so familiarly, and won- 
 dered how they happened to know all 
 about him ; but he soon remembered 
 that fairies know everything, — it is a 
 trick they have, you know. 
 
 " Not Prince Tip-Top any more, my 
 dear," said the second fairy, with rather 
 a sad smile. 
 
 " Yes, Prince Tip- Top he is, and 
 Prince Tip-Top he shall always be," 
 insisted the first fairy. " See, the rain- 
 bow is just appearing in the sky above 
 his head. When he shall have slept 
 one hour under the blue light of the 
 
Io8 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 rainbow, his hair will immediately turn 
 to an exquisite shade of blue. Now, the 
 royal family will never be able to resist 
 it, for, after all, that is the truest indica- 
 tion of blue blood. Besides, Tip-Top 
 is the only person who has ever walked 
 to the end of the rainbow; I am sure 
 that that is a distinction which ought to 
 meet with great reward." 
 
 Thereupon all the fairies set up a 
 chorus of joyful laughter that echoed 
 and echoed down the green valley like 
 the tinkling of distant bells; and not 
 until it had died away completely did 
 Tip-Top feel himself waking out of this 
 happy and delicious sleep. When he 
 opened his eyes the first thing he saw 
 was the rainbow overhead, arching from 
 one end of the little valley to the other, 
 and flooding it with its varied lights. 
 
 " Oh, how beautiful everything is 
 here ! " he said, looking about him in 
 astonishment. "It can't be possible — 
 
Prince Tip-Top he is, and Prince Tip-Top he 
 shall always be." 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. Ill 
 
 it can't be true — that I have actually 
 found the Rainbow Valley, for which 
 the Cerulites have been looking for 
 more than a hundred years ! I must 
 be dreaming." 
 
 But something seemed to tell him that 
 he was not dreaming. The wind that 
 rustled among the leaves said plainly, 
 " This is the Rainbow Valley ; '' the 
 birds that flew in and out of the branches 
 looked at him oddly, and seemed to be 
 saying, " Lucky boy ! you have found 
 the Rainbow Valley ; " the little spring 
 murmured the same thing as it trickled 
 down the rocks and pebbles ; and Tip- 
 Top was overjoyed. He picked up his 
 cap and ran to the spring. 
 
 " Oh, little spring," he cried, " I am 
 so glad ! and I thank you so much for 
 letting me find you ! " and he drank 
 once more of its pure cold water. 
 Then he looked in the lake, and saw 
 the blue and pink and yellow rainbow 
 
112 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 reflected on its clear surface, and he 
 saw, too, his own image as clearly as 
 in a looking-glass, — his pretty, rosy face 
 and eager eyes, his slender, graceful 
 figure, and his curls, changed to a hue 
 surpassing even Cerulea's lovely hair. 
 
 " Oh, oh ! " he cried aloud, " I look 
 like somebody else ; I don't look one 
 bit like myself. What is the matter 
 with my hair ? " and for a minute he did 
 not know whether to be glad or sorry. 
 
 "Oh, dear! this is very singular," he 
 kept repeating to himself. " What will 
 my Aunt Jane think; and won't the 
 boys at home shout when they see 
 me.'^" and he twirled one of his pretty 
 curls about his finger with a half- 
 amused, half-regretful look. 
 
 To be sure, he had admired blue hair 
 exceedingly only an hour before, and he 
 did think that blue hair was charming 
 for ladies, — strictly for ladies ; but 
 when it came to losing his own pretty 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 113 
 
 yellow curls, he felt that he should like 
 to draw the line there ; for he could not 
 help thinking of the mortification it 
 would cause his fastidious Aunt Jane to 
 see him in this ridiculous plight. 
 
 Just then a saucy little humming-bird 
 flew up and alighted on his shoulder, 
 looked straight at him in the most 
 intrepid manner, and laughed outright, 
 — that is, as well as a humming-bird 
 can laugh, — in a way that said as 
 plainly as words, — 
 
 " Why, you ignorant little goose, 
 don't you know that the fairies will 
 make that all right .^ Just at present 
 you are in the height of the style. So 
 don't worry about what your Aunt 
 Jane will say, but go and show yourself 
 to the king and queen, tell them you 
 have just discovered the Rainbow 
 Valley, and hear what they say ! 
 And don't forget to be grateful for 
 your blessings!" 
 
114 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 Tip-Top felt better at once. He 
 turned and excused himself to the hum- 
 ming-bird, just as if he had been talking 
 to a real person. 
 
 " I hope you won't think me ungrate- 
 ful," said he ; " indeed, I am very, very 
 thankful for all I have seen in this 
 beautiful valley to-day. But I m not 
 quite myself yet. It makes a fellow 
 feel a little queer to have his hair 
 change color so suddenly, just at first, 
 you understand. I 've no doubt I shall 
 get used to it. If you have no objec- 
 tion, I think I had better hurry back, 
 as it must be getting late. To-morrow 
 I '11 go and show myself to the royal 
 family, and surprise everybody." 
 
 The humming-bird winked approv- 
 ingly and flew away, and Tip-Top bade 
 farewell to the Rainbow Valley and 
 was off. 
 
 He found his way back as easily as 
 he had come, and it did not take him 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 115 
 
 nearly as long, for his heart and his 
 heels were light, and he tripped along 
 as if he had been on wings. In a very 
 short time he was in sight of the 
 king's palace. Before nearing the pub- 
 lic thoroughfares, however, he carefully 
 tucked all his curls inside his cap, so 
 as not to call attention to his change 
 of appearance, because he wanted to 
 surprise the king, the queen, and the 
 Princess Cerulea first of all. 
 
 When he reached the city everybody 
 seemed to be in the same happy frame 
 of mind which he enjoyed: the bells 
 were ringing, the trumpets were blow- 
 ing, the flags were hoisted, the Cerulites 
 were all out, rushing around in a frantic 
 sort of way. Tip-Top felt sure it must 
 be the setting in of the reaction of yes- 
 terday's calamity. He walked a little 
 faster through the crowd, not stopping 
 to ask any questions. But at the gate 
 of the palace he was met by the master 
 
Il6 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 of ceremonies, who appeared to be in 
 an hilarious and playful mood. 
 
 "What's all this?" inquired Tip- 
 Top. 
 
 " Bless your sweet worship, Mr. Tip- 
 Top, have n't you heard ? " 
 
 "Heard what?" asked Tip-Top, in 
 some curiosity. 
 
 " Why, of the king's turnamint ? It 's 
 the greatest thing that ever was in this 
 benighted land," said the master of 
 ceremonies, with a touch of sarcasm. 
 " It s all that French young gentleman's 
 doings, too. He would n't rest till they 
 had a turnamint. He said turnamints 
 was the most aristocratic things in the 
 world. Kings always had them when 
 they wanted to settle an important 
 question. So a turnamint it is; and all 
 Miss Cerulea's noble suitors is just 
 a spreading of themselves this very 
 minute, and the one that cuts up the 
 biggest antic is going to win her for his 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 117 
 
 bride. Why is n't your lordship there .'* 
 They are all waiting for you." 
 
 Tip-Top started at this piece of infor- 
 mation. 
 
 *'Well, I never!" he exclaimed; and 
 made his way to the palace without 
 further parley with the genial servant. 
 
 The truth of the matter was that 
 Princess Cerulea felt it her duty to 
 accept a husband from among her for- 
 eign admirers, though she did not care 
 a straw for any of them, except Tip-Top. 
 Yet she could not be induced to make 
 a choice. So when the little French 
 nobleman proposed a contest as a means 
 of settling the matter, she joyfully 
 accepted the plan, hoping that Tip-Top 
 would hear of it and would, for her sake, 
 distinguish himself in a way that would 
 distance all his rivals. Instead of that, 
 Tip- Top had been napping in the Rain- 
 bow Valley, and devoting himself to 
 fairies and the like all day! 
 
Il8 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 But for a little boy Tip-Top was a 
 good deal of a diplomat. He resolved 
 to lose no more time, and turning the 
 matter carefully in his mind as he went 
 to his room, he determined to break 
 the news of his discovery to the assem- 
 bled Cerulites with the most highly 
 dramatic effect. 
 
 Sure enough, a grand tournament 
 was being held at the palace. All the 
 dignitaries of the land were present, 
 
 — the king and queen and the Princess 
 Cerulea occupying, of course, the most 
 prominent seats ; near them sat the 
 estimable Pollyphrastus, who was to 
 make the decision ; and behind him 
 were the lords chamberlain and the 
 maids of honor, with all their relations, 
 
 — in fact, everybody whose good opin- 
 ion was of any account whatsoever was 
 present. All sat there in expectation 
 of the remarkable feats of the young he- 
 roes. The suitors stood up in a row in 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 119 
 
 their gayest and most festive costumes. 
 They were all there but Tip-Top, — a 
 fact which gave rise to some comment 
 on the part of those who were interested 
 in his success, and to considerable tremor 
 in the bosom of the gentle Cerulea. 
 
 Young Bourbon, who w^as eager for 
 the fray, suggested that doubtless Mon- 
 sieur Tip-Top had had the grace to 
 withdraw from the contest on account 
 of his base origin and out of com- 
 pliment to his betters. You may be 
 sure that this audacious French young 
 person was silenced without much cere- 
 mony by the lord high executioner, who 
 was a rank Tip-Topite. But after many 
 preliminaries had been gone through 
 with, and vain inquiries made after the 
 missing suitor by his friends, and divers 
 manifestations of impatience exhibited 
 on the part of the competitors, the " lists 
 were opened," so to speak, and the con- 
 test began. 
 
I20 
 
 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 The first to appear was the little 
 Esquimaux, who perhaps you remember, 
 and who performed a remarkable bear- 
 dance all by himself, to the great delight 
 
 of all the little Okusheeans. His debut 
 before such a critical audience was con- 
 sidered a great success, and he was 
 encored and encored in a way that 
 was very flattering to his hopes; even 
 Cerulea condescended to smile her ap- 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 121 
 
 proval of him. And he was so elated 
 that he appeared and re-appeared, and 
 danced and danced, till his little legs 
 were nearly danced off, and he had to 
 to be dragged away by the assistants of 
 the lord high executioner. 
 
 The entertainment proceeded, and 
 the delectable heir of the royal house of 
 Rothnase made his appearance. He 
 began by delivering a long speech, 
 which, being in German, unfortunately 
 no one understood ; but it sounded very 
 grand. Then, by the most dexterous 
 acrobatic feat he suddenly turned a 
 somersault and landed on his head. In 
 this precarious attitude he drank, with- 
 out the slightest hesitation, one, two, 
 three, five, nay, ten, glasses of beer ! 
 The Cerulites began to open their eyes. 
 Here was truly an exceedingly well- 
 balanced young person. He drank 
 twelve glasses, and shouts and hand- 
 kerchiefs went up on all sides. He 
 
122 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 drank one more glass, and the house 
 fairly reeled with applause. But alas! 
 even glory must have its end. By the 
 most natural process in the world those 
 thirteen glasses of beer went to the 
 illustrious Rothnase's head, and in a 
 moment more he had to be carried away 
 for repairs. 
 
 Young Bourbon next came to the 
 front, with an air of high-bred abandon, 
 and a supercilious expression of counte- 
 nance which said, as plain as might be, 
 " How simple those poor fellows are, 
 and how trivial their feats. Now, kind 
 friends, observe me, and see them pale 
 into insignificance ! " 
 
 He made a bow, threw up his arms, 
 and forthwith executed a series of " cart- 
 wheels " that fairly captured the house. 
 His little arms and legs were something 
 startling to witness as they whirled by 
 with the rapidity of a windmill; and 
 when he had been before his audience 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 123 
 
 three times in succession, he retired 
 with a great flourish, albeit with some- 
 thing of a dizzy feeling in his aristo- 
 cratic little head. 
 
 The next champion was the Turkish 
 pasha, who came forward smoking a 
 long hookah, and who did nothing 
 worth mentioning, but strutted about 
 trying to look bewitching, for the ben- 
 efit of the ladies, and failing signally. 
 At length he gathered up his ample 
 trousers and tried to run a race with 
 himself, in which effort his pipe came out 
 a-head; and he made such a simpleton 
 of himself that he was finally laughed 
 out of the lists with ignominy. 
 
 As for the knight of the Star and 
 Garter, it pains me to state that he had 
 eaten so much roast beef at dinner that 
 he fell fast asleep during the perform- 
 ance, and not hearing his name when it 
 was called out, completely let his turn 
 go by. I do not know just in what man- 
 
124 
 
 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 ner he meant to distinguish himself, but 
 I have no doubt it was a great disap- 
 pointment to him to be thus ruled 
 out through his own sleepiness and 
 
 carelessness. He was not missed, either, 
 which was a still more bitter vexation 
 to him, for almost immediately the little 
 Chinaman stepped up to greet the 
 eager public. 
 
 Now, his Excellency the worthy 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 125 
 
 Prince Sum-Fun had taken a cold in 
 his noble head, so that partly for this 
 reason, and partly from nervousness 
 and embarrassment at finding himself 
 confronted by so many great person- 
 ages, he began to sneeze in a most 
 uproarious and unseemly fashion. The 
 little Cerulites applauded him with 
 genuine enthusiasm, and the more they 
 clapped the more he sneezed. The 
 king and queen were enchanted. Prin- 
 cess Cerulea declared she had never 
 heard such melodious and artistic 
 sneezing in all her life ; and sneezing 
 bade fair to become the most fashion- 
 able accomplishment of the day. But 
 you have all heard of vaulting ambition 
 that o erleaped itself and fell on the 
 other side. Well, Prince Sum-Fun 
 waxed so enthusiastic over his suc- 
 cess, and sneezed so long and so 
 vociferously that he finally succeeded 
 in sneezing off his beautiful pig-tail. 
 
126 PRINCE TIP-TOI'. 
 
 At this unexpected feat the crowd 
 shouted with laughter, and there really 
 seemed nothing more to be desired in 
 the way of achievements. There were 
 still a number of young suitors who 
 were waiting their turns ; but these 
 were passed by without notice, — which 
 caused them to smile a very blue sort 
 of smile at the irony of their fate. 
 Pollyphrastus wanted to decide in favor 
 of Prince Sum-Fun without any further 
 ado, when — thanks to Cerulea's lucky 
 star ! — a herald rushed into the midst 
 of the agitated multitude, and blew a 
 sounding blast on his trumpet. 
 
 " Halt ! attention ! " he cried out, 
 as soon as the noise had subsided. 
 '' There is still one more competitor, 
 and one who must be heard ! " 
 
 Everybody waited in breathless ex- 
 pectation, and Princess Cerulea's heart 
 began to beat violently. Away down 
 the long line of spectators there 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 127 
 
 appeared suddenly a little figure in 
 a bewildering costume of white and 
 gold and a dainty feathered cap, and 
 lovely soft blue ringlets falling about 
 his shoulders ; and in a twinkling every 
 one had recognized Prince Tip-Top. 
 
 He walked up in his most graceful 
 and engaging manner, and knelt on one 
 knee before the king and queen, and 
 looked up with a bright, happy smile at 
 Cerulea, who, in turn, threw down a 
 flower, which he picked up and placed 
 in his button-hole. He did not speak 
 for a while, — indeed, he could not have 
 been heard if he had spoken, so wild 
 were the people with excitement, and 
 so great was the commotion. Besides, 
 there was very little need for explana- 
 tion. The marvellous transformation 
 in his hair spoke for itself. Everybody 
 guessed, naturally, that Tip-Top had 
 made the great discovery, and had 
 taken advantage of it to enhance his 
 
128 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 own sweet looks. Finally, when the 
 king had quieted the frantic multitude, 
 Tip-Top stood up, and said, in his most 
 gracious and winning voice, — 
 
 "Ladies and gentlemen, — I mean. 
 My lords and ladies, — quite by acci- 
 dent, yesterday, I stumbled into the 
 Rainbow Valley, and you now behold 
 the result ! I shall be very glad to 
 show you all the way to this beautiful 
 place," and he made a magnificent ges- 
 ture with his hand, that generously took 
 in all his rivals ; " but, of course, I 
 expect to have my reward, as I was the 
 first one to find it; and the only reward 
 I ask is the hand of the Princess 
 Cerulea." Then he made a low bow, 
 and looked so pretty, and yet so manly, 
 that immediately the king and queen 
 flew down and embraced him : where- 
 upon Cerulea followed their example, 
 and the matter was settled then and 
 there, to the great joy of the Cerulites, 
 
Princess Cerulea throws a flower to Prince Tip-Top. 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 131 
 
 and Princess Cerulea became Princess 
 Tip-Top forever after. 
 
 As for the other suitors, the brilliant 
 heroes of but a few minutes before, it 
 was now their turn to feel a little blue. 
 Some of them said they felt as insig- 
 nificant as crawling bugs, and wished 
 they had never been born. It seemed 
 incredible that this slip of a boy, with 
 his rosy face and pretty smiles, should 
 actually have outdone them all, in spite 
 of his Toodle origin. This was such 
 a shock to their sensitive natures that 
 they vowed they should never get over 
 it ; but of course they did. 
 
 Prince Tip-Top was promoted to the 
 highest dignities in Okushee, as the 
 discoverer of the long-sought Rainbow 
 Valley, and the Cerulites held long and 
 protracted festivities in honor of the 
 happy event. And after that, all per- 
 sons who wished to make themselves 
 still more aristocratic and beautiful, 
 
132 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 went and slept for one hour in the 
 Rainbow Valley, and came away. a joy 
 to all their friends. 
 
 And of course, in due time, Prince 
 Tip-Top and the fair Cerulea were 
 married, and the wedding was the most 
 gorgeous affair in all the history of 
 Okushee. The gayeties lasted five 
 whole days, and the foreign princes, 
 who had determined to start for their 
 respective homes on the very day of 
 their discomfiture, were finally prevailed 
 upon to stay over for the ceremony ; 
 and they declared afterwards that they 
 had never witnessed so regal or so en- 
 joyable a wedding. And they all went 
 home in good spirits, all excepting poor 
 little Sum-Fun, who remained inconsol- 
 able for the loss of his beauty. 
 
 Then Prince Tip-Top and his lovely 
 bride sailed away on their wedding 
 journey in a beautiful little barge 
 draped in silk and purple, and manned 
 
PRINCE TIP-TOP. 133 
 
 by fifty of Okushee's most skilful oars- 
 men. And as it glided out into the 
 blue sea, straightway a lovely rainbow 
 stretched across the heavens above 
 them and shot a golden streak athwart 
 the water, and when they passed in 
 this golden ray of rainbow, immediately 
 Tip-Top's own beautiful curls assumed 
 their natural golden hue, and those of 
 his little bride became of the same 
 color, and indeed the whole of the airy 
 ship was for a moment transformed 
 into a golden boat by the light that 
 fell upon it. 
 
 Then a great deal of shouting and 
 waving of hands went up from the 
 shore where the royal couple and all 
 the great Cerulitic dignitaries had come 
 to see the happy pair off, while Tip- 
 Top and Cerulea stood hand in hand 
 at the stern, bowing and smiling their 
 farewell. 
 
 I am not sure whether Prince Tip-. 
 
134 PRINCE TIP-TOP. 
 
 Top ever returned to his own country 
 to tell his wonderful adventures to his 
 Aunt Jane, or to show her and the boys 
 his lovely little bride, or whether he 
 preferred to spend the remainder of 
 his Jife in the land of the Cerulites, and 
 to be young and light-hearted always. 
 But I do know that wherever he went 
 he made sunshine around him, that he 
 helped people out of their troubles by 
 his cleverness and kind heart, and that, 
 like all the other lovers in the Land of 
 Impossibility, he and his little princess 
 were happy and gay forever and a day. 
 
 THE END. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
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 JNTEr 
 
 
 DEC 18 1967 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 LD21A-30m-6.'67 
 (H2472slO)476 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley