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 3 1822 "66264 "5979 
 
 f
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 THE UN.'VhRSITY LIBRARY 
 
 JNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO 
 
 LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA
 
 PETER 
 
 and 
 
 THE FAIRIES 
 
 BY 
 
 ARTHUR HENRY 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 BROTHERS OF THE BOOK 
 1913
 
 COPYRIGHT 1905 BY 
 A. S. BARNES & COMPANY 
 
 COPYRIGHT 1913 
 
 BY THE 
 BROTHERS OF THE BOOK
 
 l little people* are 
 still with us
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 ANCY'S copying of 
 fice was on the thir 
 teenth floor ofone of 
 the great office build 
 ings on lower Broad 
 way. There were two 
 rooms, with windows looking over a 
 wide stretch of the world below. 
 
 As I entered Nancy was busy with 
 a customer. As she stood before him, 
 looking up talking, she sometimes 
 raised upon her tiptoes, and then her 
 head came almost to his chin. She 
 was a very small body, but, for all that, 
 the place seemed filled with her. She 
 gave me a quick glance, her blue eyes 
 sparkling with enterprise, smiled as if 
 she had known me always, and asked
 
 Peter and "The Fairies 
 
 me to be seated. "Just a moment, 
 please." 
 
 The first impression of these rooms 
 was of their cheery atmosphere, and 
 this impression has remained. There 
 were four very contented-looking girls 
 in the inner office. I never heard a 
 brisker or more continuous sound of 
 operation, but I noticed that from time 
 to time these girls at their typewriters 
 cast pleasant glances through a row of 
 windows. They could see a narrow 
 strip of the city, more than a mile of 
 the broad North River, and the cities 
 and the hills of New Jersey. They 
 could note the ocean steamers as they 
 left and entered their slips, the barges, 
 sailing vessels, tugs and yachts, and 
 the ferryboats criss-crossing like mag 
 netic toys. 
 
 [ 8]
 
 Peter and 'The Fairies 
 
 " Come," the man was saying, "I 
 must have it in the morning." 
 
 "Well," answered Nancy, "we can 
 do it for you in time, but it will mean 
 late hours." 
 
 "All right. Now, what will it cost?" 
 
 "The regular rate is fifteen cents 
 a page for the typewriting, and ten 
 dollars a thousand for the mimeo 
 graphing. That will be sixteen." She 
 looked sweetly up at him, and added, 
 in a soft, persuasive voice, "Ten dol 
 lars extra for the late hours. That will 
 make it twenty-six in all." 
 
 "Whew!" he exclaimed, "That's 
 pretty steep, isn't it?" 
 
 "Oh, but," she said, still holding his 
 eyes with her own, "just think how 
 badly you need it. It would be a 
 pleasure to work for you all night for 
 
 [9]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 nothing, but we won't insist upon it. 
 You would rather pay us, I know." 
 
 He looked into her smiling face, 
 so pleasant, shrewd and girlish, and 
 laughed gleefully. 
 
 "Well, I should say I would!" he 
 exclaimed, and left the order. 
 
 "Andnow?" she asked, comingover 
 to me. 
 
 " I would like to dictate something." 
 
 "Letters?" 
 
 "No; a fairy tale." She laughed 
 merrily. 
 
 "Do you know our prices?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "A dollar an hour." 
 
 "It won't take long," I said, "for 
 it is written. I will dictate from the 
 manuscript and you may take it on 
 your machine." 
 
 [ 10 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 "Well, now, if you don't mind in 
 terruptions I will take it myself. Of 
 course," she added, smiling, "I won't 
 charge you for the interruptions." 
 
 She brought a table and typewriter, 
 and sat briskly down beside me. She 
 adjusted the paper, looked at me, smiled 
 andwaited,her capablelittle hands hov 
 ering over the keys. 
 
 We were in the reception room, 
 and I, seated before her desk, could see 
 over the lower buildings the spires of 
 St. Patrick's Cathedral, faint and blue, 
 and fainter yet, Grant's Tomb. The 
 sun shone over the spreading mass of 
 clean buildings, flashed from exposed 
 window panes, and tinted the clouds of 
 white steam rising from the roofs. 
 
 Viewed from this window, the city 
 was altogether a fair and shining 
 [ n ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 thing. Only a far-off, pleasant mur 
 mur rose from below. The personal 
 ity of individuals was lost, and only 
 that of the city remained a person 
 ality prosperous, hopeful, luxurious, 
 ambitious, vast in its serene, progres 
 sive contentment and egotism. 
 
 I began the story. " When Old Peter 
 the Rich gave up his business and his 
 mansion in the village and went to 
 live in the forest with his daughter 
 Susette, he turned over all his posses 
 sions to his brother Abner, on con 
 dition that he should provide for his 
 grandson, little Peter Forester, when 
 the time came. It was with a last 
 thought for this little likeness of all 
 that was good in his own youth, and 
 a prayer for his blessing, that Old 
 Peter died. His death brought a great 
 [ 12 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 change to little Peter. He had known 
 no other playfellow except the fairies, 
 and it had been only through his 
 grandfather that he had known them. 
 After his death he suddenly realized 
 that he had never really seen the little 
 people, unless, indeed, it had been in 
 his babyhood. He half-remembered 
 their figures perched upon his cradle, 
 and could sometimes hear a faint echo 
 of their merry voices. As soon as Peter 
 was big enough his father would some 
 times take him for a day's patrol of the 
 forest. These were times of mingled 
 pleasure and disappointment. When 
 they started in the early morning the 
 boy's heart was full of excitement. 
 The squirrels cocked knowing eyes at 
 him; a sparrow, evidently on the watch, 
 darted eagerly ahead. Woodpeckers 
 
 [ 13 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 sent flying signals through the forest 
 and thrushes, finches and bluebirds flit 
 ted about him as if impatient at his 
 slow approach. 
 
 "'Come, father,' he would cry in 
 his delight, 'let us hurry, for the fairies 
 will appear to-day/ 
 
 " Before the day was over he lagged 
 behind, troubled because he could see 
 and hear so little, and then his father, 
 taking his hand, would say, 'You are 
 tired, little man/ 
 
 "In the evening he sat silently on 
 the doorsill, looking wistfully into the 
 forest, listening for those little familiar 
 ones whom he was not sure he had 
 ever seen." 
 
 Nancy was called away by a cus 
 tomer, who had closed the door be 
 hind him briskly. He had brought
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 an order for one hundred mimeograph 
 letters, but she, from her tiptoes, told 
 him that while one hundred might 
 be enough for him, it would be more 
 profitable for her if he should order 
 five hundred or a thousand. He ven 
 tured to discuss the matter, and she 
 got the extra order. She returned to 
 me, smiling sweetly in apology. 
 
 "When Peter was fifteen years old 
 his uncle Abner took him to the vil 
 lage to live. He did not do this 
 with any pleasure, but if Peter were 
 to have a share in the fortune he must 
 help to increase it. As Peter went 
 with him, all the way from the cot 
 tage to the town his heart, looking 
 both ways at once, viewed his home 
 with tender regret and the town with 
 eager anticipations. His room in the
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 great house looked into the garden of 
 a neighbor, and he saw, in place of 
 the forest, a prim little lawn, a few 
 orderly flower-beds and a contented- 
 looking cottage covered with vines. 
 He sighed as he stood by the win 
 dow on the first night. The few trees 
 in the garden seemed to speak an 
 other language than those of the for 
 est. There was something fretful in 
 the piping of a few lonely crickets. 
 Here in the midst of the town, when 
 for the first time he was to dwell with 
 hundreds of his kind, this little crea 
 ture of the companionable woods felt 
 utterly alone. He awakened early the 
 next morning, and thought at first it 
 was because of the birds that usually 
 aroused him. By a window opposite 
 his own stood a little girl, singing gaily 
 [ 16]
 
 A* Peter and The Fairies & 
 
 as she fastened a pink bow in her 
 hair." 
 
 We were again interrupted by a cus 
 tomer with an order to be filled at 
 once. 
 
 "We cannot possibly do it until to 
 morrow," said Nancy, taking his manu 
 script from him, however, and folding 
 it to her breast. 
 
 "Oh, but you must." 
 
 "You wanted this yesterday?" she 
 asked. 
 
 "Yes," he assented eagerly, think 
 ing he had made his point. "I should 
 have attended to it yesterday." 
 
 "Surely," she said, "you can't ex 
 pect me to do more than you have 
 done." 
 
 It was her soft voice, the pleasant 
 accent on the "me," and "you," the
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 irresistible allurement of her ingen 
 uous eyes that convinced him, and he 
 agreed to wait. 
 
 She returned to me with what I 
 thought was a genuine eagerness, and 
 I continued the tale. 
 
 "Peter went down to his uncle 
 with a light heart, which even the un 
 friendly silence of the breakfast table 
 could not reach. 'Peter,' said his un 
 cle sharply as they were leaving the 
 house, 'I hope you intend to be use 
 ful at once.' He slammed the great 
 iron gate behind them and looked 
 sternly down. *I can't have any id 
 lers about me. What do you know?' 
 Peter would have been distressed by 
 this had he heard it, but he was at 
 that moment looking toward the win 
 dow opposite his own. 'Why don't 
 [ 18 1
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 you listen to me?' asked the old man, 
 giving a twist to his arm. 'You hurt 
 me,' said Peter. His uncle relaxed his 
 grip and walked on in silence. Pres 
 ently he said, in what he intended for a 
 kindly manner: 'I have no doubt that 
 you will soon be useful. The great 
 thing in life is to be able to cajole or 
 force others to do of their own free 
 will the things that are profitable for 
 you. 
 
 "'I now possess land and dwellings 
 once held dearer than life by their 
 owners, but mark you, Peter, these 
 good people were glad to give them 
 over, and escape with their hides be 
 fore I was through with them. Some 
 of them I have been able to em 
 ploy to my profit, thereby securing 
 not only their property, but their ser- 
 [ 19 1
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 vices and gratitude as well. To some 
 I have leased their former possessions, 
 for they were willing to pay more than 
 others; so you see that even the ten- 
 derest sentiments have their uses. In 
 dealing with men, one must not ignore 
 their virtues.' 
 
 "As they reached the center of the 
 square he pointed to the town pump, 
 about which wasgatheredamerry group 
 with buckets. 
 
 " ' I will giveyouat once,' said Abner, 
 looking from the pump to Peter and 
 from Peter to the pump, 'an oppor 
 tunity to be useful. The town pump 
 is a great public evil. It encourages 
 people in idleness and gossiping, and 
 teaches them the bad habit of getting 
 something for nothing. It needs only 
 a little wit to induce them to tear it 
 
 20
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 down and close up the well. If they 
 dig wells of their own they must come 
 to us for their tools, and it may be 
 that a larger quantity of our wines 
 will be used. So you see already you 
 have something to think of at spare 
 times.' 
 
 "As Peter listened with his mouth 
 open, the laughter and chatter of the 
 people as they filled each other's buck 
 ets lost its merriment. 
 
 "It was a tragic day for Peter, but 
 that night as he stood again by his 
 window, the moonlight falling over 
 the neighboring cottage finally illum 
 inated his own heart as if with a re 
 flected and softened radiance. In the 
 morning he was awakened by the song 
 of the girl. He hurried to his win 
 dow, and saw to his delight that she 
 [ 21 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 was looking in his direction, as if 
 expecting him. She smiled when he 
 appeared, and then, as if her mission 
 were performed, flitted away like the 
 birds of his forest when they had called 
 to him." 
 
 Again the door opened. This time 
 Nancy looked up with vacant eyes, 
 and in a voice that sounded far away 
 asked one of her girls to attend to 
 customers when they came in. She 
 drew a screen about us. She lifted the 
 carriage of her machine and read, 
 "Like the birds of his forest when 
 they had called to him." "Go on," 
 she said. The lines sounded beautiful 
 as she read them. Perhaps it was her 
 voice and eyes. And then, in our little 
 enclosure, the rest of the story seemed 
 real to us. 
 
 [ 22 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 "Peter greeted his uncle cheer 
 fully at breakfast, because he was not 
 thinking of him, and Abner was also 
 agreeable, because he already saw in 
 his nephew a promising youth. 
 
 "That day Peter was put upon a 
 high stool and a pile of great books 
 placed before him. 
 
 "'You must first learn everything 
 in these by heart,' said his uncle, 
 'for many difficult things can easily be 
 managed if a man knows how others 
 have succeeded or failed, if he can 
 construe the laws for himself and fig 
 ure nimbly.' 
 
 "Peter's instructor was a little, with 
 ered old man named Jacob. He was 
 one of those who had seen his house 
 and garden mysteriously pass into the 
 hands of Abner Rich, and who now 
 [ 23 ]
 
 A* Peter and The Fairies <J* 
 
 gratefully served him for permission 
 still to cultivate his flower and vege 
 table beds. 
 
 "He had but one cause for anxiety. 
 All his life he had met with delights. 
 Every morning as he worked in his 
 garden his most familiar friends, such 
 as the beet or the four-o'clock, the 
 lady-bug or the gooseberry bush, the 
 plum or apple tree, admitted him to a 
 still closer intimacy. 
 
 "Jacob found that in spite of every 
 effort to banish them they would fol 
 low him in swarms to his work. More 
 than once Abner had discovered him 
 gazing dreamily away from his account 
 books. 
 
 " ' Come, Jacob,' he would say, 'per 
 haps you have worked enough in your 
 lifetime. If you don't wish to keep 
 [24 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 the place where you live any longer I 
 can rent it.' 
 
 "At this every thought of delight 
 was swept away in a panic, and Jacob 
 would pounce upon his books like a 
 ravenous bird. 
 
 "All the time that he was teaching 
 Peter to read, and whenever a book was 
 before him, he felt the most perfect 
 content. For what word is there, what 
 sentence however dry or evil, but re 
 veals a world of beauty to such as he? 
 
 "One day he said to Peter, 'Last 
 night the fairies brought the pollen to 
 my poppies.' 
 
 "'Did you see them?' cried Peter, 
 almost jumping from his stool. 
 
 "'Oh, no,' said Jacob. 'They just 
 brought the pollen and slipped away.' 
 
 "But the time came when Jacob 
 [25 ]
 
 Peter and 'The Fairies 
 
 and Peter could no longer read to 
 gether. 
 
 "'It is time,' said Abner, 'that you 
 should use what you know.' 
 
 "After this Peter saw nothing all 
 day but long columns of figures. He 
 sat perched upon his stool hour after 
 hour, the great ledgers spread before 
 him. He looked at the figures until 
 they danced. It became necessary after 
 awhile to pin each one with his pen to 
 hold it in place. 
 
 "He could not do it. Before a 
 month had passed he no longer tried, 
 but sat with his hot face buried in his 
 hands, his thoughts sometimes busy 
 with his haunts in the forest, some 
 times lost in smiling contemplation 
 of the little girl at her window. He 
 had never spoken with her, although 
 [ 26 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 he knew there had been times when he 
 might have done so. Once she called 
 him by a song from the garden. She 
 was standing near the gate between the 
 two enclosures, dressed in a pretty blue 
 and white frock, with wide blue sash 
 and blue ribbons in her hair. He could 
 not have joined her, because his uncle 
 was already at breakfast. He did not 
 speak to her, for the forest, the song 
 and the smile of the girl, and the long 
 columns of figures were confusing his 
 thoughts. There were tears in his eyes 
 when he entered the breakfast-room. 
 He dropped listlessly in his chair. 
 
 " ' What's the matter ? ' asked his 
 uncle sharply. 
 
 " *I am tired,' said the boy. 
 
 "Abner cast a look of displeasure 
 upon him, but said nothing. 
 
 [ 27]
 
 A* Peter and The Fairies & 
 
 "That day he came suddenly to the 
 desk where Peter sat and found him 
 bent over a ledger long out of use. 
 The book that he should have been 
 working on was discovered where 
 it had been hastily slipped by Jacob 
 under a pile of his own. 
 
 "Every day for a long time the 
 watchful Jacob had made this ex 
 change, unknown to Peter or to any 
 one, and so the shortcomings of the 
 boy had gone unnoticed. 
 
 "Abner discovered all this at a 
 glance, for the accounts were all in 
 Jacob's hand. 
 
 "'Go back to the fools that own 
 you,' he shouted, pushing Peter from 
 his stool. *I want none of you and 
 you shall have none of mine.' 
 
 "He turned toward Jacob, who was 
 [ 28 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 standing white and trembling by his 
 desk. 
 
 " ' I will need that house where you 
 live. Get your old woman and go 
 nothing else there belongs to you.' 
 
 "Peter took the old man by the 
 hand and led him home. 
 
 "' Where will you go?' said he, 
 when they had reached the gate. 
 
 "'I will not know when I leave,' 
 said Jacob, feebly. ' I will die in my 
 garden,' he added, looking tenderly 
 toward the flowers, the vines and the 
 vegetables. * The fairies and my friends 
 will protect me/ 
 
 "A moment more and he seemed to 
 have forgotten the calamity that threat 
 ened him. He stood in his garden like 
 one listening to the greetings of a troop 
 of merry children. 
 
 [ 29]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 "Peter hurried away. He was anx 
 ious now only to get home that he 
 might send his father to help old 
 Jacob. His heart was heavy as he 
 looked for a last time over his shoulder 
 at the window of the little girl. 
 
 "'She will sing there in the morn 
 ing and I will not see her.' 
 
 "That night Peter slept in his old 
 room in the forest cottage. He was 
 awakened by a clear, sweet sound, 
 such as sometimes visits the dreams of 
 innocence. He sat up in his bed and 
 listened, and presently from far away 
 he heard a voice, like the echo of a 
 tiny silver bell, calling him to the for 
 est. There was a path of light from 
 his bed to the window. Dressing has 
 tily, he clambered to the ground by 
 the vines that covered the cottage, 
 [ 30]
 
 Peter and 'The Fairies 
 
 and hurried through the forest in the 
 direction of the moon. In all direc 
 tions the only sound was the intermit 
 tent movement of the wind in the 
 heavy foliage the long, faint sighs 
 which gave to the profound darkness 
 an added ghostliness. But Peter did 
 not think of returning. He knew that 
 he had reached the depth of the forest 
 and that the great trees about him 
 cast no evil shade. He knew how 
 tenderly their giant arms cradled the 
 timid birds that sought their shelter. 
 He knew that far above him the 
 moonlight rested on their heads as lov 
 ingly as on the safe enclosure of his 
 father's house. And so, though the 
 most inquisitive of the familiar stars 
 could find no crevice through which 
 to watch him, he was not afraid, but 
 
 I 31 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 stood quietly waiting and listening for 
 the voice that had called him there. 
 He was not prepared, however, for 
 what followed. First, a globe of light 
 as large as an orange came toward him 
 and, before he could move, it broke 
 against his cheek like a soap bubble, 
 filling the air with an odor of locust 
 blooms. Then another and another 
 came, breaking on his head and hands 
 and shoulders until he was wet with the 
 luminous perfume, and the light of these 
 shattered missiles illuminated the hol 
 low in the forest where he stood. He 
 heard the chiming sounds of revelry 
 and caught the flitting colors of car 
 nival gowns and the twinkling of busy 
 wings. Then the sounds ceased and 
 the enquiring gaze of such a bewild 
 ering and brilliant multitude would 
 
 [ 32 1
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 have been impossible to bear had not 
 a fortunate diversion occurred. Far up 
 the hollow stood what looked at that 
 distance to be a phosphorescent butter 
 ball. It was, however, the very round 
 body of Chuck-Chucket, the jovial- 
 souled gourmand of the fairies. He 
 stood, or rather rested, like a ripe 
 plum, upon the top of a tree stump, 
 where, all unconscious of the sudden 
 silence, he continued his lusty song: 
 
 "'Oh, Time is young and the world is 
 
 green, 
 
 I drink to more capacity; 
 And here's to the health of the rosy, posy 
 
 Queen, 
 And here's to the health of me.' 
 
 "A short arm appeared as if from 
 the crease in the butter ball and raised 
 a gourd of moonshine from a large 
 
 [33 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 hollow in the stump. There was a 
 melodious gurgle, such as is some 
 times heard when a wooden pump is 
 primed, followed by the next verse of 
 the song: 
 
 " ' When the moon is full, I'll not go lean, 
 
 (Here's to you, old distillery) 
 And here's to the health of the rosy, posy 
 Queen, 
 
 And here's to the health of me.' 
 
 " 'Come, Chuck-Chucket,' said the 
 Queen, ' I think that neither your 
 health nor mine will need further 
 encouragement.' 
 
 "A very bald pate and two aston 
 ished eyes appeared slowly at the top 
 of the butter ball, like the head of a 
 turtle peeping from its shell. The 
 gourd was dropped into the hollow of 
 the stump, and Chuck-Chucket, roll- 
 
 [34]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 ing himself into a position that would 
 permit him to look below, fastened 
 inquisitive eyes upon Peter. 
 
 " 'Who's this?' he asked, and instant 
 ly a chorus of voices cried, 'It's Peter/ 
 
 " 'Well, well,' said Chuck-Chucket 
 genially, 'I say it would be only decent 
 to drink to this Peter/ 
 
 "Then all the countless throng of 
 little creatures, hovering in the air, 
 extended their hands cup-shape, like 
 the most exquisitely tinted shells, and 
 drank the nectar of the moon. 
 
 "Peter fell upon his knees and called 
 to them in passionate whispers, 'Oh, 
 fairies, fairies, let me be one of you !' 
 
 "The little hands were emptied at 
 the parted lips, and the throng settled 
 to the earth like a contented sigh. 
 The Queen dropped upon Peter's 
 
 [35]
 
 & Peter and 'The Fairies J* 
 
 shoulder, and, putting her hands to 
 his lips, left upon them the taste of 
 the moonlight. 
 
 " 'Dear Peter,' she said, 'you are as 
 much one of us as a boy can be.' 
 
 "She made herself comfortable on 
 his shoulder, saying, * Here will I make 
 my throne.' 
 
 "This did not sound at all strange 
 to him, for the words of the fairies, 
 like their forms, carry their own 
 lights with them. 
 
 "The sound of the murmuring 
 voices revealed to Peter the secret of 
 the mystery of the night. A sigh of 
 winds announced the arrival or depar 
 ture of groups bound for the succor 
 of distressed fireflies that had been 
 beaten to the ground by a gust of 
 rain, or returning from the wheat 
 [36!
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 fields after filling the heads with grain. 
 There were companies dressed in 
 white and gold, with vests of crimson, 
 carrying little bags of pollen, work 
 men of the field and highway. There 
 were songs of fruit and odors of the 
 oil of nuts. Here and there a com 
 pany of fairies laid aside their gar 
 ments for a bath in the dew. 
 
 "At the summons of the Queen, a 
 rosy maiden still shining with the dew 
 alighted on Peter's knee, that he might 
 see how exquisite is the form and how 
 radiant the hues of purity and joy. 
 
 "There was a sudden rush of wings 
 and a band of fairies poured from an 
 opening in the hillside, bearing aloft 
 a salver heaped with pearls as large 
 as peas. The salver was borne swiftly 
 three times around the grove, while 
 
 [37]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 all the multitude shouted. It was 
 borne to where Peter sat with the 
 Queen upon his shoulders. Those 
 who carried the salver alighted on his 
 knees, holding it aloft on their hands. 
 Peter saw the heap of pearls. Their 
 beauty was greater than the eye alone 
 could perceive. Having once beheld 
 them, they became a possession of the 
 soul. A second company of fairies 
 brought a purse and held it open, 
 while the Queen dropped the pearls 
 into it. When the purse was filled 
 she handed it to Peter, saying: 
 
 " 'I place these in your hands. He 
 who possesses them will desire noth 
 ing. But they will be yours only 
 when you part with them. Those 
 that remain in the purse will be to 
 you only as pebbles. Bestow or spend 
 [38]
 
 Peter and 'The Fairies 
 
 them all, dear Peter, or they will be 
 come a burden.' 
 
 "The purse was placed in his hands, 
 and Peter knew that he held enough 
 treasure to enrich the world. 
 
 "'And now, let me go,' said he 
 eagerly, 'for early in the morning, 
 I would give one to Jacob, that he 
 may not lose his house and garden; 
 and one to my uncle, that he may 
 not strive any more for the possessions 
 of others. I will give one to my 
 mother, so that she will no longer 
 want for everything in the shops; and 
 one to my father, that he may have 
 the happiness of giving it to her also. 
 I will give one to the little girl who 
 woke me with her songs, because 
 because and then there are all 
 the others in the town to supply, so 
 
 [393
 
 Peter and 'The Fairies 
 
 that by another night I will not have 
 a pearl left.' 
 
 "'If thirsty at night,' called a mel 
 low voice, 'remember there is nothing 
 like a pull of moonshine. By day you 
 need not go thirsty, for everything con 
 ceals a spigot, if you know where to 
 look for it.' 
 
 " Peter looked up, and saw Chuck- 
 Chucket ogling him kindly from the 
 tree stump. He held a bowl, half his 
 own size, between his outstretched 
 legs, and a dripping ladle in his hand, 
 containing some exceedingly luscious 
 little balls and overflowing with a 
 savory liquid. 
 
 '"If you are ever hungry and de 
 
 serted,' he said, after swallowing the 
 
 contents of the ladle, 'open your mouth 
 
 and I will drop into it, wherever you 
 
 [40]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 are, a large number of fat dew dump 
 lings, swimming in the odor of cin 
 namon. 
 
 "He waved his ladle in a manner 
 expressive of great liberality and friend 
 liness and dipped it deep into the bowl 
 again. 
 
 "So Peter returned the next morn 
 ing to the town with more wealth in 
 his possession than could be recorded 
 in all his uncle's ledgers. 
 
 " Those who have looked from their 
 bower of youth upon the great world 
 before them, and felt the joy of a mis 
 sion of love, will know the beauty of 
 that morning to Peter as he entered 
 the town to set all things right at 
 once." 
 
 This was the conclusion, and I 
 stopped. 
 
 [41 1
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 " Is that all ? " asked Nancy. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And what became of Peter?" 
 
 "I wish I knew. I think we won 
 der about that more and more as we 
 grow older. We all seem to lose him 
 somewhere between six and seventeen. 
 Some cling to him longer, but we lose 
 him in the end. This is a fine view 
 from your windows. The men who 
 own these buildings and those who 
 are toiling in them have all known this 
 little Peter, and something of the mem 
 ory remains. These memories consti 
 tute the soul of the city, in visible, work 
 ing as the fairies and the angels work, 
 through all we do. New York is the 
 fairest of our cities, approaching nearer 
 to a spectacle of fairyland, because to 
 it have come in greater number those 
 
 [42 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 to whom Peter has been most real. 
 The vast enterprises centered here have 
 required imagination, sentiment, and 
 the stuff of dreams. The souls of many 
 artists, poets, and musicians have been 
 marooned on Wall street.*' 
 
 Nancy gave me a glance of pleased 
 surprise. 
 
 "You really believe that?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 "I wish I could." 
 
 "Why don't you?" 
 
 "I will." 
 
 As she was looking over the manu 
 script for correction, she read aloud the 
 passages that pleased her most. 
 
 "And what became of the little girl 
 at the window?" she asked. 
 
 "She is somewhere putting ribbons 
 in her hair, and singing still." 
 
 [43 1
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 She smiled and looked at me for a 
 moment, when, behold, out of her eyes 
 peered the little girl, as if coming from 
 the shadows of a room. 
 
 "I think," I said impulsively, "that 
 I see her now." 
 
 "I had almost forgotten," she said 
 softly,"that she was there." 
 
 "Don't forget her," I said. "She is 
 worth more than the clever woman." 
 
 Nancy leaned a little toward me, 
 across the arm-rest of the desk. 
 
 "There is a prudence," says Emer 
 son, " which asks but one question of 
 anything, 'Will it bake bread?'" 
 
 She opened a drawer in her desk 
 and took out Mr. Emerson. 
 
 " 'The Islander,' she read, 'may 
 ramble all day at will. At night he 
 may sleep on a mat, under the moon; 
 
 [44]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 and wherever a wild date tree grows, 
 nature has, without a prayer even, 
 spread a table for his evening meal.' ' 
 
 She looked up at me and said: "I 
 have often longed to be an Islander, 
 haven't you?" 
 
 "Then she read: 'The Northerner 
 is, perforce, a householder. He must 
 brew, salt and preserve his food. He 
 must pile up wood and coal." She 
 looked at me. 
 
 "How much of what you make," 
 I asked, "is spent for these things?" 
 
 She laughed and turned over the 
 pages. 
 
 "'Why are health, beauty and gen 
 ius the exception, now?' she read. 
 1 We have violated law upon law until 
 we stand amid the ruins. ... In 
 the noon and afternoon of life we 
 
 [45 1
 
 A* Peter and The Fairies & 
 
 still throb at the recollection of days 
 when happiness was not happy enough, 
 and when the day was not long enough 
 but the night must be consumed in 
 keen recollections. When the head 
 boiled all night on the pillow with 
 the generous deed it resolved on; 
 when the moonlight was a pleasant 
 fever; when the stars were letters, and 
 the flowers ciphers, and the air was 
 coined into song; when all business 
 seemed an impertinence and all the 
 men and women running to and fro in 
 the streets mere pictures.' ' 
 
 And so we talked and read and talk 
 ed for hours, until the great clock on 
 the New York Life building struck five, 
 and it was time for Nancy's girls to go. 
 
 "What are you going to do Sun 
 day?" I asked. 
 
 [ 46]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 She hesitated a moment, for the 
 first time, and for the first time did 
 not look frankly at me. 
 
 "I have an engagement to go sail 
 ing," she said, and, after a moment, 
 "what are you going to do?" 
 
 "I am going on my wheel some 
 where." 
 
 "Do you care where?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Well," she said, "if you will be at 
 the head of Bedford avenue at nine 
 o'clock, I will try to be there. I will 
 break that engagement if I can." 
 
 She asked one of the girls to stay 
 with her to finish the orders that were 
 promised. As the others were leaving, 
 the sounds of feminine rustling, of 
 pleasant voices making adieux, re 
 minded me of the exit from a tea 
 
 t47l
 
 Peter and 'The Fairies 
 
 party. When they were gone Nancy 
 stood before me, a look of astute de 
 termination in her eyes. 
 
 "When I'm a man a man," she 
 said, "I will do as I have a mind to, 
 if I can and I can." 
 
 "Then you will be there Sunday?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "What are you going to do to 
 night?" 
 
 "Work." 
 
 "And to-morrow?" 
 
 She looked at me inquiringly. 
 
 " Work." And, after a moment, "I 
 suppose." 
 
 "Let's not wait until Sunday." 
 
 "That would be foolish," she said. 
 
 "Where shall we go?" 
 
 "Anywhere out of the city." 
 
 Shelooked from her window toward 
 [48 ]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 the distant Palisades. "We might go 
 there. Do you know," she added, "I 
 pay two hundred and fifty dollars extra 
 rent for the view of them, and yet I 
 have never been there. That's true." 
 
 "And we can do it for ten cents." 
 
 She laughed merrily, and then said 
 briskly, "Well, now, I must get to 
 work." 
 
 But I did not go. 
 
 She made a cup of tea and boiled 
 some eggs on a little gas stove in the 
 inner room, and from a closet took 
 graham bread, fruit, cream, and nuts. 
 The girl who had remained to help 
 seemed to think it a privilege. 
 
 The meal was served and eaten, 
 the dishes washed and put away. The 
 hours passed like minutes. 
 
 I put the sheets from the mimeo- 
 
 [49]
 
 Peter and The Fairies 
 
 graph between the blotters as Nancy, 
 with her sleeves turned up, swiftly 
 rolled them off. 
 
 At eight o'clock Miss Brewster left 
 us, but it was past midnight when the 
 work was done. 
 
 Hand in hand, we walked down 
 Broadway, stopped to watch the foun 
 tain in the City Hall Park, playing in 
 the moonlight, and then slowly to the 
 bridge. 
 
 "I have been a long time looking 
 for you, I said. 
 
 She answered quietly, "And I for 
 you." 
 
 So]
 
 HERE ends this tale, Peter and The Fairies, by 
 Arthur Henry, which originally appeared .in 
 Lodgings in Town (New York: A. S. Barnes & 
 Company: 1905) and is now given this form with 
 the courteous permission of author and publishers, 
 and issued through the BROTHERS OF THE BOOK, 
 during March, 1913. Printed by R. R. Donnelley 
 & Sons Company, at The Lakeside Press, Chicago. 
 
 Incipit Vita Nova
 
 DC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
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