i 
 
 I 
 
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 YELLOW-CAP 
 
 &c. 
 
LONDON I PRINTED BY 
 
 SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE 
 AND PARLIAMENT STREET 
 
YELLOW-CAP 
 
 AND OTHER FAIRY-STORIES FOR CHILDREN 
 
 BY 
 
 JULIAN HAWTHORNE 
 
 LONDON 
 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 
 
 1880 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. AN APPANAGE OF ROYALTY . . . 3 
 
 II. THE GOLDEN PLEDGE . . . . 11 
 
 III. THE GOLDEN DWARF . . . .23 
 
 IV. THE TALISMAN . . . . . 35 
 V. THE KING'S FAVOUR . . . -43 
 
 VI. DONKEY-BACK . . . . . 51 
 
 VII. THE DARK PASSAGE . . -57 
 
 VIII. THE MAGIC EYE . . . . . 65 
 
 IX. ON THE STAGE . . . .83 
 
 X. AN ABSOLUTE MONARCH . . . . 102 
 
 XI. THE GRAND TRANSFORMATION SCENE . 113 
 
 X UMPTY-D UDGET. 
 
 I. THE PALACE AND THE TOWER . . . 129 
 
 II. THE AUNT, THE CAT, AND THE DWARF . 134 
 
 III. THE WAYS OF THE WIND . . . . 145 
 
 IV. No TIME TO BE LOST. . . .154 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 V. THE QUEEN OF THE AIR . . . . 161 
 
 VI. THE KING OF THE GNOMES . . .170 
 
 VII. THE ENCHANTED FIRE . . . . 179 
 
 VIII. THE GOLDEN IVY 186 
 
 CALLADON. 
 
 I. ABRACADABRA . . . . . 197 
 
 II. THE LAW OF THE LAMP . . . 204 
 
 III. CALLIA AND THE MIRROR. . . . 209 
 
 IV. THE OUTER ROOMS . . . .214 
 V. REGENERATION . . . . . 224 
 
 THEEDA. 
 
 \. THE BOOK AND THE VASE . . . 237 
 
 II. OSCAR INSIDE OUT. . . . . 243 
 
 III. THE PEARL-SHELL'S GIFT . . . 250 
 
 IV. THE CRAB . . . . . . 260 
 
 V. A STRANGER ..... 267 
 
 VI. THE SECRET OF THE WAVES . . . 279 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 AN APPANAGE OF ROYALTY. 
 
 A GOOD many years ago before Julius 
 Caesar landed at Dover, in fact, and while 
 the architect's plans for Stonehenge were still 
 under consideration England was inhabited 
 by a civilised and prosperous people, who 
 did not care about travelling, and who were 
 renowned for their affability to strangers. 
 The climate was warm and equable ; there 
 were no fogs, no smoke, no railways, and no 
 politics. The Government was an absolute 
 monarchy ; one king, who was by birth and 
 descent an Englishman, lived in London all 
 the year round ; and as for London, it was 
 the cleanest, airiest, and most beautiful city 
 in the whole world. 
 
 A few miles outside of the city walls lay 
 a small village called Honeymead. It had 
 some fifteen or twenty thatched cottages, 
 each with its vegetable garden and its bee- 
 
 B 2 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 hives, its hencoop and its cowshed. Around 
 this village fertile meadows spread down to 
 the river banks, bringing forth plenteous crops 
 for the support of the honest and thrifty hus- 
 bandmen who tilled them. There was only 
 one public-house in the place, and the only 
 drink to be had there was milk. A case of 
 drunkenness was, consequently, seldom heard 
 of; though, on the other hand, women, girls, 
 and even small children might be seen lin- 
 gering about the place as well as men. 
 
 This public-house was called the Brin- 
 dled Cow, and it was kept by a young 
 woman whose name was Rosamund. She 
 was the prettiest maiden in the village, as 
 well as the most good-natured and the 
 thriftiest ; though she had a keen tongue of 
 her own' when occasion demanded. As might 
 be supposed, all the young men in the neigh- 
 bourhood were anxious to marry her ; but 
 she gave them little or no encouragement. 
 She used to tell them that she was well able 
 to take care of herself, so what good would a 
 husband be to her ? She didn't want to sup- 
 port him, and she didn't need his support. It 
 was better as it was. As for falling in love, 
 that was a thing she couldn't pretend to under- 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 stand ; but her maiden aunt had once told her 
 that it was more bother than it was worth, 
 and she thought it very likely. Moreover, if 
 by any accident she should one day happen 
 to fall in love, she would take great care that 
 it should not be suspected, because the man 
 she loved would then become so puffed up 
 with conceit there'd be no bearing him ! 
 
 Such was Rosamund's declared opinion 
 upon matrimony ; and it caused gloom to 
 dwell in the heart of many a love-sick swain. 
 But (what was strange) the more love-sick 
 they grew the fatter and rosier they became. 
 The reason probably was that they were for 
 ever going to the Brindled Cow under pre- 
 tence of being thirsty but in reality to feast 
 their eyes on Rosamund's lovely face ; and 
 since, thirsty or not, she insisted upon their 
 drinking, as long as they stayed, at the rate 
 of a pint of rich unskimmed milk every ten 
 minutes, you will easily understand that it 
 soon became possible to measure the ardour 
 of their affection in pounds avoirdupois. So 
 that by-and-by, when the elders of the vil- 
 lage would see their sons waxing great of 
 girth and blowzy of visage, they would shake 
 their heads and murmur sadly 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 1 Ah ! poor lad, how healthy he's getting ! 
 'Tis plain he's in love with Mistress Rosa- 
 mund ! ' 
 
 There was one young fellow, however, 
 who was seldom seen among the tipplers 
 at the Brindled Cow. He was a slender 
 youth, rather pale, with straight black eye- 
 brows and large thoughtful eyes, which 
 always seemed to be gazing at something far 
 away. There was a romantic story about 
 him, which you shall hear. When he was a 
 small child, only three years old, his mother 
 (who took in washing, and would be called a 
 laundress nowadays) was up to her elbows 
 one Tuesday afternoon in soapsuds and 
 shirts ; and Raymond that was the child's 
 name was sitting beside the washing-tub, 
 blowing soap-bubbles. All of a sudden the 
 tramp of a horse was heard in the street 
 without, and the woman, looking up from her 
 scrubbing-board. had a glimpse through the 
 window of a magnificent horseman, in silk 
 and velvet, with rosettes on his shoulders, 
 and wearing a gold cap with a tall peacock's 
 feather in it. He got off his horse ; and in 
 another moment he had opened the cottage 
 door and walked into the washing-room. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 The poor woman was at first vastly 
 frightened, for she thought this must be the 
 King, and that he was going to cut off her 
 head because she used chemicals in her 
 washing though she had never done such 
 a thing except when she was very much 
 pressed for time, or when the water was so 
 hard that the soap would not make suds. 
 However, like a wise woman as she was, she 
 made up her mind not to ask for mercy 
 until she had heard her accusation ; so she 
 dropped half a dozen curtseys, and begged 
 to know what his Gracious Royal Majesty's 
 Highness wanted. 
 
 Meanwhile, the little boy, from his seat 
 beside the wash-tub, stared and stared at the 
 magnificent stranger, and was sure he never 
 could stare at him enough. The stranger 
 was tall, thin, and as straight as a hop-pole ; 
 had a huge aquiline nose, with a pair of long 
 moustachios jutting out beneath it and curl- 
 ing up to his eyes ; and on his chin was a 
 sharp-pointed beard. The steam from the 
 wash-tub filled the little room and swam in 
 misty clouds round this singular figure ; while 
 the last soap-bubble which the little boy had 
 blown from his pipe rose in the air and 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 circled round and round the yellow cap like a 
 planet round the sun. Altogether he looked 
 like an Eastern genie in an English court- 
 dress an uncommon sight in the times I 
 write of. 
 
 This personage now made two profound 
 obeisances, one to the washerwoman and one 
 to the little boy. This done, he threw back 
 his silk-lined cloak, and taking from the 
 pocket of his doublet a bundle of something 
 done up in gold paper, he opened his mouth 
 and said 
 
 ' O yez ! O yez ! O yez ! Whereas his 
 Transparent Majesty King Ormund, Em- 
 peror of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, 
 Defender of the Faith, and so forth, and so 
 forth, did, while riding through this village 
 called Honeymead, splash with mud his left 
 Transparent stocking : now, therefore, O 
 washerwoman, it is his gracious w r ill and plea- 
 sure that you do hereby wash the same, with 
 all due and proper diligence and despatch, and 
 with the smallest possible amount of unne- 
 cessary procrastination. Long live his Trans- 
 parency King Ormund !' 
 
 In fact, the gold paper contained a fine 
 pink silk stocking, with embroidered clocks, 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 a hole in the toe, and seven spots of mud 
 spattered over it. The washerwoman had 
 understood very little of the speech, but she 
 could see that the stocking needed washing ; 
 so without more ado she plunged it into the 
 soapsuds, and in five minutes it was as clean 
 as the day it came out of the shop, and was 
 dried before the fire. All this time the 
 stranger had stood bolt upright in the centre 
 of the little room, swathed in the steam, and 
 with the soap-bubble still revolving round his 
 head like a planet ; and the little boy still 
 stared up at him, as if he never could stare 
 enough. 
 
 When the stocking was quite dry the 
 washerwoman rolled it up again in the gold 
 paper and gave it to the stranger, who put it 
 back in the pocket of his doublet. Then he 
 took from the purse that hung at his belt a 
 new spade guinea, gave it a fillip into the 
 air, and down it fell in the little boy's lap. 
 Then, with a third profound obeisance, he 
 made a long step back towards the door. 
 
 Up jumped the little boy in a great hurry 
 and excitement. 
 
 ' If you please, sir,' he cried out, ' who 
 are you ? ' 
 
io YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 The stranger stopped ; and as the steam 
 from the wash-tub wound around him more 
 and more, and the soap-bubble burst on the 
 bridge of his aquiline nose, he replied 
 
 ' Little boy, I am an Appanage of 
 Royalty ! ' 
 
 ' Please will you give me your yellow 
 cap ? ' asked Raymond again. 
 
 ' Not to-day,' said the Appanage of 
 Royalty, with a queer smile. 
 
 * To-morrow, then ? ' demanded Ray- 
 mond. 
 
 ' Some day perhaps ! ' the other replied, 
 still with that queer smile. And then he 
 disappeared ; but whether he dissolved into 
 steam, or exploded like a soap-bubble, or 
 went out by the door in the regular way, the 
 little boy could never be quite sure. It was 
 enough for him that an Appanage of Royalty 
 had said that some day, perhaps, he would 
 give him his gold cap. And Raymond never 
 forgot this adventure ; and as a kind of 
 pledge of its reality he ever afterwards wore 
 the spade guinea round his neck by a silken 
 string. He believed that sooner or later it 
 would be the means of bringing him fame 
 and greatness. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. ii 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE GOLDEN PLEDGE. 
 
 ONE fine May morning, while Rosamund was 
 churning in the dairy-room of the Brindled 
 Cow, she heard some one walk into the bar. 
 The step was not that of any one of her 
 familiar suitors. It was neither short plump 
 Armand, nor tall bulky Osmund, nor red- 
 haired broad-cheeked Phillimund, nor short- 
 legged thick-necked Sigismund, who drank 
 six quarts of milk last Saturday ; nor short- 
 breathed apoplectic Dorimund, who sang 
 sentimental songs with a voice like a year- 
 old heifer's. No, none of these had a step 
 like this step sauntering, light, and medi- 
 tative. Nevertheless, it was a step which 
 Rosamund loved to hear. 
 
 She stopped churning, and moved softly 
 to where a brightly-polished tin pan was set 
 up on the shelf. It was Rosamund's looking- 
 
12 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 glass. Before this she smoothed her rumpled 
 hair, straightened the pink bow at her throat, 
 and snatched off her dirty apron. She was 
 provoked to see how red the churning had 
 made her cheeks, and she wished she were 
 paler ; but the wish only seemed to make 
 her rosier than before. She told herself that 
 she was a coarse-looking ugly girl ; and yet 
 when, only that morning, Dorimund had told 
 her that she was as beautiful as a fairy, she 
 had taken it quite as a matter of course. It 
 was tiresome the way people could grow 
 ugly all in a moment and in the wrong mo- 
 ment too ! 
 
 All this happened during the two or three 
 minutes after the light-stepping visitor had 
 come into the bar; and now this person 
 tapped twice or thrice on the counter. Rosa- 
 mund, on hearing the tap, began to hum a 
 little song, in an unconcerned sort of way, 
 and walked up and down the dairy a few 
 times, as if she were putting things in order ; 
 and when, at last, she came out to the bar, 
 it was with the air of a very busy young 
 woman, who does not like to be disturbed at 
 her churning. 
 
 ' Oh, is it you ? ' she said to the person 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 13 
 
 who was leaning on the counter. ' How do 
 you do ? I hope you're thirsty ? ' 
 
 The person smiled. He was a handsome 
 young fellow, with dark hair and a pale face, 
 and he looked at Rosamund with a pair of 
 thoughtful eyes. His dress was plain and 
 rather the worse for wear ; but round his 
 neck a bright spade guinea was hung by a 
 silken string. It did not seem different from 
 any other spade guinea, yet there must have 
 been something peculiar about it. For it 
 gave a kind of dignity to the young man's 
 aspect, so that if you fixed your eyes upon 
 the coin you forgot the wearer's shabbiness, 
 and almost fancied him to be a noble and 
 opulent personage. Whether the owner were 
 aware of this or not is another question ; but, 
 as a general thing, young people seldom 
 know what it is about them that makes them 
 attractive. 
 
 ' I hope you are thirsty ? ' Rosamund re- 
 peated, in a business-like tone, as she leaned 
 against the other side of the counter, and 
 looked up at the young man with her lovely 
 blue eyes. 
 
 ' I am not thirsty, Rosamund,' he replied, 
 * but I am tired.' 
 
14 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 ' I've always heard that doing nothing 
 was tiresome. Perhaps you'd like to take a 
 chair and sit down ? I really must go on 
 with my churning.' 
 
 ' It isn't that kind of tired that I mean, 
 said he ; ' but if you'll let me sit down in the 
 dairy I don't mind.' Rosamund made no 
 objection, so he vaulted over the counter and 
 they went into the dairy together. 'I'm so 
 tired waiting ! ' he added, with a sigh. 
 
 ' And what are you waiting for, may I 
 ask?' 
 
 ' For something great to happen ! ' 
 
 ' Oh ! Then why don't you make it 
 happen ? ' 
 
 ' I wish I could ! ' sighed the young 
 man. 
 
 Rosamund tied her apron on again, and 
 laid hold of the churn-handle. 
 
 ' What do you call great ? ' she asked, 
 beginning to work it up and down. 
 
 The young man took his gold coin medi- 
 tatively between his thumb and forefinger 
 and twisted it on its silken string. 
 
 ' Greatness is everything that I have not, 
 and want to have,' he said. 
 
 ' Such as what ? ' 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 ' Oh, power and wealth, and to be above 
 other men, and to have them look up to me 
 and obey me. That is greatness.' 
 
 ' Pooh ! ' exclaimed Rosamund, working 
 her churn vigorously. ' I shouldn't care 
 about such greatness as that.' 
 
 * Not care about it, Rosamund? ' 
 
 4 Not so much as a pat of butter, Raymond. 
 What do you want of wealth ? Are you 
 hungry, pray, or thirsty ? I will give you as 
 much of the best milk, fresh from the cow, 
 as you can drink ; and all the wealth in the 
 world couldn't help you to drink more. As 
 for power however high it brought you, it 
 couldn't make you yourself higher by so much 
 as a single inch : you would still be the same 
 Raymond you are now, even if you were an 
 emperor yes, or that Appanage of Royalty 
 you've been thinking and talking about all 
 these dozen years or more. Why do you 
 want people to look up to you and obey you, 
 I should like to know ? Can't you see that 
 it's not you they would look up to, but your 
 ermine robe and silk stockings ' 
 
 ' Ah ! my mother once washed one of the 
 King's silk stockings the left one,' murmured 
 Raymond ; ' and the Appanage of Royalty 
 
16 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 said that some day, perhaps, he would give 
 me his yellow cap ' 
 
 'And golden crown/ continued Rosa- 
 mund, not noticing the interruption. ' You 
 silly boy ! they would obey the crown, not 
 you, though you might happen to be wearing 
 it. If you think it would be yourself they 
 cared for, just go to London as you are 
 now and order them about ! But if I were 
 you I'd rather be truly loved by one per- 
 son than be obeyed by one hundred thou- 
 sand.' 
 
 ' But if you were I, Rosamund, you'd be 
 a man ; and men are different.' 
 
 1 So it seems.' 
 
 ( What a noise that churn makes ! Rosa- 
 mund, I've felt all my life long that I was 
 destined to be great. Why else did my 
 mother wash the King's stocking; or the 
 Appanage of Royalty promise me the 
 cap ?' 
 
 * You've been dreaming, you silly boy ! ' 
 
 ' But can a dream that I've been dreaming 
 all my life fail to come true ? I don't say 
 that to sit on a throne and rule a kingdom 
 would be the happiest lot in the world ; but, 
 just as an experience, it would be good fun ; 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 17 
 
 and if one is predestined to it, you know 
 
 Besides ' 
 
 * Well, your majesty besides what ? ' 
 
 ' Well, for instance, how would you like to 
 be a queen ? ' 
 
 Rosamund stopped churning, wiped her 
 hands on her apron, and tossed up her pretty 
 chin with a saucy air. 
 
 ' A queen, indeed ! I beg to inform you, 
 Master Raymond, that I am a queen already, 
 and I have reigned longer and more despoti- 
 cally than ever you will, I fancy. Pray, has 
 the Queen of England any subjects more 
 devoted to her than my Osmund and Dori- 
 mund and Phillimund and Sigismund and 
 Armand, and twenty others, are to me ? 
 Honeymead is my kingdom, and I do really 
 reign, because my power is in myself; and 
 fifty giants to march before me, and a 
 hundred dwarfs to carry my train, wouldn't 
 make me a bit more of a queen than I am 
 now. So thank you for nothing, Master 
 Raymond ! ' 
 
 Raymond sat erect, with a great deal 
 more animation in his look than he had yet 
 shown. 
 
 ' Listen to me, Rosamund/ he cried. * It 
 c 
 
1.8 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 is true you are Queen of Honey mead. But 
 what is Honey mead compared with London ? 
 And why should not you be as much a queen 
 in London as you are here ? You would be 
 none the worse for a crown, and dwarfs and 
 giants, though you might not need them : be- 
 cause no man could look at you and not be 
 your faithful subject ever afterwards. And 
 Rosamund ' 
 
 He hesitated, and his cheeks were quite 
 red. Rosamund glanced up at him and 
 thought, ' How handsome he is ! ' 
 
 1 Rosamund, I ask you this : if I become 
 king will you sit beside me on the throne, 
 and rule over Great Britain, France, and 
 Ireland ? ' 
 
 Rosamund looked very grave. 
 
 * Do you mean to ask me to be your wife, 
 Raymond ? ' she asked. 
 
 ' I would have asked you long before, 
 dearest Rosamund, but I waited hoping to be 
 able to offer you a kingdom along with my 
 love.' 
 
 ' Well, it is a very kind offer,' said she, 
 with a little smile and a sigh, * and I thank 
 you. But I must say no.' 
 
 1 Rosamund ! ' 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 19 
 
 ' If I were your wife I should have no 
 time to attend to the duties of the Court ; 
 and if I were your queen I should have no 
 time to attend to you. And I am so jealous 
 that I could not let you neglect me for your 
 kingdom ; and yet I'm so ambitious that I 
 couldn't let you neglect your kingdom for me. 
 So it would not do either way ; and, if you 
 please, we won't talk any more about it.' 
 
 But as she said this her voice trembled, 
 and tears were in her eyes. Then Raymond's 
 heart overflowed with tenderness, and he 
 went to her and took her hand. 
 
 ' I could not be happy on a throne with- 
 out you, Rosamund,' said he ; ' but I could be 
 happy, if you would marry me, without a 
 throne.' 
 
 And because it cost him a good deal to 
 make this sacrifice (even of something he had 
 not got) his voice trembled a little too. 
 
 When Rosamund heard that she could 
 resist no longer. She smiled such a smile as 
 Dorimund and the rest would have given 
 their farms to win from her ; and said she 
 
 * Oh, Raymond ! I am a greater queen in 
 having your love than ' 
 
 And then Raymond kissed her just on 
 c 2 
 
20 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 the place that the next word was coming out 
 of, so the rest of the sentence was lost. 
 
 ' But are you quite sure, dear Raymond, 
 that you will be content to live here always ? ' 
 she asked, when they had had a little more 
 conversation of this kind. 
 
 Raymond smiled down on her, but he said 
 nothing. Perhaps, in his secret heart, he was 
 thinking that Destiny (which had appeared to 
 him in the shape of the Appanage of Royalty 
 so long ago) might still have some splendid 
 gift in store for him and Rosamund, whereof 
 the yellow cap would be but the symbol. 
 And, if so, it would be foolish in them to bind 
 themselves beforehand not to take advantage 
 of it. So Raymond smiled at Rosamund in 
 a way to show that, at all events, he loved 
 her. And he did love her. no doubt. 
 
 ' Poor boy ! ' said Rosamund, after another 
 pause, smiling back rather mischievously, ' to 
 think that you have been wearing this spade 
 guinea all these years, and it has brought you 
 nothing better than me at last ! ' 
 
 1 If guineas could buy girls like you, my 
 dear/ replied Raymond, ' the Mint would be 
 kept working day and night. But I'll tell you 
 what use we will make of this we'll chop it 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 21 
 
 in two, and each of us will wear a half, in token 
 that we belong to one another. And then, 
 no matter how long we may be separated, or 
 what changes come over us, we should always 
 recognise each other by these bits of gold.' 
 
 ' But you don't think that changes will 
 come over us, or that we shall be separated, 
 Raymond ? ' 
 
 ' Certainly not ; but we may as well be on 
 the safe side. For instance, if I were to go 
 out and meet with an enchanter, and he were 
 to turn me into a dwarf, and then I were to 
 come back to you, how would you know me 
 except by my half of the guinea ? ' 
 
 ' I should trust my heart for that,' said 
 Rosamund, softly. * Still, we will wear the 
 halves, so that everyone may see that we are 
 but half ourselves when we are not together.' 
 
 This being settled, Rosamund fetched a 
 hatchet, and Raymond put the guinea on a 
 stool, and, with one strong blow, made it fly 
 into two exact halves. Then he drilled a hole 
 through Rosamund's half, and hung it round 
 her neck by a piece of pink ribbon ; and as 
 for his own half, he strung it on the silken 
 cord that he had always worn. So their be- 
 trothal was confirmed. 
 
22 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 Just at this moment half a dozen of Rosa- 
 mund's old suitors came trooping into the 
 bar, and began calling for milk like a herd of 
 calves. Then the lovers looked in each 
 other's faces and smiled, and bade each other 
 farewell very tenderly. Raymond went out 
 through the cowyard ; and Rosamund re- 
 turned to the bar, where she served out fresh 
 milk and thought about the half-guinea that 
 was hidden in her bosom. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE GOLDEN DWARF. 
 
 RAYMOND strolled away towards the river. 
 He wanted to think it all over. His be- 
 trothal was a sort of surprise to him. He had 
 loved Rosamund, in a meditative way, so 
 long that he had got used to not expecting 
 anything more ; but now, on the spur of the 
 moment, he had told his love and received 
 the pledge of hers, and it was all settled. He 
 was happy, of course, for he believed Rosa- 
 mund to be the prettiest and the best girl in 
 the world. Still, he did not wish quite to 
 give up the hope that something might hap- 
 pen to make their life more splendid. He 
 said to himself that it was only for Rosa- 
 mund's sake he hoped this. Perhaps that 
 was the reason he hoped it so much. 
 
 The path down to the river was narrow 
 and winding ; it lay between hawthorn hedges 
 
24 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 white with blossoms. It ended at the ford, 
 where willow trees bowed down over the 
 current. One of these trees had been cut 
 down on the day Raymond was born. 
 The stump made a sort of chair, in which 
 Raymond had spent many a summer hour, 
 musing over the flowing water, or lifting his 
 eyes to gaze thoughtfully at the distant city. 
 He called the willow-stump his throne ; and 
 in the stream that hurried beneath he ima- 
 gined he saw the march of mighty nations 
 passing before his feet to do him homage. 
 To-day all such imaginations must end ; and 
 it was more habit than anything else that had 
 brought him to the spot. He did not come, 
 as formerly, half in fear and half in delight, 
 hoping to meet with some beneficent fairy or 
 other, who would grant him the three wishes 
 which all fairies have in their gift. No ; he 
 came to take a last look at that world of 
 dreams in which he had lived from childhood, 
 and to make up his mind to living henceforth 
 in the matter-of-fact world which common 
 people inhabited. 
 
 It was afternoon when he came to the 
 willow-stump throne and sat down upon it. 
 The sky was thronged with stately clouds 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 25 
 
 phantom mountains, with castles on their 
 tops castles wherein Raymond's fancy had 
 often dwelt. The air was soft and warm, sweet 
 with fragrance of lilac and apple-blossoms, 
 and bright with bird-songs. The bending 
 willows swept the river surface with slender 
 green fingers, startling the trout and grayling 
 that quivered and darted in the pools and 
 shallows. Life and beauty and happiness 
 were everywhere ; and far to the eastward, 
 piled high against the horizon, rose the white 
 marble walls and towers of mighty London. 
 They looked less real than the clouds. Sun- 
 light sparkled on the gilded domes, and cast 
 afar the tender purple shadows of royal 
 palaces. And amidst green meadow-banks, 
 and past gleaming wharves populous with 
 delicate masts and rainbow sails, swept the 
 azure curves of the translucent Thames to- 
 wards the fair city. London was, indeed, at 
 this time, the most magnificent city in the 
 world ; and Camelot, which was built hun- 
 dreds of years afterwards, was never any- 
 thing to compare with it. What wonder, 
 then, if Raymond eyed its distant splendours 
 with some regret, remembering that they 
 were lost to him for ever ? 
 
26 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 ( But I have Rosamund,' he murmured 
 to himself. 
 
 * So much the more fool you ! ' spoke a 
 metallic voice close behind him. 
 
 Raymond looked round. Whence had 
 come that grotesque figure which was stand- 
 ing within a couple of yards of him, and 
 which gazed at him with an expression at 
 once so quizzical and so penetrating ? Had 
 he ever seen it before ? No and yet had 
 he? 
 
 The figure was that of a man about three 
 feet high, with a body shaped like a sack of 
 potatoes, supported by short and crooked 
 legs that bent beneath its weight. The arms 
 were so long that the hands (like great curved 
 claws) hung down nearly to the ground ; and 
 the fingers made a continual movement as if 
 clutching something. The head of this crea- 
 ture was large, and had no neck ; the nose 
 was aquiline, the eyes bright and sharp. On 
 the chin was a pointed beard, and a pair of 
 long moustachios curled up over the cheek- 
 bones. The creature was dressed in rich and 
 costly clothes, which, however, bore an unac- 
 countable resemblance to Raymond's own 
 threadbare attire. On the head was a yellow 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 27 
 
 cap, apparently made of woven gold, which 
 glowed and sparkled in the sunlight. Cer- 
 tainly there was something familiar about that 
 cap and those moustachios ! 
 
 ' Where did you come from ? ' Raymond 
 asked. 
 
 ' I was here before you/ replied the dwarf. 
 
 * I saw no one.' 
 
 ' People do overlook me sometimes,' re- 
 joined the other, with a chuckle ; * but they 
 are more apt to spend their lives in trying to 
 find me. Once in a great while I appear 
 without being asked as I do now ! ' 
 
 ' Where have I seen you before ? ' 
 
 1 Ask yourself. ' 
 
 ' Who are you ? ' 
 
 The dwarf made a low bow. ' I am an 
 Appanage of Royalty ! ' said he. 
 
 ' Then it was you who brought the 
 King's silk stocking to be washed ! But 
 were you not a great deal taller then than 
 now ?' 
 
 ' What of that ? Were not you a great 
 deal shorter ? ' 
 
 ' That is true,' murmured Raymond, 
 struck by the justness of the remark. 
 
 ' True as gold ! ' added the dwarf, with 
 
28 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 another chuckle. ' And so you want to go 
 to London ? ' he continued suddenly. 
 
 Raymond started. * I have been thinking 
 of it,' he said ; ' but now ' 
 
 ' Nonsense ! You want to go now as 
 much as before you went to the Brindled 
 Cow, and I am the only person in the world 
 that can help you do it.' 
 
 ' But how did you know ' 
 
 ' Pooh ! I know everything. Weren't you 
 thinking of me at the very moment you kissed 
 her ? There no more words ! Are you 
 ready to start ? Speak up. ' 
 
 But Raymond drew back, startled and 
 mystified. Seeing this, the dwarf altered his 
 tone, and from being abrupt and overbearing 
 became friendly and familiar. 
 
 ' Come, my dear boy,' he said, laying his 
 great claw on Raymond's arm. B 'Men must 
 be men ; we mustn't let ourselves be ordered 
 about by a parcel of women. Would you let 
 a few kisses and keepsakes stand in the way 
 of your ambition ? How many years has she 
 waited for you ? Let her wait twenty-four 
 hours longer. Besides, if you don't go now 
 you will never go at all. Rosamond trust 
 me will like you none the less when she 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 29 
 
 sees you the greatest man in England. 
 Come, now. I can put in your hands a 
 power before which the whole world bows : 
 will you take it or not ? I shan't offer it 
 twice.' 
 
 Now, Raymond had a secret suspicion 
 that something was wrong in all this ; for 
 why should a stranger be so anxious to 
 confer an inestimable boon upon him ? And 
 yet London was but seven miles off. He 
 could get back that very night if need be. 
 It would be a pity to lose this chance after 
 having waited for it so long. It could do no 
 harm ; it was worth trying. ' I think I will,' 
 passed through Raymond's mind. 
 
 ' I knew you would ! ' exclaimed the dwarf 
 at once, as if Raymond had spoken aloud. 
 * But we must lose no time, for you must be 
 in London by five ; that is the hour when 
 the Seven Brethren assemble. So off with 
 your doublet ! ' 
 
 ' Why must I take my doublet off ? ' 
 
 * To exchange with me. Mine is the 
 same as yours the only difference is in the 
 lining. Try it.' 
 
 ' But it's too small,' objected Raymond. 
 
 ' It will fit whomsoever is lucky enough 
 
30 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 to get it/ said the dwarf, wagging his big 
 head confidently. ' Let me help you first 
 this arm then this and there you are/ And 
 there Raymond was, sure enough, as neatly 
 fitted as if he had been to the Court tailor. 
 
 'And now, my dear Raymond/ continued 
 the dwarf affably, ' I must trouble you to 
 carry me across the ford. One two and 
 there we are ! ' And before the astonished 
 young man had time to remonstrate his new 
 friend had sprang upon his shoulders, wound 
 his long arms about his neck, and was urging 
 him into the water. 
 
 Well, it would not be so much of a job 
 to carry over so small a creature, Raymond 
 thought. Besides, since putting on the 
 dwarfs doublet he had felt less his own 
 master than before. If his soul were still his 
 own his doublet was not ; and a very small 
 compromise of freedom sometimes goes a 
 long way. So Raymond (like his contempo- 
 rary Sindbad the Sailor) set forth meekly 
 with his burden on his back. 
 
 The River Thames was, in those days, 
 very clear and transparent, with a sandy 
 bottom, and with frequent shallows or fords. 
 The Honeymead ford was reckoned an es- 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 31 
 
 pecially good one ; and Raymond, expecting 
 an easy passage, stepped into the eddying 
 current with confidence. 
 
 But before he had gone far he thought 
 there must be a mistake somewhere : either 
 he was not so strong as he had supposed 
 or else the dwarf was uncommonly heavy. 
 Twice or thrice he staggered and almost 
 lost his footing. By the time he had got 
 to the middle of the stream every muscle 
 in his body ached, his legs trembled under 
 him, and the sweat stood on his forehead. 
 The water, too, rose high above his waist, 
 and seemed to flow with unusual swiftness. 
 If he had been carrying a sack of gold on 
 his shoulders, instead of a dwarf, it could 
 not have felt heavier. 
 
 ' You're not tired ? ' asked the dwarf, as 
 Raymond laid hold of a rock that rose partly 
 out of the water and panted as if his lungs 
 would burst. 
 
 { What on earth are you made of ? ' gasped 
 the young man. 
 
 ' Of all things conducive to worldly pros- 
 perity,' said the other, with his odd metallic 
 chuckle. ( But now, as we are at the middle 
 of the river, let us settle the terms of our 
 
32 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 bargain. I will give you my cap you have 
 wanted it ever since that day in the washing- 
 room in exchange for yours.' Having made 
 this exchange (which Raymond was, of course, 
 powerless to prevent his doing, even had he 
 been so inclined), the dwarf continued : ' You 
 now possess the most precious talisman in 
 the world. By making a proper use of that 
 cap you may reach any height of fortune. 
 Does it fit you comfortably ? ' 
 
 ' Not at all ! ' cried Raymond : * it makes 
 my head ache. Take it off again.' 
 
 ' Pooh ! my good Raymond, is not un- 
 bounded wealth worth a headache ? Besides, 
 you will get used to it after a while. Mean- 
 time listen to this couplet, which contains 
 much wisdom in small space : 
 
 Cap on cap and knee ! 
 Cap off who is he ? 
 
 Can you remember that ? ' 
 
 ' What if I can ? ' groaned Raymond, 
 clinging to the rock. ' We shall both be 
 drowned in another minute ! ' 
 
 'Not at all,' answered the dwarf with 
 composure. ' My left foot is a trifle wet ; 
 but what of that? By-the-by, I shall be 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 33 
 
 passing through Honeymead again this even- 
 ing ; shall I drop in at the Brindled Cow 
 and tell Rosamund that you are all right ? ' 
 
 ' I am not all right. I wish I were at the 
 Brindled Cow myself/ 
 
 ' Tut ! tut ! Ambition should not be so- 
 easily damped. Well, I'll make a point of 
 calling on the young lady. But, stay ; I must 
 carry some token to prove that I am an> 
 authorised messenger. What shall it be ? 
 Ah ! this will do this half of a spade guinea 
 that you wear at your neck. Permit me to 
 remove it/ And he began to fumble with 
 the silken string. 
 
 ' Stop ! that is my betrothal pledge you. 
 can't have that ! ' cried Raymond, putting up 
 his hand to withhold the dwarf's claw. 
 
 ' And who was it gave it to you, in the 
 first place, I should like to know ? ' exclaimed 
 the dwarf tartly. ' Fie ! have you so little 
 confidence in your friends ? It is for your 
 own good that I must have* the token. Give, 
 it me at once.' 
 
 The place in which this discussion was 
 carried on was so inconvenient to Raymond, 
 he was getting so exhausted, both in body 
 and mind, and the dwarf had spoken the 
 
 D 
 
34 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 last sentence so imperiously, that Raymond 
 thought he had better yield. Moreover, the 
 yellow cap squeezed his brain just in those 
 places where the proper arguments lay, and 
 thus prevented his using them. The end of 
 it was that he said 
 
 ' I suppose you'd better take it, but ' 
 
 He never finished his sentence. The 
 dwarf whipped the silken string over his 
 head, and the golden pledge was gone. The 
 next moment Raymond was floundering 
 headlong in the stream. How he reached 
 the opposite bank he never knew he seemed 
 to be under the water half the time. At 
 last he got his hands on a bush growing 
 beside the margin and pulled himself out. 
 
 Where was the dwarf ? He had vanished. 
 Had he fallen off and been drowned ? What 
 was that echo of a metallic chuckle in the 
 air ? Raymond groaned and pressed his 
 hands to his aching head, on which the 
 yellow cap stuck fast. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE TALISMAN. 
 
 AFTER a while he got up and looked about 
 him. The river was much swollen, and was 
 hurrying past its banks with such fury that it 
 was useless to think of returning as he had 
 come. No, he must go on. His head was 
 confused, so that he could not think clearly 
 about Honeymead, and still less about Rosa- 
 mund. She seemed far away and indistinct. 
 Did she love him ? Did he love her ? At all 
 events, it was better to fix his mind on Lon- 
 don now. He looked thither, but the clouds 
 had gathered over the sky, and the sunlight 
 no longer gleamed upon the golden pinnacles. 
 The city did not seem so alluring as from the 
 other side of the river. However, time was 
 flying, and London was seven miles away. 
 Raymond set forth. 
 
 By and by he came to a milestone, on 
 which he sat down to rest, and to wonder 
 
 D 2 
 
36 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 how he was to make his fortune in London 
 when he got there. It was true that he had 
 a talisman, but how was that to help him ? 
 A yellow cap ! It was, indeed, woven of 
 golden thread, and might be sold for a 
 guinea ; but a guinea was not a kingdom. 
 Meanwhile the cap made his head ache so 
 that he pulled it off. It was certainly a fine 
 cap. It was lined with the best yellow satin, 
 and a peacock's feather was stuck in the 
 band. On the band some letters were em- 
 broidered. Raymond spelt them out, and 
 found that they made the following couplet : 
 
 Cap on cap and knee ! 
 Cap off who is he ? 
 
 It was the same that the dwarf had re- 
 peated to him in the river. What did it 
 mean ? The dwarf had said it was full of 
 wisdom ; but Raymond had never been much 
 in the way of wisdom, and perhaps might fail 
 to recognise it when he saw it. He could 
 not even be sure whether it were better 
 wisdom to put the cap on again or to keep 
 it off. He was inclined to keep it off. His 
 head felt much clearer so ; he was able to 
 think lovingly of Rosamund once more, and 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 37 
 
 he longed to see her again. What if some 
 harm came to her in his absence? Might 
 not that half of the spade guinea give the 
 dwarf some power over her ? He rose to his 
 feet full of anxiety, and looked back towards 
 Honeymead. Through a break in the clouds 
 the sun lit up the little village ; the cottages 
 showed clearly in the warm light; and 
 amongst them, with its thatched and gabled 
 roof, and with the great lime-trees standing 
 over it, was the Brindled Cow. Rosa- 
 mund was there, no doubt, wondering where 
 her Raymond was. Now, perhaps, the 
 dwarf was coming in, with the half-guinea 
 round his neck. What if he were to assert 
 that he was the true Raymond, showing the 
 token in proof thereof ? When this thought 
 came into Raymond's mind he started up 
 from the milestone, resolved to go back to 
 Honeymead without the loss of an instant. 
 How blind and stupid he had been ! Was 
 not Rosamund more precious than a king- 
 dom, or than all the money in the Bank of 
 England ? Of course she was ! 
 
 But just as Raymond's eyes were spark- 
 ling with good resolutions, and one foot 
 advanced on the way back to the Brindled 
 
38 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 Cow, he heard a flourish of trumpets, haut- 
 boys, and cymbals, and, behold ! a splendid 
 cavalcade advancing towards him on the way 
 to London. In front rode a company of 
 knights in glittering armour ; then came a 
 long array of men-at-arms, squires, and at- 
 tendants, gorgeously attired ; then more 
 knights, riding two-and-two ; then a body of 
 courtiers, and in the midst of these, borne 
 upon the shoulders of some of them, a plat- 
 form draped in cloth of gold. Upon the 
 platform was a chair of carved ivory, and in 
 the chair sat a man with a long white beard 
 falling over his breast, and an ermine mantle 
 on his shoulders. One foot rested on a 
 golden footstool, thereby showing a fine silk 
 stocking with embroidered clocks. The sight 
 of that stocking made Raymond's heart beat. 
 By this time the vanguard of knights had 
 reached the milestone beside which Raymond 
 was standing. As they passed they glanced 
 at him contemptuously. This annoyed him, 
 for he was used to think well of himself, and 
 the Honeymead people treated him with 
 consideration. . But if the knights looked 
 contemptuous, the men-at-arms and attend- 
 ants jeered and made mouths at him ; and 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 39 
 
 as for the pages they mocked and bantered 
 him unmercifully. 
 
 1 Here's an odd fish ! ' cried one, pointing 
 with his finger. 
 
 * He's lost his way trying to swim on 
 land ! ' laughed another. 
 
 * A scaly fellow let's skin him and clean 
 him ! ' called out a third. 
 
 ' How much are you a pound, fish ?' asked 
 a fourth. 
 
 ' Bah ! he's stale already ! ' shouted a 
 fifth. 
 
 t What's that in his right fin ? a human 
 cap and feather, I declare ! ' exclaimed a 
 sixth. 
 
 * Take it away from him ! ' cried several 
 together ; and one spurred his horse towards 
 the young man and reached forth the point 
 of his lance, as if to catch the cap from Ray- 
 mond's hand. 
 
 But Raymond, though a minute ago he 
 was almost ready to throw the cap away, 
 was not going to submit to being robbed of 
 it. He caught the lance by the shaft and 
 jerked it from the page's grasp ; then, putting 
 the cap firmly on his head, he stood on his 
 guard boldly, with the weapon advanced. 
 
40 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 Why was the laugh with which the other 
 pages had begun to greet their companion's 
 mishap checked so suddenly ? Why was 
 every eye bent upon Raymond with an ex- 
 pression of respect and subservience ? Why 
 did all salute him so profoundly, bowing to 
 their saddles in silent homage ? What did 
 this sudden change mean ? It could not be 
 that they were awed by the bold front he had 
 shown ; it was more likely that this was but 
 a new way of making fun of him. And yet 
 it was odd that all should have joined in 
 it unanimously and at an instant's notice. 
 What did it all mean ? 
 
 The pages passed on, and the second 
 company of knights followed. Strange ! they 
 also seemed to have taken up the jest, for 
 one and all made deep obeisance to Ray- 
 mond as they passed. And now came on the 
 courtiers, bearing aloft the platform on which 
 sat the majestic figure in the pink silk stock- 
 ings. Raymond began .to feel alarmed. If 
 this were (as he more than suspected) his 
 Majesty King Ormund himself, what punish- 
 ment would be inflicted for the audacious 
 crime of disarming one of his Majesty's 
 bodyguard ? To lose his head was the least 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 41 
 
 he might expect. There could be no doubt 
 that Raymond was alarmed, for he actually 
 forgot to uncover his head in the presence of 
 his sovereign. There he stood, upright and 
 pale, with the spear in his hand, the yellow 
 cap on his head, and his eyes fixed upon the 
 king. 
 
 The courtiers saw him. There was a flut- 
 ter and a murmuring amongst them ; one of 
 them said something to the King, at which 
 he gave a start. 
 
 * Now for it ! ' thought Raymond. He 
 moved his head a little perhaps he would 
 not have the power of moving it much 
 longer. He wondered how it would look 
 when it was off his shoulders. 
 
 The King now leaned forward in his ivory 
 chair and gazed at Raymond intently. Then 
 he gave an order to those about him, and the 
 platform was lowered to the ground by those 
 who carried it. The King stepped from it 
 and came straight towards Raymond, the 
 crowd falling back on either side. How 
 strange ! instead of frowning his Majesty 
 wore a very cordial smile. He was close up 
 to Raymond now ; he was throwing his royal 
 arms about his neck ; he was kissing him 
 
42 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 heartily on both cheeks ; he was saying, ' It 
 delights our heart to see thee. Welcome 
 welcome to England ! * 
 
 'What, in the name of wonder, is the 
 meaning of it all ? ' said Raymond to him- 
 self. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 43 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE KING'S FAVOUR. 
 
 WHEN it became evident that King Ormund, 
 instead of cutting off Raymond's head, was 
 treating him like a younger brother, Ray- 
 mond began to pluck up spirit. ' Possibly I 
 look like some friend of his,' he thought? ; and 
 he resolved to make the most of the mistake, 
 keeping his eyes open for the first chance of 
 escape. 
 
 Meanwhile the King overwhelmed him 
 with attentions, and even insisted upon his 
 sitting beside him in the ivory chair ; and the 
 courtiers who had to carry this double weight, 
 instead of looking discontented, smiled as if 
 Raymond had been loading them with 
 benefits instead of with himself. The pro- 
 cession now swept onward, and the King 
 himself had hardly more honour than the 
 washerwoman's son. In his wildest dreams 
 
44 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 Raymond had never anticipated making such 
 a brilliant entry into London as this. 
 
 And had he given up the idea of going 
 back to Honeymead ? Yes ; and he had al- 
 most forgotten that there was such a place. 
 The Brindled Cow and Rosamund were like 
 visions of the past which did not much con- 
 cern him. His yellow cap was the thing that 
 most troubled him, for it pained his head 
 badly. If he had been alone he would have 
 taken it off ; but in such fine company he was 
 unwilling to be seen without the handsomest 
 part of his attire. 
 
 All this time the King had been talking 
 to him in the most confidential and familiar 
 way imaginable. 
 
 ' My dear fellow,' he said, ' your arrival is 
 most timely. To-morrow would have been 
 too late. It is most kind of you.' 
 
 * I rejoice to be of service ' 
 
 ' Service, my friend ! Such a word be- 
 tween you and me ? Never ! Counsel 
 support sympathy such as one potentate 
 may claim from another these I expect from 
 you. But let me explain to you exactly how 
 the case stands. In the first place, I feel that 
 I am getting old.' 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 45 
 
 After saying this the King paused as if for 
 a reply. Raymond had never known what it 
 was to pay a compliment in his life ; but now 
 something prompted him to say, with a smile 
 and a bow 
 
 ' Not at all. Your Majesty is, to all in- 
 tents and purposes, as young as I am.' 
 
 1 Ah, it is very good of you to say that/ 
 sighed his Majesty, looking highly gratified. 
 ' But I really am old older than you would 
 suppose ; and, if you can believe it, some of 
 my scoundrelly subjects have said (behind 
 my back) that I am growing senile that is 
 the word the villains use and they are plot- 
 ting to dethrone me at ten o'clock to-morrow 
 morning.' 
 
 * A conspiracy ? ' 
 
 ' Nothing less. It is announced to take 
 place at Drury Lane Theatre, and the house 
 is sold, from pit to gallery.' 
 
 ' Oh ! it is only a play, then ? ' said Ray- 
 mond, in a relieved tone. 
 
 ' I don't know what you mean by a play/ 
 returned the King, looking slightly hurt. ' It 
 takes place on the stage, of course ; but it is 
 as much earnest as anything that goes on in 
 London.' 
 
46 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 ' Certainly of course/ said Raymond, 
 anxious not to seem ignorant of fashionable 
 customs. ' But whom do the conspirators 
 mean to put on the throne in your stead ? 
 Your son ? ' 
 
 * My Assimund, you mean ? Well, that 
 is just the point. My son Assimund is a 
 perfectly harmless young fellow, but in fact 
 he is rather too much so.' 
 
 ' Too much so ? ' 
 
 c Yes he is as I might say hum ! ' And 
 the King tapped his forehead significantly. 
 
 ' You don't mean ' And Raymond 
 
 laid his forefinger between his eyes and then 
 shook it in the air. 
 
 ' Fact, I assure you.'. 
 
 ' Dear me, how sad! ' 
 
 1 So now you see what I am driving at/ 
 added the King more briskly. 
 
 ' Well, I hardly that is- 
 
 ' Briefly, then, the part of the usurper has 
 not yet been given out. But I have reigned 
 fifty years, and, between you and me, I'm tired 
 of it. This crown of mine ' the King laid his 
 hand upon the diadem he wore ' often gives 
 me a headache. Ah, I see you understand 
 that. You've felt the same yourself ? ' 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 47 
 
 'Why, something of the sort, I confess/ 
 said Raymond, settling his yellow cap on his 
 brow. 
 
 ' Bless you ! what monarch has not ? But 
 you are young and hearty you can stand it. 
 So here is my plan : I decline to submit to 
 force, because the precedent would be dan- 
 gerous ; but I am willing to abdicate. That 
 is my counter-move my rival attraction, as 
 the stage manager would say. But, if it is 
 to succeed, there is no time to be lost ; the 
 posters must be got out at once/ 
 
 ' Yes, I agree with you/ said Raymond, 
 who was now quite bewildered. 
 
 ' I was sure I might count on your aid. 
 It is settled, then. As soon as we reach 
 town I will arrange with the advertising 
 agent that your name shall appear upon 
 the bills as my successor in the largest type/ 
 ' I ? ' cried Raymond, jumping up, and 
 almost oversetting the ivory chair. 
 
 * Bless me ! what's the matter ? Who else 
 but you ? ' 
 
 Raymond sat down again quite dumb- 
 foundered. He a king! It had been the 
 ambition of his life, but now that it was so 
 near being realised he found himself unpre- 
 
48 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 pared. Some kinds of good luck are better 
 to look forward to than to have. However, 
 since it seemed inevitable, Raymond was 
 bound to put a good face upon it. Probably 
 he would have a prime minister to give him 
 some hints at starting. 
 
 ' I shall be happy to make myself of use/ 
 he said politely. ' But I must tell you that 
 it is some time since I governed a kingdom, 
 and I may be a little out of practice/ 
 
 * Oh, never mind that, 'returned the King, 
 stroking his beard. ' In an absolute monarchy 
 like this the sovereign is responsible to no 
 one. Do as you like ; it saves trouble and 
 expense too.' 
 
 Raymond smiled, and tried to look at ease. 
 But he resolved to make one more effort to 
 get time for looking about him. 
 
 1 It will not be best, I suppose, to enter 
 upon my duties at once?' he said. 'The 
 people will have to accustom themselves to 
 the change, and ' 
 
 ' Nothing of the sort,' interrupted the King. 
 * I don't believe in too much playing to the 
 pit and gallery, especially when the stalls 
 are inclined to be disorderly. Make your 
 hit with the executioner's axe, if need be. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 49 
 
 Don't mince matters it is better to mince 
 them* 
 
 1 But are you really so willing to part with 
 your crown ? It looks quite as comfortable 
 as my cap feels/ sighed Raymond. They 
 were now within sight of the city gates, and 
 he was feeling rather nervous. 
 
 * Do you think so ? Suppose you try it 
 on ? * said the good-natured monarch, taking 
 his crown pff. * Come, off with your cap ! ' 
 
 Raymond doffed his cap, thrust it into the 
 front of his doublet, and put out his hands to 
 take the crown which the King held towards 
 him. 
 
 But as he did so he noticed a singular 
 change come over his Majesty's heretofore 
 jolly visage. The eyes of the venerable po- 
 tentate opened wider and wider until they 
 were broader than they were long ; his fore- 
 head wrinkled, and his nostrils expanded. 
 His face from red became crimson, and from 
 crimson purple ; and he shook all over. 
 
 * Who are you, fellow ? ' he roared out in 
 a terrible voice. ' How did you get up here ? 
 Ho ! guards ! seize this insolent varlet and 
 cut off his head this moment ! ' 
 
 There was no time to think twice. Ray- 
 E 
 
50 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 mond sprang to his feet, overturning the ivory 
 chair as he did so, so that his transparent 
 Majesty King Ormund fell off to the plat- 
 form, which trembled at the shock. The fifty 
 courtiers who supported it staggered and lost 
 their footing, and the whole affair came to the 
 ground with a tremendous crash, landing the 
 King in a mud-puddle, and splashing his 
 transparent stockings all over with mire. 
 
 Taking advantage of the dismay and con- 
 fusion thus brought about, Raymond dodged 
 between the legs of a gigantic guard who was 
 on the point of clutching him, butted his head 
 into the stomach of a second, who in falling 
 upset a third, over whom a fourth and fifth 
 stumbled ; and, having by this time got to the 
 brink of the broad and deep ditch beside the 
 roacl, he crossed it with a flying leap, plunged 
 into the bushes on the further side, and made 
 such crood use of his le^s that in two or 
 
 o <-> 
 
 three minutes he was beyond the reach of 
 pursuit. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 51 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DONKEY-BACK. 
 
 RAYMOND ran on without paying attention to 
 the way he was going" so long as it was away 
 from King Ormund and his company. By 
 and by he came to another road, narrower 
 than the one he had left, but leading also to- 
 wards the city. There was a heap of stones 
 on the roadside, and on this Raymond sat 
 down to think over his adventure. 
 
 It was a puzzle, whichever way he looked 
 at it. Had the King been making game of 
 him all along ? No, his Majesty had without 
 doubt looked upon him as a person of conse- 
 quence. But if so, what had so suddenly un- 
 deceived him ? 
 
 ' The dwarf must be at the bottom of it,' 
 said Raymond to himself. 
 
 But how ? The dwarf had given him the 
 cap and promised him the kingdom. He had 
 been very near getting the kingdom ; but the 
 
 E 2 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 cap had only given him a headache. He 
 pulled it out of his doublet and looked at it. 
 
 Yes, it was a fine cap. But Raymond 
 had got to feel such a dislike of it that, had 
 he owned another, he would have thrown this 
 away. But it would never do to make his 
 entrance into London bareheaded. 
 
 1 But why should I go to London at all ? ' 
 Raymond asked himself. ' I don't really 
 want to be a king : I only like to think about 
 being one. Shall I go back to the Brindled 
 Cow and Rosamund ? Yes, I will ! ' And 
 with that he got up, put on his cap, and 
 took two or three steps in the direction of 
 Honeymead. 
 
 ' But what an ass I should be/ he said, 
 stopping short, ' to turn back at the very 
 gates of London ! Besides, it is too late to 
 get back to Honeymead to-night. I won't 
 return before to-morrow. Something may 
 happen after all.' 
 
 He faced about once more towards Lon- 
 don. 
 
 ' It is an odd thing,' he remarked to him- 
 self as he went along, ' how I keep changing 
 my mind first one way and then another. 
 Why is it ? It used not to be. so when I was 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 55 
 
 in Honeymead. It almost seems as if I were 
 not the same fellow ; or as if I were some- 
 times myself, and sometimes somebody else. 
 I believe there must be something of that 
 kind the matter with me,' he continued after 
 a while. ' Look how those courtiers treated 
 me. They were all cap and knee to me one 
 moment, and the next they were all shouting 
 out "Who is he? Cap and knee who is- 
 he ? " Hullo ! I have an idea ! It is it isn't 
 can it be the cap ? ' 
 
 He snatched it off his head, and round 
 the band he read again the couplet that had 
 mystified him before : 
 
 Cap on cap and knee ! 
 Cap off who is he ? 
 
 The words began to have a meaning now. 
 Fairies and magic spells were at that time 
 common-place matters in England. Fairy 
 stories were not written then, but the events, 
 they tell about used to happen. The dwarf 
 himself had called the cap a talisman. ' I 
 will try the experiment with the next person 
 I see,' said Raymond to himself. 
 
 The words were scarcely out of his mouth 
 when a noise of pattering hoofs made him 
 
54 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 look round, and he saw a young fellow riding 
 towards him on the extreme end of a small 
 donkey. Raymond stood in the middle of 
 the road, his cap in his hand. 
 
 ' Get out of the way, you ! ' called out the 
 rider as he drew near. ' I'm going to the 
 Seven Brethren. Now then, stupid ! ' 
 
 ' I also am in a hurry to get to London/ 
 said Raymond politely. ' Couldn't you give 
 me a ride there ? ' 
 
 .' Mind your eye, numskull ! ' cried the 
 other ; and he tried to drive his donkey 
 directly over Raymond. But Raymond 
 caught the bridle, and at the same time 
 put on his cap. Everything depended on 
 what the donkey-rider did next. 
 
 Greatly to Raymond's gratification 
 though it half-frightened him too the fellow 
 immediately slipped backwards over his don- 
 key's tail ; and, having reached the ground, 
 made an awkward but obsequious salute. 
 
 ' Beg your Worship's pardon humbly ! ' 
 said he, ducking his head and scraping his 
 foot at every few words. ' Didn't know your 
 Worship at first. Hope your Worship will 
 pardon a poor lad whose intellects are not 
 quite right/ 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 55 
 
 Indeed, the fellow appeared only half- 
 witted. He had round goggle eyes, a silly 
 mouth, and scarcely any forehead at all. 
 
 As for Raymond he felt more like hug- 
 ging, the fellow than merely pardoning him ; 
 but he remembered that he must keep up his 
 dignity. Moreover, he now perceived that 
 the wearing of the cap made almost as much 
 change in his own feelings as in other people's 
 opinion of him. 
 
 ' I will overlook your mistake,' he said 
 condescendingly ; ' and in proof of it I will 
 make use of your donkey as far as the city ; 
 for I am weary, and there is not much time 
 to lose.' 
 
 ' Indeed, then, your Worship, he's not fit 
 for a gentleman like your Worship to be 
 riding on/ replied the fellow, ducking again ; 
 ' but, if your Worship doesn't mind, I should 
 be proud to see your Worship sitting on him ; 
 and he'll carry your Worship well/ 
 
 Raymond mounted accordingly, and the 
 party proceeded on their way, the fellow 
 trotting behind, and occasionally persuading 
 the donkey with the oaken cudgel he carried. 
 Meanwhile Raymond asked him some ques- 
 tions. 
 
56 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 1 You are going to the Seven Brethren ? ' 
 
 'Yes, your Worship. There are good 
 things there, as your Worship knows/ 
 
 * How should I know ? ' 
 
 ' La ! as if I couldn't see that your Wor- 
 ship was one of them himself ! ' 
 
 ' It must be the same Seven Brethren of 
 which the dwarf spoke/ thought Raymond ; 
 and he said aloud, ' They meet to-night at 
 five o'clock, I think ? ' 
 
 ' Right, your Worship. And your Worship 
 may trust me. " Yellow-cap " is the pass- 
 word, " seven" the number, and " five " the 
 time. Isn't it, your Worship ? ' 
 
 Raymond felt much obliged by this infor- 
 mation, though he was careful not to say so. 
 When they came to the city gates he slipped 
 off the donkey at a moment when the other 
 was not looking, at the same time removing 
 his cap ; when he had the pleasure of seeing 
 the fellow turn to him and ask him whether 
 he had seen ' his Worship ? ' Raymond only 
 shook his head in reply ; and then, following 
 the donkey and its owner at a distance, he 
 presently saw them turn into a narrow arch- 
 way. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 57 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE DARK PASSAGE. 
 
 RAYMOND crossed over to the opposite side 
 of the road, in order* to take a look at the 
 house to which the archway belonged. It 
 was a little old-fashioned inn, squeezed in 
 between two tall houses, like a shabby dwarf 
 between two respectable giants. Over the 
 door hung a sign a painting of a man with 
 seven heads. ' They were ugly faces, all of 
 them, each with its peculiar kind of ugliness, 
 and Raymond felt a separate kind of dislike 
 towards each one. Nevertheless (as might 
 have been expected, seeing that there was 
 but one body between them) they bore a sort 
 of family likeness one to another. ' That must 
 be a very wicked body,' Raymond thought ; 
 'it must be capable of committing all the seven 
 deadly sins at once.' It was thick and shape- 
 less, with short crooked legs, and very long 
 
58 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 arms. Underneath was written, ' The Seven 
 Brethren' 
 
 As he stood in the shadow on the oppo- 
 site side of the street, with his cap under his 
 arm, Raymond felt half-minded not to enter 
 the inn which hung out so uninviting a sign. 
 How different were these faces from those of 
 Armand, Dorimund, Sigismund, and the rest 
 of the rosy young farmers who drank milk at 
 the Brindled Cow ! Should he go back there 
 even now ? There he would be sure of a 
 welcome : he was not sure of a welcome here. 
 Raymond hesitated. But before he could 
 make up his mind the barmaid of the Seven 
 Brethren appeared at the door of the inn. 
 She soon espied him where he stood, and 
 smiled and beckoned to him. 
 
 * Come over, come over, my lad/ she said ; 
 ' it's just upon supper-time, and there's a chop 
 on the gridiron, and a draught of brown ale 
 I'll draw for you. Come ; you look right 
 hungry.' 
 
 Her voice and look made Raymond's heart 
 beat, for, in a certain way, they were like 
 Rosamund's. And yet they were unlike. 
 She had eyes like Rosamund's, but the ex- 
 pression in them was one which Rosamund 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 59 
 
 never wore. Her manner of speaking, too, 
 resembled Rosamund's. Yet Rosamund had 
 never spoken in quite that tone. Raymond 
 hardly knew whether to be pleased or shocked. 
 After a little hesitation he put on his cap and 
 came across the street to her. 
 
 * Oh ! my Lord, I'm sure I crave your 
 pardon ! ' exclaimed the girl, dropping him a 
 curtsey. But though her words were humble 
 Raymond fancied he saw a mischievous 
 sparkle in her eye which made him suspect 
 that she might be making fun of him. * I 
 didn't recognise your Lordship in the shadow 
 over there,' she continued, in a still softer 
 voice. 'They have been expecting your 
 Lordship/ 
 
 Now that Raymond was close to the girl 
 she seemed much prettier than before. ' What 
 is your name ? ' he asked her. 
 
 ' Silvia, please your Lordship.' 
 
 ' Silvia not Rosamund ? ' 
 
 *Oh, no, please your Lordship. Rosa- 
 mund is such a vulgar name.' 
 
 ' You are very pretty, Silvia/ 
 
 * Your Lordship is very good to say so/ 
 replied she, casting down her sparkling eyes 
 and curtseying again. 
 
60 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 1 What is that round your neck, Silvia ? ' 
 
 * That is the half of a brass farthing, please 
 your Lordship, that I and my lover split be- 
 tween us this afternoon.' 
 
 * I thought it was the half of a spade 
 guinea.' 
 
 * I'd be glad to exchange it for that/ said 
 Silvia, looking up, with a smile. 
 
 ' Would you exchange your lover at the 
 same time ? ' 
 
 * If the other was a handsome man,' said 
 she, with a coquettish glance. ' But won't your 
 Lordship come in ? It's past five, I'm sure.' 
 
 ' I will follow you,' said he. And they 
 went in. 
 
 * Will your Lordship take my hand ? ' she 
 said. ' The passage is very dark and wind- 
 ing.' She put her hand in his as she spoke. 
 
 1 Why is there no light here ? ' he asked. 
 
 * This passage can never be lighted, please 
 your Lordship : the goblins pinch out the 
 wick of the candle with their fingers.' 
 
 ' Are there goblins here ? ' said Raymond, 
 drawing back. 
 
 ' Keep hold of my hand, and they will do 
 your Lordship no harm.' 
 
 * Does this passage belong to them ? ' 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 61 
 
 * Mind the steps, please your Lordship/ 
 said Silvia suddenly. ' If you were to lose 
 me here you would never see light again/ 
 
 ' How strange your voice sounds ! Are 
 you Silvia ? ' 
 
 ' I am not Rosamund, at any rate ! ' re- 
 plied his conductor, with a low laugh. ' It's 
 the vault of the passage makes my voice 
 sound hoarse.' 
 
 'We must be a long way underground. 
 And this darkness is like a block of black 
 marble. And I feel as if creatures were 
 walking around me who can see me though 
 I cannot see them/ 
 
 ' Their eyes are more used to the darkness 
 than your Lordship's/ 
 
 * How far have we still to go ? ' 
 
 * Not far. I shall leave your Lordship at 
 the next corner/ 
 
 ' What am I to do then ? ' 
 
 No reply was made to this question. But 
 in a few moments Raymond lost his hold of 
 the hand that had guided him, and a voice 
 said, in a whining tone 
 
 ' Won't your Lordship spare me a trifle 
 for coming so far ? ' 
 
 ' I I'm afraid I have nothing to give/ 
 
62 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 said Raymond, putting his hand in his empty 
 pocket. 
 
 * A kiss is all I want from your Lordship/ 
 answered the voice ; and then a pair of lips 
 met Raymond's in the darkness. The lips 
 were cold as ice, but the breath that came 
 between them was hot as flame. 
 
 Then all was silence. Had Raymond 
 kissed one of the invisible goblins instead of 
 Silvia ? Or was Silvia herself a goblin ? 
 
 Be that as it might Raymond was left 
 in an awkward situation. For all he knew he 
 was in the middle of an underground laby- 
 rinth ; and the next step might land him at 
 the bottom of some pitfall. Raymond remem- 
 bered that long ago, when he was a small 
 boy, his mother had once shut him up in the 
 dark closet behind the kitchen chimney, he- 
 cause he had made a mud-pie on the ironing- 
 board. That closet had seemed black enough, 
 but what was it compared with this ? Besides, 
 Rosamund had come after a while and secretly 
 let him out, and they had spent the afternoon 
 together in the barn. But Rosamund could 
 never come to him here ; and that goblin 
 kiss upon his lips had taken away his right 
 to hope for her. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 63 
 
 While these thoughts had been passing 
 through his mind he had been slowly feeling 
 his way forward ; but all at once he was 
 brought to a stand by a sharp prick on the 
 breast as if from the point of a levelled spear. 
 
 ' Who comes ? ' said a harsh voice. 
 
 * Only me/ replied Raymond in his most 
 conciliating tone. 
 
 ' Have you the password ? ' demanded 
 the voice again. 
 
 Recollecting what the donkey-driver had 
 told him, Raymond answered at a venture 
 
 ' Yellow-cap ! ' 
 
 ' Pass on, Yellow-cap ! ' said the voice. 
 
 He passed on, hoping that his wanderings 
 were now to end. But after a few steps he 
 felt against his throat the smooth sharp edge 
 of a sword, which caused him to start back 
 with a cry. 
 
 * Who comes ? ' said a snarling voice. 
 ' Yellow-cap ! ' Raymond replied. 
 
 ' The number, Yellow-cap ? ' 
 
 * Seven ! ' hazarded Raymond. 
 
 * Pass on, Seven ! ' said the voice. 
 Raymond stepped forward nervously, 
 
 stumbled down an unexpected pair of steps, 
 and all in a moment there was a brilliant 
 
64 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 dazzle of light close to his eyes. It vanished 
 as suddenly as it came ; but it had given him 
 a fleeting impression of many grisly faces 
 pressing around him on all sides, with fire-lit 
 eyes all fixed upon his. On the succeeding 
 darkness, which seemed more intense than 
 ever, the image of these faces was still some- 
 how discernible ; while from amidst them 
 came a hissing voice, which said 
 * Who comes ? ' 
 1 Yellow-cap ! ' 
 ' The number ? ' 
 ' Seven ! ' 
 ' The time ? ' 
 4 Five!' 
 
 ' Pass ! ' said the voice. 
 And immediately (though how it hap- 
 pened he could not tell) Raymond found him- 
 self in a square, low-ceilinged, comfortable 
 room, with a large lamp burning in the centre 
 of the table, around which were seated six 
 men, each with a long pipe in his mouth and 
 a tankard of ale before him. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 65: 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE MAGIC EYE. 
 
 THE six men arose, and each in turn, and then\ 
 all together, uttered the words 
 
 ' Welcome, Yellow-cap ! ' 
 
 Then he among them who had the biggest 
 nose and the most sweeping moustachios came 
 forward, made Raymond a grave salute, and, 
 taking him by the arm, led him to a chair at 
 the head of the table. 
 
 ' The tale of the Seven Brethren is at last 
 complete/ said he. 
 
 ' Hear ! hear ! ' gruffly responded the 
 others. 
 
 ' Brother Yellow-cap,' continued the first 
 speaker, ' let me introduce you to our Brother- 
 hood. I am the Prime Maniac. He on your 
 right is the Chancellor of the Jingle. Next 
 to him is the Home Doggerel. At the foot 
 of the table is the First Lord of the Seesaw. 
 The Foreign Doggerel is next on the left- 
 
 F 
 
66 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 Next again the Lord Privy Gander. One 
 and all of us are bound to aid you, abet you, 
 and obey you, so long as you own and wear 
 the yellow cap. Once more, welcome, Yel- 
 low-cap ! ' 
 
 ' Welcome ! ' chimed in the Brethren ; and 
 they raised their tankards to their lips and 
 emptied them at a draught. 
 
 ' We do not call one another by our titles/ 
 said the Lord Privy Gander. 
 
 ' Nor by our names/ added the Chancel- 
 lor of the Jingle. 
 
 ' Nor by our surnames/ pursued the 
 Home Doggerel. 
 
 * But by our nicknames/ observed the 
 Foreign Doggerel. 
 
 ' By the mystic syllables repeated/ said 
 the First Lord of the Seesaw. 
 
 Hereupon a curious ceremony took place. 
 Beginning with the Lord Privy Gander, and 
 so on in regular order to the First Lord of 
 the Seesaw, each brother in rapid succession 
 spoke his own nickname, with the following 
 result. 
 
 ' Ruba ! ' said the Lord Privy Gander. 
 
 ' Dubb ! ' said the Chancellor of the 
 Jingle. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 67 
 
 ' Dubsix ! ' said the Home Doggerel. 
 
 * Menin ! ' said the Foreign Doggerel. 
 
 ' Atub ! ' said the First Lord of the See- 
 saw. 
 
 ' Gyp is my nickname/ remarked the 
 Prime Maniac, 'because the verse had not 
 feet enough to go all round. Did you ever 
 hear anything like this before ? ' 
 
 ' I fancied at one moment that I had ; but 
 now I don't know/ Yellow-cap answered. 
 
 1 There is only one inconvenience about 
 it/ observed Ruba. 
 
 ' We must always speak in order/ added 
 Dubb. 
 
 ' On pain of spoiling our metre/ put in 
 Dubsix. 
 
 ' And our rhyme/ continued Menin. 
 
 ' Except Gyp/ added Atub, ' who can talk 
 when he likes, and that is his chief advan- 
 tage/ 
 
 'It is an advantage in more ways than 
 one/ Gyp remarked. ' Not only can I talk 
 when I like, but none of the others can say 
 anything unless all the rest are willing ; be- 
 cause his speaking makes it necessary that 
 all the rest should have something to say, 
 and that Ruba should begin. The only laws 
 
68 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 that we recognise are metrical laws, and 
 they, as you know, are the strictest in the 
 world/ 
 
 Yellow-cap felt rather bewildered ; but 
 he was glad to find that he himself was not 
 included in the metrical system. Some error 
 in either rhyme or rhythm would, he felt sure, 
 have been the consequence. 
 
 ' Let me order you a pipe and tankard/ 
 continued Gyp, ringing the bell. Somewhat 
 to Yellow-cap's surprise Silvia appeared at 
 the door in answer to the summons. The 
 pipe and the tankard were soon brought ; 
 and the new-comer's health having then been 
 drunk in ceremonious silence, the formal part 
 of his reception seemed to be at an end. 
 
 Meanwhile he had improved such oppor- 
 tunity as he had had for examining the faces 
 about him, and was not altogether astonished 
 to find that they were the originals of the 
 many-headed portrait on the inn signboard. 
 Only the seventh (and central) head, the 
 ugliest of all, was missing ; the Brethren, ex- 
 clusive of himself, being only six in number. 
 Beer-drinking and tobacco-smoking seemed 
 to be the business of the meeting. Yellow- 
 cap had never until this evening drunk any- 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 69 
 
 thing stronger than milk or smoked anything 
 more dangerous than sweet-fern ; but the 
 beer gave him courage for the tobacco, and 
 he soon began to feel at home. 
 
 ' But can you tell me how I got here ? ' 
 he inquired of Gyp, who sat nearest him, and 
 who, moreover, could answer without setting 
 all the feet running. ' The way was long 
 and perilous and as black as pitch ; and 
 yet, When the door was open just now, I 
 could see right through the house into the 
 street, and it did not seem more than 
 twelve paces.' 
 
 * Did you come alone ?' asked Gyp, puff- 
 ing a long whiff; of smoke up towards the 
 ceiling. 
 
 'Alone with Silvia.' 
 
 'Ah-h-h ! Silvia sometimes leads the best 
 of men astray. But you got here at last, and 
 that is more than many do. And you were 
 but just in time. The King prints his placards 
 to-night.' 
 
 ' What placards ? ' asked Yellow-cap in- 
 nocently. 
 
 ' Announcing his " successor " a farce in 
 one act.' 
 
 'And who is his successor ? ' 
 
70 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 1 Who would you like him to be ? ' in- 
 quired Gyp, smiling. 
 
 At this all the Brethren looked at one 
 another and winked mysteriously. Yellow- 
 cap, who was fast becoming wise, and who 
 knew more about this matter than he cared 
 to admit, could not help wondering at his 
 queer position the Head of a Secret Society 
 hostile to the very monarch who had offered 
 him his kingdom that same afternoon. The 
 thought of it made him feel quite hot ; and 
 he was so far forgetting himself as to be 
 on the point of taking off his cap to cool 
 his forehead, when Gyp caught his arm, 
 and a murmur of horror ran through the 
 assembly. 
 
 ' Forbear ! as you value your credit ! ' 
 cried Ruba. 
 
 ' And your gentility ! ' exclaimed Dubb. 
 
 ' And your influence ! ' called out Dubsix. 
 
 ' And your success ! ' shouted Menin. 
 
 * And your reputation ! ' bawled Atub. 
 
 ' It is against the first law of the Brother- 
 hood/ added Ruba. 
 
 'We all have headaches/ asserted Dubb. 
 
 'We couldn't live without them/ de- 
 clared Dubsix. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 71 
 
 * Would you commit suicide ? ' demanded 
 Menin. 
 
 ' Be guilty of treason ? ' hiccoughed Atub, 
 who had swallowed some smoke the wrong 
 way. 
 
 ' Good gracious ! ' was all that poor 
 Yellow-cap was able to reply. 
 
 ' Allow me to explain/ interposed Gyp 
 courteously. ' The Seven Brethren are the 
 outcome of an artificial civilisation. It is 
 our strength and also our weakness that we 
 never seem to be what we are. Our laws 
 are binding because they are irrational. Our 
 power is great because it is an imposition. 
 Our respectability is perfect because it is a 
 fraud. We gain our ends because our ends 
 are ourselves. Our union is strong because 
 it depends on mutual distrust. In a word, 
 we are the Everlasting Unreality ! Have 
 you understood me ? ' 
 
 ' Not in the least/ replied Yellow-cap. 
 
 'Tis well. No one of us understands 
 either himself or his brother. He who un- 
 derstands or is understood is anathema.' 
 
 * Dear me ! ' ejaculated Yellow-cap. 
 'You have heard of the cap of invisi- 
 bility ? ' 
 
72 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 ' I believe so.' 
 
 ' The yellow cap is more wondrous yet 
 it is only when you put it on that you 
 can be seen at all events by the world.' 
 
 'Dear me ! ' ejaculated Yellow-cap again. 
 
 Hereupon all the Brethren twisted their 
 moustachios, knocked the ashes out of their 
 pipes, refilled them, lighted them, and smoked 
 in silence. 
 
 f By the way,' said Yellow-cap at length, 
 * about the signboard outside the inn-door. 
 I recognise six of the portraits, but where is 
 the seventh ? He was the one whose face 
 was the most ugly and disagreeable of all ; 
 but I don't see him here.' 
 
 ' He is here,' said Ruba. 
 
 Yellow-cap was going to ask, ' Where ? ' 
 but Gyp laid his hand upon his arm and 
 whispered in his ear that he must not in- 
 terrupt until the whole verse had run itself 
 out. 
 
 ' We have seen him/ continued Dubb. 
 
 1 The likeness is good/ pronounced Dub- 
 six. 
 
 '* Flattering/ affirmed Menin. 
 
 ' I can think of nothing to say/ confessed 
 Atub. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 73 
 
 1 Come and look in our mirror,' said Gyp, 
 taking Yellow- cap by the arm and leading 
 him to the end of the room. 
 
 Now, against the wall at this end hung a 
 very odd specimen of a looking-glass. Its 
 surface was convex, and in shape it was 
 neither square, nor round, nor exactly oval, 
 for it was pointed at both ends. Its length 
 was divided into three parts, of which the 
 central one was black, and those at the sides 
 of a dull white like china. Altogether it 
 looked like a gigantic eye plucked from the 
 forehead of some Polyphemus ; and hung up 
 in the old inn-parlour, where, if it could no 
 longer see anything itself, it might at least 
 give those who gazed into it a distorted 
 image of themselves. 
 
 When Yellow-cap, however, first fixed 
 his eyes upon this curious mirror he could 
 see nothing but a profound depth of black- 
 ness ; but in the midst of this obscure move- 
 ments were presently visible. By and by the 
 many wavering shapes grew clearer and 
 drew near to one another and, as it were, 
 melted together, until at last a definite image 
 stood forth against the dark background. 
 
 A strange figure it was of a short-legged, 
 
74 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 shapeless man, with no less than seven heads 
 upon his shoulders. Six of these Yellow- 
 cap knew at once; but the seventh the 
 central and most important one of all was 
 unknown to him. And what an unpleasant 
 set of features it had, to be sure ! 
 
 The whole company had gathered behind 
 Yellow-cap, who was standing directly in 
 front of the mirror. 
 
 ' You don't know him ? ' spoke the voice 
 of Ruba. 
 
 ' He knows you/ said Dubb. 
 
 ' He is an old friend of yours,' remarked 
 Dubsix. 
 
 ' And a very dear one,' added Menin. 
 
 ' And a very false one/ observed Atub. 
 
 'What does it all mean?' inquired Yel- 
 low-cap. 
 
 ' If you will give yourself the trouble to 
 lay your left finger beside your nose it might 
 inform you/ said Gyp courteously. 
 
 Yellow-cap did as he was desired. The 
 reflection in the glass lifted the corresponding 
 finger and laid it beside the nose of no other 
 than the central head. 
 
 4 Would you mind winking your left eye ?' 
 continued Gyp. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 75 
 
 Yellow-cap did so. The central head 
 alone winked back. 
 
 ' Now you might stick out your tongue/ 
 suggested Gyp. 
 
 Yellow-cap tried this experiment also : 
 the seventh head was the only one that imi- 
 tated the gesture. 
 
 ' This is absurd/ exclaimed Yellow-cap 
 indignantly. 'The central head imitates 
 everything I do ; it even pretends to look 
 like me, which is ridiculous, for it is ugly, 
 while I am ' 
 
 ' Perhaps you have never looked in a 
 mirror before ? ' said Gyp gently. 
 
 'Yes, I have in tin pans/ returned 
 Yellow-cap warmly. 
 
 'Tin pans are untrustworthy/ said Gyp. 
 * This is the best mirror in the world, and 
 that is the reason why it is in the shape of 
 an eye, without any face belonging to it/ 
 
 ' I should think you would be the last 
 people in the world to want a good mirror, 
 or any mirror at all ! ' exclaimed Yellow- 
 cap testily. 
 
 ' We don't want it and that is why we 
 have it. We call it our eyesore ; and it is 
 the eye of our destiny. Look again/ 
 
76 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 1 What is this ? ' muttered Yellow-cap. 
 * All the heads are melting into one another ; 
 now they are all swallowed up in the central 
 head ; and now that head looks more like 
 me than ever, and yet uglier ; and now 
 why, it looks like the old dwarf I carried 
 across the river, and which am I ? ' 
 
 He turned round, and, behold! the six 
 Brethren were seated each one in his place 
 at the table, smoking and drinking as gravely 
 as ever, and looking as if they had never 
 once stirred from their chairs. Glancing 
 back at the mirror, he saw that it had re- 
 turned to its former unreflecting condition, 
 only a few vanishing shadows being yet 
 visible in its black depths. 
 
 ' It certainly is different from a tin pan/ 
 thought he as he went back to his chair at 
 the head of the table. 
 
 * Nothing more than an optical illusion/ 
 said Gyp, filling Yellow-cap's pipe from his 
 own tobacco-pouch, and handing it to him 
 courteously. ' There is no harm in it none 
 at all.' 
 
 ' Especially as it makes you our Head/ 
 observed. Ruba. 
 
 ' I move we suspend the rules/ said Dubb. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 77 
 
 ' I second that motion/ said Dubsix. 
 
 1 We mustn't put our feet into our busi- 
 ness/ remarked Menin in an explanatory 
 way. 
 
 ' The only rule we never suspend is the 
 rule that no rule shall not sometimes be sus- 
 pended/ added Atub. 
 
 ' So be it/ said Gyp agreeably. * The 
 metrical system is hereby suspended for the 
 rest of the evening. Have another tankard 
 of ale, Brother Yellow-cap ? ' 
 
 ' I don't care if I do with a Head on it/ 
 returned Yellow-cap, putting an emphasis on 
 the ' Head.' And when the ale was brought 
 he arose, with a frown on his brow, and spoke 
 to them in a bold voice as follows : 
 
 'Yes, I am your Head, for no one of 
 you is so unreal as I. When I was a little 
 boy I sat blowing soap-bubbles, and saw the 
 Appanage of Royalty appear amidst the 
 clouds of the wash-tub. He promised me 
 this cap, and now the cap is mine. I have 
 paid for it all I had in the world, and now I 
 mean to get my profit out of it. You have 
 waited for me : I have never waited for you ; 
 for I could succeed without you ; but, with- 
 out me, you would be nothing ! ' 
 
78 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 ' Hear ! hear !' exclaimed the Brethren in 
 chorus, seeming much pleased with Yellow- 
 cap's eloquence. 
 
 ' Now, Brother Gyp, you may state the 
 object of this meeting,' said Yellow-cap, 
 resuming his seat. 
 
 Gyp bowed and pulled a roll of parch- 
 ment out of Brother Dubsix's pocket, which 
 was written all over with musical notes in 
 the bass and treble clefs. 
 
 1 The object is a twofold one/ he began. 
 
 ' I object to that expression/ interrupted 
 Dubb. 
 
 1 Why ? ' demanded Gyp in a mortified 
 tone. 
 
 1 Only for the sake of speaking out of 
 metre/ replied Dubb ; at which the Brethren 
 looked at one another and lifted their eye- 
 brows. 
 
 ' Well, at all events/ said Gyp, recover- 
 ing his good-humour, ' we want to get the 
 King out and put the usurper in his place/ 
 
 ' Has anything been done to prepare the 
 people for this change ? ' inquired Yellow- 
 cap. ' Are they on our side ? ' 
 
 ' We've got fifty paid -claqueurs I know 
 that/ said Atub. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 79 
 
 1 And we have suspended the rule about 
 full-dress in the stalls/ added Dubsix. 
 
 ' Ah ! ' exclaimed Menin, nodding his 
 head and crossing his feet on the table in 
 republican style, ' there is a great deal in 
 that.' 
 
 ' How are you going to depose him ? ' 
 Yellow-cap asked. 
 
 ' In the usual way,' said Gyp : ' by finding 
 a rhyme to him, and then putting him under 
 foot.' 
 
 1 But suppose he won't be deposed ? ' 
 
 ' Ah, it will be our turn then,' said Ruba 
 gloomily. ' He will appoint a successor, and 
 we shall be repeated backwards/ 
 
 At this all the Brethren curled their 
 moustachios and sighed deeply. 
 
 ' Who is to find the rhyme to " King Or- 
 mund ? " ' inquired Yellow-cap, to whom this 
 affair began to look rather irregular. 
 
 ' Who but the usurper ? ' cried all the 
 Brethren together. 
 
 ' And who is he ? ' said Yellow-cap. 
 
 Hereupon the Brethren one and all took 
 their pipes out of their mouths and delibe- 
 rately pointed at Yellow-cap with their pipe- 
 stems. At the same time they puffed out a 
 
8o YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 vast cloud of tobacco-smoke, which rose to 
 the ceiling of the room and collected there. 
 
 ' Do you mean me ? ' cried Yellow-cap, 
 recoiling. ' I never made a rhyme in my 
 life.' 
 
 ' You have said it ! ' they answered with 
 one voice ; ' so let it be ! ' 
 
 At this moment they all arose and 
 solemnly emptied their tankards ; then they 
 piled the tankards together in the centre of 
 the table ; and Dubsix and Atub, taking 
 each an arm of Yellow-cap, raised him from 
 the floor and seated him upon the pile as 
 upon a throne. 
 
 The six Brethren now joined hands and be- 
 gan to dance round and round the table, puffing 
 volumes of smoke from their pipes as they went. 
 Faster and wilder moved the dance, thicker 
 and yellower whirled the smoke-wreaths, and 
 the six faces sped dizzily round the table, 
 until it seemed to Yellow-cap as if he were 
 encircled by a great ring of face, with one 
 broad nose, one endless grinning mouth, and 
 a single leering eye in the forehead. 
 
 By and by the room began to spin round 
 also such, at least, was Yellow-cap's im- 
 pression. Round and round it spun like a 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 8 1 
 
 teetotum, moving as fast as the dancers did, 
 but in the opposite direction. The smoke, 
 driven together by these contrary motions, 
 was whirled into a sort of hollow dome over 
 Yellow-cap's head. The yellow light from 
 the lamp shone upon that smoky dome, and 
 its shape became defined more and more dis- 
 tinctly, until at last it hung poised in air a 
 gigantic image of the very yellow cap which 
 Yellow-cap wore. 
 
 Gradually it settled down lower and lower, 
 as if to shut him in. He tried to rise from his 
 tankard throne, but a heavy weight from 
 above seemed to prevent him. And now, 
 glaring upon him through the maze of flying 
 phantoms, he saw the mirror of the Brethren, 
 no longer black and lifeless, but fierce and 
 flaming as the eye of a giant demon. And 
 through the centre of that fiery pupil he saw 
 the Brethren,- one after another, take a flying 
 leap ; not vanishing suddenly, but dwindling 
 away, smaller and smaller, until they could 
 be seen no more. Each as he leaped threw 
 back at Yellow-crfp a malicious leer and 
 beckoned to him mockingly to follow. Gyp 
 was the last ; and as he sprang Yellow-cap 
 wrenched himself from his throne which fell 
 
82 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 behind him with a crash and strove to 
 follow. 
 
 But the yellow cap of stifling smoke came 
 down upon him and shut him in. He sank 
 downwards, choking and gasping ; and he 
 heard, ringing through the heated air, a sound 
 of laughter that reminded him of Silvia. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 83 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ON THE STAGE. 
 
 YELLOW-CAP opened his eyes, which felt dry 
 and hot. It was indeed Silvia, who was 
 laughing, and bidding him wake up, for it 
 was past eight o'clock in the morning. And 
 where had Yellow-cap passed the night ? 
 Underneath the table in the inn parlour, 
 where that extraordinary meeting of the 
 Seven Brethren had taken place. As Yellow- 
 cap got slowly to his feet he pressed both 
 hands to his head, which felt like a newly- 
 roasted chestnut, with the kernel loose inside ; 
 but the yellow cap was still fast about his 
 brows. He longed to take it off and put 
 his head under the pump ; but that luxury, 
 he knew, was now and hereafter forbidden 
 him. 
 
 * Where are the other fellows ? ' he asked, 
 turning to Silvia. ' They jumped through 
 the fiery eye ' 
 
 G 2 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 1 Through what, your Lordship ? ' cried 
 Silvia, opening her eyes very wide. 
 
 ' Through that/ said Yellow-cap, point- 
 ing to the end of the room where the mys- 
 terious mirror hung. But, to his great per- 
 plexity, there was to be seen there only a 
 very common-place old looking-glass, made 
 in three compartments, and mounted in a 
 tarnished frame. In the light of the morning 
 sun, which was pouring through the dusty 
 window-panes, it looked not at all like an eye, 
 and it was absurd to suppose that anybody 
 could have jumped through it. 
 
 * Things always look so different in the 
 morning,' remarked Silvia good-humouredly. 
 4 But, if it please your Lordship, I am sent by 
 the Brethren to say that they are waiting for 
 you in the front room.' 
 
 Yellow-cap felt not at all in the mood to 
 lead a conspiracy ; but still he tried to put a 
 good face upon the matter. ' Lead on ! ' said 
 he ; and Silvia opened the door and went 
 before him across a small enclosed yard to 
 another door, on which she tapped ; and 
 Yellow-cap, passing in, found himself once 
 more in the presence of his six friends. They 
 eating devilled bones, and were dressed 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 85 
 
 in long white dominoes. Each had a play- 
 book beside his plate, and they were appa- 
 rently studying their parts for the morning 
 performance. 
 
 I Good morning ! Fine day for the depo- 
 sition,' said Gyp, acting as spokesman for the 
 rest. ' Have a bone ? ' 
 
 I 1 have no appetite/ replied Yellow-cap. 
 ' Why are you all dressed in white ? ' 
 
 ' So that we may be the blacker inside/ 
 said Ruba, looking up from his book. 
 
 'It is the court-dress of conspirators/ 
 added Dubb. 
 
 ' We are clothed in the unwritten pages 
 of history/ continued Dubsix. 
 
 ' We shall be red hereafter/ said Menin, 
 archly. 
 
 ' Because we rose against the tyrant/ con- 
 cluded Atub, with a sigh. 
 
 ' They are apt to be rather stupid at this 
 hour in the morning/ remarked Gyp, turn- 
 ing to Yellow-cap, ' but they will get warmed 
 to it presently. May I ask whether you are 
 perfect in your part ? ' 
 
 ' I have not thought of any rhyme ta 
 " Ormund,"' said Yellow-cap. 
 
 ' Any rhyme will do/ Gyp went on ; ' and 
 
86 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 perhaps the Home or the Foreign Doggerel 
 will be able to help you to one when the 
 time comes.' 
 
 'Brethren, 1 said Yellow-cap, clearing his 
 throat, ' I propose we put off this affair until 
 to-morrow. I don't feel at all well this 
 morning ; and besides, a thing like this ought 
 to be done after dark, not in broad day- 
 
 light; 
 
 Hereupon the six Brethren looked at one 
 another and gave a low whistle ; and after a 
 pause Gyp said 
 
 1 This day is the only day in the year on 
 which conspiracies are allowed to take place, 
 and they are not permitted later than ten 
 o'clock in the forenoon. But 1 may mention 
 that' the theatre is always darkened, and is 
 lighted by artificial means.' 
 
 ' 1 do not understand/ said Yellow-cap, 
 * how a conspiracy can succeed, if the people 
 who are conspired against fix the time when 
 it is to come off/ 
 
 * What sort of an audience should we get/ 
 replied Gyp, ' if the date of the performance 
 was not advertised beforehand ? We should 
 find ourselves playing to empty boxes. Be- 
 sides, conspiracies are costly ; and if ' 
 
 * If you please/ said Silvia, opening the 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 87 
 
 door, * it is just upon nine o'clock, and the 
 donkey waits.' 
 
 ' We come ! ' said all the Brethren together, 
 They rose up, put their play-books in their 
 pockets, and joining hands so as to form a 
 circle, with Gyp and Yellow-cap in the 
 middle of it, they rapidly repeated five times 
 over the following mystic chant, Gyp beating 
 time for them with the forefinger of his 
 right hand on the five fingers of his left : 
 
 Ruba Dubb Dubsix Menin Atub Chorus Gyp ! 
 
 This having been duly performed, Gyp, 
 with an air of great respect, took Yellow-cap 
 by the arm and led him out to the street, 
 the other five Brethren following behind. 
 Yellow-cap, who had by this time almost 
 ceased feeling surprised at anything, did 
 not find it especially wonderful that the 
 donkey which was in waiting was the same 
 on which he had ridden the evening before, 
 and that its driver was the same half-witted 
 youth who had given him such useful informa- 
 tion about the passwords. This youth grinned 
 and ducked his head when he saw Yellow- 
 cap, and held the stirrup for him to mount. 
 
 As Yellow-cap did so the thought oc- 
 curred to him that perhaps he might get a 
 
88 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 chance to gallop away down some side-street, 
 and so make his escape even at the last moment ; 
 for it must be confessed that he did not feel 
 much courage for this adventure. Much to 
 his disappointment, however, no sooner was 
 he in the saddle than the donkey-driver took 
 hold of the donkey's bridle on one side and 
 Silvia on the other ; and in this way they set 
 out. 
 
 ' Why are you coming with us, Silvia ? ' 
 Yellow-cap asked, after they had gone a 
 little way. ' Are you one of the conspirators ? ' 
 
 ' No, your Lordship, not exactly/ she re- 
 plied ; ' but I usually take the part of Colum- 
 bine, and sometimes lead the ballet.' 
 
 ' So it's to be a pantomime, is it ? ' thought 
 Yellow-cap. ' I wonder what the grand trans- 
 formation scene will be like ? ' 
 
 Then he turned to the donkey-driver, 
 who was plodding along with a vacant grin 
 upon his features, and asked him what part 
 he had to play. 
 
 ' Oh, please your Worship/ he replied, 
 ' I'm to be the Clown ; and that young 
 woman/ pointing to Silvia, ' is to be my 
 sweetheart, if I can catch her.' 
 
 ' And I'm to be Harlequin, I suppose/ 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 89 
 
 said Yellow-cap to himself. 'Well, I'm sure 
 I begin to feel like one.' 
 
 Meanwhile they had entered the chief street 
 of the town, which led to the Drury Lane 
 Theatre. This was a handsome building of 
 white marble, with columns and a sculptured 
 frieze ; it was the model which the Greeks 
 long afterwards followed when they built 
 their Parthenon. A great multitude of people 
 were collected in front of the pit and gallery 
 entrances ; and when they caught sight of 
 Yellow-cap they set up a great buzzing and 
 murmuring, mingled with shouts and huzzas 
 and waving of hats and handkerchiefs. 
 
 ' There he is ! that's him ! ' cried the 
 people one to another. ' That's him on the 
 grey charger, with the captive prince and 
 princess a-leading of him along. Oh, ain't 
 he a swell ! ' 
 
 'Hurry up, guv'nor, or you'll be late!* 
 shouted others ; and indeed as Yellow-cap 
 looked up at the clock which was placed in 
 the pediment of the theatre he saw that it 
 marked five minutes to ten. 
 
 1 Hadn't we better move a little faster ? * 
 he said anxiously to Silvia. * And how are 
 we ever to get through all this crowd ? ' 
 
90 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 f Oh, we have time enough/ she answered 
 very unconcernedly. ' And, since we must go in 
 by the stage-door, the crowd won't hinder us.' 
 
 As she spoke they turned down a narrow 
 alley to the left, and soon came to a small 
 entrance in the side of the building. Through 
 this the donkey quietly walked, and up a 
 flight of steps to an inner passageway. Be- 
 fore he knew where he was Yellow-cap 
 found himself on an immense stage, at the 
 further side of which was standing King 
 Ormund himself, surrounded by a group of 
 courtiers. The courtiers were all enveloped 
 in long white dominoes, the sight of which 
 caused Yellow-cap to look behind him with 
 a sudden misgiving. He had supposed 
 until this moment that the six Brethren were 
 following behind him ; but he now discovered 
 that, except for Silvia and the half-witted 
 donkey-driver, he was quite alone. 
 
 ' What has become of them ? ' he cried in 
 dismay. 
 
 . ' There they are,' said Silvia coolly, point- 
 ing to the group of courtiers. ' Where else 
 should they be ? ' 
 
 ' They have deserted me, then ? ' 
 
 * Not at all ; but as the conspiracy is all 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 91 
 
 on your account it is only fair that you should 
 take all the risks. If the conspiracy were to 
 fail, and they were to have their heads cut off, 
 there could be no conspiracy next year ; but 
 if only you are executed your cap would be 
 saved, and there would be no difficulty about 
 finding some one else to wear it.' 
 
 ' Upon my word,' muttered Yellow-cap 
 to himself rather angrily, c however this matter 
 goes I am resolved that I will not lose my 
 head before making those six rascals shake 
 in their shoes. Courtiers indeed ! We shall 
 see.' 
 
 At this moment the curtain drew up and 
 showed the vast audience crowding every 
 part of the theatre. A great clapping of 
 hands and stamping of feet followed, and 
 there were several catcalls and whistlings 
 from the pit and gallery. Almost every 
 member of the audience was provided with a 
 programme headed, ' Grand Annual Panto- 
 mime: the Conspiracy ',' and containing a list 
 of the performers. Attendants were also 
 moving about hawking librettos of the dia- 
 logue. Familiar though Yellow-cap had 
 become with marvels, he could not help 
 wondering how anybody could know what he 
 
92 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 was going to say. He certainly did not know 
 himself. 
 
 The audience had now become silent 
 not a sound was to be heard in the theatre 
 except the occasional rustle of a programme. 
 Yellow-cap dismounted from his donkey, 
 which remained on the stage in the care of 
 the driver, and walked towards the King. His 
 Majesty was eyeing him very closely. The 
 great clock outside the building struck ten. 
 The King and Yellow-cap saluted each 
 other, and Yellow-cap said 
 
 ' I hope I have not kept your Majesty 
 waiting.' 
 
 ' Not at all/ the monarch replied. ' But, 
 stay ! surely I cannot be mistaken. Are not 
 you the gallant prince whom I had the plea- 
 sure of meeting yesterday, and who vanished 
 so strangely just when we were about to ex- 
 change hats ? ' 
 
 ' Your Majesty's memory is not at fault/ 
 Yellow-cap answered. 
 
 ' Bless my soul ! my dear fellow/ the King 
 exclaimed with much heartiness, 'allow me 
 to give you a hug ! ' 
 
 At this there was a great outburst of ap- 
 plause from the audience, which his Majesty 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 93 
 
 acknowledged by bowing and smiling. After 
 it was over he continued 
 
 ' And now tell me, where on earth did you 
 vanish to ? I could have sworn you were 
 beside me when, almost while I was looking 
 at you, you were gone ; and in your place was 
 a dirty, impertinent varlet who tried to snatch 
 my crown out of my very hands.' 
 
 ' Indeed. An audacious fellow, truly ! ' 
 
 'Ah, but he got his deserts. Ha! I 
 flatter myself he will never again try that 
 game. No, by my faith ! ' 
 
 ' What did you do to him ? ' 
 
 ( I grappled with him, and, after a tre- 
 mendous struggle, I managed to get him 
 by the throat and bowed him backwards to 
 the earth. I say " to the earth," because the 
 villains who should have upheld my platform 
 had let it fall. Never mind I had all their 
 heads before supper-time.' 
 
 'And the robber?' 
 
 ' There was not much left of him,' replied 
 his Majesty, with a hearty laugh. ' After I 
 had strangled him I flung his carcass to my 
 retainers, who made mincemeat of it in no 
 time. But all this is by the way. You have 
 not told me what became of you/ 
 
94 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 Now, Yellow-cap had a good imagination ; 
 and seeing that the King had made up a clever 
 story, he resolved to do his best to tell another 
 as good. 
 
 * Your Majesty must know,' he said, ' that 
 among my other modest gifts I include that 
 of making myself invisible at pleasure and 
 transporting myself to distant places by the 
 force of a wish. Just at the moment when 
 we were about to exchange hats I happened 
 to remember that I had important business 
 elsewhere ; and since I had a long way to go, 
 and very little time to go in, I was obliged to 
 leave your Majesty without ceremony. But, 
 as you see, I have lost no time in again pre- 
 senting myself before you.' 
 
 There was a round of applause at this 
 speech, but neither so long nor so loud as at 
 that of the King. 
 
 * I hope we may not again be parted/ said 
 his Majesty graciously. * In fact, I really 
 don't know what I should have done with- 
 out you.' 
 
 Here Yellow-cap felt a gentle pull at 
 his sleeve, and looking round he saw that 
 Silvia was holding out to him a small slip 
 of paper. He took it from her, and read the 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 95 
 
 following words which had been written upon 
 it: 
 
 ' A rhyme to King Ormund.' 
 
 The King had noticed this transaction, 
 and immediately asked 
 
 1 What have you got there ? ' 
 
 1 A rhyme to King Ormund/ replied 
 Yellow-cap, repeating the words which he 
 had read without thinking of the effect they 
 might have upon his hearer. But the au- 
 dience took the point immediately, and the 
 clapping of hands and stamping were this 
 time both loud and long. 
 
 And now something happened which 
 Yellow-cap could not at first understand. 
 The King hummed-and-hah'ed and looked 
 rather embarrassed, but said nothing, and by 
 and by began searching in his pockets as if 
 he had mislaid something. The audience 
 saw that something was wrong, and catcalls 
 and whistling and impertinent remarks were 
 heard from all parts of the house. The King 
 turned red, and stood first on one foot and 
 then on another ; and at last he muttered 
 between his teeth 
 
 ' I'll have that prompters head cut off!' 
 
 ' If your Majesty will allow me, said 
 
96 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 Silvia, coming forward, ' I can tell you what 
 comes next/ And she whispered a few words 
 in his ear. 
 
 * Ah ! of course of course ! ' exclaimed 
 the King, looking much relieved. ' I have 
 had hardly any time to study my part ; and 
 I hope,' he added, turning to the audience, 
 ' that you will excuse me/ ' Go it, old boy ! ' 
 sang out somebody from the gallery. The 
 King pulled down his ruffles and went on. 
 
 ' " A rhyme to King Ormund, eh ? " Dear 
 me ! Then you are one of the conspirators ? ' 
 
 ' I have that honour/ replied Yellow-cap. 
 ' In fact, I am the chief of them ; and I can, 
 if you like, tell you the names of the others/ 
 he added, glancing at the Prime Maniac and 
 his companions. 
 
 1 You must not say that/ said Silvia in 
 a low voice, twitching his sleeve again ; ' it 
 isn't in your part/ 
 
 ' I shall take my own part/ returned Yel- 
 low-cap, loud enough to be heard all over 
 the theatre, ' and do what I like with it/ 
 
 ' That's the talk ! ' called out a man from 
 the pit. * Give it 'em, youngster, and we'll 
 see fair play/ 
 
 'Well, you have got the best of me/ said 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 97 
 
 the King, shrugging his shoulders good- 
 humouredly, 'and I have only one regret.' 
 
 ' What may that be ? ' Yellow-cap in- 
 quired. 
 
 1 Only that, since you have got the best 
 of me, I am prevented from enjoying the 
 pleasure I had looked forward to of making 
 you my successor. But, after all, it comes to 
 the same thing in the end for you, at any 
 rate. And things being as they are, of course 
 they could not be otherwise. Come des- 
 patch ! ' And so saying the venerable mo- 
 narch wrapped his mantle round his head 
 and struck an heroic attitude. 
 
 ' What are you waiting for ? Let him 
 have it ! ' whispered Silvia at Yellow-cap's 
 elbow. 
 
 But Yellow-cap thought there was no 
 need of hurrying ; so he put the bit of paper 
 in his pocket and said, gently pulling the 
 King's mantle from before his face 
 
 ' My dear King, pray let us understand 
 each other. I am sure that we can manage 
 this thing without any trouble to either of us. 
 As you yourself say, what need is there for 
 .me to be a usurper, if I can be a successor ? ' 
 
 ' Ah, it's very kind of you to think of that,' 
 n 
 
98 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 replied the King, shaking his head; 'but 
 I couldn't be guilty of such inhospitality as 
 to hinder a stranger from carrying out so 
 capital a plot. No say no more. I see 
 how it is. You have taken a great deal of 
 trouble about this conspiracy, and so far you 
 have managed it very well. I shall not in- 
 terfere with your triumph for the sake of a 
 selfish whim of my own. Never, my dear 
 boy, never ! My spirit is too royal to stoop 
 to such meanness. And I think it unkind of 
 you to expect such a thing of me ; and if you 
 don't stop it I shall have to tell the execu- 
 tioner to cut off your head.' 
 
 1 That last argument of yours is a strong 
 one, and rather than drive you to such ex- 
 tremities I would let you have it your own 
 way,' said Yellow-cap. ' But still I think 
 this affair can be arranged. All I want, you 
 see, is to sit on your throne ; to make a rhyme 
 to your name, and to trample you under the 
 feet of the metrical system. Have nothing 
 to do with that. Come, oblige me this once, 
 and I will do as much for you the next 
 time.' 
 
 The King stroked his long white beard 
 thoughtfully. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 99 
 
 ' The fact is/ he said at length, ' I am 
 rather in a muddle about the whole business. 
 If it had been a simple pantomime I could 
 have seen through it ; but this combination of 
 two rival performances in one is beyond me. 
 Let me consider. Hum ! Ha ! I have it. 
 Let us draw lots from the donkey ! ' 
 
 ' Draw lots from the donkey ? ' repeated 
 Yellow-cap, puzzled in his turn. 
 
 ' To be sure the way we always do it 
 draw lots of hair, you know, from the donkey's 
 tail/ continued his Majesty, brightening up, 
 and turning back the ruffles from his wrists. 
 ' The way it is done is this : we each of 
 us in turn pull out a handful ; and the one 
 that makes the donkey kick first wins the 
 match/ 
 
 ' Very well/ said Yellow-cap, ' I agree, on 
 condition that you take the first pull/ 
 
 ' Such courtesy shows the true prince/ 
 replied the King, with a pleased smile. * I 
 accept the favour as frankly as it was offered. 
 Ho ! fellows, back the animal round there 
 give him plenty of room to kick so. Now, 
 then, my lords and gentlemen, make a circle 
 round us, and mark his tail with care. And 
 
 H 2 
 
ioo YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 do you, Mr. Chancellor of the Jingle, act as 
 umpire.' 
 
 Everything having been thus arranged, 
 and amidst a pause of breathless interest, his 
 Transparent Majesty King Ormund, Emperor 
 of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, and 
 Defender of the Faith, advanced on tiptoe 
 towards the donkey, who, not suspecting what 
 was to come, stood with its hind quarters 
 turned to him, its head being held fast by 
 the half-witted driver. 
 
 When within about two feet of the 
 donkey's heels the monarch stopped, and 
 stretching out his arm, he grasped with his 
 hand the long tuft of hair which grew at 
 the end of the animal's tail. Then by a 
 sudden motion he gave it such a tug as 
 might almost have fetched the tail itself out 
 by the roots. 
 
 Without an instant's delay the donkey 
 kicked out as if it wanted to put its hoofs 
 through the skylight in the roof of the theatre ; 
 but, K ing Ormund's stomach happening to be 
 in the way, that potentate was lifted from the 
 ground and made to pass through the air in 
 a graceful curve. He came down upon the 
 upturned face of the Chancellor of the Jingle 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 101 
 
 (who was too busy with his duties as umpire 
 to notice his danger) and flattened him out 
 upon the stage in such a way as to make 
 it quite impossible for him to give his de- 
 cision. 
 
102 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 AN ABSOLUTE MONARCH. 
 
 UPON this tableau the curtain came down ; 
 but the applause was really so deafening that 
 all the performers including, of course, the 
 King and the donkey had to come out and 
 pass before the footlights : when the donkey 
 got a bouquet, and the King a bunch of 
 turniptops. They then returned to the stage 
 and took their places as before, and the cur- 
 tain went up again. 
 
 During several seconds the King lay quite 
 still, with the Chancellor underneath him ; 
 and Yellow-cap began to feel uneasy, for he 
 reflected that if the King should lie still per- 
 manently his own position might become 
 awkward. He spoke of this in a low tone 
 to Silvia, who was coquetting with her sweet- 
 heart the donkey-driver across the donkey's 
 back. 
 
 ' No need to be alarmed, your Lordship,' 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 103 
 
 replied she composedly. ' His Majesty is 
 only a little out of breath. The stomach of 
 an hereditary monarch is, you know, the 
 strongest thing about him. He will be all 
 right directly.' 
 
 In fact, hardly had she done speaking 
 when the King gave a cough and raised him- 
 self to a sitting posture. He really seemed 
 none the worse for what had happened ; in 
 spite of which Yellow-cap could not help 
 feeling glad that he had not been in the 
 King's place. 
 
 ' Where is the Chancellor of the Jingle ? ' 
 demanded the King as soon as he could 
 speak. ' Why does he not come forward and 
 give his judgment as umpire ? Where is he, 
 I say ? By my crown and sceptre if he does 
 not appear and answer this instant I will have 
 his head cut off ! ' 
 
 ( Pardon me, my dear sir,' said Yellow- 
 cap, 'if I say that the Chancellor would pro- 
 bably have given his judgment before now, if 
 you had not yourself put difficulties in the way 
 of his doing so. You are ~t this moment 
 -sitting upon the man's face, and it would 
 therefore be impossible if not disrespectful for 
 him to say anything until your Majesty has 
 
104 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 arisen. If you will let me pull you up he 
 will be ready to obey your commands un- 
 less/ he added aside to Silvia, * he is actually 
 crushed to death.' 
 
 ' No fear of that/ Silvia replied cheer- 
 fully. ' The face of a real Chancellor of the 
 Jingle is the most impenetrable thing about 
 him ; and I have no doubt that he is smiling 
 at this very minute/ 
 
 And in fact hardly had the King raised 
 himself erect than the Chancellor jumped to 
 his feet, with a most charming smile ; and 
 having bowed to the King, to Yellow-cap, 
 and to the audience, he spoke thus : 
 
 ' In the drawing of lots his Transparent 
 Majesty King Ormund has been successful; 
 and therefore his Royal Highness Prince 
 Yellow-cap has won the wager/ 
 
 'Capital capital!' exclaimed the King, 
 rubbing his hands and stamping about the 
 stage gleefully. ' But you/ he added, turning 
 to the Chancellor of the Jingle, 'must, of 
 course, have your head cut off just the same/ 
 
 At this a couple of halberdiers approached 
 and laid their hands on the culprit's shoulders. 
 
 Yellow-cap had at first thought that to 
 lose his head would serve the Chancellor only 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 105 
 
 right ; but, as he was averse to bloodshed, and 
 as his own affairs seemed to be going on so 
 prosperously, he resolved to be merciful. 
 
 'Allow me a word,' he said. 'Since I 
 have won the wager I thereby succeed to 
 King Ormund's throne and sceptre, and by 
 virtue of the power in me vested I do hereby 
 extend to the Chancellor my royal clemency. 
 Loose him, halberdiers, on your allegiance ! ' 
 
 The halberdiers hesitated; and KingOr- 
 mund, stroking his beard meditatively, said > 
 ' I'm not sure about this. You haven't been 
 crowned yet, you know.' 
 
 * At all events I am as much king as any- 
 body here,' Yellow-cap replied firmly. ' And 
 meanwhile I advise anybody who cares to 
 keep his head on his shoulders to obey my 
 commands.' 
 
 ' I'll tell you what we might do/ ex- 
 claimed the King brightly : 'we might draw 
 lots ' 
 
 ' No ; I refuse to leave affairs of State to 
 chance. But, in order to oblige you in every 
 way I can, I will appoint the Chancellor of 
 the Jingle referee. He shall decide whether 
 or not his head is to be cut off; and I pro- 
 mise to abide by his decision/ 
 
io6 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 'Hum!' said the King. 'Ha! well, that 
 certainly does seem fair. Besides, one must 
 have some consideration for the poor donkey. 
 I agree, then. Now, Mr. Chancellor, what is 
 your decision ? ' 
 
 ' My head stays where it is, please your 
 Majesty,' replied the Chancellor promptly. 
 
 ' It's astonishing what a run of luck you 
 are having ! ' exclaimed the King, turning to 
 Yellow-cap, with a sigh of admiration. ' Pray, 
 are you as fortunate in love as you seem to be 
 in everything else ? ' 
 
 At this question there rose in Yellow- 
 cap's mind the picture of a little square room, 
 with bright walls and clean sanded floor ; a 
 churn in one corner, and a brightly polished 
 tin pan upon the dresser in place of a looking- 
 glass. In this room stood a lovely young 
 girl, with tears in her eyes, but a smile 
 dimpling her rosy cheeks. She was looking 
 up with a loving glance at a young man, who 
 was fastening round her neck, by a bit of 
 ribbon, the half of a spade guinea. Yellow- 
 cap passed his hand over his eyes : the pic- 
 ture had vanished. 
 
 ' What are you dreaming about ? ' said the 
 voice of Silvia in his ear. ' The half of a 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 107 
 
 brass farthing is just as good, if you will only 
 think so. And you have not yet answered 
 his Majesty's question.' 
 
 ' Ah ! I beg pardon,' muttered Yellow- 
 cap. * I what did you say ? I yes that 
 is no ! No, I am not so fortunate in love 
 as I seem to be in other things. Ah me ! 
 Rosamund ! ' 
 
 * Well, well,' said the King, with a parti- 
 cularly arch look, f I dare say we shall be 
 able to do you a good turn in that way too.' 
 
 ' Is this the place where kings are 
 crowned ? ' demanded Yellow-cap. 
 
 ' Certainly ; where else could it be ? ' re- 
 turned the King. 
 
 1 Then I will be crowned this moment/ 
 said Yellow-cap in the commanding tone 
 which he had found it best to use towards 
 these London people. ' Is there an Arch- 
 bishop present ? And let somebody fetch a 
 throne ! ' 
 
 ' Here is the throne, please your Worship,' 
 said the half-witted youth, leading forward the 
 donkey. 
 
 ' And here is the Archbishop, at your ser- 
 vice,' said one of the persons in the white 
 dominoes, making a bow. 
 
io8 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 'That won't do,' said Yellow -cap 
 sharply. ' You are the Prime Maniac only 
 you have shaved your moustachios.' 
 
 ' That makes all the difference, please 
 your Highness,' replied the other humbly. 
 
 * And now I look at you again,' continued 
 Yellow-cap, ' I think I remember you before 
 you were a Prime Maniac. I remember you 
 when you were only three feet high.' 
 
 'It is all the same,' answered the other 
 again. ' I rise to the occasion.' 
 
 1 Well, it makes no difference, I suppose/ 
 said Yellow-cap, after a pause, bestriding the 
 donkey's back. ' Now for the crown ! ' 
 
 King Ormund took the crown from his 
 brow and handed it to the Archbishop, who 
 put it on Yellow-cap's head, over the yellow 
 cap. Then all the courtiers round about mur- 
 mured their congratulations, the audience that 
 filled the theatre shouted ' Hooray ! ' and ' En- 
 core !' the ex- King clapped him on the shoul- 
 der and said, ' Bless you, my boy ! ' and Silvia 
 whispered in his ear, ' Now you are King!' 
 
 'Long live King Yellow-cap!' roared 
 everybody. 
 
 'How do you like it?' asked Ormund 
 pleasantly. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 109 
 
 ' I feel about as I did before,' replied the 
 new King, in a slightly disappointed tone, 
 
 * How much does this crown weigh ? Haven't 
 you a lighter one ? ' 
 
 ' No ; and you won't find that one grow 
 any lighter,' said Ormund, with a chuckle. 
 
 * But if you don't feel any difference I do ! I 
 am ten years younger already. I am posi 
 lively light-headed.' 
 
 'Well, at all events I am a King!' said 
 Yellow-cap. 
 
 ' And now,' observed Ormund, rubbing 
 his hands and glancing at Silvia, l since the 
 coronation is over, what do you say to our 
 having the wedding ? ' 
 
 ' Yes yes ; the wedding ! ' echoed all the 
 courtiers. 
 
 Silvia arranged the ribbon at her throat, 
 looked coquettishly at King Yellow-cap, and 
 murmured in his ear 
 
 1 What says your Majesty ? There is no 
 time like the present.' 
 
 'Wedding!' repeated King Yellow-cap, 
 turning from one to another. ' Whose wed- 
 ding?' 
 
 ' Whose but your own, gracious liege ! ' 
 replied the courtiers. 
 
no YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 1 My own ! Nonsense ! Whom should I 
 marry ? ' 
 
 ' Whom but Silvia, most puissant prince ? ' 
 said the courtiers again. 
 
 ' Silvia ? Why, she is barmaid at the inn ! 
 And besides, she is engaged to marry some- 
 body else.' 
 
 1 Ah, you mean the Prince of Sprats,' 
 remarked the ex- King. ' But that match is 
 broken off. Since you are on the throne he 
 is in opposition, and can only be considered 
 a pretender ; but Silvia is a princess of the 
 blood, cousin-german of the dynasty, and 
 Columbine into the bargain ; so she can 
 marry nobody but you.' 
 
 ' That fellow who owns the donkey the 
 Prince of Sprats ? ' cried Yellow-cap. ' He 
 the son of King Ormund ? ' 
 
 ' Prince Assimund yes. I spoke to you of 
 him yesterday. A little queer in the head, you 
 know, but that is only a sign of his royalty.' 
 
 1 All this may be so,' replied Yellow-cap, 
 stroking his chin ; ' but as to my marrying 
 Silvia that seems rather sudden.' 
 
 ' Not more sudden than agreeable, if I 
 were in your place,' observed the ex- King, 
 
YELLOW-CAP. in 
 
 with a twinkle in his eye which made the pit 
 laugh. 
 
 ' Besides,' continued Yellow-cap, ' I have 
 an indistinct notion that once somewhere 
 I loved but, no ! What with the cap and 
 crown together I can remember nothing. 
 And perhaps Silvia may be she, after all ; 
 she looks something like her ; but yet ' 
 
 ' If your Majesty will let me hang this 
 half of a brass farthing round your neck,' in- 
 terrupted Silvia, 'you will have no more 
 doubts about the matter.' And as she spoke 
 she held the farthing towards him, with a 
 mischievous smile. 
 
 ' But don't you care at all for Assimund?^ 
 he asked her. 
 
 ' The interests of the State are supreme/ 
 returned, Silvia with a grand air. 
 
 'Well, if I must, I must,' said King 
 Yellow-cap rather ungraciously. ' But I 
 thought the Kings of England could da 
 what they pleased.' 
 
 ' Oh, dear, no,' exclaimed the Archbishop, 
 * Magna Charta forbid ! ' 
 
 1 Then I wish ' began Yellow-cap. 
 
 But he paused. What had he left to wish ? 
 
112 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 He stretched out his hand to take the half of 
 the brass farthing. 
 
 At that moment there was a great noise 
 and confusion at the back of the stage, and 
 half the audience sprang to their feet, sup- 
 posing that the theatre had caught fire. But 
 out of the confusion was dragged forward a 
 sort of cart, in which a number of persons 
 were seated, with veils over their faces, and 
 their hands tied behind their backs. Yellow- 
 cap saw that one of these persons was a 
 woman. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 113 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE GRAND TRANSFORMATION SCENE. 
 
 ' WHAT is that ? What people are those in 
 the cart ? ' demanded Yellow-cap, rising in 
 his stirrups to get a better view. 
 
 1 Please your Majesty they are prisoners 
 of State/ said the Home Doggerel, who had 
 turned rather pale. ' It is quite a mistake their 
 coming here ; they should have been taken 
 to another theatre. However, since they are 
 here your Majesty cannot do better than sign 
 their death-warrant. I have a pen and ink 
 here ; or, if your Majesty happens not to 
 know how to sign your name, I can ' 
 
 ' Hold your tongue/ interrupted Yellow- 
 cap sharply. He was looking very hard at 
 the veiled figure of the woman. After a 
 pause he said 
 
 ' Before signing my name (which I am 
 perfectly able to do) to the death-warrant I 
 will know what crime these persons have 
 
 I 
 
114 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 committed. Tell them to come nearer, that 
 I may question them.' 
 
 1 Sire/ exclaimed the Home Doggerel, in 
 evident dismay, * the law of England does 
 not permit an accused person to be ques- 
 tioned.' 
 
 ' Why not ? ' 
 
 ' Because it might lead to a discovery.' 
 
 ' What discovery ? ' 
 
 ' The discovery of the truth, Sire ; and 
 where would you and all of us be then ? ' 
 
 At this a man in the pit began to hiss, 
 and the police tried to take him into custody ; 
 but they could not find out his address, and 
 therefore let him alone. 
 
 ' Where would we be indeed ! ' murmured 
 King Yellow-cap thoughtfully. * Neverthe- 
 less,' he continued, again fixing his eyes upon 
 the veiled woman, ' I am resolved to question 
 these people ; and this pantomime shall not 
 go on until I have done so.' 
 
 ' I humbly beg your Majesty to think 
 what you are about,' said the Lord Privy 
 Gander in an agitated tone ; ' you are in 
 danger not only of hearing the truth but of 
 violating etiquette.' 
 
 1 It might bring about a reform,' added 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 1 15 
 
 the First Lord of the Seesaw, with a shud- 
 der. 
 
 ' At all events let the woman be con- 
 demned unheard,' said Silvia. ' She looks 
 dangerous, and may intend to do your 
 Majesty some harm.' 
 
 ' Be silent, everyone ! ' thundered King 
 Yellow-cap at the top of his voice. * I say 
 I will hear these persons, and I will hear 
 the woman first. Stop where is the Heads- 
 man ? ' 
 
 ' Here I be, your Majesty, quite at your 
 service,' said the Headsman, shouldering 
 through the crowd, and saluting the young 
 King with his axe. He was [an immensely 
 strong man, seven feet high, with short red 
 hair standing up over his head, and a butcher's 
 apron tied on in front of him. 
 
 ' Headsman,' said the King, ' if anyone 
 stirs or says a word except by my leave, 
 off with his head ! Do you understand ? ' 
 
 For answer the Headsman tossed his 
 terrible axe high up in the air, caught it 
 lightly as it came down, and then, swinging 
 it round his head, he cut off the tall feather 
 that was fastened in the cap of the Chancellor 
 
 i 2 
 
u6 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 of the Jingle. An inch more would have 
 buried the blade in his skull. 
 
 * Very good/ said King Yellow-cap ; ' I 
 see you know your business. Now, then, 
 bring me hither that cart. Let the woman 
 come down.' 
 
 Amidst a total silence, during which the 
 Headsman was seen to feel the edge of his 
 axe with his thumb keeping his right eye 
 upon King Yellow-cap the while, and the 
 left upon the Home Doggerel the veiled 
 woman got down from the cart and came 
 forward to the donkey which served the 
 King as a throne. Here she dropped a 
 curtsey. 
 
 King Yellow-cap gazed steadfastly upon 
 her for several moments. The black veil 
 still hung before her face, but round her neck 
 was visible a bit of pink ribbon. 
 
 1 Who are you ? ' he asked at last. 
 
 ' I am a village maiden, Sire,' she an- 
 swered in a voice so sweet and clear that it 
 was heard all over the theatre. 
 
 ' Of what crime are you accused ? ' 
 
 ' Of high treason, Sire.' 
 
 ' In what way did you commit it ? ' 
 
 At this question the Home Doggerel 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 117 
 
 and the other members of the Cabinet made 
 ,a movement as if they wished to step behind 
 the scenes ; but King Yellow-cap noticed it, 
 .and in an awful voice he cried out 
 
 * Headsman ! ' 
 
 ' Ready, your Majesty/ said that officer, 
 poising his axe to strike. 
 
 * One step more,' said the King, turning 
 to the six courtiers, * and your heads fly into 
 the pit. Keep your axe poised/ he added 
 to the Headsman. 
 
 ' Right you are, young man ! ' said the 
 person in the pit whom the police had tried 
 to arrest for hissing. * Right you are, Master 
 Yellow-cap ; you're just about the sort of 
 king I goes in for, and so I tells you.' 
 
 ' And now go on with your story/ said 
 the King to the veiled woman. 
 
 'May it please your Majesty/ she replied, 
 ' the way it happened was this. As I was 
 taking the butter out of my churn yesterday 
 afternoon there came into my dairy-room an 
 ugly little long-armed man, with a hook nose 
 and a great pair of moustachios. I asked 
 him what he wanted, and he said that he 
 wanted me, and that I had promised to 
 marry him.' 
 
iiS YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 ' Ha ! ' said King Yellow-cap. * And 
 what did you say to that ? ' 
 
 ' I was very indignant, Sire,' said the 
 maiden, 'because I had that very day pro- 
 mised to wed a young man of our own 
 village, whom I had known and loved 
 for many years. But this ugly dwarf 
 said, " You belong to me ; and to prove 
 it, here is the other half of the spade 
 guinea that is hanging round your neck ! " 
 Now, Sire, when I parted with the 
 young man whom I love he had cut his 
 spade guinea in two, and each of us had 
 kept half, for a sign by which, as he said, 
 we might know each other when we met, no 
 matter what changes had come over us in 
 the meantime. So, when I saw the token in 
 this dwarf's hand, I feared my lover was 
 dead, because I knew that no enchantment 
 could make him look like the dwarf, and I 
 could not believe that he would have given 
 up his half of our spade guinea while he had 
 life enough left to guard it.' 
 
 'Might your lover not have given it up 
 for something that seemed to him more pre- 
 cious ? ' asked the young King in a tremulous, 
 voice. 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 119 
 
 'No,' said the maiden firmly, 'for he 
 loved me, and nothing in this world is so 
 precious as love.' 
 
 ' Go on with your story/ said the King. 
 
 1 There is little more to tell, please your 
 Majesty. I told the dwarf to be gone ; but 
 he threw his arms round me and tried to 
 carry me away. Then I screamed out, and 
 all the young men in the village ran up, and 
 there was a great fight. Then the dwarf said 
 that he was the Lord High Sheepstealer of 
 England, and that he arrested us all for high 
 treason. So he bound us and tied veils over 
 our faces, and brought us prisoners to Lon- 
 don ; and this morning we were carried 
 hither in this cart/ 
 
 ' And what do you wish me to do for 
 you ? ' asked the King. 
 
 * I do not much care what becomes of me, 
 Sire/ replied the maiden, * for I fear my lover 
 is dead, and if he is, then all the love I had 
 for the world is dead with him. But if your 
 Majesty would find out whether he still lives 
 and loves me I will thank you more than for 
 my life, and I will be content to die/ 
 
 ' You shall have your wish/ said the King, 
 ' though I fear your lover is not worthy of 
 
120 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 you. But first your eyes shall be unveiled, 
 and you shall tell me whether, amidst this 
 assembly, you can find the man who called 
 himself the Lord High Sheepstealer of Eng- 
 land.' 
 
 And now a wonderful thing happened. 
 
 When the six courtiers, in their white 
 dominoes, heard the command of the King 
 that the maiden's eyes should be unveiled 
 they all got behind one another, and cowered 
 down, shaking in their shoes. And when the 
 maiden's glance rested on them they cowered 
 down still more, as if they were trying to hide 
 their heads in their necks and their necks in 
 their shoulders. Still they shrivelled and 
 shrunk, until they no longer appeared like 
 six tall courtiers, but like half a dozen ugly 
 little dwarfs, barely three feet high. And 
 when they saw how small they had become 
 they uttered a cry of terror, and seemed to 
 rush into one another's arms. And with that 
 though how it came about would be impos- 
 sible to say there stood only a single dwarf, 
 a great deal stouter and uglier than the six, 
 but with precisely the same cast of features 
 and general appearance. 
 
 ' That is the creature that called itself the 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 121 
 
 Lord High Sheepstealer of England,' said the 
 maiden. 
 
 'What have you to say for yourself, 
 sirrah ?' said the King sternly. 
 
 ' Mercy ! spare my life ! ' cried the dwarf, 
 falling on his knees. * And bethink yourself 
 that we are brothers, and that in destroying 
 me you would unmake yourself/ 
 
 ' That is the very thing that decides me 
 to show you no mercy/ answered King Yel- 
 low-cap. * I am sick of all this stage-play.' 
 
 * Have a care what you do, Sire/ said 
 Silvia, with a frown on her face, which looked 
 much older and less pretty than it had done 
 hitherto. ' He is your brother, and you are 
 bound to him by the vows of the Order.' 
 
 * I shall know how to break those bonds/ 
 Yellow-cap replied. 'In the first place, let 
 my guards loose all the prisoners who are in 
 the cart and let them go free/ 
 
 When this had been done he turned to 
 the village maiden. 
 
 ' Get up behind me on the donkey/ he 
 said, 'and put your arms round my waist/ 
 
 The maiden obeyed, the donkey standing 
 quite still, and not so much as moving the 
 end of its tail. 
 
122 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 ' Now let Assimund, Prince of Sprats,, 
 approach,' said the King. 
 
 ' People of England/ he then continued, 
 facing the audience, * I have been King over 
 you for half an hour, and I have had enough 
 of it. But, before abdicating, I will place 
 the crown on brows worthier to wear it than 
 mine. Behold Prince Assimund, no longer a 
 pretender, but to be hereafter your absolute 
 and legitimate monarch. And behold Silvia, 
 his fitting queen and consort, whose hand I 
 place in his.' He suited the action to the 
 word, and then, removing the crown, he set it 
 upon Assimund's head. 
 
 But the audience murmured, and seemed 
 dissatisfied ; and Silvia smiled maliciously ;. 
 and even the dwarf, over whom the Headsman 
 was standing with uplifted axe, showed his 
 teeth in an ugly grin. 
 
 ' Silence ! ' shouted Yellow-cap. ' I have 
 not yet done. Headsman strike ! ' 
 
 Down came the heavy axe ; and everyone 
 thought that the dwarf must be cloven asunder 
 from head to foot. But before the axe could 
 reach him there was no dwarf there. Whether 
 he melted into nothing, or whether he disap- 
 peared down one of those trap-doors which 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 123. 
 
 are to be found in every stage, or what else 
 became of him, will probably never be known. 
 At all events the blade of the axe came down 
 upon the bare boards and buried itself six 
 inches deep in the wood, and no dwarf was 
 there, but only the glittering half of a spade 
 guinea, strung on a broken thread of silk. 
 This the Headsman placed in Yellow-cap's 
 hand, and he hid it in his bosom. 
 
 1 He lives still ! ' said Silvia, smiling again. 
 
 ' But he will never again cross my path/ 
 replied Yellow-cap. ' King Assimund/ he 
 added, 'accept my parting gift before I go. 
 With this and with your crown, and with 
 Silvia to whisper worldly wisdom in your ear, 
 it will be your own fault if you are not the 
 mightiest sovereign in Christendom.' 
 
 So saying he snatched off the yellow cap 
 from his own black locks and clapped it down 
 upon Assimund's foolish poll. At the same 
 moment he felt the arms of the village maiden 
 tighten round his waist. 
 
 He struck his heels into the donkey's 
 sides and shook the rein. The donkey kicked 
 up its heels, and seemed to spring bodily off 
 the stage. Yellow-cap (but he was now 
 Yellow-cap no longer) had a momentary 
 
124 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 glimpse of Assimund, now wearing an aspect 
 of imperial magnificence, of Silvia, frowning 
 and biting her lip, and of the whole great 
 audience standing up and shouting ; and then 
 he had a feeling of passing rapidly through 
 the air he knew not whither. . . . . 
 
 He came down very softly. 
 
 It was high noon. They were in the 
 meadow beside the river. The donkey was 
 feeding quietly near at hand ; Raymond had 
 fallen on his knees in the grass, and Rosa- 
 mund was standing before him. 
 
 ' Oh, Rosamund/ he said. ' you are my 
 kingdom ! Will you take me back ? ' 
 
 * You have been a very naughty boy,' she 
 replied, ' and you deserve a scolding. But 
 come home first and have some milk, for you 
 must be hungry.' 
 
 Raymond looked up at her. She was 
 more lovely than ever. There was a sparkle 
 of laughter in her eyes and a beautiful blush 
 in her cheeks. Beyond her rose the thatched 
 roofs of Honey mead, overshadowed by the 
 great lime-trees ; the birds were singing, and 
 the sky was blue. 
 
 ' Come do get up ! ' exclaimed Rosa- 
 mund. ' Now that you belong to me you 
 
YELLOW-CAP. 12$ 
 
 must give up these mooning dreamy ways of 
 yours and behave sensibly. Come make 
 haste ! Armand, and Dorimund, and all the 
 rest of them have been invited, and our 
 betrothal is to be formally announced.' 
 
 . ' How strange all this sounds ! ' said Ray- 
 mond, getting to his feet in a bewildered 
 way. ' You almost make me think that I have 
 been ' 
 
 Before he could finish his sentence the 
 donkey lifted its head and tail in the air and 
 sent forth a long-drawn reproachful bray. 
 
 ' Ah ! no, it was real I have not been 
 dreaming,' Raymond said. ' If it had not 
 been for that donkey where should we be 
 now ? ' 
 
 ' How stupid you are to-day muttering 
 to yourself like that!' cried Rosamund, 
 briskly. 4 Anyone would think you had a 
 headache/ 
 
 * And so I had a very bad one,' said 
 Raymond. 
 
 Rosamund became tender immediately. 
 
 ' Oh, my poor love ! ' murmured she. 
 ' And what a horrid red mark that is round 
 your forehead, as if you had been wearing a 
 cap that was too tight for you. Stoop down 
 
126 YELLOW-CAP. 
 
 a little let me kiss it. There, does that feel 
 better ? ' 
 
 'A great deal better/ Raymond an- 
 swered, with a long sigh. 
 
 So they went back, hand in hand, through 
 the meadow. The breeze came fresh and 
 sweet upon their faces ; they smelt the fra- 
 grance of the breath of cows. As they ap- 
 proached their home they walked more and 
 more slowly. Rosamund was humming a 
 little song to herself ; she was as happy as a 
 bird. 
 
 But Raymond was silent, and pondered 
 many things. 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET 
 
129 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE PALACE AND THE TOWER. 
 
 IN the days before the sun caught fire, before 
 the moon froze up, and before you were born, 
 a great queen had three children, whose 
 names were Hilda, Harold, and Hector. 
 Princess Hilda, who was the eldest, had blue 
 eyes and golden hair ; Prince Hector, who 
 was the youngest, had black eyes and black 
 hair; and Prince Harold, who was neither 
 the youngest nor the [eldest, had, of course, 
 brown eyes and brown hair. There was 
 nothing else specially remarkable about them, 
 except that they were (at the time I write of) 
 the best children in the world, as well as the 
 prettiest and the cleverest for their age ; that 
 they lived in the most beautiful palace ever 
 built, and that the garden they played in was 
 the loveliest ever seen. 
 
 The palace stood on the borders of a 
 mighty forest, on the further side of which 
 
 K 
 
130 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 lay Fairyland. But there was only one 
 window in the palace that looked out upon 
 this forest, and that was the round window 
 of the room in which Hilda, Harold, and 
 Hector slept. And since the round window 
 was never open except at night, after the 
 three children had been put to bed, they 
 knew very little about how the forest looked, 
 or what kind of flowers grew there, or what 
 sort of birds sang in the dark branches of the 
 lofty trees. Sometimes, however, as they lay 
 with their three heads on their three pillows, 
 and with all their eyes open, waiting for the 
 Spirit of Forgetfulness to come and fasten 
 down their eyelids, they would see stars, 
 white, blue, and red, twinkling in the sky 
 overhead ; and below, amongst the gloomy 
 shadows of the trees, other yellow stars which 
 danced about and flitted to and fro. These 
 flitting stars were supposed by grown-up 
 people to be will-o'-the-wisp, jack-o'-lanterns, 
 fire-flies, and glow-worms. But the three 
 children knew them to be the torches borne 
 by the elves as they capered hither and 
 thither about their affairs. For although the 
 Forest of Mystery (as it was named) was 
 not, strictly speaking, in Fairyland, but formed 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 131 
 
 the boundary between that and the rest of 
 the world, yet many fairies held nightly revels 
 there. The children wished that a few of 
 these tiny people would come in through the 
 round window some evening and pay them a 
 visit. But if such a thing ever happened it 
 was not until after the children had fallen 
 asleep ; and then, when they woke up in the 
 morning, they had forgotten all about it. 
 
 The garden was on the side of the palace 
 opposite to the Forest of Mystery ; it was 
 called the Garden of Delight. It was full of 
 flowers, pink, white, and blue ; and there 
 were birds, and fountains, in the marble 
 basins of which gold-fishes glowed and swam. 
 In the centre of the garden was a round 
 green lawn for the children to play on ; but 
 at the end of the garden was a tall thick 
 hedge, on which no blossoms ever grew, and 
 which was prickly with sharp-pointed leaves 
 and thorns. This hedge also had a name, 
 but the children did not know what it was. 
 It was impossible either to get round the 
 hedge, or to get over it, or to get through 
 it except in one place, where a small open- 
 ing had been made. But through that 
 opening no one might pass, for the land oa 
 
 K 2 
 
132 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 the other side belonged to a dwarf, whose 
 name was Rumpty- Budget, and whose only 
 pleasure lay in doing mischief. An ugly 
 little dwarf he was, all grey from head to 
 foot. He wore a broad-brimmed grey hat, 
 a thick grey beard, and a grey cloak that was 
 so much too long for him that it trailed on 
 the ground like a grey tail as he walked. On 
 his back was a grey hump, which made him 
 look even shorter than he was and he was 
 not much over a foot high at his tallest. He 
 lived in a large grey tower, whose battlements 
 the three children could see rising above the 
 hedge as they played on the round lawn; 
 and over the tower there hung, even in the 
 brightest weather, a dull grey cloud. 
 
 Inside the tower was a vast room with a 
 hundred and one corners to it ; and in each 
 of the corners stood a little child, with its face 
 to the wall and its hands behind its back. 
 Who were the children, and how came they 
 there ? They were children, whom Rumpty- 
 Dudget had caught trespassing on his grounds, 
 and had therefore carried away with him to 
 his tower. In this way he 'had filled up one 
 corner after another, until only one corner was 
 left unfilled ; and that one, curiously enough, 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 133 
 
 was the one-hundred-and-first. Now, it was 
 a well-known fact that if Rumpty- Budget 
 could but catch a child to put it in that one 
 empty corner he would become master of all 
 the country round about. And since he loved 
 nothing that was not of the same colour and 
 temper as himself, the noble palace would in 
 that case disappear, the garden would be 
 changed into a desert covered with grey 
 stones and brambles, and the dull grey cloud 
 that now hung above the tower would sul- 
 lenly spread itself over all the heavens. The 
 mighty Forest of Mystery, too, would be cut 
 down and sold for firewood ; and the elves 
 and fairies would fly westward in pursuit of 
 the flying sun. You may be sure, therefore, 
 that Rumpty- Budget tried with all his might 
 to get hold of a child to put into that hundred- 
 and-first corner. But by this time the in- 
 habitants of the country had begun to realise 
 their danger ; and all the mothers were so 
 careful, and all the children were so obedient, 
 that, for a long time, the hundred-and-first 
 corner remained empty. 
 
134 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE AUNT, THE CAT, AND THE DWARF. 
 
 WHEN Hilda, Harold, and Hector were still 
 very young indeed the Queen, their mother, 
 was obliged to make a long journey to a far- 
 off country, and to leave her children behind 
 her. But before going she took them in her 
 arms and said, * My darlings, though I must 
 leave you, you will not be left alone, either 
 by night or by day. While you are awake 
 you will be protected by a beautiful white cat 
 that I shall send to you, named Tom ; and 
 while you are asleep your fairy aunt will keep 
 watch over you ; you will not see her, but you 
 will know that she is with you by your plea- 
 sant dreams. Only at one hour of the day 
 will you be left unguarded, and that is the 
 hour before sunset. At that hour Tom will 
 have to be away, and your fairy aunt will not 
 yet have arrived, so you must be very careful 
 of yourselves. You will, I hope, try always 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 135 
 
 to be good children ; but in the hour before 
 sunset you must try twenty-four times harder 
 than ever. Nobody knows what may happen 
 when a little child does wrong ; but there is 
 .great danger that the sun might catch fire 
 and the moon freeze up. So, once more, my 
 darlings, be very careful ; for every hour is 
 as long as it is short, but the hour before sun- 
 set is the longest and the shortest of all.' 
 
 The children promised to remember ; and 
 their mother kissed them and went away. 
 The same day Tom the Cat arrived. A 
 teautiful big cat he was, with deep soft fur, 
 round yellow eyes, and a tail as thick as a 
 feather duster. He was also the sweetest- 
 tempered cat in the world, so that the children 
 lived with him several years without even so 
 much as suspecting that he had such a thing 
 as a claw about him. He could purr as com- 
 fortably as the hopper of a windmill ; and he 
 took care of the children better than a dozen 
 nurses would have done. But an hour before 
 sunset every day he always disappeared, and 
 only came back again when the last bit of the 
 sun had gone out of sight. Then he put the 
 children to bed, and purred outside their 
 window until they fell asleep ; and as soon as 
 
136 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 that happened in floated the Fairy Aunt, to 
 kiss their closed eyelids, and to hover beside 
 their beds and whisper in their ears all manner 
 of charming stories about Fairyland, and the 
 wonderful things that were to be seen and 
 done there. But early in the morning, just 
 before they awoke, she would kiss their eye- 
 lids once more and flit away out of the round 
 window ; and the white cat, with his yellow 
 eyes and his thick tail, would come purring 
 comfortably in at the door. 
 
 One day, however (the unluckiest day in 
 the whole year), Hilda, Harold, and Hector 
 went out to play as usual on the round lawn 
 in the centre of the garden. It was Rumpty- 
 Dudget's birthday the only day in the whole 
 year on which he had power to creep through 
 the hole in the hedge and prowl about the 
 Queen's grounds. Nevertheless, all went 
 well until the last hour before sunset, when 
 Tom the Cat was forced to be away. Before 
 he went he warned the children to look out 
 for the grey rat ; but before he had time to 
 explain what he meant by the grey rat the 
 hour struck, and he could not help vanishing. 
 The children were left to themselves ; but 
 they were not at all frightened. They had 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 137 
 
 never heard of Rumpty-Dudget ; and this is 
 not so strange as it might at first seem ; for it 
 often happens in the world that our worst 
 enemies live so close to us that we are not 
 aware of them until after we have fallen into 
 their power. Hilda, Harold, and Hector, at 
 all events, went on playing together very 
 kindly ; for up to this time they had never 
 had a quarrel. The only thing that troubled 
 them was, that Tom the Cat was not there to 
 play with them ; they all longed to see his 
 yellow eyes and his thick tail, and to stroke 
 his soft back, and hear his comfortable purr. 
 But it was now very near sunset, and he must 
 soon return. The sun, like a great red ball, 
 hung a little way above the edge of the world ; 
 though he had not caught fire as yet, he was 
 evidently very hot, and it was quite time for 
 him to be at rest. 
 
 All at once Princess Hilda, who had been 
 gazing at the sun with her blue eyes wide 
 open, heard a little croaking laugh, and look- 
 ing down, she saw a strange little creature 
 standing close beside her, all grey from head 
 to foot. He wore a grey hat and beard, and 
 a long grey cloak that dragged on the ground 
 like a tail, and on his back was a grey hump 
 
138 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 that made him seem even shorter than he was, 
 though at the most he was hardly over a foot 
 high. Hilda was surprised, but not in the 
 least frightened, for nobody had ever yet done 
 her any harm ; and besides, this odd little 
 grey man, though he was as ugly as a rent in 
 a new pinafore, grinned at her from one ear 
 to the other, and seemed to be the most good- 
 natured dwarf in the world. So Princess 
 Hilda called to Prince Harold and Prince 
 Hector, who, when they saw what had come 
 to them, were no more frightened than Hilda, 
 and a good deal more amused ; and as the 
 dwarf kept on grinning from one ear to the 
 other the three children began to smile back 
 at him. Meanwhile the great red ball of the 
 sun was slowly dropping downwards ; and 
 now his lower rim was just resting on the 
 edge of the world. 
 
 Since you have already heard about 
 Rumpty-Dudget you will have guessed that 
 this grey dwarf was none other than he, and 
 that although he grinned so broadly from one 
 ear to the other he wished in reality to do the 
 three children harm ; and even (if he could 
 manage it) to carry one of them off to his 
 tower, to stand in the hundred-and-first 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 139 
 
 corner, with his face to the wall and his 
 hands behind his back. But Rumpty- Budget 
 had no power to do this so long as the 
 children stayed on their side of the prickly 
 hedge ; he must first tempt them to creep 
 through the opening, and then, when they 
 were upon his own grounds, he could do with 
 them what he pleased. Now, the children 
 had often been warned not to creep through 
 the hedge, both by their Queen-mother, before 
 she went away, and by their Fairy Aunt in 
 dreams, and by Tom the Cat in the day- 
 time ; and as they had never had reason to 
 suppose that there was anything prettier on 
 the other side of the hedge than on their own, 
 they had never thought of going thither. 
 Rumpty- Budget knew this ; and as he was 
 even more cunning than he was ugly he had 
 made up his mind to profit by it. 
 
 ' My dear young people,' he said, holding 
 out his hands, ' I am very glad to meet you. 
 It has grieved me to see you all playing here 
 on this ugly lawn, when there is a garden so 
 much more beautiful just on the other side of 
 the hedge. I am very fond of children, and 
 I make it my business to amuse them. If 
 you will just give yourselves the trouble to 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 step through that opening in the hedge you 
 shall see something that you never saw 
 before.' 
 
 The three children thought this sounded 
 very pleasant ; but, after a pause, Princess 
 Hilda, who generally took the lead, said : 
 
 ' We were told not to go on the other 
 side of the hedge/ 
 
 ' Who could have been so unkind as to 
 tell you that ? ' cried Rumpty- Budget, as if 
 he was very much shocked. ' Besides, one 
 side of the hedge is just the same as another ; 
 and if it is wrong to go on the other side, 
 how much more wrong it must be to stay on 
 this ! ' 
 
 Hilda thought awhile before answering, 
 for what Rump ty- Budget had said certainly 
 sounded reasonable. ' But why,' she asked 
 at last, ' should there be any hedge at all ? ' 
 
 ' It is all on account of the hole through 
 it,' the dwarf replied, with his most charming 
 grin. ' There could have been no hole, you 
 see, if there hadn't been a hedge ; and that is 
 why the hedge was planted.' 
 
 Princess Hilda could not deny that this 
 was true ; and, moreover, since she had 
 begun to talk with the dwarf she had felt a 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 141 
 
 strong desire to see whether the garden on 
 the other side of the hedge was so very much 
 prettier than their own, as he declared. 
 ' What do you say, boys ? * she asked, turning 
 to the two little princes. ' Shall we take just 
 one peep ? ' 
 
 ' That is right ! Come, my dears, at 
 once!' put in Rumpty- Budget eagerly, taking 
 Hilda and Harold each by the hand, and 
 letting little Hector trot on before. ' It is 
 already late, and I want you to see my 
 garden before the sun goes down.' So they 
 all came to the opening in the hedge ; and, if 
 the truth must be told, the three children 
 were almost as anxious to get through it as 
 Rumpty- Budget was to have them do so. 
 And the great red ball of the sun kept going 
 down further and further, and now all his 
 lower half was out of sight beneath the edge 
 of the world. 
 
 1 Now, my dear,' said Rumpty- Budget to 
 Princess Hilda, 'will you step through first? 
 Ladies always go first, you know.' 
 
 * Not through holes in the hedges/ re- 
 plied Hilda, drawing back. 'It is always 
 the men who go first then.' 
 
 All but the last quarter of the sun was 
 
142 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 now hidden behind the edge of the world, 
 and there was no time to be lost, for (as 
 Rumpty- Budget well knew) as soon as the 
 sun was quite gone Tom the Cat would ap- 
 pear. So he said, as amiably as he could, 
 though in reality he felt very angry : 
 
 1 Well, then, Prince Harold, my fine 
 fellow, you are the next eldest ; take my 
 hand, and in we go.' 
 
 1 No,' said Prince Harold, drawing back ; 
 ' I think I am too big to get through that 
 little hole. Somebody else must go first.' 
 
 Rumpty- Budget trembled with rage and 
 fear ; and there was only the smallest bit of 
 the sun yet visible. However, he managed 
 to say, in a tolerably smooth voice : 
 
 * Little Prince Hector, there, is my man 
 after all ! He will come through the hole, 
 and see the pretty things, won't he ? ' 
 
 Now, Prince Hector- was a sturdy little 
 fellow, and afraid of nothing ; so he put his 
 hand in Rumpty-Budget's and said boldly : 
 
 ' Yes, I'll go ; but if your garden isn't any 
 prettier than you are I shan't want to stay 
 long.' 
 
 * Let me lift you in, my little hero/ said 
 Rumpty-Budget, taking Hector round the 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 143. 
 
 waist with his little bony hands; 'and I'll 
 warrant you won't come back in a hurry. 
 Now, then jump ! ' 
 
 But just at that moment the last scrap 
 of the sun vanished beneath the edge of the 
 w r orld ; and instantly, with a tremendous 
 hissing and caterwauling, Tom the Cat came 
 springing across the lawn like a white-hot 
 snowball. His yellow eyes flashed, his back 
 bristled, and every hair upon his tail stood 
 out so straight that the tail looked as thick 
 as an old-fashioned muff. He flew straight 
 at Rumpty- Budget and leaped upon his 
 hump, and bit and scratched him soundly, 
 Rumpty-Dudget yelled with pain, and drop- 
 ping Prince Hector, he vanished through the 
 hole in the hedge like a hot chestnut into a 
 hungry boy. 
 
 But from the other side of the hedge he 
 flung at the three children a handful of 
 black mud ; a bit of it hit Princess Hilda on 
 the forehead, and another bit fell upon Prince 
 Harold's nose, and another upon little Prince 
 Hector's chin. And there those three black 
 spots stayed ; and all the washing and scrub- 
 bing in the world would not make them go 
 away. It is always so with the mud that 
 
144 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 Rumpty- Budget throws ; it seems to grow 
 down into you until it fastens a root in your 
 heart. And this, probably, was the reason 
 why Princess Hilda (who had until then been 
 the best little girl in the world) began from 
 that time to wish to rule things ; and Prince 
 Harold (who had until then been one of the 
 two best little boys in the world) began from 
 that time to wish to have things ; and little 
 Prince Hector (who had until then been the 
 other of the two best little boys in the world, 
 began from that time to wish to do things 
 which he was told not to do. 
 
 Such was the effect of Rumpty- Budget's 
 three mud-spots. 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 145 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE WAYS OF THE WIND. 
 
 BUT, although Hilda, Harold, and Hector 
 were no longer quite the best children in the 
 world, they were pretty good children as the 
 world goes, and if it had not been for the 
 north wind they would have got on together 
 very well. But whenever that wind blew 
 everything began to go wrong. Hilda wanted 
 everything her own way ; Harold wanted 
 everything in his own pockets ; and Hector 
 wanted everything at cross-purposes. Then, 
 too, the spots on Hilda's forehead, on 
 Harold's nose, and on Hector's chin became 
 blacker and blacker, and hotter and hotter, 
 until the children were ready to cry from 
 pain and vexation. But tears could do no 
 more than soap and water to wash the spots 
 away. 
 
 As soon as the wind began to blow from 
 the south, however, the spots began to lose 
 
 L 
 
146 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 their blackness, and the pricking to lessen, 
 until at last the children almost forgot their 
 trouble. Yet it never altogether disappeared ; 
 and neither Tom the Cat nor the Fairy Aunt 
 had the power to cure it. But Tom used to 
 say that, unless Hilda and her two brothers 
 Avould agree always to make the wind blow 
 from the south, the hundred-and-first corner 
 in Rumpty- Budget's tower would sooner or 
 later be filled. 
 
 ' How can we make the wind blow one 
 way or the other ? ' Hilda would ask. 
 
 * It all depends upon you, nevertheless,' 
 Tom would reply. ' Winds do not move of 
 themselves, but people pull them.' 
 
 'Well, I don't understand it,' Hilda would 
 answer, after a little thinking ; ' and if I 
 don't, of course the boys don't either.' 
 
 At night, when the Fairy Aunt came in 
 through the round window, and sat on their 
 bedside to whisper stones about Fairyland 
 into their ears, the children would sometimes 
 ask her to take them all three up in her arms 
 and carry them over the tops of the trees of 
 the Forest of Mystery to her home far away 
 on the other side. Then she would shake 
 her head and say : 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 147 
 
 ' While those spots are on your faces you 
 cannot come with me.' 
 
 ' Why not ? ' the children asked in their 
 dream. 
 
 * Because they are a sign that a part of 
 each of you belongs to Rumpty- Budget; and 
 he will not let go of that part, in spite of all 
 that I can do.' 
 
 ' Shall we never be able to go with you, 
 then ? ' dreamed the children piteously. 
 
 ' Not until the wind blows from the south 
 every day in the week. When that happens 
 the spots will vanish, and I will take you all 
 three in my arms, and fly with you over the 
 tops of the trees to Fairyland.' 
 
 1 And what shall we see there ? ' the 
 children asked. 
 
 * You will see the Queen, your mother/ 
 1 And shall we see you too ? ' 
 
 * Yes, I shall be with you.' 
 ' And Tom the Cat too ? ' 
 
 'What you have loved in Tom the Cat 
 will be there too,' answered the fairy, smiling. 
 
 ' But how shall we make the wind blow 
 from the south every day in the week ? ' 
 
 At that the fairy smiled and shook her 
 head, and touched each one of them on the 
 
 L2 
 
148 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 heart ; and no other answer would she give. 
 So the children were no wiser on that point 
 than before. 
 
 Thus time went on steadily, to-morrow 
 always going before to-day, and yesterday 
 invariably bringing up the rear, until a year 
 was past ; and what should come round again 
 but Rumpty-Dudget's birthday, the most un- 
 lucky day of all the three hundred and sixty 
 five ! An hour and twenty seconds before 
 sunset Tom the Cat said to the children : 
 
 1 Now, you must be very careful, while I 
 am away, to do as I tell you. Do not go out 
 into the garden, do not touch the black ball 
 that lies on the nursery table, and do not 
 jump against the north wind ; for if you 
 do- 
 But at this moment the hour struck, and 
 Tom the Cat sprang into the air and dis- 
 appeared like a soap bubble. 
 
 For a while the three children remem- 
 bered what had been said to them ; they 
 played quietly in the palace, and did not 
 touch the black ball on the nursery table. 
 But towards sunset it so happened that they 
 were all leaning against the table, with their 
 elbows resting on it, and their heads between 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 149 
 
 their hands. There lay the black ball mys- 
 terious and quiet. The longer the children 
 looked at it the more mysterious it appeared. 
 At last Hilda said: 
 
 ' I wonder where it came from ? ' 
 
 ' I wonder what it's made of ? ' said 
 Harold. 
 
 ' I wonder why we mustn't touch it ? ' said 
 Hector. 
 
 Then all three looked at it steadily for 
 another minute. Then Hilda exclaimed sud- 
 denly : 
 
 ' I believe it moved ! ' 
 
 ' So do I ! ' cried Harold. 
 
 1 I don't ! ' said Hector. ' But I can make 
 it move.' And with that he gave the table a 
 tip, and the black ball rolled off, bounced on 
 to the floor, and jumped out of the window 
 into the garden. 
 
 ' You have disobeyed Tom the Cat/ said 
 Hilda, after a pause. 
 
 ' How shall we ever get it back again ? ' 
 cried Harold, running to the window and 
 looking out. ' Oh, I can see it ! there, in the 
 middle of the lawn.' 
 
 ' Yes, but we are not to go into the 
 garden,' said Hilda. 
 
i$o * RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 1 It is all Hector's fault/ said Harold. 
 
 ' I am going into the garden to play with 
 the ball/ said Hector boldly ; and he walked 
 off. 
 
 1 What a naughty boy he is ! ' said Harold 
 to Hilda. 
 
 ' Yes ; but the wind blows from the south," 
 she answered. * You may stay here if you 
 like ; I think I shall go and play with Hector/ 
 And she walked off. 
 
 ' What naughty children they are ! ' said 
 Harold to himself. ' But Hilda is older than 
 I, and Hector is younger, so I think I will go 
 out too/ So he ran after the others, and 
 came up with them just as Hector had picked 
 up the black ball and was tossing it to Hilda. 
 
 1 Let us play in a triangle/ said Harold. 
 So they stood at the three corners, and tossed 
 the ball from one to another. 
 
 But, strange to say, the wind, which had 
 been blowing all day from the south, had 
 suddenly changed to the north ; and the 
 spots on the children's faces began to get 
 blacker than ink and hotter than pepper. 
 And, as they had to keep rubbing the spots 
 first with one hand and then with another, 
 they were continually missing the ball when 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 151 
 
 it was thrown to them ; and they did not 
 notice that every time it fell to the ground it 
 struck nearer and nearer to the tall hedge 
 which divided Rumpty- Budget's land from 
 the Queen's. At last Harold got the ball to- 
 himself, and kept tossing it up and down 
 without letting the others have their turn. 
 Hereupon Hilda and Hector began to run 
 after him to take the ball away from him ; but 
 just as they caught up with him he gave the 
 ball a great throw, and it flew clear over the 
 high hedge, and came down with a bounce in 
 Rumpty- Budget's garden. It wanted three 
 minutes to sunset. 
 
 The three children were a good deal 
 frightened at this, and looked at one another 
 in dismay. But they did not yet know how 
 much reason for fright there was. 
 
 'It is your fault!' said Hector to Ha- 
 rold. 
 
 ' It is your fault ! ' said Harold to Hilda. 
 
 ' It is your fault ! ' said Hilda to Hector. 
 
 'Let us look through the hole in the 
 hedge,' said Hector, putting his finger on his 
 chin, where the black spot was. Hilda put 
 her finger upon the spot on her forehead 
 and followed him ; and Harold followed them 
 
152 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 both, with his finger on his nose. They came 
 to the hole in the hedge, and looked through 
 it 
 
 ' I can see it ! * exclaimed Hilda. 
 
 ' It is not far off/ said Harold. ' If the 
 north wind did not blow so hard through this 
 hole we might jump through and get it/ 
 
 ' I don't mind jumping against the north 
 wind/ said Hector boldly; and with that he 
 jumped through the hole : and the sun set. 
 
 * It is too late!' said Tom the Cat, who 
 appeared between Harold and Hilda at that 
 moment. ' I cannot save him now. Look ! ' 
 
 Hector, after jumping through the hedge, 
 had run up to the black ball and stooped to 
 pick it up. But the ball moved and unfolded 
 itself, and a little cackling laugh came out of 
 it, and it stood up on its legs. It was no 
 other than Rumpty- Budget himself. 
 
 ' Now, my young prince, you will come 
 with me and stand in my hundred-and-first 
 corner ! ' said he, with a malignant grin. 
 
 'No, I won't!' said Hector. 
 
 At that Rumpty-Dudget took a piece of 
 black string from his pocket and held one end 
 of it to the black spot on Hector's chin ; and 
 it stuck to it so fast that all the pulling in the 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET* 155 
 
 world could not pull, it off. Then Rumpty- 
 Dudget put the string over his shoulder, and 
 so dragged Hector into his tower, and put him 
 in the hundred-and-first corner. 
 
 As soon as this was done the north wind 
 increased to a hurricane ; the beautiful palace 
 ivas blown away, the Garden of Delight was 
 destroyed, and nothing was left but a desert 
 covered with grey stones and brambles. The 
 dull grey cloud covered all the sky, and 
 Rumpty- Budget was master of the whole 
 country. 
 
154 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 NO TIME TO BE LOST. 
 
 PRINCESS HILDA and Prince Harold sat down 
 on a heap of rubbish that happened to be 
 near them, and cried heartily. Tom the Cat 
 sat before them, moving the end of his tail 
 first one way and then the other, and looking 
 very sorrowful out of his yellow eyes. But 
 presently he said : 
 
 1 Crying will not get poor Hector back 
 again.' 
 
 ' Can we ever get him back ? ' sobbed 
 Harold. 
 
 * I would do anything ! ' whimpered Hilda. 
 
 ' If our Fairy Aunt were only here,' said 
 Harold, ' perhaps she could tell us what we 
 ought to do.' 
 
 ' You will not see the Fairy Aunt again/ 
 Tom replied, ' until you have got Hector out 
 of the grey tower, where he is at this moment 
 standing, with his face to the wall and [his 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 155 
 
 hands behind his back, in the one-hundred- 
 and-first corner.' 
 
 ' But what can we do ?' cried Hilda, be- 
 ginning to weep afresh. 'We are nothing 
 but little children/ 
 
 * Perhaps you may be able to do more than 
 if you were grown up/ Tom replied. ' It de- 
 pends a good deal upon how much you love 
 Hector.' 
 
 1 Oh ! ' exclaimed both the children at 
 once ; and as they could not think of anything 
 big enough to compare their love for Hector 
 to, they said nothing more. 
 
 'Listen to me, then,' said Tom, 'and all 
 may yet be well. But in the first place get on 
 my back, so that I may take you out of this 
 desert and into the great forest, where we can 
 lay our plans without being interrupted/ 
 
 So saying Tom rose and curved his back : 
 the two children jumped upon it ; off they all 
 went, and, in less time than it takes to tell 
 it, they were in the midst of that great Forest 
 of Mystery which they had so often seen from 
 the window of their chamber, but which, until 
 now, they had never entered. It was quite 
 still, except a faint chopping noise that seemed 
 to come from a long way off. 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGE7 
 
 1 What makes that noise ? ' Hilda asked. 
 
 ' That is Rumpty- Budget cutting down 
 the trees,' Tom replied ; ' and unless we can 
 :stop him he will cut down every one of them. 
 However, he will hardly get so far as this to- 
 night. Now, children, sit down and listen.' 
 
 The children accordingly seated them- 
 -selves on a cushion of moss at the foot of one 
 of the tallest pine-trees in the forest, and the 
 cat sat down in front of them, with his thick 
 tail curled round his toes. 
 
 ' The first thing to be done/ said Tom, 
 looking at the children with his yellow eyes, 
 which burned as brightly as lamps in the 
 gloom of the forest, ' the first thing to be done 
 is, of course, to get the Golden Ivy-seed and 
 the Diamond Waterdrop. After that the 
 rest is easy.' 
 
 ' And where are the Golden Ivy-seed and 
 the Diamond Waterdrop to be found ? ' in- 
 quired the two children hopefully. 
 
 ' The Golden Ivy-seed must be sought in 
 the centre of the earth, where the King of 
 the Gnomes reigns,' replied the cat ; ' and the 
 Diamond Waterdrop is to be asked for in the 
 kingdom of the Air Spirits, above the clouds.' 
 
 ' But how are we to get up to the Air 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 Spirits and down to the Gnomes ? ' asked the 
 children disconsolately. 
 
 ' We will see about that,' replied the cat. 
 ' But before starting we must build the en- 
 chanted bonfire.' 
 
 ' What good will that do ? ' demanded the 
 children. 
 
 ' We could never get on without it/ re- 
 plied Tom. ' For since Hector has been put 
 into the one-hundred-and-first corner the sun 
 has caught fire and the moon has frozen up, 
 and "this fire will be all we can have to warm 
 and light us on our journey/ 
 
 ' But what if it should go out while we are 
 away ? ' said the children. 
 
 ' In order to prevent that one of you 
 must stay by it, while the other goes with 
 me on the journey/ said Tom. ' Harold, you 
 shall be the one to stay. Be sure and not let 
 the fire go out whatever happens ; for if it 
 does, Rumpty-Dudget will take the blackened 
 logs and rub Hector's face all over with them, 
 and then we should never be able to get him 
 out of the tower at all. Now do you two run 
 about and pick up all the dried sticks you can 
 find, and pile them together in a heap, while 
 I get the touchwood ready.' 
 
158 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 'In a few minutes so diligently did 
 Hilda and Harold work a heap of faggots 
 had been gathered together as high as the top 
 of Hilda's head. Meanwhile Tom the Cat 
 had not been idle. He had drawn on the 
 ground with the tip of his tail a large circle, 
 in the centre of which was the heap of faggots. 
 It had now become quite dark, and the chil- 
 dren could not have seen their way about 
 had it not been for Tom's yellow eyes, which 
 burned as brightly as two carriage-lamps. 
 
 ' Come inside the circle, children,' said he 
 at length. ' I am now going to light the 
 touchwood.' 
 
 In they came accordingly, and sat down 
 again on the moss cushion at the foot of the 
 tall pine-tree. The cat then put the touch- 
 wood on the ground and crouched down in 
 front of it, with his nose resting against it ; 
 and he stared and stared at it with his flaming 
 yellow eyes, and by and by it began to smoke 
 and smoulder, and at last it caught fire and 
 burned away famously. 
 
 1 That will do nicely,' said the cat ; ' now 
 put on some sticks.' 
 
 Hilda and Harold heaped on the dry 
 sticks in handfuls ; and so the enchanted fire 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 159 
 
 fairly started, and it burned blue, red, 
 and yellow. 
 
 ' And now there is no time to be lost/ said 
 Tom the Cat. ' Harold, you will stay beside 
 this fire, and keep it burning until I come 
 t>ack with Hilda from the kingdoms of the Air 
 Spirits and of the Gnomes. Remember, that if 
 you let the fire go out it can never again be 
 lighted, and all will be lost. Nevertheless, 
 you must on no account go outside the circle 
 to gather more faggots, if those which are 
 already inside get used up before we return. 
 You may, perhaps, be tempted to do so ; but 
 if you yield to the temptation all will go 
 wrong. Your brother Hector will then be in 
 greater danger than ever, and the only way 
 you can save him will be to get into the fire 
 yourself and burn ! ' 
 
 Prince Harold did not much like the idea 
 of being left alone in the woods all night, with 
 the sound of Rumpty- Budget's axe coming 
 ever nearer and nearer. Still, since it was 
 for his little brother Hector's sake, he never 
 dreamed of refusing. But he made up his 
 mind to be particularly careful not to use up 
 the faggots too fast, so that he would not be 
 tempted to go outside the ring. 
 
160 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 Hilda and Tom kissed him, and bade him 
 farewell ; then Hilda got on the cat's back, 
 and nestled down amidst the warm white fur. 
 Tom sprang on to the trunk of the tall pine- 
 tree, and away ! straight upwards they went, 
 and were out of sight in the twinkling of an 
 eye. 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 161 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE AIR. 
 
 AFTER climbing upwards fora long time they 
 came at last to the very tiptop of the pine- 
 tree, which was just on a level with the upper 
 surface of the clouds. 
 
 ' We are now above the reach of the north 
 wind/ remarked the cat ; ' and this is the 
 only tree in the forest tall enough for our 
 purpose. All the clouds hereabouts, as you 
 see, are blown by the south wind and by the 
 west. If we rode on one blown by the north 
 we should be driven straight into Rumpty- 
 Dudget's power.' 
 
 ' Are we going to ride on a cloud, then ? ' 
 -asked Hilda, feeling a little nervous ; for it 
 was a terrible distance if they should fall. 
 
 ' Hold tight to me, and you will be safe,' 
 replied Tom. ' Here conies the cloud we 
 want it will pass within two yards of us. 
 As we make the jump do you look down to 
 
 M 
 
162 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 the foot of the tree and see whether Harold 
 is in his place and the fire still burning/ 
 
 Hardly had Tom done speaking, when 
 the cloud sailed by, passing, as he had said, 
 within two yards of the top of the pine-tree 
 to which they were clinging. The cat jumped, 
 and alighted very cleverly on the cloud's 
 edge, and a moment's scramble brought them 
 to the top. Meanwhile, Hilda had looked 
 downward to the foot of the tree as they 
 took their leap ; and she had caught a 
 glimpse of Harold sitting within the ring, 
 beside the enchanted fire, and seeming ra- 
 ther disconsolate. But the fire was burning 
 brightly, yellow, red, and blue. 
 
 The cloud sailed away, and took them 
 to a part of the sky which Hilda had never 
 seen before. It was full of a strange white 
 light, and no darkness ever came there. On 
 went the cloud, moving slowly but steadily, 
 like a great ship steering its way amidst the 
 sky. The kingdom of the Air Spirits soon 
 loomed in sight. Rainbow bridges spanned 
 its shining rivers ; its forests were like the 
 tracery of the Northern Lights ; and the 
 houses and palaces in which the people lived 
 were stars of different sizes, along whose 
 rays was the only path to get to them. 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 163 
 
 At length the cloud entered the harbour, 
 and, letting down an anchor of raindrops, its 
 motion ceased. 
 
 ( You must go the rest of the way alone, 
 Hilda,' said the cat. ' I shall wait for you, 
 and you will find me here on your return.' 
 
 ' But which way am I to go, and what am 
 I to do ?' asked Hilda in a tremulous tone ; 
 for being so high above the earth almost took 
 her breath away. 
 
 ' You must ask the first Air Spirit you 
 meet to show you the star where the Queen 
 lives, and then you must get there the best 
 way you can,' Tom replied. ' When you 
 have found her you must ask her for the 
 Diamond Waterdrop. But be very careful 
 not to sit down, however much you may be 
 tempted to do so ; for if you do, your little 
 brother Hector never can be saved.' 
 
 Hilda did not much like the idea of 
 making so perilous a journey as this pro- 
 mised to be, without even the cat to go 
 with her ; but since it was for Hector's sake 
 she never dreamed of refusing : only she 
 made up her mind on no account to sit down, 
 no matter what happened. She bade Tom 
 farewell, therefore, and walked off. 
 
 M L> 
 
1 64 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 She had not gone far when she met an 
 Air Spirit, carrying its nose in the air as, of 
 course, all Air Spirits do. 
 
 ' Can you tell me which star the Queen 
 sits in ?' Hilda asked. 
 
 * What do you want of the Queen ? ' in- 
 quired the Air Spirit superciliously. 
 
 ' I want to ask her where the Diamond 
 Waterdrop is,' answered Hilda. 
 
 ' You will never get on in this country 
 unless you carry your nose more in the air 
 than you do,' observed the Air Spirit. ' As 
 for her Majesty, she sits in the large star up 
 yonder with the white ray. Mind you don't 
 break your neck. Ta-ta ! ' 
 
 Hilda went onward very disconsolately. 
 As to carrying her nose in the air she had 
 never in her life felt less inclined to do 
 such a thing. By and by she came to the 
 spot where the white ray of light from the 
 Queen's star touched the solid air. A 
 number of Air Spirits were walking up and 
 down it like so many tight-rope dancers. 
 
 ' Look at that absurd child ! ' they said to 
 one another. ' See how she hangs her head ! 
 Why doesn't she put on airs ? She will never 
 come to anything.' 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 16$ 
 
 Hilda began to climb up the long white 
 ray ; and though at first she was very much 
 frightened, by degrees she gained courage, 
 and at last she was able to walk along toler- 
 ably fast. But it was a long distance to the 
 top, and by the time she got there she was 
 almost ready to drop with fatigue. 
 
 The star, when she entered it, was a 
 glorious place indeed ; and the Queen of 
 the Air Spirits was dazzlingly beautiful, 
 though Hilda fancied that she looked 
 upon her rather haughtily. She was seated 
 upon a throne of fretted sunshine ; and as 
 soon as Hilda was within hearing she 
 said : 
 
 ' I have been expecting you. You have 
 come a long way, and you look very tired. 
 Come here and sit down.' 
 
 ' No, your Majesty,' replied Hilda faintly, 
 ' I have no time to sit down or to stay. I 
 have come to ask you for the Diamond 
 Water drop.' 
 
 ' For the Diamond Waterdrop indeed ! ' 
 exclaimed the Queen, laughing. 'And pray 
 what made you suppose that you would find 
 the Diamond Waterdrop here ? However, 
 sit down here beside me, and let us talk 
 
1 66 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 about it. Such a question as you ask cannot 
 be answered in a moment.' 
 
 But Hilda shook her head. 
 
 ' Listen to me, my dear Princess/ said the 
 Queen again, more courteously than she had 
 yet spoken. ' I know that you like to have 
 everything your own way ; and, as you are 
 perhaps aware, there is no one who can have 
 things so entirely her own way as can the Queen 
 of the Air Spirits. Now, Princess Hilda, if 
 you will sit down here on my throne I will 
 let you be Queen of the Air Spirits instead of 
 me. You shall have everything your own 
 way, and you shall put on as many airs as 
 you please. Come ! ' 
 
 When Hilda heard this she certainly felt 
 for a moment very much tempted to do as 
 the Queen asked her. But the next moment 
 the thought came to her of her poor little 
 brother Hector, standing in the hundred-and- 
 first corner of Rumpty- Budget's tower, with 
 his face to the wall and his hands behind his 
 back. So she answered, with tears in her 
 eyes : 
 
 ' Oh, Queen of the Air Spirits, I am so 
 sorry for my little brother that I do not any 
 longer care to have everything my own way, 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 167 
 
 or to put on airs, or to do anything except 
 find the Diamond Waterdrop, so that Hector 
 may be saved. Can you tell me where it is ? ' 
 
 But the Queen shook her beautiful head 
 and frowned. 
 
 ' I have no Diamond Waterdrop,' said 
 she. ' Ask yourself where it is.' 
 
 Then poor Hilda felt as if her heart 
 would break, and she sobbed out : 
 
 * Oh, what shall I do to save my poor 
 little brother ? ' 
 
 There was no answer, and Hilda turned 
 away. But, as she did so, the Queen sud- 
 denly said : 
 
 ' I see the Diamond Waterdrop now, 
 Hilda ! ' 
 
 ' Oh, where ? ' cried Hilda, turning again 
 eagerly. 
 
 The Queen was smiling upon her now 
 with a very kind expression. 
 
 ' It is on your own cheek ! ' said she. 
 
 Hilda was so bewildered that, at first, she 
 could only gaze at the Queen without moving 
 or speaking. 
 
 ' Yes/ the Queen continued, in a gentle 
 tone, ' you might have searched through all 
 the kingdoms of the earth and air, and yet 
 
1 68 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 never have found that precious Diamond^ 
 had you not loved your brother Hector more 
 than you loved to be Queen. That tear upon, 
 your cheek, Hilda, which you shed for love 
 of him, is the Diamond Waterdrop that you. 
 have sought. Keep it in this crystal phial ; 
 be prudent, patient, and resolute, and sooner 
 or later Hector will be free.' 
 
 As the Queen spoke she held out a small 
 crystal phial, and the tear from Hilda's cheek 
 fell into it. Then the Queen hung the phial 
 about Hilda's neck by a chain of moon- 
 sparkles, and kissed her tenderly and bade 
 her farewell. And away went Hilda, light of 
 foot, for the weariness had left her. But as 
 she went she kept fancying that she had 
 somewhere heard a voice like this Queen's 
 before ; but where or when she could not 
 tell. 
 
 She now reached the solid air again, and 
 hastening her steps, she presently arrived at 
 the harbour in which the cloud was anchored ; 
 and there she found Tom the Cat awaiting 
 her. He got up and stretched himself as she 
 approached ; and when he saw the crystal 
 phial hanging at her neck by its chain of 
 moon-sparkles he said : 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 169* 
 
 ' So far all has gone well. But the hardest 
 part is yet to come : we have to find the 
 Golden Ivy-seed. There is no time to be 
 lost, so jump on my back, and let us be 
 off!' 
 
 With that he curved his back, Hilda put 
 her arms round his neck and nestled down in 
 the soft white fur, and Tom gave a great leap 
 off the edge of the cloud, and away ! down 
 they went through the empty air like a live 
 snowball, and it seemed to Hilda that they 
 never would have done falling. At length, 
 however, they alighted safely on the top of a 
 haystack, and the next moment they were 
 standing in the hayfield. 
 
1 70 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE KING OF THE GNOMES. 
 
 JUST beside the haystack was a field-mouse's 
 hole, or what looked like one ; and something 
 that looked like a little brown mouse, but 
 which might have been something else for 
 all Hilda could tell, was sitting at the entrance 
 of it. But when it saw the cat it rose up on 
 its little hind legs, turned a complete somer- 
 sault, and then darted away down the hole ; 
 and Hilda noticed that it had no tail. 
 
 ' What a curious mouse ! ' she said to 
 Tom. 
 
 ' It was a Gnome/ he replied : ' they are 
 often mistaken for mice when they appear on 
 the surface of the ground.' 
 
 'Where has he gone to ?' inquired Hilda. 
 
 ' Down to the centre of the earth, to be 
 sure/ said Tom, ' to tell the others that we 
 are coming/ 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 171 
 
 ' But we can never get into such a little 
 hole as that/ Hilda said. 
 
 ' Get on my back, and hold fast ! ' was all 
 Tom's answer; and when Hilda had nestled 
 down in his soft white fur and clasped her 
 arms round his neck he began scratching at 
 the hole with both his fore- paws, and throwing 
 up the dirt in a mighty heap behind ; till in a 
 wonderfully short time a large passage was 
 made, opening towards the centre of the 
 earth. 
 
 ' Hold fast ! ' said Tom again, and into the 
 passage they went. 
 
 If it had not been for the cat's eyes, which 
 shone like two yellow carriage-lamps, they 
 might more than once have missed their way, 
 for it was as dark as pitch during the first part 
 of the journey. Hilda, as she clung close to 
 the cat's back, could see that they were passing 
 rapidly through what seemed to be a series of 
 caves, one opening into another, and growing 
 always higher and broader as they went on. 
 At first the air felt damp and cold ; but as 
 they sped onwards it grew warmer and drier ; 
 and now the wall of the caverns began to 
 throw back gleams of many-coloured light, 
 .as if from gigantic jewels sticking there ; and 
 
172 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 presently the light increased, without seeming 
 to come from anywhere in particular ; and the 
 great vault overhead seemed to soar aloft, 
 until only a misty brightness was visible, like 
 the sky at sunset-time, when it is feathered 
 with gorgeous clouds. It was a new and 
 marvellous country, with gold and silver fila- 
 gree instead of foliage, and fields of emerald, 
 and rivers of sapphires, and distant mountains 
 of amethyst. By and by the cat came to two 
 lofty pillars of plain white alabaster, and there 
 he stopped. 
 
 1 Now, Hilda/ he said, 'you must go the 
 rest of the way alone. Pass between those 
 pillars, and then you will be in the kingdom 
 of the Gnomes. Ask the first Gnome you 
 meet to show you the place where the King 
 ploughs ; and when you have found him, ask 
 him where the Golden Ivy-seed is. But be 
 very careful to do everything that he bids 
 you, no matter how strange or disagreeable it 
 may be ; for, if you disobey him, your brother 
 Hector cannot be saved.' 
 
 Though Hilda did not much like the idea 
 of going on through this strange land all by 
 herself, still, since it was for Hector's sake,, 
 she never dreamed of refusing ; only she made 
 up her mind to do everything the King bade 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 173 
 
 her, whatever happened. So off she started, 
 and after passing between the alabaster pillars 
 she came to a road on which the gold-dust lay 
 an inch thick ; for it seldom rains in the centre 
 of the earth. Pretty soon she met a little 
 brown Gnome, running along on all-fours, and 
 turning somersaults, as all Gnomes do. 
 
 ' Will you show me the place where the 
 King ploughs ? ' asked Hilda. 
 
 ' What do you want of him ? ' asked the 
 Gnome. 
 
 ' I want to ask him to tell me where the 
 Golden Ivy- seed is,' Hilda replied. 
 
 ( He ploughs in the emerald field on the 
 other side of the mountain of amethyst,' said 
 the Gnome ; ' but, unless you can go on all- 
 fours and turn somersaults better than you 
 seem able to do, you will never get on in this 
 country.' 
 
 But Hilda had never walked on all-fours, 
 much less turned somersaults, since she was 
 a baby a year old ; so she trudged along the 
 dusty golden road just as she was, and all the 
 Gnomes who met her threw somersaults and 
 said : 
 
 ' See how upright she walks ! She will 
 never come to anything ! ' 
 
 The road was very long, the amethyst 
 
174 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 mountain was very far away, and Hilda was 
 very tired by the time she arrived at the 
 emerald field. But there was the field at 
 last, and there was the King of the Gnomes 
 on all-fours in the midst of it. He was a 
 strange little being, with piercing black eyes, 
 immensely broad shoulders, and a beard of 
 white asbestos woven together like a woman's 
 braid. As soon as he caught sight of Hilda 
 he shouted out to her : 
 
 ' Get down on all-fours this instant ! How 
 dare you come into my kingdom walking up- 
 right?' 
 
 Hilda was a good deal frightened at the 
 way the King spoke ; but she answered reso- 
 lutely, ' Your Majesty, I walked upright be- 
 cause there was no time to lose, and I have 
 come to ask you for the Golden Ivy-seed.' 
 
 ' The Golden Ivy-seed, forsooth ! ' ex- 
 claimed the King, with a deep laugh. ' What 
 made you suppose, I should like to know, 
 that there was any Golden Ivy-seed to be got 
 here ? The Golden Ivy-seed is not given to 
 people with stiff necks, I can assure you ; so 
 get down on all-fours at once, or else go about 
 your business,' 
 
 Then Hilda remembered what Tom the 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 175: 
 
 Cat had told her, and down she dropped on 
 all-fours without a word. 
 
 1 Now, listen to me/ said the King sternly. 
 ' I shall harness you to that plough in the 
 place of my horses, and you must drag it up 
 and down over this field until the whole of 
 it is ploughed, while I follow behind with 
 the whip. Hitch yourself to the shaft im- 
 mediately. Come ! ' 
 
 When Hilda heard this command it 
 seemed to her at first as if it was impossible 
 that she could obey it. For she was weary 
 with her long journey along the golden road 
 and over the mountain of amethyst, and the 
 King's plough looked very heavy, and his 
 whip very long ; and, besides, she thought it 
 was much beneath the dignity of a princess 
 such as she was to be driven on all-fours 
 through a ploughed field. But the next mo- 
 ment the thought came to her of her poor 
 little brother Hector, standing in the hundred- 
 and-first corner of Rumpty- Budget's tower, 
 with his face to the wall and his hands behind 
 his back. So she said humbly : 
 
 ' Oh, King of the Gnomes ! I am so sorry 
 for my brother Hector that for his sake I will 
 do as you bid me, in the hope that afterwards 
 
376 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 you will tell me where the Golden Ivy-seed 
 is to be found, so that Hector may be saved 
 from Rumpty- Budget's tower.' 
 
 The King made no reply whatever, but 
 he harnessed Hilda to the plough, and she 
 dragged it back and forth across the emerald 
 field until the whole of it was ploughed, while 
 the King followed behind with the whip. At 
 last he unharnessed her. 
 
 1 Now begone about your business ! ' he 
 said roughly. 
 
 ' But you have not told me where the 
 Golden Ivy-seed is,' said Hilda, with a piteous 
 throb in her heart. 
 
 ' I have no Golden Ivy-seed ! ' returned 
 the King, with his deep laugh. ' Why don't 
 you ask yourself where it is ? ' 
 
 At this poor Hilda's heart felt as if it were 
 broken, and she sank down on the ground and 
 sobbed out : 
 
 ' Oh ! what shall I do to save my little 
 brother ? ' 
 
 But hereupon the King of the Gnomes 
 smiled upon her, and he said, in a gentler 
 voice than he had yet used : 
 
 ' Put your hand to your heart, Hilda, and 
 see what you find there.' 
 
 Hilda did not understand what he meant; 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 177 
 
 but she had by this time got so used to obey- 
 ing him that she put her hand to her heart, 
 and felt something fall into the palm of her 
 hand ; and when in astonishment she looked 
 at it, behold, it was a tiny golden seed ! 
 
 ' Yes/ said the King kindly, ' you might 
 have searched through all the kingdoms of 
 the earth and air, and yet never have found 
 that precious seed, had not your heart been 
 broken like this field for love of your brother 
 Hector. Keep the Golden Ivy-seed in this 
 hollow pearl ; be humble, patient, and gentle, 
 and sooner or later Hector will be free/ 
 
 As he said these words he fastened the 
 pearl to her girdle with a jewelled clasp, and 
 kissed her on the forehead and bade her fare- 
 well. And as Hilda trudged back along the 
 golden road and over the mountain of ame- 
 thyst she kept thinking that somewhere she 
 had heard a voice like this King's before ; but 
 where or when she could not tell. 
 
 In course of time she arrived at the ala- 
 baster pillars, and, passing out between them, 
 she found Tom the Cat awaiting her. He got 
 up and stretched himself as she approached ; 
 and when he saw the hollow pearl at her 
 girdle he said : 
 
 N 
 
i;8 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 ' So far all has gone well. But now we 
 must see whether or not Harold has kept the 
 enchanted fire going. There is no time to be 
 lost ; so jump on my back and hold fast, and 
 let us be off/ 
 
 With that he curved his back ; Hilda 
 clasped her arms round his neck as before, 
 and away they went, through the gleaming 
 caverns, and up the sombre passages, and 
 through the cold damp tunnels, until at last 
 out they popped beside the haystack in the 
 field ; and after they had come out the little 
 brown creature which had been sitting waiting 
 at the entrance threw a somersault into the 
 great pit and disappeared. And immediately 
 the whole heap of earth which Tom had dug 
 up fell back into its place, and nothing was 
 left but a small round crevice in the ground, 
 like a field-mouse's hole. 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 179 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE ENCHANTED FIRE. 
 
 "Now, Harold after he had seen Hilda and 
 the cat vanish up the trunk of the tall pine- 
 tree had sat himself down rather discon- 
 solately beside the fire, which was blazing 
 away famously, yellow, red, and blue. He 
 rested his back against the trunk of the tree, 
 and fixed his eyes upon the fire ; it made a 
 slight rustling and crackling noise as it burned. 
 There was also another noise, but that did not 
 come from the fire ; it was a chopping noise, 
 sounding far away in the forest, and Harold 
 knew that it was Rumpty- Budget cutting 
 down the trees. Each time he heard this 
 sound it seemed to be a little nearer. Then 
 he would wonder to himself what he should do 
 if Rumpty- Budget were suddenly to appear. 
 He must not, at all events, let the fire go out ; 
 and every once in a while he took a faggot 
 from the pile that he and Hilda had heaped 
 
i8o RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 up and put it in the leaping flame ; but he 
 was very careful to avoid stepping outside the 
 circle which Tom the Cat had drawn with the 
 tip of his tail. 
 
 In this manner a very long time passed 
 away, and Harold, who had never sat up so 
 late before in his life, began to get uncom- 
 monly sleepy. But still Hilda and Tom did 
 not return; and Harold knew that, if he were 
 to lie down and take a nap, the enchanted fire 
 might go out before he waked up again ; and, 
 as Tom had warned him, once out it could 
 never be rekindled. Moreover, Rumpty- 
 Dudget would then be able to steal the fire- 
 blackened logs and blacken poor Hector's 
 face all over with them, so that he never 
 could be saved. Therefore Harold kept 
 himself awake, partly by sitting on a pine- 
 needle which he had found stuck in the moss 
 cushion, and partly by putting fresh faggots 
 into the flame, which went on burning blue, 
 yellow, and red. 
 
 But another very long time passed away, 
 and the sound of Rumpty- Budget's axe 
 sounded nearer, and the forest was dark and 
 full of mystery, and there was no sign yet of 
 Hilda and the cat. ' I never knew before/ 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 181 
 
 said Harold to himself, ' that a night was so 
 much longer than a day. I always thought 
 they were a great deal shorter, But then I 
 have no Fairy Aunt now to come and whisper 
 pleasant stories into my ear. Heigho! well, 
 I suppose I must put on another faggot.' And 
 he got up to fetch one. 
 
 Much to his consternation, however, he 
 found that there was now only a single faggot 
 left of all those that he and Hilda had gathered 
 together. 
 
 He was really frightened at this, and knew 
 not what to do ; for this last faggot would soon 
 be burnt up, and then what was to be done to 
 keep the enchanted fire going ? He made a 
 careful search inside the ring, and satisfied 
 himself that there was not so much as another 
 chip to be found there ; and Tom had told 
 him that if he went outside the ring all would 
 be lost. 
 
 However, the last faggot was not gone yet, 
 and in order to make it last as long as possible 
 Harold took it apart and put only one stick at 
 a time on the fire ; but it was alarming to see 
 how quickly the flame ate up one after an- 
 other, and seemed hungrier than ever. After 
 .a while all but the last stick was gone. A 
 
182 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 little while more and that had to be put in 
 too. And then Prince Harold sat down quite 
 in despair and cried with all his might. He 
 was at the end of everything, and at his wit's 
 end too. 
 
 At that moment he heard a voice calling 
 to him ; and looking up he saw an odd little 
 man standing just outside the circle, carrying 
 a great bundle of faggots on his shoulder. 
 Harold's eyes were so full of tears that he did 
 not see that this odd little man was Rumpty- 
 Budget himself; or else (what is quite as 
 likely) the dwarf had some spell by means of 
 which he could make himself appear different 
 from what he was. 
 
 ' What are you crying for, my poor dear 
 little boy ?' asked Rumpty-Dudget of Prince 
 Harold in his most coaxing voice. 
 
 ' Because I have used up all my faggots/ 
 he answered. 
 
 * Used them all up ! But surely there are 
 plenty more in the forest where those came 
 from ? ' the dwarf answered in pretended sur- 
 prise. ' Besides, what harm if the fire does 
 go out ? It isn't a cold night, and the moon 
 will be up presently.' 
 
 1 But if the fire goes out,' said Harold, ' my 
 poor little brother Hector cannot be saved.' 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 183 
 
 ' Oh, that is the trouble, is it ? ' exclaimed 
 the dwarf. ' Well, now, it is lucky I 
 happened to come along this way ; you 
 could not have met with a better adviser 
 than I am. For I know all about this 
 Rumpty- Budget, with whom your brother 
 Hector is staying ; and I saw Hector myself 
 not an hour ago.' 
 
 ' Oh ! did you ? ' cried Harold in great 
 excitement. 
 
 ' To be sure I did ; and very well he 
 looked, I can tell you. He has done nothing 
 but eat sugar-candy and blow on a tin whistle 
 ever since he went there ; and he says he 
 wants nothing better than to stay with 
 Rumpty- Budget all his life. And, by the 
 way, he asked me to tell you if I saw you 
 that he hoped you and your sister would 
 come and join ; for that Rumpty- Budget is 
 the pleasantest fellow in the world, and not at 
 all like what you had been made to believe 
 him.' 
 
 ' Oh-h ! ' exclaimed Harold, staring at 
 Rumpty- Budget with wide-open eyes. ' I 
 don't see how that can be true. Who are 
 you ?' 
 
 ' A friend,' replied Rumpty-Budget. ' And 
 to prove it I have brought over this bundle of 
 
1 84 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 faggots ; and when these are used up I will 
 get you some more.' 
 
 1 Oh, thank you very much ! ' exclaimed 
 Harold, jumping for joy, and going as near 
 to the inside edge of the circle as he could. 
 * Give them to me quick, for there is no 
 time to be lost ; the fire is just going out/ 
 
 ' I can't bring them inside the circle/ said 
 the dwarf, suddenly putting the bundle on the 
 ground, and pretending to be very much ex- 
 hausted. ' I have carried them already all 
 the way from the further side of the forest, 
 and that is far enough. Surely you can come 
 the rest of the way for them yourself/ 
 
 * But I must not come outside the circle, 
 you know/ said Harold, dancing up and down 
 with impatience. 
 
 ' Why not ? ' 
 
 1 Because Tom the Cat said that if I did 
 all would go wrong/ 
 
 ' Pshaw ! what should a cat know about a 
 thing like this ? ' demanded the dwarf very 
 scornfully. ' At all events, your fire will burn 
 less than a minute longer ; and you know what 
 will happen when it goes out/ 
 
 At that Harold became almost beside him- 
 self with anxiety and bewilderment, and what 
 to do he could not tell. But at last he thought 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 185 
 
 that anything would be better than to let the 
 fire go out ; so he put one foot outside the circle 
 and stretched forth his hand for the faggots. 
 
 'Just the least bit further,' said the dwarf 
 coaxingly. * I would save you the trouble if 
 I could ; but I am really too tired to stir.' 
 
 Harold saw that by stretching about six 
 inches further he could reach a faggot. But 
 in order to stretch six inches he would be 
 obliged to put the other foot outside the 
 circle. * After all, what can it matter ? ' he 
 .thought. And the next moment there he 
 was, outside ! 
 
 Immediately, with aloud laugh, the dwarf 
 flung away the faggots far into the depths of 
 the forest ; and rushing into the circle, he be- 
 gan to stamp out with his feet what was left 
 of the enchanted fire. 
 
 Then Harold recognised Rumpty-Dudget 
 for the first time, for the spell was off him. 
 And Harold remembered what Tom the Cat 
 had said, and he leaped back into the circle, 
 and as the last bit of flame flickered at the 
 end of the stick he laid himself down upon it. 
 Whereupon Rumpty-Dudget gave a hoarse 
 cry and vanished ; and the enchanted fire 
 blazed up famously, red, blue, and yellow, 
 with poor Harold in the midst of it. 
 
1 86 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE GOLDEN IVY. 
 
 Now, or never, it was the time for Hilda and 
 the cat to come back. And, sure enough, at 
 this very instant there was a sound like the 
 whistling of a blast of wind through the forest, 
 and a hurrying and a skurrying, and behold ! 
 there was Tom the Cat, with Hilda on his 
 back. 
 
 Tom said nothing, but he sprang into the 
 circle, and without losing an instant he dug a 
 little hole in the ground with his fore paws, 
 throwing up the dirt in a heap behind him. 
 When it was finished he said : 
 
 'Open the hollow pearl, Hilda, and put 
 the Golden Ivy-seed in this hole ; and make 
 haste, for Harold is burning for Hector's sake ! ' 
 
 So Hilda made haste to open the hollow 
 pearl and to put the Golden Ivy-seed in the 
 hole ; and the cat spread the earth over it, and 
 then said : 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 187 
 
 * Now take the crystal phial, Hilda, and 
 pour half the Diamond Waterdrop upon the 
 place where the seed is planted, and the other 
 half upon the enchanted fire ; and make haste, 
 for Harold is burning for Hector's sake !' 
 
 So Hilda made haste and did what the 
 cat had told her to do. 
 
 When the half of the Diamond Waterdrop 
 fell upon the fire in which Harold had all this 
 while been* burning the fire was immediately 
 put out. And there lay Harold, alive and 
 well, amidst the embers ; but the black spot 
 upon his nose was all burned away, and his 
 hair and eyes, which had until then been 
 brown, were now quite black. 
 
 So up he jumped, and he and Hilda kissed 
 each other heartily, for they felt as if they 
 had been separated for a long time. 
 
 ' What has become of the black spot on 
 your forehead, Hilda ?' asked Harold. * It is 
 not there any more/ 
 
 ' Ah ! ' said Tom, ' that disappeared when 
 the King of the Gnomes kissed her. But now 
 make yourselves ready, children, for we are 
 going to take a ride to Rumpty-Dudget's 
 tower.' 
 
 On hearing this the young prince and 
 
1 88 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 princess were greatly surprised, and looked 
 about for the horses on which they were to 
 ride. 
 
 But behold ! the Golden Ivy-seed, watered 
 with the Diamond Waterdrop, was already 
 growing 1 and sprouting with marvellous vigour 
 and rapidity. A strong stem, with leaves of 
 glistening gold, had pushed itself out of the 
 earth, and was creeping along the ground 
 towards Rumpty- Budget's tower : hardly 
 creeping, either, for it moved faster than a 
 man could run. The cat helped Hilda and 
 Harold to a seat on two of the largest leaves, 
 while he himself clung to the stem ; and so 
 away they went through the forest merrily. 
 As they advanced the heavy grey cloud 
 which had overcast all the heavens since 
 Rumpty- Budget's rule began was rolled back 
 like a mighty scroll ; and the pure sky, lit 
 up with the fresh sunshine of the early 
 dawn, smiled above the mysterious forest. 
 Then the forest too awoke to life and joyous- 
 ness ; the birds sang in the branches, and 
 fragrant flowers, sparkling with dew, glowed 
 in the happy glades with mingled tints of 
 white, blue, and red. So on they went, carry- 
 ing with them the freshness and perfume of 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 189, 
 
 the morning and of spring ; and in a wonder- 
 fully short time the Golden Ivy had brought 
 them to the gates of Rumpty- Budget's tower. . 
 
 ' Jump down now/ said Tom, ' and leave 
 the Golden Ivy to do the rest/ 
 
 Down they all jumped accordingly, and 
 stood at one side, near the castle gates. But 
 the Golden Ivy kept on, and threw itself across 
 the moat, and clambered over the portcullis, 
 and forced its way into the courtyard, and 
 writhed along the passages and up the stair- 
 cases, until (in less time than it takes to write^ 
 about it) the Ivy had reached the room with 
 the hundred-and-one corners. In the midst 
 of this room stood Rumpty- Budget, having 
 fled to it for safety ; for it was defended by 
 enchantments which only the Golden Ivy 
 could have overcome. There he stood, trem- 
 bling in his shoes, as well he might ; and in 
 all the corners round about, with their faces 
 to the wall and their hands behind their backs, 
 stood the poor little children that Rumpty- 
 Budget had caught. 
 
 But they were not to stand there much 
 longer, for Rumpty- Budget's hour had come !.' 
 He tried to run away, but the terrible Golden 
 Ivy ran after him and caught him, and bound 
 
I 9 o RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 down his arms, and tied together his legs, and 
 clutched him around the throat, and squeezed 
 him round the body, and fastened its coils 
 upon him tighter and tighter, until all the mis- 
 chief was squeezed out of him. But, since 
 Rumpty-Dudget was entirely made of mischief, 
 when all the mischief was squeezed out of him 
 of course there was no Rumpty-Dudget left 
 no, not so much as one of his shoe-buckles ! 
 
 And when Rumpty-Dudget had ceased to 
 exist of course all the children who had been 
 made prisoners by his spells became free ; and 
 they came racing and shouting out of the grey 
 tower, with little Prince Hector at their head. 
 But when Hector saw his brother and sister, 
 and they saw him, they all three set up a cry 
 of joy, and ran together and hugged and 
 kissed each other heartily ; for they felt as if 
 they had been parted for a very long time. 
 
 At last Hilda said, 'Why, Hector, what 
 has become of the black spot that used to be 
 on your chin ? It is not there any more.' 
 
 ' It got rubbed off against the wall of the 
 room with the hundred-and-one corners/ re- 
 plied Hector demurely. 
 
 At that they all three laughed ; but Hilda 
 at least had tears in her eyes. 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 191 
 
 ' And look at his hair and eyes ! ' ex- 
 claimed Harold ; ' they are brown now, in- 
 stead of black, as they used to be. What is 
 the reason of that ? ' 
 
 ' It is the touch of the Golden Ivy/ said 
 a voice behind them, which Hilda fancied 
 she had heard somewhere before. 
 
 The three children looked round, and 
 .saw a lady standing beside them, dazzlingly 
 beautiful, with a crown on her head and a 
 smile in her eyes. They all knew her at 
 once, though they had never seen her before 
 except in their dreams. It was their Fairy 
 Aunt. 
 
 ' But you look very much like the Queen 
 our mother/ said Hilda. 
 
 ' And do I look like anyone besides 
 her ? ' asked the lady, with a smile. 
 
 1 Yes, you are like the Queen of the Air 
 Spirits !' exclaimed Hilda; 'though you don't 
 look so haughty as she did at first.' 
 
 ' Anyone else ? ' asked the lady again, 
 speaking in a very gruff tone, and drawing 
 her eyebrows together. 
 
 ' Dear me ! that is the way the King of 
 the Gnomes talked/ said Hilda, clasping her 
 h a nds. ' Surely you couldn't have been him ? ' 
 
192 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 ' Yes, my darlings/ said the lady, sitting 
 down and drawing the three children to her 
 lap, ' I am the Queen, your mother ; though, 
 by Rumpty-Dudget's spells, I was obliged to 
 leave you, and to be seen by you only in 
 your dreams at night. And I was what 
 seemed to you the Queen of the Air Spirits, 
 Hilda, and the King of the Gnomes as well ; 
 because love shows itself in many forms, and 
 works for you above and beneath, and both 
 while you wake and while you sleep ; but it 
 is always the same love in the end, and if 
 you love one another you will find it out at 
 last.' 
 
 ' After all,' said Hilda thoughtfully, < I 
 love you best as our own mamma. And you 
 will always be our mamma, and be with us 
 now, won't you ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, my darlings,' answered the Queen, 
 giving them all a hug and a kiss ; ' there will 
 be no more changes or partings, for Rumpty- 
 Dudget and his tower are gone, and we are 
 free.' 
 
 ' But where is Tom the Cat ? ' cried 
 Hector all of a sudden, looking this way 
 and that. 'We can never be happy any- 
 where without him.' 
 
RUMPTY-DUDGET. 193 
 
 ' Oh, Tom has done his work, and we 
 shall not see him any more/ said the Queen, 
 shaking her head mysteriously. 
 
 But at this all the children looked ready 
 to cry. 
 
 ' Well, then, you shall have one more look 
 at him/ said the Queen. She wore on her 
 shoulders a long hooded mantle of the finest 
 white fur. By a sudden movement she drew 
 this mantle round her, and pulled the hood 
 over her head and face ; and behold ! there 
 sat Tom the Cat, looking as natural as pos- 
 sible, only that between the folds of the fur 
 the children could see their mother's eyes 
 laughing. 
 
 ' I have often looked out at you so before 
 now/ she said, as she threw back the hood 
 and mantle ; ' and you would have seen me 
 as plainly as you do now, but that the spell 
 prevented you. So, you see, we shall take 
 what was really Tom the Cat along with us, 
 after all/ 
 
 ' Where are we going ? ' Harold asked. 
 
 ' To our home in Fairyland/ answered 
 the Queen. 
 
 And are we never coming back here 
 o 
 
194 RUMPTY-DUDGET. 
 
 any more ?' asked Hilda, glad to go, and yet 
 with almost a sigh. 
 
 ' No, we shall never see this land again/ 
 the Queen replied. ' It was beautiful, but 
 all its beauty lives again in the land whither 
 we go. And there are no Rumpty-Dudgets 
 in that land, and no grey towers full of 
 corners, and no prickly hedges, nor winds 
 from the north. And all the stars of the 
 air and jewels of the earth are in that land, 
 only more glorious and splendid than those 
 that Hilda saw. But why should I tell you 
 about it, when you are going to see it all for 
 yourselves this very day ? Are you ready ? ' 
 
 * Yes ! ' said all the children together. 
 
 Then she folded her arms about them, 
 and they clung to her neck, and so they 
 seemed to rise aloft in the warm air, and 
 float towards the south. Far beneath them 
 lay the tops of the tallest trees ; but the 
 children felt no fear. For they were going 
 to their home in Fairyland ; and they are 
 all three living there, with the Queen their 
 mother, to this very day. 
 
 But Hilda's hair is golden still, and her 
 eyes are blue. 
 
- - 
 
 'Is 
 
 O J 
 
 CALLADON. 
 
 o 2 
 
197 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ABRACADABRA. 
 
 IF you were to take three hoops, the second 
 half as large round as the first, and the third 
 half as large round as the second, and lay 
 them on the floor one inside the other, you 
 would have a ground-plan of the house in 
 which Calladon lived. The outermost wall 
 was built of brick, and had five narrow win- 
 dows ; the middle wall was of stone, and had 
 also five windows ; the inner wall was of the 
 purest alabaster, and was a kind of window in 
 itself. 
 
 In the centre of the innermost room a 
 lamp was always burning, and the light 
 which it gave out was so soft and penetrating 
 that it glowed through the alabaster walls 
 and illuminated the room outside with a 
 pale white lustre, and some rays penetrated 
 through the windows of this room into the 
 outermost room of all, and there met the 
 
198 CALLADON. 
 
 darkness that streamed in through the outer 
 windows for the house stood in that part of 
 the world where it is night all the year round. 
 The name of the innermost room was Abra, 
 that of the middle room was Cada, and that 
 of the outermost room was Bra. The whole 
 house, therefore, was called Abracadabra. 
 
 It was a curious thing about this house, 
 that if you were in Abra, you could see into 
 both Cada and Bra, but, if you were in Cada, 
 you could not see into Abra, and if you were 
 in Bra, you could not see into either Abra or 
 Cada. As a general thing, it is easier to see 
 from darkness towards light than from light 
 towards darkness. But there was probably 
 something peculiar about this light and, for 
 the matter of that, about this darkness too. 
 
 As for Calladon himself, he was one of 
 the best-behaved boys ever known, and he 
 was not less good-looking than he was good. 
 He was a fine, straight-backed, rosy-cheeked 
 little fellow, with bright eyes, a cheerful voice, 
 and an obedient spirit. He was seven years 
 old, and knew as much as it is well for a boy 
 of his age to know. This was due to the 
 Master who had charge of him, and who had 
 put across his breast the gold sash, which 
 
CALLADON. 199 
 
 always pressed against his heart when he 
 wished to do wrong, and reminded him to 
 stop. The Master had lived with Calladon 
 ever since Calladon could remember, and 
 probably for a good while before that. The 
 Master had tended him in his illness, played 
 with him in his plays, helped him in his 
 studies, and sympathised with him in his 
 troubles. Calladon loved the Master as much 
 as if he had been his father and mother 
 in one. Who his father and mother might 
 be, he, however, did not know ; but the 
 Master used to tell him that when his educa- 
 tion was finished he should see them. 
 
 Meantime he was obliged to live in 
 Abracadabra, and make the best of it. The 
 only one of the three rooms which he had 
 ever dwelt in, was the central one, Abra ; 
 but there was plenty of entertainment to be 
 had there. In the first place, there was the 
 lamp, which lit up not 'the room only, but 
 Calladon's mind likewise, so that the more it 
 shone upon him, the better he understood 
 his studies. And the lamp was warm as well 
 as bright ; so warm, that not only did it make 
 the room comfortable, but it warmed Calla- 
 don's heart likewise, and made him loving 
 
200 CALLADON. 
 
 and generous. In the ceiling of the room a 
 large ball of crystal was hung on a sort of 
 pivot, on which it could be turned at pleasure. 
 This crystal ball had the power of reflecting 
 all the places best worth seeing in the world, 
 and casting the reflections on a white disc 
 arranged for the purpose underneath. It 
 was by this means that Calladon had studied 
 geography, and he had enjoyed the study 
 more than most boys do. At other times, 
 the ball would bring the images of the stars 
 on the disc, so that you would have thought 
 you were aloft in the sky, watching all the 
 myriad worlds of light, and their movements. 
 It may be imagined, therefore, that although 
 Abra did not appear to be a large room, yet 
 it must have been larger than it looked, since 
 it was able to contain within itself the whole 
 earth and heaven. Beyond doubt, Abra was 
 a wonderful place, which everybody ought to 
 see at some time of their lives. The air you 
 breathed there had a delicate but powerful 
 fragrance, as if it were life itself; and 
 strangely beautiful chords of music sounded 
 ever and anon through the room, coming 
 from no visible instrument, but seeming to 
 arise from the harmony and happiness in the 
 
CALLADON. 201 
 
 heart of him who listened to it. Moreover, 
 although there was not much furniture in the 
 room, nor many toys to play with, yet when- 
 ever Calladon needed anything, he was sure 
 to find it ready to his hand. It is true that 
 he seldom wished for anything that he ought 
 not to have, and if he did, the pressure of the 
 golden sash across his heart warned him to 
 forbear. In short, nothing could be more 
 delightful and satisfactory than were all the 
 arrangements in Abra ; and, up to the time he 
 was seven years old, Calladon had never 
 wished for anything that it could not give 
 him. 
 
 Sometimes he would amuse himself with 
 looking through the alabaster walls into the 
 outer rooms, Cada and Bra. These had a 
 beauty of their own, but it was easy to see 
 that they were less beautiful than Abra. The 
 best use of them was, perhaps, to let it be 
 known that Abra was better than they. Cal- 
 ladon once asked the Master about this, and 
 he answered : 
 
 ' If it were not for Abra, there could be 
 no Cada, and no Bra. But neither could 
 there be any Abra, if Cada and Bra did not 
 surround it. The alabaster wall would burst 
 
202 CALLADON. 
 
 asunder, and the flame of the lamp would 
 burn up the world/ 
 
 * Where did the lamp come from ? ' asked 
 Calladon. 
 
 ' It was here before Abracadabra or the 
 world existed/ the Master replied, smiling ; 
 * and it will burn for ever.' 
 
 ' Could not I put it out ? ' 
 
 ' No ; but you might wander away from 
 it into the darkness outside,' said the Master, 
 in a graver tone. 
 
 * But then could I not light a little lamp 
 of my own, to see my way about ? ' Calladon 
 inquired. 
 
 ' Yes, you might do so,' the Master re- 
 plied. ' But such a lamp would in time burn 
 out, and then you could never again relight 
 it, and you would be lost.' 
 
 ' I should not like that ! ' exclaimed Cal- 
 ladon. But after a while he added, ' Still 
 I do not understand why those two other 
 rooms should be there, since I never go 
 into them.' 
 
 ' You live in them, even though you do 
 not go into them,' the Master answered. ' If 
 you did go into them, you would not live in 
 
CALLADON. 203 
 
 them so much as you do now, because you 
 could not take the light of the lamp with 
 you/ 
 
 Galladon said nothing more, but he be- 
 came thoughtful. 
 
204 CALLADON, 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE LAW OF THE LAMP. 
 
 ONE morning, soon after Calladon's seventh 
 birthday, the Master called him to him and 
 said : 
 
 ' My dear Calladon, you have now arrived 
 at the age when I must leave you for awhile, 
 to think your own thoughts, and do your own 
 deeds. I am going away, and it is uncertain 
 when I may come back. Before I go I shall 
 tell you a few things which I hope you will 
 remember.' 
 
 * But I should like to go with you/ said 
 Calladon. 
 
 ' That may come to pass hereafter/ the 
 Master replied, 'but not now, and it will 
 depend upon what you do and think while I 
 am parted from you, whether or not it comes 
 to pass at all.' 
 
 ' What is it that I must do ? ' inquired 
 Calladon. 
 
CALLADON. 205 
 
 ' I cannot command you either to do or 
 not to do anything/ the Master said, 'for I 
 shall not be here to enforce obedience. But 
 I have already taught you many things, and, 
 if you have studied them with your whole 
 heart and mind, they will direct you as well 
 as I could direct you myself. All I shall do, 
 therefore, is to tell you what you had best 
 avoid doing, and then leave you to follow my 
 advice or not, as you choose/ 
 
 ' Oh, there will be no trouble about that ! ' 
 exclaimed Calladon cheerfully, * for will not 
 my golden sash press against my heart 
 whenever I go wrong, and remind me to 
 turn back ? ' 
 
 ' No, for you will not wear the golden 
 sash any more/ replied the Master. ' You 
 are no longer a little child, and you must no 
 longer depend on what touches your heart 
 from the outside, but on what moves it from 
 within/ 
 
 ' Well, I think I shall like that better, on 
 the whole/ said Calladon. ' It will make me 
 feel more like a man. But what is it that 
 I ought not to do, dear Master ? ' 
 
 ' You ought not to lose faith in the lamp/ 
 answered the Master, ' for it gives you all you 
 
ao6 CALLADON. 
 
 have, and all you are. And you ought not 
 to leave Abra, for Abra only is Abracadabra. 
 And you ought not to light a lamp of your 
 own, for it would lead you into darkness/ 
 
 ' Is that all ? ' asked Calladon. 
 
 ' That is all I need tell you now/ said the 
 Master ; ' for if you obey these three rules, 
 you will not need to know more, and if you 
 disobey them, nothing more that I could say 
 would help you/ 
 
 * I would have done all that without being 
 told/ said Calladon ; * and the only thing I 
 don't like is having nobody to see or to 
 speak to/ 
 
 * I have taken care about that/ replied 
 the Master, with a smile, ' and you will not 
 be left entirely alone. When you wake up 
 to-morrow morning, you will find a little girl 
 beside you. She is to be your playmate and 
 companion. She can help you to be happier 
 and better than you have ever been before ; 
 but she can also make you worse and more 
 miserable than if you were left by yourself. 
 It will be according as you treat her/ 
 
 ' Perhaps I had better not have her/ said 
 Calladon. 
 
 * You must run the risk ; for without risk 
 
CALLADON. 207 
 
 nothing that is really good can be got,' replied 
 the Master. ' She will not suggest either 
 good or evil to you ; but if your thoughts are 
 good she will know it, and will help you 
 to carry them out ; and if your thoughts are 
 evil, she will think evil too, and will give 
 you the means of doing it.' 
 
 ' Does she know all this ? ' Calladon 
 asked. 
 
 ' She will know nothing except from you, 
 and as long as you are obedient to what I 
 have told you, she will be obedient to you. 
 But if you become disobedient, she will 
 sooner or later begin to rule you ; and 
 whenever that happens you will be sure to 
 suffer.' 
 
 ' Then it all depends on me ? ' said Cal- 
 ladon. 
 
 ' If harm comes, you will have no right to 
 blame her/ the Master answered ; ' but if 
 good comes, you will have no right to take 
 the credit to yourself.' 
 
 'Well,' said Calladon, after thinking awhile, 
 ' the safest thing will be not to think of my- 
 self at all.' 
 
 ' There is one thing more/ said the 
 Master, before taking leave of him. ' You 
 
208 CALLADON. 
 
 will find, hanging round Callia's neck (Callia 
 is the name of your playmate), a little mirror, 
 set in a frame of precious stones. This 
 mirror will always show you an image of 
 yourself, not as you think yourself to be, but 
 as you really are. If you trust to what the 
 mirror tells you, you will not know trouble ; 
 but if you disregard it, you will be in danger. 
 The mirror is the only thing that will always 
 tell you the truth.' 
 
 ' I will always believe it,' said Calladon ; 
 and then the Master bade him good night, 
 and Calladon fell asleep. 
 
CALLADON. 209 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CALLIA AND THE MIRROR. 
 
 THE next morning, when Calladon woke up, 
 the first thing he saw was a lovely little girl 
 slumbering beside him. 
 
 For a moment he was greatly astonished, 
 for he had forgotten that the Master had gone, 
 and that he had promised him a companion. 
 But presently the memory of the day before 
 came back to him, and he recollected that 
 henceforth he was to take care of himself. 
 The thought made him feel quite brave and 
 manly ; and with such a beautiful playmate as 
 this to keep him company, he felt sure that he 
 would be the happiest boy in the world. And 
 as he wanted his happiness, and hers, to begin 
 as soon as possible, he bent over and kissed 
 her on the lips. 
 
 She opened a pair of lovely blue eyes, and 
 yawned, and said 
 
 * Where am I ? Oh ! Calladon, is that 
 p 
 
210 CALLADON. 
 
 you ? How handsome you look, and how 
 .good you are ! ' 
 
 ' How did you know me ? ' asked Calladon. 
 
 ' If I am Callia, you must be Calladon ! ' 
 replied she, laughing. Who else could you 
 
 ' Now that I look in your eyes, it seems 
 as if I must have always known you ! ' said 
 Calladon. 
 
 ' And I know you the same way/ said 
 Callia. 
 
 ' But how did you get here ? ' he asked. 
 
 ' What a funny question ! as if I had ever 
 been anywhere else ! ' 
 
 'It is very strange, however/ he said ; 
 " for though I can remember living here for a 
 long time and not seeing you, still I cannot 
 imagine your ever having been away from me. 
 We seem always to have been together/ 
 
 ' So we have/ replied Callia ; ' and we 
 will always stay together, won't we ? ' 
 
 ' Indeed we will/ said Calladon; ' so now 
 give me a kiss, and let us have our breakfast/ 
 
 Their breakfast was there waiting for them, 
 as was everything else they needed ; and while 
 they were eating it they talked about what 
 they would do during the day. They soon 
 
CALLADON. 211 
 
 found out that the difficulty would be to make 
 a choice from the many pleasant things that 
 suggested themselves ; and whatever one 
 proposed, the other declared to be more 
 delightful than anything yet. And after all, 
 what could be more delightful than simply to 
 be together ? Calladon was more pleased in 
 knowing that Callia was pleased than he could 
 have been at anything that merely pleased 
 himself ; and his pleasure gave greater plea- 
 sure to Callia than any pleasure of her own 
 could have done. What they did, therefore, 
 on this first day, was not of nearly so much 
 importance to them as that they did it to- 
 gether ; and when the day came to an end (as 
 it did, more quickly than any day that either 
 of them could remember) all they knew was 
 that it had been one song of joy. As to doing 
 anything that the Master had warned them 
 against, they really had not had time so much 
 as to think of such a thing. 
 
 But night came at last, and they found 
 themselves getting sleepy. Before going to 
 bed, Calladon said 
 
 ' By the way, Callia, have you got a mirror 
 round your neck ? ' 
 
 Do you mean this pretty little thing, set 
 p 2 
 
212 CALLADON. 
 
 in precious stones ? Shall I give it to you, 
 dearest Calladon ? ' 
 
 ' Oh, no ; only the Master said that I was 
 to look in it every once in a while, to find out 
 what I really am.' 
 
 ' You really are the handsomest and dear- 
 est boy in the world, and so the mirror will 
 tell you/ said Callia ; and she held it up before 
 him as she spoke. Calladon looked ; and 
 certainly the mirror did show him the image 
 of a very charming little face and figure. It 
 told the truth, and the truth was very agree- 
 able. 
 
 ' I am glad of it for your sake, Callia,' said 
 Calladon. ' I hope I shall always be as hand- 
 some as you want me to be.' 
 
 ' I don't mind whether you are handsome 
 or not, as long as you are Calladon,' she 
 answered. 
 
 ' It seems to me, Callia, that if I have you, 
 and you have me, we do not need anything 
 else.' 
 
 ' And it would not make any difference 
 whether we were in Abra or not' 
 
 ' I should hardly mind even if the lamp 
 were to go out,' said Calladon. 
 
CALLADON. 213 
 
 ' I only care for the lamp because it lets 
 me see you/ she answered. 
 
 ' And because it lets me see myself in the 
 mirror.' 
 
 ' Why should you believe the mirror more 
 than me ? ' asked Callia. 
 
 ' Well, if you think I am handsome, it is 
 not so much matter whether the mirror tells 
 me I am or not/ returned Calladon; 
 
 And with this they kissed each other, and 
 fell asleep. 
 
214 CALLADON. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE OUTER ROOMS. 
 
 WHEN they awoke next day, Calladon 
 stretched himself, and shivered a little. The 
 lamp seemed to be burning rather more dimly 
 than usual, and the air seemed thin and cold. 
 Glancing at Callia, who was lying with her 
 eyes still half closed, his eye caught the sparkle 
 of the mirror round her neck, and he took 
 a peep into it. It seemed to him that his 
 cheeks looked pale, and his eyes dull. 
 
 * Callia ! ' he exclaimed, ' Callia ! wake up, 
 and tell me how I look.' 
 
 ' You look just the same/ answered she, 
 opening her eyes and sitting up. ' But don't 
 you think it is colder than it was yester- 
 day ?' 
 
 ' I was sure it was ; and if you feel it too, 
 it must be so. But are you quite certain that 
 I look as well and handsome as when you 
 
CALLADON. 215 
 
 first saw me ? because, in the mirror, I seemed 
 to be pale and dull.' 
 
 ' The mirror must be wrong, then/ said 
 Callia ; ' for I can see you with my own eyes, 
 and of course I should know if there were 
 any difference.' 
 
 ' Well/ said Calladon, * I suppose it is. 
 time we had our breakfast/ 
 
 The breakfast was there, but it was neither 
 so good nor so plentiful as before ; and Cal- 
 ladon and Callia felt comparatively little ap- 
 petite. This displeased them ; and they began 
 to ask each other how they should contrive 
 to amuse themselves during the day. They 
 proposed many things, but afterwards re- 
 jected them, either because they had done 
 them yesterday, or because they did not find 
 them any longer attractive. 
 
 ' This is rather a small room, after all, for 
 two people to pass their lives in/ remarked 
 Calladon at last. 
 
 ' Especially when there are two other 
 larger ones outside/ added Callia. 
 
 ' It would be good fun to explore them, 
 wouldn't it ? ' said Calladon. 
 
 ' Why shouldn't we do it ? ' asked Callia. 
 
 ' It makes me feel quite lively again to, 
 
316 CALLADON. 
 
 think of it/ exclaimed Calladon, springing to 
 his feet. ' Only,' he added, * that is one of 
 the things the Master told us not to do.' 
 
 ' Oh, I don't believe the Master would 
 mind,' said Callia. ' Besides, how should he 
 ever know anything about it ? He has gone 
 away.' 
 
 * Of course, too, it is our own affair/ ob- 
 served Calladon. ' If any harm comes of it, 
 it will be to ourselves, and not to him/ 
 
 ' I am not afraid/ said Callia. ' Are you ? ' 
 
 ' Not in the least. By the way, though, I 
 am not sure that I know the way out of Abra. 
 There doesn't seem to be any door/ 
 
 ' I think I can find the way, if that is all/ 
 returned Cajlia. ' I don't know how I hap- 
 pened to think of it but since we have been 
 tal king about going, it has seemed to me that 
 if we were to push against that little carved 
 knob in the wall, it would open a passage into 
 the room outside. Shall we try it ? ' 
 
 ' Yes/ said Calladon ; * it can do no harm 
 to see whether you are right, at all events/ 
 So they went to the knob, and Calladon gave 
 it a push. 
 
 * Not that way ; you should push it side- 
 ways ; see like this/ said Callia ; and she 
 
CALL ADO N. 217 
 
 shoved it a little towards the right. Sure 
 enough, a part of the alabaster wall slid back, 
 so that the children were able to look into the 
 room beyond. 
 
 ' It seems rather dark ; don't you think 
 so ? ' remarked Calladon, drawing back after a 
 moment. 
 
 ' We must take a lamp along with us,' said 
 Callia. ' That lamp that burns in the centre 
 of the room will be no use to us. We shan't 
 be able to see anything without a lamp of our 
 own/ 
 
 ' Well, I suppose we must,' said Calladon. 
 ' Now I think of it, though, that was another of 
 the things the Master said we ought not to do.' 
 
 'What did he say would happen to us if 
 we did do it ? ' 
 
 * I don't remember his saying anything.' 
 
 * Of course he didn't ! because nothing will 
 happen, except that we shall know more than 
 we could know by staying here. He was 
 only trying whether he could frighten you.' 
 
 ' You shall see that I am not so easily 
 frightened,' said Calladon. ' I am a man now, 
 and able to take care of myself. Come, let us 
 light a lamp of our own and go. I will show 
 you the way.' 
 
218 CALL ADO N. 
 
 ( Here is a lamp/ said Callia. ' I just 
 found it on this little shelf in the corner, 
 though I had not seen it there before. But 
 how shall we light it ? ' 
 
 ' We must light it from the great lamp ; 
 there is no other way/ 
 
 * But then it will be the light of that great 
 lamp that will guide us, after all/ 
 
 'No/ said Calladon, * because the part of 
 the flame that we take away will become our 
 own, and would keep on burning even if the 
 great lamp were to go out/ 
 
 They lit the lamp accordingly. As they 
 did so, the air around them grew colder than 
 before, and a gust of strangely melancholy 
 music sighed through the room. From the 
 crystal ball in the roof overhead there came a 
 red reflection, as of some terrible fire burning 
 in the world without ; and then a white flash, 
 as if an angel's sword had suddenly been thrust 
 down into the room. Now the sword seemed 
 to be brandished about the great lamp, its 
 point against the children, who shrank back 
 in fear towards the alabaster wall. Still the 
 sword threatened them ; and there was a 
 violent rush of icy wind, which forced them 
 to the opening leading to the outer chamber. 
 
CALLADON. 219 
 
 For a moment they tried to struggle against 
 it, and not to be driven from the alabaster 
 room in which they had lived so happily ; but 
 the blast grew stronger, and the sword came 
 nearer ; and at last Callia cried out : 
 
 * Let us go, Calladon, or our light will be 
 lost] 1 
 
 ' Come, then ! ' said he ; and hand in hand 
 they staggered through the opening, which 
 closed behind them with a hollow sound. 
 Then there was silence. Save for the waver- 
 ing flame of their little lamp they were in 
 darkness. 
 
 ' What have you done, Callia ? ' said Cal- 
 ladon. 
 
 1 It is your doing as much as mine,' she 
 answered. * Well, I suppose we must make 
 the best of it. At any rate, it is not so cold 
 here as it was in the other room/ 
 
 ' No, and there is not that terrible light to 
 dazzle our eyes. And that sword we are 
 safe from that ! ' 
 
 ' I think, upon the whole, we are better off 
 where we are ; and I am glad we came/ said 
 Callia. ' It is more mysterious here, and I 
 like mystery. If you can see everything 
 around you merely by opening your eyes, it 
 
220 CALLADON. 
 
 is stupid. Here we have the excitement of 
 going about and not knowing what we may 
 find.' 
 
 ' It is strange it should be so dark ! ' re- 
 marked Calladon. ' On which side of us is 
 the alabaster wall ? No light comes through 
 either side ; and yet, when we were in Abra, 
 it seemed to shine through and illuminate 
 both the outer rooms.' 
 
 ' The great lamp must have gone out ; 
 all lamps go out after a while, I suppose/ 
 replied Callia. ' But that is no harm ; when 
 we go back we can light it again from our 
 own. It does not seem so dark here as it 
 was at first.' 
 
 ' I can see better, too ! ' exclaimed Calla- 
 don. ' Our lamp seems to be getting brighter. 
 By and by, perhaps, it will be as bright as 
 the great lamp was.' 
 
 ' Meanwhile,' said Callia, 4 let us begin 
 our explorations.' 
 
 Holding the lamp before them, they ad- 
 vanced together curiously through the gloom ; 
 but, as Calladon had said, their lamp seemed 
 continually to grow brighter, or else their 
 eyes became more accustomed to the dark- 
 ness, so that presently they were able to see 
 
CALLADON. 221 
 
 their way with little difficulty. The walls of 
 the room they were in were sombre and rich ; 
 there were carved panels and cornices of 
 metal or stone, encrusted here and there with 
 what appeared to be precious stones, gleam- 
 ing with a dusky red lustre. There was gold,, 
 too, here and there ; but not bright and re- 
 splendent, like the gold of Abra, but dull and 
 tarnished, so that it might almost have been 
 mistaken for rusty brass. As they went 
 along, the black smoke from their candle rose 
 in the air, and collected in clouds beneath the 
 heavy groined roof, until it hung above them 
 like a murky canopy. From this canopy a 
 stifling odour descended, and was diffused 
 about the room ; but, strange to say, the 
 children seemed to breathe it with pleasure, 
 and to grow stronger and livelier under its 
 influence. At length they came to a great 
 heap of some dark substance, piled up in an 
 obscure corner. 
 
 ' What is this ? ' said Calladon, stirring it 
 with his foot. 
 
 Callia stooped down and took up a piece 
 of it in her hand. 'It shines/ she said. ' It 
 must be something valuable. Hold the lamp 
 
 nearer.' 
 
222 CALLADON. 
 
 1 It is certainly some kind of jewel,' said 
 Calladon, after they had examined it. ' Per- 
 haps it is a ruby, or a black diamond. Such 
 things are very precious/ 
 
 'We had better take what we can get, 
 then,' said Callia; 'we shall not find any- 
 thing like this in Abra of that I am sure. 
 How foolish you were, Calladon, never to 
 have thought of coming in here before. It is 
 ten times better than the other place ! ' 
 
 1 I will fill my pockets now, at all events/ 
 replied Calladon, ' and make up for lost time. 
 What a heap of them ! and how heavy they 
 are ! I'm afraid we shan't be able to carry 
 them all/ 
 
 ' I can hold a great many in my apron/ 
 said Callia ; * and we can take them to some 
 safe place, and then come back for more. I 
 wonder whom they belong to ? ' 
 
 ' They belong to us, since we have found 
 them,' returned Calladon ; ' and if anyone 
 says they are his, we can say it is not true. 
 Who has more right here than we ? ' 
 
 ' I don't see why we should go back at all/ 
 observed Callia. ' I feel much more comfort- 
 able and happy in this pleasant light and 
 smoke than I did in that glaring white Abra, 
 
CALLADON. 223 
 
 with its cold air and its tiresome music. Sup- 
 pose we make our home here ? ' 
 
 * I was going to propose the same thing,' 
 answered Calladon. 'And I have been think- 
 ing, Callia, that perhaps this is the real Abra 
 that we are in now. For what can be better 
 than what we like best ? ' 
 
 As Callia was about to reply, they heard 
 a flapping sound in the air above their heads ; 
 and looking up, they saw a hideous great 
 bird or perhaps it was a bat with black 
 wings outstretched, fiery eyes, and a long 
 hooked beak, that it kept opening and shut- 
 ting with a snap. At this sight the children 
 were much terrified, and started to run away ; 
 but the horrid bird followed them in the air, 
 swooping downwards every now and then, 
 and pecking at them with its beak, or trying 
 to tear them with its ugly claws. At length, 
 however, they managed to conceal themselves 
 behind a buttress in the wall ; and the bird 
 flapped by, and left them. 
 
224 CALLADON. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 REGENERATION. 
 
 ' IT will not do to stay here/ said Calladon, 
 as soon as he had caught his breath. ' That 
 creature probably owns the jewels, and we 
 should never be safe from him. And I have 
 
 lost ever so many of the stones while * 
 
 Here Calladon broke off suddenly, and 
 uttered a cry. 
 
 1 What is the matter ? ' asked Callia. ' Is 
 the creature here again ? ' 
 
 But Calladon was staring at the mirror 
 which still hung round Callia's neck, and 
 he looked as if he had seen a ghost. 
 
 ' Tell me, Callia/ he said ; ' tell me quick ! 
 Ami the same as I was before ? ' 
 
 'Just the same, except that you look very 
 much scared at something/ 
 
 Calladon gave a shudder. ' Then the 
 glass tells what is false/ said he. ' It makes 
 me seem like a hideous little deformed dwarf, 
 with a hump on my back, and one shoulder 
 
CALLADON. 225 
 
 higher than the other, and a hateful face all 
 covered with sores and bruises. If I look 
 like that, I must be more horrible than any- 
 thing we are likely to see here/ 
 
 1 The mirror tells lies, that is all/ replied 
 Callia, scornfully. ' If I were you, I would 
 not look in it again. I can tell you all you 
 need to know about yourself. But I think 
 we had better attend to getting away from 
 here now. There seems to be a hole through 
 the wall just where we are standing. It 
 must lead into the next room/ 
 
 1 Let us creep through then/ said Calla- 
 don. * That flying creature will not be likely 
 to follow us there ; and as well as I can see, 
 it looks more comfortable there than here. 
 At all events, it is further from Abra, and 
 that is reason enough for going/ 
 
 ' Mind that the lamp doesn't go out, then/ 
 said Callia, ' and come along ! ' 
 
 They crawled through the opening (which 
 was, in reality, one of the five windows of 
 Cada) and found themselves standing in 
 something soft and slippery, like mud. The 
 walls were covered with damp mould an 
 inch thick ; spotted toadstools grew in the 
 crevices of the stones, and festoons of de- 
 
 Q 
 
226 CALLADON. 
 
 caying weeds hung from the roof. There 
 was a low crackling sound in the air, like the 
 noise of burning wood, and hot puffs of 
 steamy vapour were wafted into the children's 
 faces, smelling like the inside of a pig-sty. 
 Strange to say, however, neither Calladon 
 nor Callia appeared to find this odour dis- 
 agreeable, but quite the contrary ; and they 
 went onwards with evident gratification. 
 
 ' The more I think about it, Callia,' said 
 Calladon, ' the surer I am that this must be 
 the real Abra. Could anything be more 
 delightful than this thick air, that you can see 
 as well as breathe ; and this floor, all soft and 
 sticky not hard and dry like the other ; 
 and these beautiful walls, covered with that 
 curious green stuff; and then the toadstools 
 and the weeds ? What a lucky thing that 
 we thought of coming ! ' 
 
 'And how much wiser we are than we 
 were before ! ' added Callia. ' When I was in 
 that dreadful white place, I used to feel as if 
 I knew almost nothing, and as if the great 
 lamp were the only light in the world. But 
 now that we have a light of our own, it is 
 easy to see that we know almost everything, 
 and by the time we have explored this place, 
 there will be nothing we do not know.' 
 
CALLADON. 227 
 
 '' This mud must be very valuable/ said 
 Calladon, after a whil ; * for I never saw 
 anything like it before. Don't you think it 
 would be a good thing if we were to smear 
 ourselves all over with it, and then hang some 
 of those lovely weeds round our necks ? ' 
 
 Callia was delighted with this idea, and 
 the two forthwith sat themselves down in 
 the softest mud-heap they could find, and 
 began to cover themselves with mud very 
 diligently. After this had gone on for some 
 time, however, Callia suddenly gave a shriek. 
 
 ' What is the matter ? ' asked Calladon. 
 
 ' The snake ! the snake ! ' cried Callia. ' It 
 Is winding itself all round me ! ' 
 
 'And round me too ! ' screamed Calladon. 
 '* Oh, what shall we do ? ' 
 
 In fact, the mud with which they had 
 covered themselves had become alive, and 
 was coiling itself tightly about them in the 
 form of serpents. There were already scores 
 of them, and more seemed to be coming to 
 life every moment. They tried to run away, 
 but the serpents twined about their limbs and 
 tripped them up. There seemed to be no 
 escape ; and now, to make matters worse, 
 Calladon's lamp flickered and went out. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 CALLADON. 
 
 ' We shall die ! ' moaned the children.. 
 ' Oh, will no one help us ! ' 
 
 Then a sound was heard like an earth- 
 quake, and the walls that separated them 
 from Abra were rent asunder, and a terrible 
 white light streamed forth, and fell upon the 
 unhappy children. In that light they looked 
 at one another, and saw that they were de- 
 formed and hideous beyond the power of 
 words to describe. The next instant the 
 walls closed together again, but a faint illumi- 
 nation still remained, in which Calladon and 
 Callia again seemed to themselves to resume 
 their natural form. But even then, Calladon 
 caught a glimpse of himself in the enchanted 
 mirror ; and there was once more the crook- 
 backed, grisly-faced dwarf that had frightened 
 him in Cada, now made more ugly yet by the 
 serpent-mud of Bra. 
 
 ' Oh, Callia, it is the truth ! ' groaned he> 
 ' Our own eyes have deceived us, and our 
 lamp has led us astray ; but in the mirror is 
 the light of the great lamp, and it shows me 
 as I really am/ 
 
 ' Yes, it is the truth ! ' answered Callia. 
 * It must be so ! ' 
 
 * It is well that you have found it out r 
 
CALLADON. 229 
 
 even so late as this,' said a stern voice close 
 behind them ; and looking round, the children 
 saw a tall, threatening figure, with angry 
 eyes, and in his hand a heavy whip. 
 
 ' Who is it ? 'faltered the children to each 
 other, with trembling voices. 
 
 ' I am he who built Abracadabra,' replied 
 he of the angry eyes, brandishing his whip. 
 ' I built it clean and wholesome, and you 
 have made it a place of mud and serpents, 
 and all unclean things. This dirt in which 
 you have wallowed is the evil that has come 
 out of your own minds and hearts, and these 
 snakes were called into life by the light of 
 the lamp which you stole from the lamp of 
 Abra. Therefore your doom is, to repair the 
 mischief you have done. You shall cleanse 
 these rooms that you have defiled, until they 
 are as pure as they appeared when you looked 
 on them through the alabaster wall. From this 
 hour, too, you shall see each other no more 
 until your work is done. As you were given 
 to each other for happiness, so, since you have 
 disobeyed the law by which alone your happi- 
 ness could be everlasting, you shall be sepa- 
 rated to do your penance. And I will stand 
 -over you with the whip ; and every time you 
 
230 CALLADON. 
 
 pause to breathe or rest, you shall be driven 
 onwards with a blow.' 
 
 Scarcely had the tall man uttered these 
 awful words, than Calladon saw Callia sud- 
 denly vanish from his side ; and at the same 
 moment he felt the heavy stroke of the whip 
 across his shoulders, and heard the stern 
 voice bidding him work. So to work he 
 went with all his might ; and with his bare 
 hands for no tools were given him he 
 strove to scrape away the mud from the floor, 
 and to clear the mould from the walls, and to 
 pull down the decaying weeds that dangled 
 from the roof. . But, for a long time, he 
 seemed to make no progress ; the mud rose 
 before him in mountains ; the mould col- 
 lected on the walls as fast as he swept it down, 
 and the weeds hung from the roof in thicker 
 masses. Nevertheless, if he stopped to take 
 breath or rest, down came the heavy whip 
 with relentless blows ; his skin was cut and 
 bleeding, his face was bruised, and the bones 
 of his back were broken. With tears and 
 groans he struggled on ; and ever and anon 
 in the darkness near him his ear caught the 
 sound of sobbing and piteous cries, and the 
 
CALL A DO A 7 . 231 
 
 voice that uttered them reminded him of the 
 voice of Callia. 
 
 Thus he strove for many weary hours ; 
 and at last it seemed to him that he could 
 strive no more, yet half his work was still 
 undone. But the thought that, unless it were 
 finished, he would see Callia no more, gave 
 him new strength, and he fell to again, and 
 worked like a whirlwind ; and the mountains 
 of mud gave way before him, and the mould 
 fell from the walls in showers, and the 
 dangling weeds were swept down in mighty 
 heaps. And although the blows of the whip 
 still fell, they no longer weakened him as 
 before, but made his strength greater. In- 
 deed, it seemed to him as if he were inspired 
 with a strength not his own, and as if, when 
 the work were done, it would be the achieve- 
 ment not of himself, but of a mightier than 
 he. In the midst of these thoughts the gloom 
 suddenly brightened, and he saw that his 
 work was done. 
 
 'Well, Calladon, what do you think of 
 yourself ? ' said the _tall man, in a somewhat 
 less stern tone than before. ' Are you as 
 handsome as you once were ? ' 
 
232 C ALL ADO N. 
 
 So Calladon looked at himself; and he 
 saw that he was begrimed with dirt, and that 
 his back had been broken by the whip, and 
 one shoulder made higher than the other ; 
 and his face was bruised and covered with 
 sores. There was nothing beautiful about 
 him. 
 
 ' I have become what the mirror has 
 already showed me that I was,' he said 
 humbly. ' But I would rather seem as ugly 
 as I am, than seem beautiful when I am 
 ugly.' 
 
 ' Calladon,' said the tall man again, ' your 
 work is done, and you deserve some reward. 
 You may choose what it shall be ; but I will 
 tell you beforehand that, if you choose to be 
 made beautiful again as you were before, it 
 shall be done/ 
 
 * I would rather be made happy/ replied 
 Calladon, ' and it would make me happy if I 
 could see Callia once more/ 
 
 'So be it ! ' said the tall man, kindly. 
 ' Come with me ! ' 
 
 He took Calladon by the hand, and in- 
 stantly the light grew brighter ; the dark 
 walls grew white ; there was a sound of 
 
CALLADON. 233 
 
 music in the air, and a delicate perfume of 
 flowers came to Calladon's nostrils. He 
 looked up and saw that he was in Abra ; 
 .and the great lamp burned in the centre as 
 before. 
 
 ' Oh, not here ! ' he exclaimed, shrinking 
 back and hiding his face. ' I am not fit to 
 be seen in the light of Abra ! ' 
 
 ' Take courage/ said his guide. ' Callia 
 is here. See, she is asleep. Go to her, 
 'Calladon, and look in the mirror on her 
 bosom.' 
 
 So Calladon drew near, and looked into 
 the magic mirror. But instead of a hideous 
 and misshapen little dwarf, it showed him the 
 image of a noble and beautiful boy, with rosy 
 cheeks and bright eyes. At the same 
 moment Callia awoke ; and seeing Calladon, 
 she sprang up with a cry of joy and kissed 
 him. She was as lovely as the day. 
 
 ' The mirror tells you the truth now as 
 .always, Calladon,' said the Master's loving 
 voice for it was he. And he laid his hand 
 upon him, and instantly the deformed, shell 
 in which Calladon was clothed fell from him, 
 .and he was more beautiful than ever. From 
 
234 CALLADON. 
 
 that time forth there was no unhappiness 
 for either Callia or Calladon, because they 
 had learnt that the light of Abra was the 
 only true light, and that their strength was 
 not their own. 
 
THEEDA. 
 
237 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE BOOK AND THE VASE. 
 
 OSCAR lived beside the sea, and had no com- 
 panions except the waves, the seagulls, the 
 sunsets and sunrises, the moonlight and the 
 shore. He was happy, and yet there was 
 something that he wanted. He could not 
 tell what that something was, but he did not 
 the less feel the need of it on that account. 
 
 He knew that he had a father, but he had 
 never seen him. He knew that his father 
 cared for him, and gave him what he needed 
 to eat and drink and wear. His mother had 
 told him that his father was wise and power- 
 ful and good ; and that once, before Oscar 
 was old enough to remember anything, he 
 had lived with her in the cottage beside the 
 sea. But soon after Oscar was born, his 
 father had left them and gone across the sea 
 to another country. When a few more years 
 had passed, he had sent for Oscar's mother to 
 
238 THE ED A 
 
 follow him, and she had gone. Oscar could 
 just remember the ship which had taken her 
 away. He had sat in the cottage doorway, 
 and watched the ship grow smaller and 
 smaller as it receded over the waves. At 
 first its sails had looked dark, because they 
 were against the light ; but a moment be- 
 fore it touched the horizon, where earth and 
 heaven meet, the great white light from be- 
 yond had touched the sails, and made them 
 gleam like angels' wings. Then ship and 
 sails had settled into a lustrous invisibility ; a 
 long wave had broken with a hollow sound 
 upon the shore, and a feeling of tender sad- 
 ness had come into the little boy's heart. 
 
 Although he was alone, however, he was 
 not lonely ; there was a great deal to amuse 
 him. The cottage, which was made out of 
 the hull of an old fishing boat, was as pleasant 
 a place to live in as a boy could wish. It 
 was divided into two rooms, in one of which 
 Oscar slept, and in the other he ate his 
 dinner. The furniture was very simple 
 a bed, a chair or two, a table, and a book- 
 shelf ; but these were all that Oscar required ; 
 and besides, he spent most of his time out- 
 doors. There were two other things in the 
 
THEEDA. 239 
 
 dining-room, however, for which he cared 
 very much. One was a large book, which 
 lay on the bookshelf. It was a gift which 
 his father had left for him when he went 
 away. It was a large heavy book, with a 
 dark binding and a golden clasp. This clasp 
 could be opened only by pronouncing over it 
 certain words which Oscar's father had bade 
 the boy's mother teach him when he should 
 be old enough. These words were a secret, 
 and if the secret were betrayed, certain pe- 
 nalties would follow. It was Oscar's habit, 
 on getting up every morning, to take the 
 book from the bookshelf, and having spoken 
 the magic words, to open it and read. Now, 
 the pages of the book appeared like ordinary 
 printed pages, and if anyone besides Oscar 
 had looked into them, they would have read 
 only a number of stories which were not very 
 interesting, and which did not seem to be of 
 any especial importance to anybody. But 
 with Oscar it was very different ; for, as the 
 morning sunshine fell upon the page, he saw, 
 not the printed words, but wonderful pictures, 
 which lived and moved, and had many strange 
 and beautiful meanings. The pictures were 
 something like the world in which the boy 
 
240 T HEED A. 
 
 lived, but much brighter and more glorious, 
 and the people who moved in them were far 
 nobler and handsomer than any that Oscar 
 could have imagined ; and chief among them 
 was a grand figure which the boy recognised 
 as his father. While going over the pages 
 of this mysterious book, therefore, Oscar, in 
 his lonely cottage, was able to see with his 
 own eyes all the mighty deeds that his father 
 had done, and even many of those that he 
 was at that moment doing ; for the book was 
 a living book, and though it told of marvels 
 in comparison with which all other fairy 
 stories would seem dull and commonplace, 
 yet these marvels were all true. By study- 
 ing that book a man could become wiser than 
 the wisest of philosophers, and see more than 
 the greatest of travellers, and yet remain as 
 simple as a little child. 1 1 would take a long time 
 to tell you even a few of the wonders which 
 this book held between its dark covers. One 
 of them was, that if Oscar was in any trouble, 
 he had but to open his book, and the pictures 
 would show him how the trouble was to be 
 overcome. Every pain that he could suffer, 
 and every difficulty that he could meet, had 
 been met and suffered by his father long 
 
THEEDA. 241' 
 
 before ; so that by seeing what his father 
 had done, he learned what was the best thing 
 to do himself. For Oscar was like his father, 
 though he was but a little boy. 
 
 The other thing that the dining-room 
 contained was a large crystal vase, which 
 stood in the window. It had seven sides, 
 and was so large round that Oscar could not 
 make his arms meet about it. It was filled 
 with the purest water, and at the bottom 
 were sand and pebbles, and delicate sea- 
 weeds, red and green, and pieces of rock 
 covered with curious mosses and tinted 
 lichens. It was like a little sea, only that 
 there were no living animals in it. But 
 under the shadow of one of the rocks lay 
 a large pearl shell, which Oscar fancied must 
 hold some living thing, although, often as he 
 had watched it, it had never yet moved or 
 opened. But the boy had faith and patience, 
 and every new day he went to the vase, in the 
 hope that now at last something might have 
 come from the pearl shell. It lay quiet, how- 
 ever, and kept its secret to itself. It must 
 certainly be a pleasant secret, Oscar thought, 
 for the shell was exquisitely curved, and its 
 pearly sides shone with a delicate lustre. 
 
 R 
 
242 THEEDA. 
 
 And the more he pondered over the matter, 
 the surer he became that the vase must have 
 been given for the sake of the shell, and that 
 by-and-by the shell would show why it was 
 there. Sometimes he felt tempted to take 
 it out of the water, and try whether he could 
 see inside of it. But he could never quite 
 bring himself to do this, because, though the 
 vase and the shell were his own, he felt that 
 they had been given to him to look at, and 
 not to meddle with. In his book, too, he 
 saw that the night always comes before the 
 morning, and the winter before the spring ; 
 and though he did not understand why that 
 should be so why the morning should not 
 begin just after the sun had set, and the spring 
 buds and flowers come out as soon as the red 
 and yellow leaves of autumn had fallen yet 
 he saw that one wave followed another to 
 break against the shore, and that every 
 flower was a bud before it was a blossom, 
 and that no happiness was so happy as that 
 which had been waited for ; so he believed 
 that the secret of the shell would disclose 
 itself when the right time should come, and 
 that to try to find it out beforehand would 
 perhaps be to lose it altogether. Moreover, 
 was not the shell beautiful enough as it was ?" 
 
THEEDA. 243 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OSCAR INSIDE OUT. 
 
 WHEN these early morning hours were over, 
 Oscar used to go out of the cottage and 
 wander about beside the sea. The waves 
 murmured to him, and the sun was warm ; 
 the seagulls wheeled above his head and 
 screamed with their wild voices ; great white 
 clouds built themselves into cities and palaces 
 before his eyes ; lights and shadows wavered 
 everywhere, and made the grey rocks and 
 the distant mountains seem alive ; winds 
 whispered in the long grass, and sang croon- 
 ing melodies in the branches of the trees ; 
 little insects and animals ran hither and 
 thither, and seemed busy even when they 
 were doing nothing. Sometimes the rain 
 fell, making a secret sound in the leaves, 
 and causing the surface of the clear pools 
 to leap aloft in tiny pyramids ; then the 
 green plants stood up and stretched out 
 
 B2 
 
244 THEEDA. 
 
 their stems, taking their wetting gladly, and 
 growing taller after it, though it had made 
 them bob their heads. With the evening, 
 splendid colours came along the sky, though 
 the hand that painted them was not seen : 
 they, too, spoke a kind of language ; the 
 glories of the day that was past, and the 
 thoughts and hopes that Oscar had had, 
 seemed to glow in the heavens as they 
 glowed in the boy's memory. They faded 
 at last, and night darkened the world, so 
 that Oscar might not forget the moon and 
 stars. These never slept, and therefore 
 Oscar knew that he might sleep. The 
 rays that came from them found their way 
 silently into his heart, and filled it with the 
 fresh and quiet fancies that afterwards grew 
 into dreams. For his dreams did not come 
 from the world he lived in, but from some other. 
 But what was this that the waves and the 
 birds, and the light and shadow, and the 
 trees and the rain, and all the rest of it, 
 were trying to say to him ? Was it really 
 anything ? and if it were, why could he not 
 understand it ? Sometimes he thought he 
 almost understood it. If the things would 
 speak a very little plainer, or if he could see 
 
THE ED A. 24$ 
 
 and hear the least bit more clearly, there would 
 be no more mystery. He thought they would 
 say, ' Oscar, we are like you. We are here 
 because you are here. If you were not Oscar, 
 we should not be what we are. And if we 
 were not here you could not speak, nor think, 
 nor be glad or sorry.' But they never did 
 quite say this. Therefore Oscar was not 
 quite content, and he felt that he needed 
 something, he knew not what, more than 
 the earth and the sea and the sky had given 
 him. They were so friendly to him that they 
 made him long for a nearer friendship still. 
 He could not come closer to them ; and if 
 they could not come closer to him, must not 
 something be wrong ? He found them always 
 fresh, and full of new things that never came 
 to an end ; they were alive, but the life they 
 had was not quite the same as his own life. 
 The world was so big that he could not put 
 his arms round it and hug it ; it was calm 
 and orderly, and although he could never get 
 to the end of the new things that were in it, 
 yet he knew that every year it was the same 
 world that it had been before. It was not so 
 with him ; for, in spite of his being always 
 Oscar, he knew every day that he never had 
 
246 THEEDA. 
 
 been and never would be exactly the same 
 Oscar that he was at that moment. So the 
 world was not only too big for him, but, in 
 another way, it was too small for him also. 
 The world could live only a year, after all, 
 since one of its years was the same as 
 another ; but Oscar felt that he could live 
 innumerable years, because no one of his 
 years was the same as any other. Oh, if 
 he could only find something to love that 
 would grow in the same way that he grew, 
 and answer him when he spoke, and be in all 
 ways both as large and as small as he ! Up 
 and down the shore Oscar wandered, and 
 through the green shade of the rustling 
 forest, and with his eyes he sought amidst 
 the clouds and the stars, but the thing that 
 he wanted he did not find. 
 
 When the rain came down too hard, 
 Oscar would stay within the cottage, and 
 study his book, or watch his pearl-shell, or 
 sometimes go into the bedroom and look 
 at the things his mother had left behind her. 
 They were very ordinary things, and there 
 were very few of them ; but they were dearer 
 to Oscar than anything else. Here was the 
 jacket his mother used to wear, and against 
 
T HEED A. 247 
 
 which Oscar's face had often rested, while 
 she nursed him in her arms, or lulled him to 
 sleep. It was full of wrinkles and stains, an4 
 was torn in one or two places ; but it was his 
 own mother's own jacket, and made him think 
 so vividly of her kind face and loving eyes 
 and warm soft arms, that he would heave a 
 deep sigh, and sit still with his eyes very wide 
 open. Then there was the comb that his 
 mother used to wear in her hair. It was 
 made of white ivory prettily carved. Oscar 
 remembered how his mother used sometimes 
 to take out this comb while he was sitting on 
 her lap, and let her hair tumble down about her 
 shoulders ; and she used to let him feel its 
 smoothness with his small hands, and taught 
 him how to braid it by weaving three strands 
 of it in and out. 
 
 The feelings that Oscar had while sitting 
 in the bedroom with these and other things 
 that had belonged to his mother were very 
 different from any that came to him while he 
 was outdoors. They were less cheerful than 
 his outdoor feelings, but he liked them better. 
 For in thinking of his mother he forgot him- 
 self; he had been able to put his arms round 
 his mother's neck and to kiss her cheek. She 
 
248 THEEDA. 
 
 had loved him and called him by his name ; 
 he had known that no other boy could be to< 
 her what he was ; she had comforted him 
 when he was hurt or grieved ; she had been 
 made to be his mother, as he had been made 
 to be her son. It was not so with the world 
 outdoors with the earth and the sea and the 
 sky. These had been made for Oscar per- 
 haps ; but if Oscar had been some other boy 
 they would still have remained. They be- 
 longed to him only because he was a boy, 
 and not because he was the boy Oscar. 
 Therefore he could not forget himself in 
 loving and giving himself to them, as he 
 had done in loving and giving himself to his 
 mother. All this brought him to think that 
 unless, out of the earth and sea and sky, 
 something could come to him that should 
 both bring them nearer and yet be different 
 from them, the promise which they seemed to 
 hold out to him would not be fulfilled. It was 
 not a bigger or a more beautiful world that 
 he wanted, but a world within the world, 
 which should contain all that made the outer 
 world beautiful and lovable, and something 
 more besides. Such a world within the world 
 his mother had been to him ; but it was not 
 
THEEDA. 249 
 
 his mother that the boy looked for, because 
 he knew that she was gone never to return. 
 What was it then ? Oscar did not yet know ; 
 but now something began to stir within him 
 that seemed to mean that the answer would 
 not be long delayed. 
 
250 THEEDA. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE PEARL-SHELL'S GIFT. 
 
 ONE morning, as he was sitting with his book 
 open upon his knees, the page at which he 
 looked seemed suddenly to be overspread 
 with a grey cloud. At first he could not see 
 through the cloud, but after a while lights and 
 shadows began to stir duskily within it, and 
 presently he saw, as through a mist, some one 
 walking along a lonely pathway in a forest. 
 The mist gradually cleared away, but the face 
 of the person was turned from him, so that it 
 could not be known who he was. The person 
 came to an opening amidst the trees, over- 
 spread with soft green grass and flowers of 
 many hues. In the centre of this grass-plot 
 was a fountain, bubbling up like living crystal 
 from a basin of sparkling sand. Around the 
 margin were the golden smile of buttercups 
 and the blue glance of forget-me-nots. The 
 wanderer drew near and bent over the foun- 
 tain. Then, out of the pure water, an arm 
 
THEEDA. 251 
 
 was stretched upwards, holding in its hand a 
 radiant pearl. The wanderer took the pearl, 
 and then the mysterious hand and arm were 
 drawn under the water again and disappeared. 
 The wanderer looked at the pearl and seemed 
 to rejoice in it, as well he might ; for it was 
 the most precious of all pearls. But while he 
 was rejoicing, a man came up to him who, 
 though he had eyes and a tongue, was both 
 dumb and blind ; but he talked very rapidly 
 with his fingers, as most dumb persons can 
 do ; and he used his nose instead of eyes, for 
 he judged whether or not a thing were beau- 
 tiful or valuable by smelling of it. The 
 wanderer spoke to this odd person, and bade 
 him look at the pearl and rejoice with him. 
 But the other shook his head contemptuously, 
 and said with his fingers that his eyes were 
 not made to see, and that seeing was all folly 
 and deception ; and that a good nose was 
 worth all the eyesight in the world. So, in- 
 stead of looking at the pearl he smelt of it, 
 and after doing so again shook his head con- 
 temptuously, and pulled out of his pocket a 
 raw onion. * Smell of that,' he said with his 
 fingers ; ' that is worth all the pearls in the 
 world ! ' and then he began to try to persuade 
 
252 THEEDA. 
 
 the owner of the pearl, by many clever and 
 cunning arguments, to throw the pearl away, 
 and take an onion in its stead. Oscar bent 
 forward in great eagerness to see whether the 
 owner of the pearl could possibly be so foolish 
 as to let himself believe that the most precious 
 pearl in the world could be exchanged for an- 
 onion ; but just then the mist arose once more, 
 and rapidly deepened to an impenetrable cloud, 
 and the figures of both the man with the pearl 
 and of the man with the onion were blotted 
 out. Oscar closed the book. All the rest of 
 the day he could think of nothing but this 
 'strange picture ; and he wondered deeply 
 whether the blind man with the onion had 
 succeeded in making the other man as blind 
 as himself. If only the cloud had held back 
 a few minutes longer ! 
 
 Before Oscar went to bed he looked into 
 the crystal vase, to see whether there were 
 any change in the .shell. For the first time 
 it seemed to him that it had really moved a 
 little. But the light was so dim that he could 
 not be sure. Out of the window the sea had 
 a marvellous twinkle of moonlight over it, 
 and the night air was cool and sweet. Sud- 
 denly, a hideous bat, with broad noiseless- 
 
THEEDA. 253 
 
 wings of filmy black, hovered into the room, 
 poised itself for a moment over the crystal 
 vase, and then flitted away again. 
 
 The next day was one which Oscar, so 
 long as he lived, never forgot. 
 
 He had had a strange dream during the 
 night, and this had taken from his memory 
 the change which he had fancied he noticed 
 in the shell before going to bed. But now, 
 when he went as usual to look at it, he saw 
 that a change had taken place indeed. 
 
 The shell was rolled over on its back ; the 
 lid, which heretofore had closed its mouth, 
 was open ; and the shell was empty. Oscar 
 could see far down into the very depths of 
 the curving interior ; it was as smooth as 
 satin, and looked fit to house the queen of 
 the fairies. But there was nothing in it. 
 When, however, Oscar raised his eyes, he 
 beheld a sight which made him draw in his 
 breath with a long sigh of amazement and 
 tremulous delight. The two largest pieces of 
 rock in the vase leaned together in such a way 
 as to make an arch, upon the sides of which 
 delicate leaves of pink and green seaweed 
 grew, and other broader leaves clustered 
 together in a sort of grove further back. 
 
254 THEEDA. 
 
 Within this grove Oscar now perceived a 
 movement, as if something were advancing 
 through them. In a moment they parted, 
 and a fairy-like little figure floated between, 
 touching the sand with the tips only of her 
 tiny feet. Forward she came until she stood 
 just beneath the highest part of the arch. 
 She was scarcely six inches tall, but she was 
 perfectly formed in every part ; and her face, 
 though it was less than an inch long, was 
 completely and exquisitely beautiful ; and, 
 moreover, it looked even more good than 
 lovely. Her hair, which was finer than the 
 finest cobweb, floated around her like a sort 
 of brown mist ; it was very thick and im- 
 mensely long nearly five inches ! Her skin 
 was more pure and delicate than the inside of 
 a white geranium bud ; but the palms of her 
 little hands had a faint rose tint, and so had 
 the tips of her infinitesimal fingers and toes. 
 Her eyes were like fairy forget-me-nots ; and, 
 ah ! who can describe that tiniest marvel of all 
 perfection, her mouth, with its tender curved 
 lips, and teeth no bigger than grains of white 
 sand. This little lady carried in one hand a 
 broad frond of green weed, which arched over 
 her head and protected her from the rays of 
 
THEEDA. 255 
 
 the sun that fell through the crystal sides of 
 the vase. Round her neck was hung a neck- 
 lace of seed pearls that might have come out 
 of a mussel as large as a millet seed. From 
 the waist depended a curiously woven girdle 
 made of thread-like sea-grasses of various 
 colours. There she stood, gazing straight at 
 Oscar with her wondering blue eyes, and her 
 lips half parted. And Oscar gazed at her, 
 almost afraid to breathe, lest she should 
 vanish out of his sight. For he could not 
 yet believe that she was real. He had never 
 even dreamed of anything like her before. 
 But he was awake, and she still stood beneath 
 the archway of rock, and he saw many sweet 
 expressions pass over her face. Yes, she was 
 a real, living little maiden, and she had come 
 into the world to make Oscar happy ; to sup- 
 ply the want he had felt ; to be something 
 that he could love and live for. 
 
 Oscar felt so tenderly towards her, and so 
 fearful lest he should do something to alarm 
 or shock her, that at first he did not venture 
 to do anything at all. He was so terribly big> 
 he thought, that she must find him frightful. 
 He longed to show her in some way that 
 there was nothing in his heart but love and 
 
256 THEE DA. 
 
 reverence for her. In the midst of his per- 
 plexity, however, the little maiden smiled a 
 smile that was all the more delightful because 
 the eyes and mouth she smiled with were so 
 small ; and with a light movement she half 
 walked, half floated towards him, until she 
 stood close to the crystal side of the vase. 
 The tips of her fingers rested against it, and 
 she looked up at Oscar with a glance so win- 
 ning and so confiding that he no longer felt 
 any doubt about her or about himself. He 
 stooped down and put his lips to his side of 
 the crystal vase, and they kissed each other 
 through it. 
 
 In this way the pledge of friendship be- 
 tween them was given. As soon as it had 
 been done, the little maiden made a leap as 
 of joy, and then began to dance about inside 
 the vase, sometimes touching the sandy bot- 
 tom, but most of the time gliding to and fro 
 in mid- water, turning herself this way and that 
 in graceful caprioles, diving through the arch- 
 way and coming up out of the grove of sea- 
 weeds on the other side ; waving her arms 
 about her head with dreamy motions ; some- 
 times resting quietly upon nothing, as if she 
 were asleep ; then swimming like a fish with 
 
THEEDA. 257 
 
 her arms folded and her feet crossed one over 
 the other ; and now playing- at peep-bo with 
 Oscar behind the rocks. Oscar had never 
 been so delighted ; his eyes sparkled and his 
 cheeks were red. At last his little playmate 
 dived into the pearl-shell and disappeared, 
 and the boy began to fear that he should see 
 her no more. But in a very short time she 
 came out again, holding something in her 
 hand. She smiled and nodded to him, and 
 rose up through the water until she nearly 
 reached the surface. Oscar thought she must 
 be coming out, and his heart beat with ex- 
 pectation. But she was not coming out. 
 Instead of that, she stretched up her tiny 
 hand above the surface, and Oscar now saw 
 that it held a pearl. He cautiously put out his 
 own hand, and took the pearl from her fingers. 
 Then she nodded again, and descended. 
 
 ' Is this for me ? ' asked Oscar, very softly. 
 
 Hereupon she made him the most charm- 
 ing little bow imaginable, at the same time 
 bringing both her hands to her lips, and 
 blowing him a kiss. 
 
 'Thank you, you lovely little creature!' 
 said Oscar. ' But can you understand all I 
 say to you ? ' 
 
 s 
 
258 THEEDA. 
 
 Again the little maiden smiled, and 
 nodded her head up and down. 
 
 ' And can you speak also ? ' the boy de- 
 manded. 
 
 She put up one hand, and waved it slowly 
 backwards and forwards before her face. 
 
 ' Ah, she cannot speak ! ' thought Oscar ; 
 and he felt a momentary touch of sadness. 
 
 But at that an expression came into her 
 face that seemed to say, as plainly as could 
 be, * If I cannot talk as you do, still I can 
 talk.' And not only did her face seem to say 
 this, but she said it, as it were, with all there 
 was of her ; and although in one sense there 
 was very little of her, yet in another sense 
 there was so very much, that not the largest 
 giant ever heard of could have said so much 
 without speaking as she could. Oscar could 
 not account for it. Talking without speaking 
 was something new to him. ' But, after all,' 
 he thought, * nobody could talk under water ; 
 and no doubt thinking under water is the same 
 as talking out of it.' Besides, though this 
 wonderful little water-maiden was but six 
 inches tall, her thoughts were evidently quite 
 as big as those of an ordinary grown-up 
 person, so that they must be so much the 
 
THEEDA. 259 
 
 more easily visible. And, finally, why should 
 Oscar trouble himself about how anything- 
 happened, as long as it did happen, and was 
 agreeable ? Probably it was because he 
 already loved this exquisite fairy so much, 
 that he was able to understand what was 
 passing in her mind. 
 
 He named her Theeda he did not know 
 why, except that that sounded as if it must be 
 her name, and she seemed to be perfectly satis- 
 fied with it. And so these two fell in love with 
 each other at first sight, though she lived in 
 water and he in air, and there could there- 
 fore be no meeting between them, except the 
 meeting of their hearts and eyes. They 
 must even kiss each other through the crystal. 
 Nevertheless they were as happy as the day- 
 was long, and indeed much happier, for time 
 is a thing with which happiness has very little 
 to do. Oscar's only regret was that Theeda 
 could not be with him when he took his walks 
 upon the shore. He enjoyed his walks, how- 
 ever, more than he had ever before done, 
 because now the earth and the sea and the 
 sky not only said to .him, ' We are like you,. 
 Oscar/ but also, * Theeda loves you ! ' 
 
 s 2 
 
260 THEEDA 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CRAB. 
 
 OSCAR could never see enough of his little 
 water-maiden ; and he talked to her perhaps 
 all the more because she answered him only 
 by sympathetic thoughts. He told her all 
 that he knew of his life before she came to 
 him about his dreams by night and his re- 
 veries by day ; about all the beauties of the 
 world that she could not see from the crystal 
 imprisonment of her vase ; about his mother, 
 too, and how the sails of the ship in which 
 she went away had been lit up by the light 
 ;beyond just before reaching the horizon verge. 
 He spoke likewise of his father, how good 
 and great he was, and how, although he lived 
 and ruled in a distant country, he never for- 
 got to send his little son all things that were 
 necessary for his comfort and happiness. 
 
 'And I believe, Theeda,' added Oscar, 
 
THEEDA, 261 
 
 1 that he put you in the pearl-shell for me. 
 Perhaps you have seen him ? ' 
 
 Theeda threw back her floating mist of 
 hair, and smiled. 
 
 ' Ah, of course, everybody who is good 
 and lovely must have come from him,' Oscar 
 murmured, as if answering something she had 
 said. And then he went on to talk about 
 the book, and of the strange picture he had 
 seen in it the day before she appeared. 
 
 1 I think, now,' he said, ' that the wanderer 
 in the forest must have been myself; and the 
 precious pearl that was given to him out of 
 the fountain was you. But who was the blind 
 and dumb man with the onion ? ' 
 
 At that Theeda's head dropped, and she 
 sank slowly down on the sand, and she hid 
 her face in her hands. 
 
 ' What is the matter, Theeda ? ' cried Os- 
 car ; ' dearest Theeda, what has happened ? ' 
 
 She partly lifted herself up, though still 
 crouching in the sand, and held out her arms 
 towards Oscar as if entreating him to do 
 something. And now, for the first time, he 
 could not read her thought. She seemed 
 to beseech him ; but he, who would have 
 given her everything, knew not for what she 
 
262 THEEDA. 
 
 besought him. At last she trailed herself to 
 the side of the vase and put up her lips to be 
 kissed. 
 
 ' I love you, Theeda ! ' said he. * See ! 
 with my whole heart ! ' 
 
 But all that day Theeda's sadness did not 
 wholly pass away ; and each morning after- 
 wards, when Oscar first came into the room, 
 she would meet him with a kind of timorous- 
 ness, and would not be happy until he had 
 kissed her through the crystal, and had told 
 her again that he loved her. 
 
 She was by no means an idle little maiden, 
 however. The vase was her home and her 
 garden, and she was busy many hours a day 
 in keeping it in order and making it more 
 and more beautiful. It was wonderful how 
 much she found to do. In some places, where 
 the red and green weeds grew too thick, she 
 pruned them with a little knife that Oscar 
 had given her, made out of a piece of a 
 mussel shell, and cut away the pieces that 
 were decayed. She sifted the brown sand 
 between her fingers, and cleansed it from all 
 impurities ; and she brought the prettiest of 
 the pebbles and laid them in tasteful patterns. 
 She plaited a kind of hammock out of the 
 
THEEDA. 263 
 
 sea grass, and hung it at the entrance of the 
 archway ; and in the afternoons, when the 
 sun was hot, she lay in it and took her siesta. 
 And now Oscar, from time to time, put in 
 little sea-animals to keep her company and 
 amuse her ; he found many such in the rock 
 pools along the shore. There were prawns, 
 almost transparent, striped like zebras with 
 fine pink stripes, and having long feelers like 
 hairs, which they waved about, and, as it 
 were, asked delicate questions with them of 
 everything that came near. They moved as 
 lightly as thistledown and as swiftly as sun- 
 shine. Then there were fishes, slender little 
 things an inch or two long, with round asto- 
 nished eyes, and open mouths that looked as 
 if they were saying, ' Hoo ! hoo ! ' They 
 were of all colours, and some of them had 
 fierce-looking spines on their backs, which 
 they could move backwards and forwards 
 very much as a horse moves its ears. These 
 fish were at first very timid, and kept under 
 the shadow of the rocks, or lurked amidst the 
 seaweed. But Theeda soon made friends with 
 them, so that they regularly came to her to 
 be fed, and sometimes she used to play at tag 
 with them, darting round and round inside 
 
264 THEEDA. 
 
 the vase, and in and out amongst the rocks, 
 while the weeds waved to and fro like banners 
 in a gale of wind. Oscar also brought sea- 
 snails, with brightly tinted shells, which crawled 
 slowly about, measuring their way with their 
 one soft foot, and stretching out little transpa- 
 rent horns in front, like children feeling their 
 way in the dark. Besides these there was a 
 hermit crab, which lived in a pearl shell very 
 much like Theeda's, but only about a sixth 
 part as big. This crab was the only ill- 
 natured creature in the vase. He sat sullenly 
 in the door of his house, in a little hollow 
 under a large stone ; his little dull eyes stuck 
 far out of his head, and his ugly claws hung 
 down in front like a pair of red fists. He 
 never had a pleasant word for anybody ; but, 
 if any came near him, he either pettishly 
 hitched himself back into his shell, or else 
 made a vicious snap at the visitor with his 
 claws. He even snapped at Theeda two or 
 three times, and then Oscar wanted to take 
 him out and throw him back into the sea. But 
 Theeda was very forgiving, and would not let 
 this cross little crab be punished. She always 
 treated him kindly, brought his dinner to him 
 every day, and did all she could to make him 
 
THEEDA. 265- 
 
 goodnatured and comfortable. But nothing 
 seemed to make him any better ; and one 
 day, when Theeda had made him let go of a 
 prawn which he had caught by the tail with 
 one of his claws, he flew into such a terrible 
 passion that Oscar felt very glad, for the sake 
 of the other creatures in the vase, that he 
 was no bigger. He made up his mind to 
 have him out before long. 
 
 Except for the crab, the vase was the 
 most charming place to live in that could be 
 imagined, and Oscar often wished that he 
 were able to breathe under water as easily as 
 Theeda did, and that he were as small as she 
 was. Theeda, no doubt, wished so too ; but 
 it was not to be. Then Oscar used to hope 
 that, some day, Theeda would grow up to be 
 as tall, or nearly as tall, as himself, and then 
 come out of the water, and live with him in 
 the cottage. But that did not seem very 
 likely to happen either. And perhaps, after 
 all, they were as near together as many people 
 who live in the same house, and are separated 
 by neither water nor crystal. Only, when 
 Theeda brought out her oyster-shell dinner- 
 table, and set it under the bower of green 
 ulva leaves, and placed upon it her little 
 
266 THEEDA. 
 
 cockle-shell dishes of fresh sea vegetables 
 (which was all she ate), Oscar's very heart 
 ached to be sitting at the opposite side of the 
 table and dining with her. Water then seemed 
 to him a much more agreeable element to pass 
 one's time in than air. But, although wishing 
 can do a great deal, it could not quite make a 
 merman of Oscar. Theeda ate her dinners 
 by herself except for the tit-bits that she 
 gave to the prawns and snails, and the scraps 
 that the fishes stole when they thought she 
 was not looking. 
 
 ' Some day, Theeda, perhaps ....!' 
 Oscar used to say, without ever finishing the 
 sentence. 
 
 Theeda understood very well what he 
 meant, and used to look as if she meant it 
 also. And Oscar's father, who was as power- 
 ful as he was kind, would no doubt be able to 
 make them happy in the way they wanted, if 
 he saw that it was best for them. But the 
 hermit crab had a very ugly and malicious 
 look, as if he had a mind to prevent anybody 
 from being happy if he could. 
 
THEEDA. 267 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A STRANGER. 
 
 ONE morning, while Oscar was looking into 
 the vase, and admiring the bright silver beads 
 that were forming all over the leaves of sea- 
 weed, and on the lichen-covered surface of the 
 rocks ; and while Theeda was busy feeding 
 the fishes, who seemed to get hungrier the 
 more they ate ; and just when Oscar was 
 about to remark that the hermit-crab was not 
 in his usual hole, nor anywhere else that he 
 could see at that moment a dark shadow 
 suddenly fell across the vase, shutting it off 
 from the sunlight, scaring away the fishes, 
 and making Theeda look up with a start, and 
 then quickly take refuge in her shell, as from 
 something she feared. 
 
 Oscar also looked up, and saw somebody 
 standing before the window. 
 
 It was a boy ; but a very odd boy, Oscar 
 thought. He was not any bigger than Oscar, 
 
268 TPIEEDA. 
 
 but he seemed to be a good deal older. He 
 had a broad flat face, with a sharp little nose 
 in the middle of it, a wide thin mouth, and 
 pale eyes which stuck out very far, and over 
 which he wore spectacles. He had pale 
 reddish hair growing upright on his head. 
 His legs were so thin that it seemed a wonder 
 he could stand upon them, and indeed they 
 were bowed out sideways, as if the boy's 
 weight were too much for them. His arms 
 also were thin, but his hands were immensely 
 large and red, with stiff, thick fingers, and 
 huge thumbs. He was not quite facing the 
 window, but stood sideways towards it, and 
 looked at Oscar askance. The skin of this 
 boy's face was coarse and rough, and seemed 
 as thick as orange-peel. 
 
 * What is your name ? ' asked the strange 
 boy, after a while. 
 
 Oscar told him what it was. 
 
 * What an absurdly old-fashioned name ! ' 
 said the boy, contemptuously. ' I have a 
 better name than that my name is Ranker ! ' 
 
 ' Do you want anything ? ' said Oscar. 
 
 ' Yes,' said Ranker. ' I want to ask ques- 
 tions. I am in search of truth. I never 
 believe lies ; so you needn't tell me any.' 
 
THEEDA. 269 
 
 ' I never tell lies/ said Oscar, gravely. 
 
 ' That is a lie to begin with. Everybody 
 tells lies except me ! Everything lies the 
 things that can't talk, as well as the things 
 that can. The world is a lie.' 
 
 ' The world is not a lie,' said Oscar, in- 
 dignantly. ' And if you think it is, why do 
 you search for truth ? ' 
 
 * I have at all events found the only truth 
 there is to be found and that is, that every- 
 thing is a lie/ replied Ranker. ' I have proved 
 it a thousand times already, and every new 
 question I ask proves it again.' 
 
 ' What makes your hands so big ? ' Oscar 
 could not help asking. 
 
 ' They are no bigger than they ought to 
 be/ Ranker answered, holding them up and 
 looking at them admiringly. ' I use them to 
 touch things with. I never believe in anything 
 that I haven't touched. Nothing exists unless 
 I can touch it. Come out of that room, so that 
 I may touch you, and see whether you exist/ 
 
 ' I will come out/ said Oscar ; for he 
 thought it would be better to go to Ranker 
 than to have Ranker come in to him. ' But 
 you need not" touch me ; I can touch myself 
 if I want to/ 
 
270 THEE DA. 
 
 Nevertheless, no sooner had he come out 
 than Ranker took hold of him by the arm, 
 and gripped it so hard with his big red hand 
 that Oscar said, ' Let go, you hurt me ! f 
 
 ' Your touching yourself would prove 
 nothing to me, you know/ said Ranker. 
 * Well, you seem to exist. Where are your 
 father and mother ? ' 
 
 ' They are not here,' answered Oscar. 
 ' They are gone long ago.' 
 
 ' I don't believe it. Where did they go 
 to?' 
 
 ' Over there/ said Oscar, pointing across 
 the sea. 
 
 ' Nonsense ! Do you mean they are 
 drowned ? ' 
 
 * No. They are gone to a country over 
 there.' 
 
 ' How do you know there is a country 
 over there ? Did you ever touch it ? ' 
 
 Oscar shook his head. 
 
 ' I thought so. Then there is no such 
 place. Therefore your father and mother 
 have gone nowhere. Therefore they do not 
 exist. And what business have you to exist 
 if you never had a father and mother ? ' 
 
 1 1 don't know what you mean/ said Oscar, 
 
THEEDA. 271 
 
 ' and I don't care whether I exist or not, 
 so long as I do what is right, and am 
 happy.' 
 
 At this Ranker laughed, a spluttering 
 laugh, as if he had his mouth full of water. 
 ' Sit down here beside me,' he said, ' I want 
 to ask yousome more questions.' 
 
 Oscar sat down beside him. He did not 
 at all like Ranker, whose voice was as harsh 
 as his manners were impolite. And he was 
 certainly ugly. When Oscar did not look 
 full at him he had something the appearance 
 of a gigantic crab, which was increased by 
 his sidelong shuffle in walking, and by the 
 two great red hands that he carried hanging 
 before him, very much as a crab carries his 
 claws. He held a sun-umbrella over his head, 
 a small book in one pocket, and a roll of 
 measuring tape in the other. Nevertheless, 
 Ranker seemed to know so much, and to be 
 so positive about what he knew, that Oscar 
 could not help thinking he must be an im- 
 portant person ; not the sort of person to be 
 contradicted, especially by a person who knew 
 so little as Oscar did. ' For, after all,' Oscar 
 thought, ' a great deal of what I supposed I 
 knew has only been told me. I do not know 
 
272 THEEDA. 
 
 it as he knows things by touching them. It 
 may be, as he says, that some things that 
 seem to be true are not true. I wonder 
 whether he believes in the sun and the stars ? 
 He can hardly have touched them ! And I 
 wonder why he wears spectacles ? ' 
 
 ' Why do I wear spectacles ? ' repeated 
 Ranker ; for Oscar had spoken the last sen- 
 tence aloud. . ' To see with, of course ! No- 
 body can see without spectacles ; and not only 
 that, but nobody can see with any other spec- 
 tacles than these I have on/ 
 
 ' Oh, you are mistaken there,' exclaimed 
 Oscar ; * for I have never worn spectacles, 
 and I have always been able to see.' 
 
 'You never saw anything in your life,' 
 replied Ranker, very confidently. ' You only 
 think you see. That is your hallucination. 
 An hallucination is when you think a thing is 
 so, and it isn't. You are blind, and probably 
 deaf and dumb as well. What books do you 
 read ? ' 
 
 4 1 have only one book,' said Oscar ; and 
 then he told what a wonderful book it was ; how 
 it could only be opened by repeating certain 
 mystic words, and how its pages were full of 
 living pictures, representing things which had 
 
THEEDA. 273: 
 
 been done in the world, and which were being 
 done now. Kanker burst out laughing. 
 
 ' I don't believe it/ he said. ' It's an hal- 
 lucination. There is no such book, in the 
 first place, and if there were, it couldn't be 
 what you say it is.' 
 
 This made Oscar angry. ' There is such 
 a book,' said he, ' and if you don't believe it 
 I can show it to you.' 
 
 Kanker went on laughing and wagging 
 his great hands up and down. ' Oh ! show it 
 to me show it to me ! ' he spluttered. ' Let 
 me touch it with my fingers, and then perhaps. 
 I'll believe.' 
 
 ' Come into the house, then, and you shall 
 touch it ! ' exclaimed Oscar. He sprang up 
 and went into the house, and Kanker followed 
 him readily enough. ' Let me put my fingers 
 on it that's all I ask,' he kept repeating. 
 ' Let me touch it.' 
 
 ' There ! ' said Oscar, ' there it is on that 
 shelf. Do you believe now ? ' 
 
 Kanker took the book down from the 
 shelf, and felt it all over. ' I believe that this 
 is something that feels like a book,' he said at 
 last. ' But I don't believe it is a book until I 
 see it opened ; and then I shan't believe it 
 
 T 
 
274 THEEDA. 
 
 has the pictures you talk about unless I see 
 them, and can put my finger on them ; and I 
 don't believe you can open it.' 
 
 ' I can open it ! ' cried Oscar. 
 
 ( If you can do it, then why don't you ?' 
 Ranker replied. 
 
 Now Oscar knew that the mystic words 
 which undid the clasp were a secret which he 
 had no right to disclose. But he wanted so 
 much to show Ranker the inside of the book, 
 and make him acknowledge that he was wrong, 
 that everything else seemed of little account 
 in comparison. He took the book from 
 Ranker's hands. As he did so, a strange 
 feeling came over him. A voice, that seemed 
 to speak not to his ears, but within him, bid 
 him pause. Did he care so much for this 
 Ranker, with his flat face and his great red 
 hands, as to betray the secret which his mother 
 had confided to him ? Oscar hesitated. 
 
 ' Ha ! I knew you were lying ! ' said Ran- 
 ker, with his disagreeable laugh. 
 
 ' You shall see that I am not ! ' retorted 
 Oscar, becoming angrier than ever. Then 
 he began to repeat the mystic words. But 
 he found it hard to pronounce them, and 
 some of them he could scarcely remember. 
 
THEEDA. 275 
 
 His teeth chattered as he went on, and his 
 heart beat painfully. But Kanker was watch- 
 ing him askance with his pale spectacled 
 eyes, and Oscar would not stop. At last he 
 had spoken all the words ; the clasp flew 
 back ; the book opened ! 
 
 * There ! ' said Oscar, thrusting it into 
 Ranker's hands. ' It is open : now look for 
 yourself ! ' Then he turned away, and hid 
 his face in his hands. 
 
 All of a sudden he heard again Ranker's 
 hateful spluttering laugh. He looked up in 
 astonishment. Ranker was pointing con- 
 temptuously to the page. 
 
 ( No pictures here! ' he was saying. ' Show 
 me your pictures ! There's nothing but 
 printing here, and very stupid commonplace 
 printing too ! ' 
 
 Oscar fixed his eyes upon the book ; but 
 they were darkened, and at first he could see 
 nothing. At length his sight cleared ; but, 
 alas ! it was as Ranker had said : there were 
 no pictures in the book, no beauty, no life, 
 and no mystery. It was just like any other 
 book ordinary pages printed with ordinary 
 print. There had been some terrible loss, 
 but whether the loss were in Oscar or in the 
 
 T 2 
 
276 THEEDA. 
 
 book, Oscar could not tell. He stood there 
 unable to speak, and almost to think. 
 
 ' It is just as I knew it was/ said Ranker, 
 throwing down the book. ' Another of your 
 absurd hallucinations. You dream about things 
 until you think they are real. You had much 
 better do as I do wear spectacles, make up 
 your mind that everything is a lie, and trust 
 to your fingers. By doing that you might, 
 in the course of time, come to know some- 
 thing. Look here, I'll tell you what I'll do. 
 I'll make an exchange with you. It isn't a 
 fair exchange, for what I give you is worth 
 a great deal, and what you give me is worth 
 nothing. You give me your book, and I'll 
 give you mine.' 
 
 ' What is your book ? ' Oscar asked. 
 
 ' An arithmetic, to be sure ! ' replied Ran- 
 ker, pulling it out of his pocket. ' See, here 
 is the multiplication table. And here are ad- 
 dition, subtraction, multiplication, and divi- 
 sion. And here are vulgar fractions. And 
 here are examples. And here is the Rule of 
 Three. That's what I call a book worth 
 having.' 
 
 < But if you think my book is not worth 
 having, why do you want it ? ' 
 
THEEDA. 277 
 
 ' To make a fire to warm myself with/ 
 Ranker replied. 
 
 ' If you are cold, will not the sun warm 
 you ? ' asked Oscar. 
 
 1 No one has been able to prove that there 
 is any warmth in the sun,' said Ranker. ' It 
 only seems to be warm. But I know that a fire 
 is warm, because I can burn my fingers in it.' 
 
 ' But if the sun feels warm, is not that as 
 good as if it were really warm ? ' 
 
 ' For you it may be,' answered Ranker, 
 ' but not for me. I care only for truth, and I 
 don't choose to be warmed by anything I 
 don't believe in. That is the reason I carry 
 a sun-umbrella. Well, will you let me have 
 your book ? ' 
 
 * It is no more use to me,' said Oscar, 
 gloomily. ' I do not care whether you take 
 it or not, or what becomes of it.' 
 
 ' You will find my arithmetic much more 
 useful,' returned Ranker. ' Come outside and 
 see me make my fire.' 
 
 But Oscar turned sullenly away. 
 
 Ranker went outside the cottage, with the 
 book in his arms. After a moment, Oscar 
 could not help going to the window to see 
 what was being done. 
 
278 THEEDA. 
 
 Ranker had laid the book across two 
 stones, and had gathered some bits of drift- 
 wood from the shore for kindlings to put 
 underneath. Now he struck a match, and 
 held it to the kindlings. But at that there was 
 a sudden and mighty sound, like thunder, and 
 also like a great voice speaking some solemn 
 and awful word. And the book seemed to 
 dissolve, and in its place arose a tall pillar of 
 light, more dazzling than the lightning, which 
 hung for a moment near the earth, and, to 
 Oscar's amazed eyes, took on the likeness of 
 a glorious and majestic figure, which bent 
 upon him a look that made his heart tremble. 
 Then the figure moved away through the air 
 seaward, casting a radiance across the waters, 
 and making the sun look red and dim. It 
 drifted slowly away over the sea, and at last 
 became as a bright star, further and further 
 off, until it vanished in the depths of the sky. 
 Then a great coldness fell upon Oscar, and 
 the daylight became dusky to him, as if it 
 were already evening ; and he knew that the 
 dazzling face which he had seen was the face 
 of his father. Now he understood what the 
 book had been ; but it was too late. 
 
THE ED A. 279 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE SECRET OF THE WAVES. 
 
 IT seemed to Oscar that many hours passed 
 away while he remained crouched down on 
 his knees in a dark corner, shivering and 
 miserable. At last he looked up. It was 
 evening, and a bitter wind was blowing out- 
 side ; heavy clouds were driving across the 
 sky, and rain was beating on the roof. Kan- 
 ker was sitting in the middle of the room, 
 with his chin upon his hands, staring at him. 
 
 ' You had better go/ Oscar said. ' What 
 other harm do you want to do me ? ' 
 
 ' It is you who have done harm to me/ 
 replied Ranker, * by giving me a box of gun- 
 powder to make a fire with. The explosion 
 has cracked my spectacles. However, I bear 
 no malice. What do you keep that jar of 
 sea- water for ? ' 
 
 * Ah ! that is where Theeda lives,' exclaimed 
 
28o THEEDA. 
 
 Oscar, rising, with some cheerfulness in his 
 face. * I had forgotten her.' 
 
 1 Theeda ? what is Theeda ? ' demanded 
 Ranker. 
 
 ' She is my playmate and companion/ 
 Oscar said. ' She is dearer to me than any- 
 thing else in the world, and nothing in the 
 world is so lovely as she.' 
 
 ' And do you mean to say she lives in the 
 water ? Pray, how big is she ? ' 
 
 ' She is not so tall as your hand is long.' 
 
 ' No such creature ever existed,' said 
 Ranker, positively. ' In the first place, no 
 one ever was made of that size, and in the 
 second place, it is impossible for anyone to live 
 under water. It is another of your hallucina- 
 tions. There is no use in your denying it. I 
 shall believe in her when I see her, and not 
 before.' 
 
 ( I will not let you see her,' replied Oscar. 
 
 'Just what I expected! When did you 
 see her last yourself ? ' 
 
 'Just before your shadow fell across the 
 vase.' 
 
 ' What language does she talk ? ' 
 
 ' She does not talk at all, but I know all 
 she thinks.' 
 
THEEDA. 281 
 
 ' This is really too absurd ! Have you 
 ever touched her ? ' 
 
 ' No. It is enough for me to look at her.' 
 
 ' I will tell you what it is/ said Ranker, 
 lifting up one of his ugly fingers and holding 
 it at the side of his little sharp nose. ' You 
 are crazy quite crazy ! You have lived here 
 by yourself until you don't know what is real 
 from what isn't. Now, I will make this bar- 
 gain with you. If you will let me put my 
 finger on this Theeda of yours, and I thereby 
 prove to my own satisfaction that she exists, 
 I will let you use me for your servant the rest 
 of my life. Do you agree ? r 
 
 Oscar waited a little while before answer- 
 ing. He hated Ranker, and he thought that 
 if Ranker became his servant, he should be 
 able to make him as miserable as Ranker had 
 made him. He did not stop to think whether 
 Theeda would like to be touched or not ; it 
 seemed to him an easy way of being revenged 
 on his enemy, and that was all. ' Yes, I agree ! ' 
 he said. 
 
 ' Very well ! ' returned Ranker. ' And, of 
 course, if I prove that Theeda does not exist, 
 you are to become my servant for the rest of 
 your life ? ' 
 
282 THE ED A. 
 
 ' There is no danger in my promising that/ 
 said Oscar. ' Let it be so if you wish.' 
 
 * Very well ! ' said Ranker again ; and then 
 they both went to the vase. 
 
 ' Where is she ? ' asked Ranker. ' I don't 
 see her.' 
 
 ' Oh, she has gone into her shell ; it is 
 iate she must be asleep by this time/ 
 answered Oscar. ' You must wait until to- 
 morrow.' 
 
 'That won't do!' said Ranker. ' The 
 agreement was for this evening. If you back 
 out, you become my servant.' 
 
 ' It shall be this evening, then,' replied 
 Oscar ; ' but you will regret it more than I ! ' 
 And stooping over the vase, he called, 
 * Theeda ! Theeda ! wake up ! come out ! ' 
 
 They waited a moment. There was no 
 movement in the great pearl shell, and Theeda 
 did not appear. 
 
 ' Come ! there's enough of this nonsense ! ' 
 Ranker exclaimed. 'You may as well make 
 up your mind at once to being my servant.' 
 
 ' Not yet ! ' said Oscar, scornfully, and he 
 called in a louder voice, ' Come out, Theeda ! 
 Come out I want you ! ' 
 
THEEDA. 283 
 
 The shell stirred slightly, but still Theeda 
 did not appear. Ranker laughed. 
 
 Then Oscar grew angry, and in a harsh 
 tone he cried, ' Theeda, come out ! or I shall 
 not love you or believe in you any more ! ' 
 
 The sun had set long ago, and the sky 
 was almost dark ; but now, through a break in 
 the clouds, the moon shone down, white and 
 clear, into the crystal vase. It gleamed upon 
 the pearly shell ; and in its cold lustre Oscar 
 saw the tiny water-maiden, whom he had 
 loved better than anything else in the world, 
 and who was the most precious thing that 
 the world contained, come slowly out of her 
 shell, and stand downcast and drooping before 
 him. Then he felt that, in his anger, and in 
 his desire to be revenged on his enemy, he 
 had done a wicked thing, which could not be 
 forgiven. He had shown what was most 
 sacred and dear to his own soul to one who 
 could neither believe in her nor reverence her, 
 His heart was filled with bitter sorrow and 
 repentance ; but again it was too late. 
 
 For, as Theeda stood there in the moon- 
 light, drooping amidst her shadowy mist of 
 hair, Ranker put out his hideous red hand, 
 
284 THEEDA. 
 
 that was less like a hand than like a crab's 
 claw, and plunging it into the water, he tried 
 to grasp Theeda round the waist. But his 
 fingers met together, and behold ! no Theeda 
 was there. She had faded into nothingness 
 where she stood ; or else the shadow of a 
 cloud which at that moment passed across the 
 room, and made the vase and the room dark 
 again, had caused her to become invisible. 
 Before she disappeared, however, she bent one 
 sad reproachful look upon Oscar, and he knew 
 that he had seen his mother's spirit in her 
 eyes. He understood all then ; but it was too 
 late indeed ! 
 
 ' I told you how it would be ! ' said the 
 harsh voice of Ranker, with his spluttering 
 laugh, ' and now you are my servant ! ' 
 
 ' Yes, for I have lost rny Theeda ! ' an- 
 swered Oscar, with a heavy sigh. 
 
 But even as he spoke, he chanced to turn 
 his eyes towards the sea. Beyond the moon 
 he saw a pure white cloud drifting down the 
 sky. To Oscar's fancy it took on the likeness 
 of a female form the form of someone whom 
 he knew and loved. She seemed to beckon 
 him to a far-off country, whither Ranker could 
 not come, and where he would be free. 
 
THEEDA. 285 
 
 ' Yes, I will follow her ! ' Oscar thought ; 
 and, in some way, he slipped from where he 
 was, and left the cottage and K anker behind 
 him, and went down towards the ocean. 
 
 Ranker did not at first know that Oscar 
 had escaped, for he had left something behind 
 which resembled him, but was not really he. 
 The next morning, when the sun peeped as 
 usual into the crystal vase, neither Oscar 
 nor Ranker were to be seen. But, in the 
 pearl shell, where formerly Theeda had lived, 
 sat a great ugly crab, twiddling its huge red 
 claws, and peering this way and that with its 
 malicious little eyes, which stuck far out of 
 its head. Oscar was not in the cottage, nor 
 on the shore, nor has he, from that day to this, 
 ever reappeared there. But, if you should 
 ever happen to visit the place, you will hear 
 the waves murmur mysteriously to one an- 
 other, as they gambol along the beach ; and 
 since they come from that far-off line where 
 the world meets the sky, they may possibly 
 know more about Oscar and Theeda than 
 people like Ranker would be apt to believe. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Spottiswoode &> Co., Printers, New-street Square, London.