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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/18720-8.txt b/18720-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..473f126 --- /dev/null +++ b/18720-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5540 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Yule-Log Glow, Book I, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In the Yule-Log Glow, Book I + Christmas Tales from 'Round the World + +Author: Various + +Editor: Harrison S. Morris + +Release Date: June 29, 2006 [EBook #18720] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE YULE-LOG GLOW, BOOK I *** + + + + +Produced by Paul Ereaut, Jason Isbell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +[Transcribers note: Several original spelling, punctuation and +hyphenation inconsistencies have been rationalised.] + +[Illustration: The Yule-log glow] + +IN THE +YULE-LOG GLOW + +CHRISTMAS TALES FROM +'ROUND THE WORLD + + +"Sic as folk tell ower at a winter ingle" +_Scott_ + + +EDITED BY +HARRISON S. MORRIS + + +THREE VOLUMES IN ONE. + +Book I. + + +PHILADELPHIA + +J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY + +1900. + + + + +Copyright, 1891, by J. B. Lippincott Company. + +Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. + + + + +THE THRESHOLD. + + +If, gentle reader, you will step across this threshold, now, as the moon +rises in the keen Christmas air, and will find a place by the ruddy +ingle within-doors, you may hear, if you will, a Babel of voices from +many lands, telling over the adventures of the road and falling into the +good-fellowship of the happy Christmas season. + +Here from the north, with his ample furs thrown back, sits the Russian +in friendly talk with a gay little wanderer from Sicilian valleys. +There, with elbow crooked by a foaming tankard, leans the German, +narrating his perils and pleasures to a gallant Frenchman and a +sunbrowned Spaniard who smoke and chatter together as now and then +Mynheer stops for a pull at his pipe. + +A Swede, Norwegians, an Englishman or two, and even a happy-go-lucky +American, are clustered about the Yule-log; for the place you have +entered is the common-room of the wide world. + +As you slip the latch and take your seat, some traveller calls out: A +Merry Christmas! Another cries: A story, a story! and so they fall to, +each from his own scrip taking forth a native tale,--and so they sit the +midnight out listening and talking in turn; while the good cheer goes +round in endless abundance and laughter and song make interludes for the +varied narratives. + + + + +CONTENTS OF BOOK I. + + + + +The Three Kings of Cologne + +_A modern version of an old English Chronicle._ + +_By Harrison S. Morris._ + + +The Three Christmas Masses + +_From the French of Alphonse Daudet._ + +_By Harrison S. Morris._ + + +A Russian Christmas Party[A] + +_By Count Léon Tolstoi._ + + +Two Christmases + +_From the German of Georg Schuster._ + + +A Tale of a Turkey + +_By Harrison S. Morris._ + + +A Still Christmas[B] + +_By Agnes Repplier._ + + +Thrond + +_From the Norwegian of Björnson._ + + +Christmas in the Desert + +_By Matilda Betham Edwards._ + + + +[A] By courtesy of Messrs. W. S. Gottsberger & Co. + +[B] By courtesy of "The Catholic World." + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS, BOOK I. + + +The Yule-log Glow Frontispiece. + +Sonia + +The Cavalier From France + +My Little Sister Mary + + + + +_A Tale Spoken by a Graybeard Out of the East._ + +"Gracious powers! Perhaps you _are_ a hundred years old, now I think of +it! You look more than a hundred. Yes, you may be a thousand years old +for what I know." + +_Thackeray._ + + + + +THE THREE KINGS OF COLOGNE. + +A CHRISTMAS TALE FROM AN OLD ENGLISH CHRONICLE. + +(Written by John of Hildesheim in the Fourteenth Century.) + +Here followeth the manner and form of seeking and offering; and also of +the burying and translations of the three Holy and Worshipful Kings of +Cologne: Jaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. + + +Now when the Children of Israel were gone out of Egypt and had won and +made subject to them Jerusalem and all the land lying about, so that no +man durst set against them in all that country for dread that they had +of them; then was there a little hill called Vaws, which was also called +the Hill of Victory, and on this hill the ward of them of Ind was +ordained and kept by divers sentinels by night and by day against the +Children of Israel, and afterward against the Romans; so that if any +people at any time purposed with strong hand to enter into the country +of the Kingdom of Ind, anon, sentinels of other hills about, through +tokens, warned the keepers on the hill of Vaws. And by night they made a +great fire and by day they made a great smoke, for that hill Vaws +passeth the height of all other hills in all the East. Wherefore, when +any such token was seen, then all manner of men made ready to defend +themselves from the enemy that approached. + +Now in the time when Balaam prophesied of the Star that should betoken +the coming of Christ, all the great lords and all the other people of +Ind and in the East desired greatly to see the Star of which he spake, +and gave gifts to the keepers of the hill of Vaws, and moreover hired +them with great rewards, that, if it so were, they saw by day or by +night, far or near, any light or any star in the air other than was seen +beforetime, anon they should show and send them word. And thus was it +that for so long a time the fame of this Star was borne through all the +lands of the East; until, of the name of the hill of Vaws, arose up a +worshipful and a great kindred in Ind, which is called the progeny of +Vaws even unto this day; and there is not a more mighty kindred in all +the kingdoms of the East; for this worshipful kindred came first from +the King's blood that was named Melchior, that offered gold to our Lord, +as ye shall hereafter learn. + +In the year of our Lord 1200, when the city of Acon, that in this +country is called Akers, flourished and stood in virtue, joy, and +prosperity, and was inhabited richly with worshipful princes, and +lords, and divers orders of men of religion, and all manner of men of +all nations and tongues, so that there was no city like unto it in +nobility and might; then, because of its great name and of the marvels +that were there, the greatest of birth that were of the progeny of Vaws +came out of Ind unto Acon; and when they saw there all things more +wonderful than in Ind; then, because of delight, they abode there and +made a fair and strong castle for any king or lord. And they brought +with them out of the East many rich and wonderful ornaments and jewels. +And among all other jewels, they brought a diadem of gold arrayed with +precious stones and pearls, and about its edge stood letters of +Chaldaic, and a star made like after the Star that appeared to the Three +Kings of the East when they sought God, with a sign of the cross, +beside. And that diadem was Melchior's, the king of Nubia and of Araby, +that offered gold to the Babe in the manger. And afterward the master of +the Order of Templars received this same diadem of gold and many other +precious jewels; but when that Order was destroyed the diadem and +precious ornaments were lost, and have never been found unto this day. +Wherefore there was great sorrow made in all the country for a long time +after. + +But these same princes of Vaws brought with them out of Ind books +written in Hebrew and Chaldaic, concerning the life and deeds of these +three blessed Kings, which books were afterward translated into the +French tongue: and so, from these books, and from hearsay, and sight, +and also from sermons and homilies out of divers other works, the story +here written hath been brought together into one book. + +And you shall understand that the old kindred of Vaws beareth always in +its banner, unto this day, a star with a sign of the cross, made after +the same manner as it appeared to the three blessed Kings. + +Now it so happened that after Balaam had prophesied of this Star, the +more it was sought for the more its fame increased through the land of +Ind and Chaldee, and all the people desired to see it. + +So they ordained twelve of the wisest and greatest clerks of astronomy +that were in all that country about, and gave them great hire to keep +watch upon this hill of Vaws for the Star that was prophesied of Balaam. +And the cause that there were ordained twelve men was, that if one man +died another should be put in his stead; and also that some should keep +watch at one time and some another--nevertheless the people looked not +only after the Star, but after the Man who was betokened by the Star, +the which Man should be Lord of all folk. + +And they of Ind and Chaldee who came often into Jerusalem because of +merchandise and also for disport--the which, for the most part, be +learned in astronomy--said that in Ind were many stars in the firmament +that might not be seen by night in Jerusalem; but, specially on this +hill of Vaws in clear weather, were seen many and divers strange stars +that at the foot of the hill were not seen. Yet this hill of Vaws hath +no more breadth than a little chapel is made upon, the which the three +worshipful kings did build of stone and timber. And there be about this +hill many steps upon which men go up to the chapel on high, and also +there grew many good trees and herbs and divers spices all about the +hill--for else men might not well go upon this hill because it is so +high and so narrow. There is also a pillar of stone made above this +chapel, of wondrous height, and in the head of the pillar standeth a +great star, well made of gilt, and which turneth with the wind as a +vane: and through the light of the sun by day, and of the moon by night, +this star gives light a great way about the country. And many other +marvels are spoken of this hill of Vaws, the which were long to tell. + +Now when the time of grace was come, that God would have mercy on all +mankind, in which time the Father of Heaven sent down his Son to take +flesh and blood and to be born a man for salvation of all the world: in +that time Octavianus, that was Emperor of Rome, sent out a commandment +that all the people within his empire should be counted and taxed; and +every man went forth from his dwelling-place into his native country. +Then came Joseph up from Nazareth unto Bethlehem the city of David, +because he was of the household and race of King David, and with him +came Mary that was his wife, and also great with child. + +And you shall understand that Bethlehem was never of much reputation, +neither a place of great quantity. It hath a good site and good ground, +for there be many caves and dens under the earth thereabout; and it is +distant from Jerusalem but two little miles; and it is but a castle, but +is called a city because King David was born there. And in that town was +sometime a house which belonged to Isai, the father of David, where +David was born and anointed into the kingdom of Israel by Samuel the +prophet. And in this same dwelling was the Son of Heaven born of Mary. + +And this same house was at the end of a street that was in that time +called the Covered Street, because, to keep out the great heat and +burning of the sun, this street was canopied above with black cloths +and other things,--for such is the use in that country always. And here +was wont to be great bargaining, or a fair once a week of old clothes; +and specially of trees or timber, by the little house which stood before +a den under the earth, made and shaped like a little cellar, where Isai +and others that dwelt there after him put certain necessaries that +belonged to the household, against the heat of the sun. It is also the +manner in all that country that there be certain houses, the which be +called there _alchan_, that we call hostelries, and in these houses be +mules, horses, asses, and camels always ready, that, if so that any +merchant or any man that travelled by the way, be it far or near, need +any beast for himself, or for his merchandise, then he goeth to such a +house and there he may hire a horse, or what beast that he will, for a +certain price. And when he hath such a beast then he goeth from that +city to another, where to abide and rest him for a time. Then he +dischargeth his beast of his burden, and so sendeth him to a house +called there also _alchan_; and the master of the house giveth his beast +meat, and, when he may, he sendeth it home to the same place that it +came from. + +And such a house was, before the birth of Christ, in the place where +Christ was born; but, about the time of the Nativity, that house was all +destroyed, insomuch that there was nothing left but broken walls on +every side, and a little cave under earth, and a little unthrifty house +before the cave: and there men sold bread on the same ground; for it is +the usage in all that country that all the bread that is sold shall be +brought unto a certain place. + +Now when Octavianus had sent out a commandment as it is aforesaid, then +went Joseph and Mary riding on an ass, late in the eventide, toward the +city of Bethlehem, and because they came so late, and all places were +occupied with pilgrims and other men, and also because they came in poor +array and went about the city, none would receive them, and specially, +men say, because that Mary, a young woman, sitting upon an ass, heavy +and sorry, and full weary of the way, was near to the time of bearing of +her child. Then Joseph led his wife into this shed that none took keep +of, down into the little dark house, and there our Lord, Jesus Christ, +the same night was born of the Virgin, without any disease or sorrow of +her body, for salvation of all mankind. + +And in that house, before the cave of old time, was left a manger of the +length of a fathom, made in the wall; and to that same manger was an ox +of a poor man tied, that none might harbor. And beside that ox Joseph +tied his ass, and in that same manger Mary wrapped her blessed Son in +cloths and laid Him on high before the ass and the ox,--for there was +none other place. + +And shepherds were fast by in the same country keeping their sheep in +the night, and an angel of Heaven came and stood beside them with a +great light, wherefore they were in much dread. And the angel said to +them, "Be not afraid, for I tell you a great joy that shall be to all +people, for this day is born to us our Lord, Christ, in the city of +David, and this shall be to you a token: Ye shall find a young child +wrapped in cloths and put in a manger." And then suddenly there came a +great multitude of angels of Heaven praising God, who said: "Joy be to +God on high and peace in earth to men of good will." + +Now the place where the angel appeared to the shepherds that night when +Christ was born is but half a mile from Bethlehem, and in that same +place David, when he was a child, fed sheep and kept them from the bear +and the lion. + +Some books say that the shepherds in that country, twice in the year, +are wont to keep their sheep in the night, and, therein, times be when +the day and the night are both of one length. And you shall understand +that the land about Bethlehem is all mountainous for the most part, so +that in some places a man shall not well know winter from summer, and in +some places it is right cold, and some it is both winter and summer at +one time, and sometimes on the mountains, in parts of the East, men +shall find snow in the month of August, and that snow is gathered by +them that dwell about, and put in caves, and afterward it is borne to +the market, where the great lords of the country will buy it, and take +it to their houses, and set it in a basin upon their board to make their +drink cold. + +In September and October, when the sun cometh a little low in that +country, then seeds and all manner of herbs commonly begin to wax in the +fields, as in this country herbs begin to grow in March and April; also +in some parts of the East they reap corn in April and in March, but most +in May, as in some places the ground is higher, in some places lower; +but beside Bethlehem are many more places of good pasture and of flat +ground than elsewhere: insomuch that at Christmas-tide barley beginneth +to ear and to wax ripe; and then men send thither, from divers +countries, their horses and mules, to make them fat: and that time we +call among us Christmas, they call, in their language, the time of +herbage. And forasmuch as when Christ was born, peace was in all the +world, and betwixt Bethlehem and that place where the angel appeared to +the shepherds was but half a mile and a little way more, and also there +was no great cold thereabout, therefore the shepherds, all that winter +night and day, now in one place, now in another, dwelled there with +their sheep, and so they do yet to this day. + +Now when Christ was born of the Virgin Mary for salvation of all +mankind, then His Star, that was prophesied of Balaam and long awaited +and looked for by the twelve astronomers on the hill of Vaws, at that +same night and at that same hour, began to arise in the manner of a sun, +bright shining; and so after, in the form of an eagle, it ascended above +the hill of Vaws. And all that day in highest air it abode without +moving, insomuch that when the sun was most hot and most high there was +no difference in shining betwixt them. + +But when the day of the Nativity was passed, the Star ascended up into +the firmament, and it was nothing like to stars that be painted in +divers places, for it had right many long streaks and beams, more +burning and lighter than a brand of fire; and, as an eagle flying and +beating the air with his wings, right so the streaks and beams of the +Star stirred it about. And it had in itself the form and likeness of a +young child, and above him a sign of the holy cross, and a voice was +heard in the Star, saying: "This day is born to us the King of Jews that +folk have awaited, and Lord is of them. Go and seek Him and do Him +worship!" + +Then all the people, both man and woman, of all the country about, when +they saw this wonderful and marvellous Star and also heard the voice out +of the Star, were greatly aghast and had wonder thereof; but yet they +knew well that it was the Star that was prophesied by Balaam, and long +time was desired of all the people in that country. + +Now when the three worshipful Kings who in that time reigned in Ind, +Chaldee, and Persia were informed, by the astronomers, of this Star, +they were right glad that they had grace to see the Star in their days. +Wherefore these three worshipful Kings, though each of them was far from +the other, and none knew of the other's purpose, yet in the same hour +the Star appeared to all three, and then they ordained and purposed +them, with great and rich gifts and many rich and diverse ornaments that +belong to a king's array, and also with mules and camels and horses +charged with treasure, and with a great multitude of people, to go seek +and worship the Lord and King of the Jews that was new born, as the +voice of the Star had commanded. And furthermore they arrayed themselves +the much more honestly and worshipfully, because they knew well that he +was a worthier King than any of them was. + +And you shall understand that there be three Indias, of which these +three lords were kings; and all the lands for the most part are islands, +and there are also there great waters and wildernesses full of wild and +perilous beasts and horrible serpents, and there grow also reeds so high +and so great that men make thereof houses and ships. And these isles are +divided every one by itself far from the others, so that only with great +travail shall a man pass from one kingdom to another. + +Now, in the first Ind was the land of Nubia, and therein reigned King +Melchior, in the time that Christ was born. Therein also is the land of +Araby, in which is the hill Sinai: and a man may lightly sail by the Red +Sea out of Egypt and Syria into Ind. In this land is found gold +wonderfully red, like thin and small roots, and that gold is the best +that is in the world. Herein is also a hill called Bena, where is found +a precious stone, called smaragd. + +In the second Ind was the kingdom of Godolia, of which Balthazar was +king when Christ was born; and this Balthazar offered incense to the +Babe; for in this land many more good spices grow than in all the +countries of the East, and especially incense, more than in all places +of the world; and it droppeth down out of certain trees in the manner of +gum. + +In the third Ind was the kingdom of Thaars. Of that kingdom was Jaspar +king at the birth of Christ. And Jaspar offered myrrh to the young +Child, and in this land is the isle of Egrisoulla, where groweth myrrh +more plentifully than in any place of the world, and it waxeth like ears +of corn that are burnt with the weather, and right thick; and when it is +ripe it is so soft that it cleaveth to men's clothes as they go by the +way. + +Now when these three worshipful Kings were passed forth out of their +kingdoms, the Star evenly went before each King and his people, and when +they stood still and rested the Star stood still, and when they went +forward again the Star always went before them in virtue and strength, +and gave light all the way. And, as it is written before, in the time +that Christ was born there was peace in all the world, wherefore in all +the cities and towns which they went through there was no gate shut +neither by night nor by day; and all men of the cities and towns that +these worthy Kings went through in the night were wonderfully aghast and +passingly marvelled thereof, for they saw kings and vast multitudes go +by in great haste; but they knew not what they were, nor whence they +came, nor whither they should go. On the morrow the way was greatly +befouled with horses' hoofs, whereof they were in much doubt what it +might mean, and great altercation was among them for a long time. + +Furthermore, these Kings rode forth over hills, waters, valleys, plains, +and other divers and perilous places without hindrance or disease, for +all the way seemed to them plain and even, and they never took shelter +by night nor by day; nor ever rested; nor did their horses or other +beasts ever eat or drink till they had come to Bethlehem; and all this +time seemed to them but a day. + +And thus, through the mercy of God and the leading of the Star, they +came unto Jerusalem and Bethlehem the thirteenth day after Christ was +born, at the uprising of the sun, whereof is no doubt: for they found +Mary and her son in the same place where the Child was born, and laid in +the manger. + +But when the three blessed Kings, with their host and company were +almost come to Jerusalem, saving but two miles, then a great and dark +cloud held all the earth, and in that dark cloud they lost the Star. And +Melchior with his people was come fast by Jerusalem beside the hill of +Calvary, where Christ was afterward crucified; and there the King abode +in a cloud of fog and in darkness. + +At that time the hill of Calvary was a rock of twelve degrees high, +where thieves and other men for divers trespasses were put to death; and +there was beside this hill a place where three highways met together. +But because of the darkness of the cloud, and also because they knew not +the way, they abode there, and went no further at that time. + +And next came Balthazar, and he abode under the same cloud, beside the +Mount of Olives in a little town that is called Galilee. + +Then, when the two Kings were come to these places, the cloud began to +ascend and wax clear, yet the Star appeared not. But when they saw that +they were near to the city of Jerusalem, knowing not each other, they +took their way thither with all their folk; and when they came where the +three ways met, then also appeared King Jaspar with all his host. And so +these three glorious Kings, each with his host and burdens and beasts, +met together in the highway beside the Hill of Calvary. And, +notwithstanding that none of them ever before had seen the other, nor +knew him, nor had heard of his coming, yet, at their meeting, each one +with reverence and joy kissed the other. And they were of diverse +language, yet all, seeming, used the same tongue. + +So, afterward, when they had spoken together and each had told his +purpose and the cause of his journey, and the cause of all was learned +to be the same, then they were much more glad and more fervent. And so +they rode forth, and suddenly, at the uprising of the sun, they came +into the city of Jerusalem. And when they knew that this was the city +which the Chaldeans of old time had besieged and destroyed, they were +right glad, expecting to have found the King born in that city. But +Herod and all his people were greatly disturbed at their sudden coming, +for their company and beasts of burden were of so great a number that +the city might not receive them, but for the most part they lay without +the gates all about, whereof Isaias prophesied: "The strength of folk +cometh to thee--that is to say, to the City of Jerusalem--great plenty +of camels shall do thee service, and dromedaries of Madyan and Effa +shall come to thee. All men shall come from Saba, bringing gold and +incense and showing praise to God." + +So, these three worshipful Kings, when they were come into the city, +asked of the people concerning the Child that was born; and, when Herod +heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him, and he gathered +together all his princes and priests and asked them where Christ should +be born, and they said: "In Bethlehem of Judea." Then Herod privily +summoned to him these three Kings, and learned of them the time that the +Star appeared, and so sent them forth unto Bethlehem, saying: "Go and +inquire busily of this Child, and when you have found Him, come and tell +me, that I may go and do Him worship." + +Now when these three Kings were informed of the birth of Christ and of +the place where He was born, and so were passed out of Jerusalem, then +the Star appeared to them again as it did erst, and went before them +till they came to Bethlehem. And fast by that place were the shepherds +to whom the angel appeared with great light, showing them the birth of +Christ. And the three Kings spake with them, and when the shepherds saw +the Star they run together and told how the angel had appeared to them, +and furthermore all that the angel had spoken to them. And the Kings +were wondrous glad, and with good cheer heard and took consideration of +the shepherds' words; and so from witness, and from the words of the +shepherds and from the voice of the angel that was heard out of the +Star, they had no doubt of the thing. Then anon, when they knew that +they were come to Bethlehem, they got down from their horses and changed +all their array, and clothed themselves in the best and richest that +they had, as kings should be clothed--and always the Star went forth +before them. + +Now the nearer the Kings came to the place where Christ was born the +brighter shined the Star, and they entered Bethlehem the sixth hour of +the day. And then they rode through the covered street till they came +before that little house. And there the Star stood still, and then +descended and shone with so great a light that the little house and the +cave within were full of radiance, till anon the Star again went upward +into the air, and stood still always above the same place, yet the light +ever remained in the house where Christ and Mary were. So as it is said +in the Gospel: "They went into the house and found the Child, and fell +down and worshipped Him, and offered to Him gifts of gold, myrrh, and +incense." + +Of this example came afterward a usage, that in all the countries of the +East no man should go into the presence of the Sultan, but he brought +gold or silver or somewhat else in his hands; and, also, ere he spoke +to the Sultan he should kiss the ground, and this is a custom which is +used in all the countries of the East to this day. But the Franciscan +friars, when they approached the Sultan, offered to him only pears or +apples, for they might not touch gold nor silver; and these offerings +were received by the Sultan with all reverence and meekness. + +Now on the day that the three Kings sought Christ and worshipped Him, He +was a little child of thirteen days old, and He was somewhat fat, and +lay wrapped in poor clothes in the hay of the manger up to His arms. And +Mary, His Mother, as it is written in divers books, was, in person, +fleshy and somewhat brown. In the presence of the three Kings she was +covered with a poor white mantle, which she held close before her with +her left hand. Her head was concealed altogether, save her face, with a +linen cloth; and she sat upon the manger and with her right hand held up +the young Child's head. And the Kings worshipped Him and kissed His hand +devoutly and laid their gifts beside His head. + +But what was done with these gifts, ye shall learn hereafter. + +Now Melchior, that offered gold to the Holy Child, was the least in +stature and person of the three Kings. Balthazar, that offered incense, +was of a medium stature; and Jaspar, that offered myrrh, was most in +person; whereof is no doubt, for the prophet saith: "Before Him shall +fall down Ethiops, and His enemies shall lick the earth. They shall come +to Thee that betrayed Thee, and they shall worship the steps of Thy +feet." And having regard to the stature of men of that time these Kings +were right little of person, insomuch that all manner of people +marvelled at them. And this showed well that they were come from far out +of the East, for the nearer toward the uprising of the sun that men be +born, the less they be of stature and be feebler and more tender. + +And you shall understand that these three Kings brought out of their +lands many gifts and rich ornaments which King Alexander left in Ind, in +Chaldee, and in Persia; and all the ornaments which Queen Saba found in +Solomon's temple, and divers vessels that were of the king's house and +the Temple of God in Jerusalem, which, in the time of its destruction, +were borne into their countries by the Persians and Chaldeans, and many +other jewels, both gold and silver, and precious stones, brought they +with them to offer to Christ. But when they found our Lord laid on high +in the manger and in poor cloths, and the Star that gave so great light +in all the place, that it seemed as though they stood in a furnace of +fire, then these Kings were so sore afraid that, of all the rich jewels +and ornaments they brought with them, they chose nothing, when their +treasury was opened, but what came first to their hands, for Melchior +took a round apple of gold, as much as a man might hold in his hand, and +thirty gilt pennies, and these he offered to our Lord. Balthazar took +out of his treasury incense; and Jaspar took out myrrh, as it came +first, and that he offered, with weeping and tears. + +And the Kings were so aghast and so devout and fervent in their +oblations, that to all the words that Mary said they gave but little +consideration, save only that to every King as he offered his gifts she +bowed down her head meekly, and said, "_Deo gracias_:" that is to say, +"I thank God." + +When these three Kings had thus performed their way and will, and done +all things that they came for, then, as mankind asketh and would, they +and all their men and beasts began to eat, and drink, and sleep, and +betook them to rest and sport all that day in Bethlehem. For, as is said +before, they had neither eaten nor drunk during thirteen days. And then +they meekly told to all men in that city how wonderfully the Star had +brought them thither from the furthest part of the world. + +Now, as the Evangelist saith: A command came to these Kings in their +sleep that they should not return again to Herod, and so, by another +way, they went home to their kingdoms. But the Star that went before +them, appeared no more. And so these three Kings, that suddenly met +together at the Mount of Calvary, rode home together with great joy and +honor, and rested by the way as men should do. + +And they rode through the provinces that Holofernes of old time had +traversed with all his hosts, and the people supposed that Holofernes +had come again, for as they journeyed into any town they were meekly and +worshipfully received, and evermore they told what they had seen, done, +and heard, so that their name and praise were never after forgot. But +the way that before had taken only thirteen days, through leading of the +Star, they found now to take two years, which was ordained, that all men +should know what difference is between God's working and man's. + +Now, when Herod and the scribes heard that the Kings were gone home +again, and came not to him as he had bade them, then, of much envy and +malice, he pursued them a great way; and always he found the people +bless them, and praise them, and tell of their nobility. Wherefore +Herod burnt and destroyed all the land that was under his power where +the Kings had ridden, and especially Tharsis and Cilicia, for he charged +them that they had suffered the three Kings privily to pass across the +sea in their ships. And Herod's envy was great when he heard how +marvellously the Kings had come out of their lands in thirteen days +through leading of the Star, and how, afterward, they went home again, +without the Star, through guides and interpreters,--yet no man could +tell, for wonder, how night and day they passed by; and for this reason +the paynims, who had no knowledge of Holy Writ, nor of the birth of +Christ, called these three Kings _Magos_; that is to say, Wise Men of +the East. + +Now, when the Kings were come with great travail to the Hill of Vaws, +they made there, as is aforesaid, a fair chapel in worship of the Child +they had sought. Also they made a covenant to meet together at the same +place once in the year; and there they ordained their burial. Then all +the princes and lords and worshipful knights of their kingdoms, hearing +of the return of these three Kings, anon rode forth to them with great, +solemnity and met them at the place aforesaid, and with meekness and +humility received them. And when they heard how wonderfully God had +wrought for their Kings, they held them in more reverence, love, and +dread forever after. + +So, when the Kings had done what they would, they took leave of each +other, and each one, with his people, rode home to his own land with +great joy. + +And when they were come into their own realms, they preached to all the +people what they had seen and done on their journey; and they made in +their temples a star after the likeness of that which appeared to them, +wherefore many paynims left their errors and worshipped the Holy Child. + +And thus these three worshipful Kings dwelt in their kingdoms in honest +and devout conversation until the coming of St. Thomas, the apostle. + +Now, after the three Kings had gone forth from Bethlehem, there began to +wax, all about, a great fame for Mary and her Child, and for the Kings +of the East. Wherefore, Mary, in dread of persecution, fled out of the +little house where Christ was born, and went to another dark cave and +there abode; and divers men and women loved her and ministered to her +all manner of necessaries. But when she went out of the little house, +Mary forgot and left behind her her smock and the clothes in which +Christ was wrapped, folded together and laid in the manger; and there +they were, whole and fresh, in the same place to the time when St. +Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, came thither, long after. + +Anon so great was grown Mary's fame that she durst not abide longer +there for dread of Herod and the Jews, and an angel appeared to Joseph, +saying: "Arise, and take the Child and His mother and flee into Egypt, +and tarry there till I summon thee, for it is to come that Herod shall +seek the Child to slay Him." Then Joseph arose and took the Child and +His mother and went into Egypt in the night, and there he remained until +Herod died. And Mary and her Son dwelt in Egypt seven years. + +And it is told that by the road which Mary journeyed thither and came +back again, grew roses, which are called the Roses of Jericho, and they +grow in no other place. The shepherds of that country, in following +their sheep, gather these roses in their season, and sell them to +pilgrims, and thus they be borne into divers lands. And the place where +Mary dwelt is now a garden where groweth balm, and to every bush a +Christian man, among the Sultan's prisoners, is assigned to protect it +and keep it clean; for when a paynim keepeth them, anon the bushes wax +dry and grow no more. And this balm hath many virtues the which were +long to tell; but all men in the East believe truly that the place bears +such a virtue of growing balm because Mary dwelt there seven years, and +washed and bathed her Son in its wells of water. + +And as to the gifts which the three Kings gave to Christ: the thirty +gilt pennies of Melchior were made of old by Thara, father of Abraham, +and Abraham bare them with him when he went on pilgrimage out of the +land of Chaldee into Ebron, which was then called Arabia, and there he +bought with them a burial-place for himself, his wife, and his children, +Isaac and Jacob. In exchange for the same thirty pieces Joseph was sold +by his brethren to merchants of Egypt. Afterward, when Jacob died, they +were sent to the land of Sheba to buy divers spices and ornaments for +his sepulture, and so they were put into the king's treasury of that +land. Then by process of time, in Solomon's reign, the Queen of Sheba +offered these thirty gilt pennies, with many rich jewels, in the Temple +at Jerusalem; but in the time of Roboam, King Solomon's son, when +Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple despoiled, they were carried to +the King of Arabia, and were put into his treasury with other spoils +from the Temple. + +And Melchior offered these same thirty pieces to Christ, because they +were of the finest gold, and the best that he had. But when Mary went +into Egypt she lost all the gifts of the three Kings by the way, bound +all in one cloth together. And it happened there was a shepherd who had +so great an infirmity that no leech might heal him, and all that he had +he paid to the leeches to be whole,--yet it might not be. But, on a +time, as he went into the fields with his sheep, he found these thirty +gilt pennies, with incense and myrrh, bound all in a cloth together, and +he kept them privily to himself, until, hearing tell of a holy prophet +that healed all men of their infirmities by a word, he came to Christ +and prayed Him for grace and help; and, being healed, he offered the +gold, and incense, and myrrh to Him with good devotion. And when Christ +saw the thirty gilt pennies and precious herbs He knew them well, and +bade the shepherd go into the Temple and offer them upon the altar. + +Now, when the priest saw such oblations laid upon the altar he marvelled +much, and took all three things and put them in the common treasury. And +afterward, when Judas Iscariot came into the Temple to make covenant +with the Princes of the Law to betray his master, they gave him for his +pay the same thirty pieces of gold, and for them Judas sold his Master. +And after Christ was crucified, then Judas repented, and went to the +Temple and cast down to the Princes of the Law the thirty pieces. And +with fifteen of these gilt pennies the Jews bought a field of burial for +pilgrims; and the other fifteen they gave to the knights who kept the +sepulchre of Christ. + +And the reason these thirty gilt pennies were called silver in the +Gospel, notwithstanding they were fine gold, is, that it is the common +usage in that country so to call them, as men in this country call gold +from beyond the sea scutys, motouns or florins; moreover in the East the +same print is made in gold and silver and copper, and the print on the +thirty pieces is this: on one side is a king's head crowned, and on the +other are written letters in Chaldaic, which men now cannot read. And +many marvels are told of these pieces of gold which were long to tell. + +Now when Our Lord was ascended into heaven, then he sent St. Thomas, his +apostle, into Ind, to preach there God's word. And as St. Thomas went +about in the temples he found a star in every one, painted after the +manner of the Star that appeared to the three Kings when Christ was +born, in which Star was a sign of the Cross and a Child above. And when +St. Thomas saw this he asked of the bishops what it was, and they told +him that such a Star of old time appeared on the Hill of Vaws in token +of a Child that was born who should be king of the Jews, as was heard +spoken out of the same Star. + +And when St. Thomas had preached and taught the people the understanding +of this Star and of the Cross and the Child, then he went to the +kingdoms of the three Kings, and he found them whole of body and of a +great age. And St. Thomas christened these three Kings and all their +people, and the Kings began anon to preach with the Apostle, and when +they had converted the people to the law of Christ he ordained them to +be Archbishops. And after this St. Thomas was slain, and in all that +country where he was martyred both men and women have visages shaped +like hounds, yet they be not hairy--and they are so unto this day. + +Now under the Hill of Vaws St. Thomas and these three Kings had made a +rich city and called it Sewill, and this city is the best and richest +city in all the country of Ind to this day; and therein is the +habitation of Prester John that is called lord of Ind, and there +dwelleth also the Patriarch of Ind who is called Thomas, in worship of +St. Thomas and for an everlasting memorial. And when all things were +disposed by these three Kings they went to the city of Sewill, and there +they lived twelve years. + +And a little before the feast of Christ's nativity, when these years +were drawn to an end, there appeared a wonderful star above this city +and the Kings knew that their time was nigh when they should pass out of +this world. Then of one assent they ordained a fair and large tomb for +their burial in the church they had made in the city; and in the feast +of Christmas they did, solemnly, God's service. + +And in the feast of the Circumcision, Melchior, King of Araby, laid him +down before all his people and without any disease yielded up his +spirit, in the year of his age one hundred and sixteen. Then in the +feast of Epiphany, five days thereafter, Balthazar, King of Godolie and +Saba, died in the year of his age one hundred and twelve. And then +Jaspar the third king, the sixth day after was taken into everlasting +joy, and they were all buried in the same tomb that they had ordained; +and the Star that appeared over the city before their death, abode +always till their bodies were translated unto Cologne, as they of Ind +tell. + +Now after much time had passed, Queen Helen, the mother of the glorious +Emperor Constantine, began to think greatly of the bodies of these +three Kings, and she arrayed her with certain people and went into the +land of Ind. And she had much praise among the people because of the +finding of Mary's smock and the cloths that Christ was wound in in his +childhood; and seeing that she was worshipped of all people, the +Patriarch Thomas and Prester John, took counsel of other lords and +princes and gave her the bodies of King Melchior and King Balthazar. But +the Nestorines had borne the body of the third king, King Jaspar, into +the isle of Egrisoulla. And these Nestorines were the worst heretics of +the world. For the most part they were black Ethiops, who painted Christ +and His Mother Mary and the three Kings in their churches all in black, +and the Devil all white, in despite of all other Christian men. But +because Queen Helen wished not that the three Kings should be parted, +she made many prayers and gave great gifts to the chief lords of the +isle of Egrisoulla, and thus anon did she get the body of King Jaspar. + +And you shall understand that after she had found the bodies of all +these three Kings, Queen Helen put them into one chest and arrayed it +with great riches, and she brought them unto Constantinople with joy and +reverence, and laid them in a church that is called St. Sophia; and this +church King Constantine did make--and he alone, with a little child, +set up all the pillars of marble. + +Now after the death of this worshipful King Constantine and Queen Helen +aforesaid, there began a new persecution of heresy against the Christian +faith, and of death against them that would maintain the law of Christ. +The Greeks forsook the Church and chose a Patriarch for themselves, whom +they yet obey until this day. + +Now in this persecution the bodies and the relics of the three holy +Kings were put at no reverence, but utterly set at naught. For the +Saracens and Turks at this time won with strong battle the lands of +Greece and Armenia, and destroyed a great part of these lands. + +Then came an Emperor of Rome who was called Mauricius, and through the +help of them of Milan he recovered all these lands again, and, as is +said among men in that country, through counsel of this Emperor the +bodies of the three Kings were carried unto Milan, and they were there +laid with all solemnity and worship in a fair church which is called +after St. Eustorgio, because he had asked the bodies from the Emperor, +and being granted them had sent them unto Milan. + +Then afterward by process of time, it happed that the city of Milan +began to rebel against the Emperor, who was called Frederick I., and +this Emperor sent to the Archbishop of Cologne, who was called Rainald, +for help. Then this Archbishop, through help of divers lords of the land +of Milan, took the city of Milan and destroyed a great part thereof. And +the chief men of the city took the bodies of the three Kings and hid +them privily in the earth. + +Now among all others there was in Milan a lord named Asso, and the +Emperor hated him more than all the rest of its people. So it happed +that in the destruction of the city the Archbishop won Asso's palace +through strong hand, and lived therein a great while, for Asso was taken +and put into prison. + +Then, anon, Asso sent privily by his keepers to the Archbishop of +Cologne and prayed him that he would come and speak with him, and it was +granted that Asso should go to the Archbishop. And when he was come to +him, he prayed him that, if he would get him grace of the Emperor and +his love and the restoration of his lordship, he would give him the +bodies of the three Kings. + +When the Archbishop heard this, he went to the Emperor and prayed for +Lord Asso, and got him grace and love. And when this was done, Asso +brought, secretly, the three bodies of the Kings to the Archbishop of +Cologne. + +Then the Archbishop sent the bodies forth, by private means, a great +way out of the city of Milan, whereupon he went to the Emperor anew and +prayed him that he would grant him these three bodies, and the Emperor +did so with good will. Then the Archbishop openly, with great solemnity +and procession, brought the three holy Kings unto Cologne, and there put +them in the fair church of St. Peter, worshipfully; and all the people +of the country, with all the reverence they might, received these holy +relics; and there they are kept and beholden of all manner of nations +unto this day. + + * * * * * + +Thus endeth the translation of these Three Worshipful Kings: Melchior, +Balthazar, and Jaspar. + + + + +_A French Yeoman's Legend._ + + "He laughed fit to make the plates rattle, his little brown eyes + twinkling all the while." + + _Erckmann-Chatrian._ + + + + +THE THREE CHRISTMAS MASSES. + + +I. + +"Two truffled turkeys, Garrigou?" + +"Yes, reverend Father, two magnificent turkeys stuffed with truffles. +There's no mistake, for I helped to stuff them myself. The flesh almost +cracked as they roasted, it was so tight--so----" + +"Holy Virgin! and I, who love truffles as----Hurry; give me my +surplice, Garrigou. And what else besides the turkeys; what else did you +see in the kitchen?" + +"Oh! all sorts of good things. Since noon we've done nothing but pluck +pheasants, pewits, wood-hens, and heath-cocks. Feathers are scattered +thick. Then from the pond they've brought eels and golden carp and +trout, and----" + +"What size are the trout, Garrigou?" + +"Oh, as big as that! reverend Father. Enormous!" + +"Heavens, I seem to see them! Have you put the wine in the flasks?" + +"Yes, reverend Father, I've put the wine in the flasks. But what's a +mouthful or two as you go to midnight Mass! You should see the +dining-hall in the château, full of decanters that sparkle with wine of +every color. And the silver dishes, above all the ornamented ones; the +flowers; the candlesticks! I never saw anything to equal it. Monsieur +the Marquis has invited all the nobility of the neighborhood. You will +be at least forty at table, without counting either the bailiff or the +notary. Ah! it will make you very happy to be there, reverend Father. +Why, only to smell the delicious turkeys--the odor of truffles pursues +me even yet. Muh!" + +"Come, come, Garrigou, you must guard against the sin of greediness, and +especially on the night of the Nativity. Quickly, now, light the candles +and sound the first bell for Mass; midnight is very near, and we must +not be late." + +This conversation was held on Christmas night, in the year of grace +sixteen hundred and sixteen, between the reverend Dom Balaguère, +formerly prior of Barnabites, now chaplain in the service of the Sires +de Trinquelague, and his clerk Garrigou; or at least what he supposed +was his clerk Garrigou, because you will learn that the devil had that +night taken on the round face and wavering traits of the young +sacristan, the better to tempt the reverend Father to commit the +dreadful sin of gluttony. Now, while the supposed Garrigou (hum! hum!) +rung, with all his might, the bells of the seignorial chapel, the +reverend Father put on his chasuble in the little sacristy of the +château; and, his mind already becoming troubled by the gastronomic +descriptions he had heard, he repeated to himself: + +"Roasted turkeys; golden carp; trout as large as that!" + +Outside, the night wind blew, scattering the music of the bells, and one +by one lights began to appear in the shadows about the flanks of Mont +Ventoux, upon the summit of which rose the ancient towers of +Trinquelague. These lights were carried by the farmers on their way to +attend midnight Mass at the château. They climbed the paths in groups of +five or six, the father leading, lantern in hand, the women enveloped in +their big brown mantles, where their infants nestled for shelter. In +spite of the hour and the cold all these honest people marched +cheerfully on, sustained by the thought that when they came out from the +Mass they would find, as they did each year, tables spread for them +below in the kitchens. Now and again on the rough ascent, the coach of +some seigneur, preceded by torch-bearing porters, reflected in its +glasses the cold moonlight; or, maybe, a mule trotted along shaking his +bells, and in the light of the lanterns covered with frost, the farmers +recognized their bailiff and saluted him as he passed: + +"Good-evening, good-evening, Master Arnoton." + +"Good-evening, good-evening, my children." + +The night was clear, the stars were polished with cold, the wind stung, +and a fine sleet, which glistened on the clothes without wetting them, +kept faithfully the tradition of Christmases white with snow. Raised +there aloft, the château appeared like the goal of all things, with its +enormous mass of towers and gables, the belfry of its chapel mounting +into the blue-black sky, and a crowd of small lights that winked, went +and came, twinkled at all the windows, and seemed, on the sombre +background of the building, like sparks running through the cinders of +burnt paper. Once past the drawbridge and the postern, it was necessary, +in order to gain the chapel, to traverse the first courtyard, full of +coaches, of valets, of sedan-chairs, and bright with the flare of +torches and the fires of the kitchens. There was the click of the +turnspits, the crash of stewpans, the noises of glass and silver +preparing for the dinner. From below, a warm vapor, which smelt of +roasting meat and the strong herbs of curious sauces, whispered to the +farmers, to the chaplain, to the bailiff--to all the world: + +"What a revel we are going to have after Mass!" + + +II. + +Drelindin din! Drelindin din! Midnight Mass is about to begin. In the +chapel of the château, a miniature cathedral with arches intercrossed +and a wainscot of oak mounting as high as the walls, all the hangings +have been arranged, all the candles lit. + +And what a host of people! And what toilettes! First, seated in the +sculptured stall which surrounds the choir, behold the Sire de +Trinquelague in a suit of salmon-colored taffeta; and next to him all +the invited nobles. Facing these, on a prie-dieu trimmed with velvet, is +the old dowager Marquise in her robe of fire-colored brocade, and the +young Dame de Trinquelague, surmounted by a huge head-dress of lace, +made in the latest fashion of the French court. Further down, dressed in +black, with vast pointed perukes and shaven faces, are the bailiff, +Thomas Arnoton, and the notary, Master Ambroy, two grave objects among +the flowing silks and figured damasks. Then come the fat majordomos, +the pages, the grooms, the attendants; dame Barbe, all her keys +suspended at her side on a ring of thin silver. At the bottom of the +hall, on the benches, are the Servants, the yeomen with their families; +and lastly, beyond, all about the doors as they open and shut +discretely, are the scullions, who steal in, between two sauces, to get +a little of the Mass, carrying an odor of the revelry into the church, +all in its gay attire and warm with so many burning candles. + +Is it a glimpse of their little white caps that distracts the celebrant +of the Mass? Or, it may be the clangor made by Garrigou's bells, that +pulsating sound which shakes the altar with an infernal vibration and +seems to say all the time: + +"Hurry up, hurry up. We'll soon be done; we'll soon be at table!" + +The fact is, that each time it sounds--that peal of the devil--the +chaplain forgets his Mass and thinks of nothing but the coming revel. He +pictures to himself the uproar of the kitchens; the furnace heated like +a blacksmith's forge; the vapor of opening trenchers, and in that vapor +two magnificent turkeys, buttered, tender, bursting with truffles. + +Or, perhaps he saw pass the files of little pages bearing dishes +enveloped in tempting steam, and, with them, entered the grand saloon +already prepared for the feast. O deliciousness! behold the immense +table all set and sparkling; the peacocks in their plumes; the pheasants +with their open wings of reddish-brown; the ruby-colored flagons; the +pyramids of fruit peeping from green branches; and those marvellous fish +of which Garrigou told (ah! well, yes, Garrigou!) held aloft on a bed of +fennel, the mother-of-pearl scales as bright as when they came from the +water, with a bouquet of odorous herbs in their monster-like nostrils. +So distinct is the vision of these marvels, that it seems to Dom +Balaguère as if all the wonderful dishes are served before him on the +embroideries of the altar-cloth; and two or three times, in place of +_Dominus vobiscum_, he is surprised to find himself repeating the +_Benedicite_. Saving these slight mistakes, the holy man does his office +very conscientiously, without skipping a line, without omitting a +genuflexion; and all goes well enough as far as the end of the first +Mass; because, you know, on Christmas night the same celebrant must +repeat three consecutive Masses. + +"One!" said the chaplain, with a sigh of relief; then, without losing a +minute, he made a sign to his clerk--or the person he believed to be his +clerk, and---- + +Drelindin din! Drelindin din! + +The second Mass begins, and with it begins also the sin of Dom +Balaguère. + +"Hurry, hurry, let's get done," cries the thin voice of Garrigou's bell, +and this time the unlucky priest, abandoning himself to the demon of +gluttony, rushes through the missal, devouring its pages with all the +avidity of an overcharged appetite. Frantically he bows; arises; makes +the signs of the cross, goes through the genuflexions, abbreviates all +his gestures, the sooner to be finished. Scarcely does he extend his +arms to the Gospel, or strike his breast where it is required. Between +the clerk and him it is a race which shall jabber the faster. Verse and +response hurry each other, tumble over each other. The words, hardly +pronounced, because it takes too much time to open the mouth, become +incomprehensible murmurs. + + _Oremus ps--ps--ps-- + Meâ culpâ--pâ--pâ--._ + +Like hard-working vintagers pressing grapes in a vat, both wade through +the Latin of the Mass, splashing it on all sides. + +"_Dom--scum!_" says Balaguère. + +"_Stutuo!_" responds Garrigou, and all the while the damnable chime +sounds in their ears, like those little bells put on the post-horses to +make them gallop more swiftly. Believe me, under such conditions a low +Mass is vastly expedited! + +"Two!" said the chaplain, all out of breath; then without taking time to +breathe, red, perspiring, he tumbled down the stairs of the altar. + +Drelindin din! Drelindin din! The third Mass begins. + +Only a step or so and then the dining-hall! but, alas, the nearer the +revel approaches, the more the unfortunate Balaguère is seized with the +very folly of impatience and greediness. His vision accentuates it; the +golden carp, the roast turkeys are there. He may touch them--he may--Oh, +Holy Virgin! the dishes steam; the wines send forth sweet odors; and +shaking out its reckless song, the bell cries to him: + +"Hurry up, hurry up; still faster, still faster!" + +But how can he go any faster? He scarcely moves his lips, he pronounces +fully not a single word. He tries to cheat the good God altogether of +His Mass, and that is what brings his ruin. By temptation upon +temptation, he begins to jump one verse, then two. Then the epistle is +too long--he does not finish it; skims the Gospel, passes by the creed +without even entering, skips the pater, salutes from afar the preface, +and by bounds and jumps precipitates himself into eternal damnation, +always following the infamous Garrigou (_vade retro, Satanas_), who +seconds him with marvellous skill; tucks up his chasuble, turns the +leaves two by two, disarranges the music-desk, reverses the flagons, and +unceasingly rings the bell more and more vigorously, more and more +quickly. + +You should have seen what a figure all the assistants cut. Obliged to +follow, like mimics, a Mass of which they did not understand a word, +some rose when others kneeled, or seated themselves when others stood, +and all the actors in this singular office mixed themselves on the +benches in numberless contrary attitudes. + +The star of Christmas, on its journey through the heavens yonder by the +little manger, paled with astonishment at the confusion. + +"The Abbe's in a dreadful hurry: I can't follow him at all," said the +aged dowager, shaking her head-dress with bewilderment. Master Arnoton, +his great steel spectacles on his nose, searched in his prayer-book +where the deuce the words could be. But, after all, that gallant host, +which itself was thinking only of the feast, was far from being vexed +because the Mass rode post; and when Balaguère, with beaming +countenance, turned toward the assembly crying with all his might, _Ite +missa est_, with a single voice they returned, _Deo gratias_, so +joyously, so fervently, that one might have thought them already at +table responding to the first toast of the night. + + +III. + +Five minutes later the crowd of seigneurs was seated in the grand +dining-hall, the chaplain in the midst of them. The château, illuminated +from top to bottom, echoed with songs, cries, laughter, uproar, and the +venerable Dom Balaguère planted his fork in the wing of a wood-hen, +drowning the remorse of his sin under floods of wine of the Pope and the +sweet juices of the meats. + +So much did he eat and drink, that the poor holy man died in the night +of a terrible attack of sickness, without having even time to repent. +Then near the morning he arrived in heaven with all the savor of the +feast still about him and I leave you to imagine how he was received: + +"Retire from my sight, evil Christian!" said the Sovereign Judge, "thy +fault is dark enough to efface a whole life of virtue. Ah, thou hast +robbed me of a Mass to-night. Thou shalt pay me back three hundred in +its place, and thou shalt not enter into Paradise unless thou shalt have +celebrated in thy proper chapel these three hundred Christmas Masses in +the presence of all those who have sinned by thy fault and with thee." + +This, then, is the true legend of Dom Balaguère as they tell it in the +land of olives. To-day the château of Trinquelague is no more, but the +chapel still stands erect on the summit of Mont Ventoux, in a grove of +green oaks. The wind beats its disjointed portal; the grass creeps +across its threshold; the birds have built in the angles of the altar +and in the embrasures of the high windows, whence the colored panes have +long ago vanished. But it appears that every year at Christmas, a +supernatural light runs about these ruins, and that, in going to Mass or +feast, the peasants see the chapel illuminated by invisible candles +which burn brightly even through the wind and snow. + +You may laugh if you will, but a vine-dresser of the neighborhood named +Garrigue, without doubt a descendant of Garrigou, has assured me that +one Christmas night, finding himself a little so-so-ish, he became lost +on the mountain beside Trinquelague, and behold what he saw! At eleven +o'clock, nothing. All was silent, dark, lifeless. Suddenly, toward +midnight, a chime sounded up above from a clock, an old, old chime +which seemed six leagues away. Pretty soon, on the ascending road, +Garrigue saw lights trembling in the uncertain shadows. Under the porch +of the chapel somebody walked, somebody whispered: + +"Good-evening, Master Arnoton." + +"Good-evening, good-evening, my children." + +When the whole company was entered, my vine-dresser, who was exceedingly +brave, approached stealthily, and peeping through the broken door saw a +strange spectacle. All those who had passed him were ranged about the +choir, in the ruined nave, as if the ancient benches still existed. +Beautiful dames in brocade with coifs of lace; seigneurs bedizzened from +top to toe; peasants in flowered jackets like those of our +grandfathers,--everything with an ancient air, faded, dusty, worn-out. +Now and then the night-birds, habitual dwellers in the chapel, awakened +by all these lights, winged about the candles, whose flames mounted +straight and vague as if they burnt behind gauze. And what amused +Garrigue most was a certain personage with great steel spectacles, who +shook at each instant his high black peruke, on which one of the birds +had alighted and entangled itself, silently beating its wings. + +At the farthest end, a little old man of boyish size, on his knees in +the midst of the choir, pulled desperately at the chimeless and silent +bell; while a priest attired in ancient gold, went and came before the +altar reciting orisons of which one heard not a single word. Surely, +that was Dom Balaguère in the act of saying his third low Mass. + + + + +_A Love-Passage from a Wandering Cossack._ + + + "Dressed in his everlasting blue frock, he sat near the fire + playing cards." + +_Turgenieff._ + + + + +A RUSSIAN CHRISTMAS PARTY. + + +Count Rostow's affairs were going from bad to worse. He was of a warm, +generous nature, with unlimited faith in his servants, and hence was +blind to the mismanagement and dishonesty which had sapped his fortune. +The possessor of a handsome establishment at the Russian capital, +Moscow, the owner of rich provincial estates, and the inheritor of a +noble name and wealth, he was nevertheless on the verge of ruin. He had +given up his appointment as _Maréchal de la Noblesse_, which he had gone +to his seat of Otradnoë to assume, because it entailed too many +expenses; and yet there was no improvement in the state of his finances. + +Nicolas and Natacha, his son and daughter, often found their father and +mother in anxious consultation, talking in low tones of the sale of +their Moscow house or of their property in the neighborhood. Having thus +retired into private life, the count now gave neither fêtes nor +entertainments. Life at Otradnoë was much less gay than in past years; +still, the house and domain were as full of servants as ever, and +twenty persons or more sat down to dinner daily. These were dependants, +friends, and intimates, who were regarded almost as part of the family, +or at any rate seemed unable to tear themselves away from it: among them +a musician named Dimmler and his wife, Ioghel the dancing-master and his +family, and old Mlle. Bélow, former governess of Natacha and Sonia, the +count's niece and adopted child, and now the tutor of Pétia, his younger +son; besides others who found it simpler to live at the count's expense +than at their own. Thus, though there were no more festivities, life was +carried on almost as expensively as of old, and neither the master nor +the mistress ever imagined any change possible. Nicolas, again, had +added to the hunting establishment; there were still fifty horses in the +stables, still fifteen drivers; handsome presents were given on all +birthdays and fête days, which invariably wound up as of old with a +grand dinner to all the neighborhood; the count still played whist or +boston, invariably letting his cards be seen by his friends, who were +always ready to make up his table, and relieve him without hesitation of +the few hundred roubles which constituted their principal income. The +old man marched on blindfold through the tangle of his pecuniary +difficulties, trying to conceal them, and only succeeding in augmenting +them; having neither the courage nor the patience to untie the knots one +by one. + +The loving heart by his side foresaw their children's ruin, but she +could not accuse her husband, who was, alas! too old for amendment; she +could only seek some remedy for the disaster. From her woman's point of +view there was but one: Nicolas's marriage, namely, with some rich +heiress. She clung desperately to this last chance of salvation; but if +her son should refuse the wife she should propose to him, every hope of +reinstating their fortune would vanish. The young lady whom she had in +view was the daughter of people of the highest respectability, whom the +Rostows had known from her infancy: Julie Karaguine, who, by the death +of her second brother, had suddenly come into great wealth. + +The countess herself wrote to Mme. Karaguine to ask her whether she +could regard the match with favor, and received a most flattering +answer. Indeed, Mme. Karaguine invited Nicolas to her house at Moscow, +to give her daughter an opportunity of deciding for herself. + +Nicolas had often heard his mother say, with tears in her eyes, that her +dearest wish was to see him married. The fulfilment of this wish would +sweeten her remaining days, she would say, adding covert hints as to a +charming girl who would exactly suit him. One day she took the +opportunity of speaking plainly to him of Julie's charms and merits, and +urged him to spend a short time in Moscow before Christmas. Nicolas, who +had no difficulty in guessing what she was aiming at, persuaded her to +be explicit on the matter, and she owned frankly that her hope was to +see their sinking fortunes restored by his marriage with her dear Julie! + +"Then, mother, if I loved a penniless girl, you would desire me to +sacrifice my feelings and my honor--to marry solely for money?" + +"Nay, nay; you have misunderstood me," she said, not knowing how to +excuse her mercenary hopes. "I wish only for your happiness!" And then, +conscious that this was not her sole aim, and that she was not perfectly +honest, she burst into tears. + +"Do not cry, mamma; you have only to say that you really and truly +desire it, and you know I would give my life to see you happy; that I +would sacrifice everything, even my feelings." + +But this was not his mother's notion. She asked no sacrifice, she would +have none; she would sooner have sacrificed herself, if it had been +possible. + +"Say no more about it; you do not understand," she said, drying away her +tears. + +"How could she think of such a marriage?" thought Nicolas. "Does she +think that because Sonia is poor I do not love her? And yet I should be +a thousand times happier with her than with a doll like Julie." + +He stayed in the country, and his mother did not revert to the subject. +Still, as she saw the growing intimacy between Nicolas and Sonia, she +could not help worrying Sonia about every little thing, and speaking to +her with colder formality. Sometimes she reproached herself for these +continual pin-pricks of annoyance, and was quite vexed with the poor +girl for submitting to them with such wonderful humility and sweetness, +for taking every opportunity of showing her devoted gratitude, and for +loving Nicolas with a faithful and disinterested affection which +commanded her admiration. + +Just about this time a letter came from Prince André, dated from Rome, +whither he had gone to pass the year of probation demanded by his father +as a condition to giving consent to his son's marriage with the Countess +Natacha. It was the fourth the Prince had written since his departure. +He ought long since to have been on his way home, he said, but the heat +of the summer had caused the wound he had received at Austerlitz to +reopen, and this compelled him to postpone his return till early in +January. + +Natacha, though she was so much in love that her very passion for Prince +André had made her day-dreams happy, had hitherto been open to all the +bright influences of her young life; but now, after nearly four months +of parting, she fell into a state of extreme melancholy, and gave way to +it completely. She bewailed her hard fate, she bewailed the time that +was slipping away and lost to her, while her heart ached with the dull +craving to love and be loved. Nicolas, too, had nearly spent his leave +from his regiment, and the anticipation of his departure added gloom to +the saddened household. + +Christmas came; but, excepting the pompous high Mass and the other +religious ceremonies, the endless string of neighbors and servants with +the regular compliments of the season, and the new gowns which made +their first appearance on the occasion, nothing more than usual happened +on that day, or more extraordinary than twenty degrees of frost, with +brilliant sunshine, a still atmosphere, and at night a glorious starry +sky. + +After dinner, on the third day of Christmas-tide, when every one had +settled into his own corner once more, ennui reigned supreme throughout +the house. Nicolas, who had been paying a round of visits in the +neighborhood, was fast asleep in the drawing-room. The old count had +followed his example in his room. Sonia, seated at a table in the +sitting-room, was copying a drawing. The countess was playing out a +"patience," and Nastacia Ivanovna, the old buffoon, with his peevish +face, sitting in a window with two old women, did not say a word. + +Natacha came into the room, and, after leaning over Sonia for a minute +or two to examine her work, went over to her mother and stood still in +front of her. + +The countess looked up. "Why are you wandering about like a soul in +torment? What do you want?" she said. + +"Want! I want him!" replied Natacha, shortly, and her eyes glowed. "Now, +here--at once!" + +Her mother gazed at her anxiously. + +"Do not look at me like that; you will make me cry." + +"Sit down here." + +"Mamma, I want him, I want him! Why must I die of weariness?" Her voice +broke and tears started from her eyes. She hastily quitted the +drawing-room and went to the housekeeper's room, where an old servant +was scolding one of the girls who had just come in breathless from +out-of-doors. + +"There is a time for all things," growled the old woman. "You have had +time enough for play." + +"Oh, leave her in peace, Kondratievna," said Natacha. "Run away, +Mavroucha--go." + +Pursuing her wandering, Natacha went into the hall; an old man-servant +was playing cards with two of the boys. Her entrance stopped their game +and they rose. "And what am I to say to these?" thought she. + +"Nikita, would you please go--what on earth can I ask for?--go and find +me a cock; and you, Micha, a handful of corn." + +"A handful of corn?" said Micha, laughing. + +"Go, go at once," said the old man. + +"And you, Fédor, can you give me a piece of chalk?" + +Then she went on to the servants' hall and ordered the samovar to be got +ready, though it was not yet tea-time; she wanted to try her power over +Foka, the old butler, the most morose and disobliging of all the +servants. He could not believe his ears, and asked her if she really +meant it. "What next will our young lady want?" muttered Foka, affecting +to be very cross. + +No one gave so many orders as Natacha, no one sent them on so many +errands at once. As soon as a servant came in sight she seemed to invent +some want or message; she could not help it. It seemed as though she +wanted to try her power over them; to see whether, some fine day, one or +another would not rebel against her tyranny; but, on the contrary, they +always flew to obey her more readily than any one else. + +"And now what shall I do, where can I go?" thought she, as she slowly +went along the corridor, where she presently met the buffoon. + +"Nastacia Ivanovna," said she, "if I ever have children, what will they +be?" + +"You! Fleas and grasshoppers, you may depend upon it!" + +Natacha went on. "Good God! have mercy, have mercy!" she said to +herself. "Wherever I go it is always, always the same. I am so weary; +what shall I do?" + +Skipping lightly from step to step, she went to the upper story and +dropped in on the Ioghels. Two governesses were sitting chatting with M. +and Mme. Ioghel; dessert, consisting of dried fruit, was on the table, +and they were eagerly discussing the cost of living at Moscow and +Odessa. Natacha took a seat for a moment, listened with pensive +attention, and then jumped up again. "The island of Madagascar!" she +murmured, "Ma-da-gas-car!" and she separated the syllables. Then she +left the room without answering Mme. Schoss, who was utterly mystified +by her strange exclamation. + +She next met Pétia and a companion, both very full of some fireworks +which were to be let off that evening. "Pétia!" she exclaimed, "carry me +down-stairs!" And she sprang upon his back, throwing her arms round his +neck; and, laughing and galloping, they thus scrambled along to the head +of the stairs. + +"Thank you, that will do. Madagascar!" she repeated; and, jumping down, +she ran down the flight. + +After thus inspecting her dominions, testing her power, and convincing +herself that her subjects were docile, and that there was no novelty to +be got out of them, Natacha settled herself in the darkest corner of the +music-room with her guitar, striking the bass strings, and trying to +make an accompaniment to an air from an opera that she and Prince André +had once heard together at St. Petersburg. The uncertain chords which +her unpractised fingers sketched out would have struck the least +experienced ear as wanting in harmony and musical accuracy, while to her +excited imagination they brought a whole train of memories. Leaning +against the wall and half hidden by a cabinet, with her eyes fixed on a +thread of light that came under the door from the rooms beyond, she +listened in ecstasy and dreamed of the past. + +Sonia crossed the room with a glass in her hand. Natacha glanced round +at her and again fixed her eyes on the streak of light. She had the +strange feeling of having once before gone through the same +experience--sat in the same place, surrounded by the same details, and +watching Sonia pass carrying a tumbler. "Yes, it was exactly the same," +she thought. + +"Sonia, what is this tune?" she said, playing a few notes. + +"What, are you there?" said Sonia, startled. "I do not know," she said, +coming closer to listen, "unless it is from 'La Tempête';" but she spoke +doubtfully. + +"It was exactly so," thought Natacha. "She started as she came forward, +smiling so gently; and I thought then, as I think now, that there is +something in her which is quite lacking in me. No," she said aloud, "you +are quite out; it is the chorus from the 'Porteur d'Eau'--listen," and +she hummed the air. "Where are you going?" + +"For some fresh water to finish my drawing." + +"You are always busy and I never. Where is Nicolas?" + +"Asleep, I think." + +"Go and wake him, Sonia. Tell him to come and sing." + +Sonia went, and Natacha relapsed into dreaming and wondering how it had +all happened. Not being able to solve the puzzle, she drifted into +reminiscence once more. She could see him--_him_--and feel his +impassioned eyes fixed on her face. "Oh, make haste back! I am so afraid +he will not come yet! Besides, it is all very well, but I am growing +old; I shall be quite different from what I am now! Who knows? Perhaps +he will come to-day! Perhaps he is here already! Here in the +drawing-room. Perhaps he came yesterday and I have forgotten." + +She rose, laid down the guitar, and went into the next room. All the +household party were seated round the tea-table,--the professors, the +governesses, the guests; the servants were waiting on one and +another--but there was no Prince André. + +"Ah, here she is," said her father. "Come and sit down here." But +Natacha stopped by her mother without heeding his bidding. + +"Oh, mamma, bring him to me, give him to me soon, very soon," she +murmured, swallowing down a sob. Then she sat down and listened to the +others. "Good God! always the same people! always the same thing! Papa +holds his cup as he always does, and blows his tea to cool it as he did +yesterday, and as he will to-morrow." + +She felt a sort of dull rebellion against them all; she hated them for +always being the same. + +After tea Sonia, Natacha, and Nicolas huddled together in their +favorite, snug corner of the drawing-room; that was where they talked +freely to each other. + +"Do you ever feel," Natacha asked her brother, "as if there was nothing +left to look forward to; as if you had had all your share of happiness, +and were not so much weary as utterly dull?" + +"Of course I have. Very often I have seen my friends and fellow-officers +in the highest spirits and been just as jolly myself, and suddenly have +been struck so dull and dismal, have so hated life, that I have wondered +whether we were not all to die at once. I remember one day, for +instance, when I was with the regiment; the band was playing, and I had +such a fit of melancholy that I never even thought of going to the +promenade." + +"How well I understand that! I recollect once," Natacha went on, "once +when I was a little girl, I was punished for having eaten some plums, I +think. I had not done it, and you were all dancing, and I was left +alone in the school-room. How I cried! cried because I was so sorry for +myself, and so vexed with you all for making me so unhappy." + +"I remember; and I went to comfort you and did not know how; we were +funny children then; I had a toy with bells that jingled, and I made you +a present of it." + +"Do you remember," said Natacha, "long before that, when we were no +bigger than my hand, my uncle called us into his room, where it was +quite dark, and suddenly we saw----" + +"A negro!" interrupted Nicolas, smiling at her recollection. "To be +sure. I can see him now; and to this day I wonder whether it was a dream +or a reality, or mere fancy invented afterwards." + +"He had white teeth and stared at us with his black eyes." + +"Do you remember him, Sonia?" + +"Yes, yes--but very dimly." + +"But papa and mamma have always declared that no negro ever came to the +house. And the eggs; do you remember the eggs we used to roll up at +Easter; and one day how two little grinning old women came up through +the floor and began to spin round the table?" + +"Of course. And how papa used to put on his fur coat and fire off his +gun from the balcony. And don t you remember----?" And so they went on +recalling, one after the other, not the bitter memories of old age, but +the bright pictures of early childhood, which float and fade on a +distant horizon of poetic vagueness, midway between reality and dreams. +Sonia remembered being frightened once at the sight of Nicolas in his +braided jacket, and her nurse promising her that she should some day +have a frock trimmed from top to bottom. + +"And they told me you had been found in the garden under a cabbage," +said Natacha. "I dared not say it was not true, but it puzzled me +tremendously." + +A door opened, and a woman put in her head, exclaiming, "Mademoiselle, +mademoiselle, they have fetched the cock!" + +"I do not want it now; send it away again, Polia." said Natacha. + +Dimmler, who had meanwhile come into the room, went up to the harp, +which stood in a corner, and in taking off the cover made the strings +ring discordantly. + +"Edward Karlovitch, play my favorite nocturne--Field's," cried the +countess, from the adjoining room. + +Dimmler struck a chord. "How quiet you young people are," he said, +addressing them. + +"Yes, we are studying philosophy," said Natacha, and they went on +talking of their dreams. + +Dimmler had no sooner begun his nocturne than Natacha, crossing the room +on tiptoe, seized the wax-light that was burning on the table and +carried it into the next room; then she stole back to her seat, it was +now quite dark in the larger room, especially in their corner, but the +silvery moonbeams came in at the wide windows and lay in broad sheets on +the floor. + +"Do you know," whispered Natacha, while Dimmler, after playing the +nocturne, let his fingers wander over the strings, uncertain what to +play next, "when I go on remembering one thing beyond another, I go back +so far, so far, that at last I remember things that happened before I +was born, and----" + +"That is metempsychosis," interrupted Sonia, with a reminiscence of her +early lessons. "The Egyptians believed that our souls had once inhabited +the bodies of animals, and would return to animals again after our +death." + +"I do not believe that," said Natacha, still in a low voice, though the +music had ceased. "But I am quite sure that we were angels once, +somewhere there beyond, or, perhaps, even here; and that is the reason +we remember a previous existence." + +"May I join the party?" asked Dimmler, coming towards them. + +"If we were once angels, how is it that we have fallen lower?" + +"Lower? Who says that it is lower? Who knows what I was?" Natacha +retorted with full conviction. "Since the soul is immortal, and I am to +live forever in the future, I must have existed in the past, so I have +eternity behind me, too." + +"Yes; but it is very difficult to conceive of that eternity," said +Dimmler, whose ironical smile had died away. + +"Why?" asked Natacha. "After to-day comes to-morrow, and then the day +after, and so on forever; yesterday has been, to-morrow will be----" + +"Natacha, now it is your turn; sing me something," said her mother. +"What are you doing in that corner like a party of conspirators?" + +"I am not at all in the humor, mamma," said she; nevertheless she rose. +Nicolas sat down to the piano; and standing, as usual, in the middle of +the room, where the voice sounded best, she sang her mother's favorite +ballad. + +Though she had said she was not in the humor, it was long since Natacha +had sung so well as she did that evening, and long before she sang so +well again. Her father, who was talking over business with Mitenka in +his room, hurriedly gave him some final instructions as soon as he heard +the first note, as a schoolboy scrambles through his tasks to get to his +play; but as the steward did not go, he sat in silence, listening, while +Mitenka, too, standing in his presence, listened with evident +satisfaction. Nicolas did not take his eyes off his sister's face, and +only breathed when she took breath. Sonia was under the spell of that +exquisite voice and thinking of the gulf of difference that lay between +her and her friend, full conscious that she could never exercise such +fascination. The old countess had paused in her "patience,"--a sad, fond +smile played on her lips, her eyes were full of tears, and she shook her +head, remembering her own youth, looking forward to her daughter's +future and reflecting on her strange prospects of marriage. + +Dimmler, sitting by her side, listened with rapture, his eyes half +closed. + +"She really has a marvellous gift!" he exclaimed. "She has nothing to +learn,--such power, such sweetness, such roundness!" + +"And how much I fear for her happiness!" replied the countess, who in +her mother's heart could feel the flame that must some day be fatal to +her child's peace. + +Natacha was still singing when Pétia dashed noisily into the room to +announce, in triumphant tones, that a party of mummers had come. + +"Idiot!" exclaimed Natacha, stopping short, and, dropping into a chair, +she began to sob so violently that it was some time before she could +recover herself. "It is nothing, mamma, really nothing at all," she +declared, trying to smile. "Only Pétia frightened me; nothing more." And +her tears flowed afresh. + +All the servants had dressed up, some as bears, Turks, tavern-keepers, +or fine ladies; others as mongrel monsters. Bringing with them the chill +of the night outside, they did not at first venture any farther than the +hall; by degrees, however, they took courage; pushing each other forward +for self-protection, they all soon came into the music-room. Once there, +their shyness thawed; they became expansively merry, and singing, +dancing, and sports were soon the order of the day. The countess, after +looking at them and identifying them all, went back into the +sitting-room, leaving her husband, whose jovial face encouraged them to +enjoy themselves. + +The young people had all vanished; but half an hour later an old +marquise with patches appeared on the scene--none other than Nicolas; +Pétia as a Turk; a clown--Dimmler; a hussar--Natacha; and a +Circassian--Sonia. Both the girls had blackened their eyebrows and +given themselves mustaches with burned cork. + +After being received with well-feigned surprise, and recognized more or +less quickly, the children, who were very proud of their costumes, +unanimously declared that they must go and display them elsewhere. +Nicolas, who was dying to take them all for a long drive _en troïka_,[C] +proposed that, as the roads were in splendid order, they should go, a +party of ten, to the Little Uncle's. + +[C] A team of three horses harnessed abreast. + +"You will disturb the old man, and that will be all," said the countess. +"Why, he has not even room for you all to get into the house! If you +must go out, you had better go to the Mélukows'." + +Mme. Mélukow was a widow living in the neighborhood; her house, full of +children of all ages, with tutors and governesses, was distant only four +versts from Otradnoë. + +"A capital idea, my dear," cried the count, enchanted. "I will dress up +in costume and go, too. I will wake them up, I warrant you!" + +But this did not at all meet his wife's views. Perfect madness! For him +to go out with his gouty feet in such cold weather was sheer folly! The +count gave way, and Mme. Schoss volunteered to chaperon the girls. +Sonia's was by far the most successful disguise; her fierce eyebrows and +mustache were wonderfully becoming, her pretty features gained +expression, and she wore the dress of a man with unexpected swagger and +smartness. Something in her inmost soul told her that this evening would +seal her fate. + +[Illustration: Sonia] + +In a few minutes four sleighs with three horses abreast to each, their +harness jingling with bells, drew up in a line before the steps, the +runners creaking and crunching over the frozen snow. Natacha was the +foremost, and the first to tune her spirits to the pitch of this +carnival freak. This mirth, in fact, proved highly infectious, and +reached its height of tumult and excitement when the party went down the +steps and packed themselves into the sleighs, laughing and shouting to +each other at the top of their voices. Two of the sleighs were drawn by +light cart-horses, to the third the count's carriage horses were +harnessed, and one of these was reputed a famous trotter from Orlow's +stable; the fourth sleigh, with its rough-coated, black shaft-horse, was +Nicolas's private property. In his marquise costume, over which he had +thrown his hussar's cloak, fastened with a belt round the waist, he +stood gathering up the reins. The moon was shining brightly, reflected +in the plating of the harness and in the horses' anxious eyes as they +turned their heads in uneasy amazement at the noisy group that clustered +under the dark porch. Natacha, Sonia, and Mme. Schoss, with two women +servants, got into Nicolas's sleigh; Dimmler and his wife, with Pétia, +into the count's; the rest of the mummers packed into the other sleighs. + +"Lead the way, Zakhare!" cried Nicolas, to his father's coachman, +promising himself the pleasure of outstripping him presently; the +count's sleigh swayed and strained, the runners, which the frost had +already glued to the ground, creaked, the bells rang out, the horses +closed up for a pull, and off they went over the glittering, hard snow, +flinging it up right and left like spray of powdered sugar. Nicolas +started next, and the others followed along the narrow way, with no less +jingling and creaking. While they drove under the wall of the park the +shadows of the tall, skeleton trees lay on the road, checkering the +broad moonlight; but as soon as they had left it behind them, the wide +and spotless plain spread on all sides, its whiteness broken by myriads +of flashing sparks and spangles of reflected light. Suddenly a rut +caused the foremost sleigh to jolt violently, and then the others in +succession; they fell away a little, their intrusive clatter breaking +the supreme and solemn silence of the night. + +"A hare's tracks!" exclaimed Natacha, and her voice pierced the frozen +air like an arrow. + +"How light it is, Nicolas," said Sonia. Nicolas turned round to look at +the pretty face with its black mustache, under the sable hood, looking +at once so far away and so close in the moonshine. "It is not Sonia at +all," he said, smiling. + +"Why, what is the matter?" + +"Nothing," said he, returning to his former position. + +When they got out on the high-road, beaten and ploughed by horses' hoofs +and polished with the tracks of sleighs, his steeds began to pull and go +at a great pace. The near horse, turning away his head, was galloping +rather wildly, while the horse in the shafts pricked his ears and still +seemed to doubt whether the moment for a dash had come. Zakhare's +sleigh, lost in the distance, was no more than a black spot on the white +snow, and as he drew farther away the ringing of the bells was fainter +and fainter; only the shouts and songs of the maskers rang through the +calm, clear night. + +"On you go, my beauties!" cried Nicolas, shaking the reins and raising +his whip. The sleigh seemed to leap forward, but the sharp air that cut +their faces and the flying pace of the two outer horses alone gave them +any idea of the speed they were making. Nicolas glanced back at the +other two drivers; they were shouting and urging their shaft-horses with +cries and cracking of whips, so as not to be quite left behind; +Nicolas's middle horse, swinging steadily along under the shaft-bow, +kept up his regular pace, quite ready to go twice as fast the moment he +should be called upon. + +They soon overtook the first troïka, and after going down a slope they +came upon a wide cross-road running by the side of a meadow. + +"Where are we, I wonder," thought Nicolas; "this must be the field and +slope by the river. No--I do not know where we are! This is all new and +unfamiliar to me! God only knows where we are! But no matter!" And +smacking his whip with a will, he went straight ahead. Zakhare held in +his beasts for an instant, and turned his face, all fringed with frost, +to look at Nicolas, who came flying onward. + +"Steady there, sir!" cried the coachman, and leaning forward, with a +click of his tongue he urged his horses in their turn to their utmost +speed. For a few minutes the sleighs ran equal, but before long, in +spite of all Zakhare could do, Nicolas gained on him and at last flew +past him like a lightning flash; a cloud of fine snow, kicked up by the +horses, came showering down on the rival sleigh; the women squeaked, +and the two teams had a struggle for the precedence, their shadows +crossing and mingling on the snow. + +Then Nicolas, moderating his speed, looked about him; before, behind, +and on each side of him stretched the fairy scene; a plain strewn with +stars and flooded with light. + +"To the left, Zakhare says. Why to the left?" thought he. "We were going +to the Mélukows'. But we are going where fate directs or as Heaven may +guide us. It is all very strange and most delightful, is it not?" he +said, turning to the others. + +"Oh! look at his eyelashes and beard; they are quite white!" exclaimed +one of the sweet young men, with pencilled mustache and arched eyebrows. + +"That I believe is Natacha?" said Nicolas. "And that little +Circassian--who is he? I do not know him, but I like his looks +uncommonly! Are you not frozen?" Their answer was a shout of laughter. + +Dimmler was talking himself hoarse, and he must be saying very funny +things, for the party in his sleigh were in fits of laughing. + +"Better and better," said Nicolas to himself; "now we are in an +enchanted forest--the black shadows lie across a flooring of diamonds +and mix with the sparkling of gems. That might be a fairy palace, out +there, built of large blocks of marble and jewelled tiles? Did I not +hear the howl of wild beasts in the distance? Supposing it were only +Mélukovka that I am coming to after all! On my word, it would be no less +miraculous to have reached port after steering so completely at random!" + +It was, in fact, Mélukovka, for he could see the house servants coming +out on the balcony with lights, and then down to meet them, only too +glad of this unexpected diversion. + +"Who is there?" a voice asked within. + +"The mummers from Count Rostow's; they are his teams," replied the +servants. + + * * * * * + +Pélaguéïa Danilovna Mélukow, a stout and commanding personality, in +spectacles and a flowing dressing-gown, was sitting in her drawing-room +surrounded by her children, whom she was doing her best to amuse by +modelling heads in wax and tracing the shadows they cast on the wall, +when steps and voices were heard in the ante-room. Hussars, witches, +clowns, and bears were rubbing their faces, which were scorched by the +cold and covered with rime, or shaking the snow off their clothes. As +soon as they had cast off their furs they rushed into the large +drawing-room, which was hastily lighted up. Dimmler, the clown, and +Nicolas, the marquise, performed a dance, while the others stood close +along the wall, the children shouting and jumping about them with glee. + +"It is impossible to know who is who--can that really be Natacha? Look +at her; does not she remind you of some one? Edward, before Karlovitch, +how fine you are! and how beautifully you dance! Oh! and that splendid +Circassian--why, it is Sonia! What a kind and delightful surprise; we +were so desperately dull. Ha, ha! what a beautiful hussar! A real +hussar, or a real monkey of a boy--which is he, I wonder? I cannot look +at you without laughing." They all shouted and laughed and talked at +once, at the top of their voices. + +Natacha, to whom the Mélukows were devoted, soon vanished with them to +their own room, where corks and various articles of men's clothing were +brought to them, and clutched by bare arms through a half-open door. Ten +minutes later all the young people of the house rejoined the company, +equally unrecognizable. Pélaguéïa Danilovna, going and coming among them +all, with her spectacles on her nose and a quiet smile, had seats +arranged and a supper laid out for the visitors, masters and servants +alike. She looked straight in the face of each in turn, recognizing no +one of the motley crew--neither the Rostows, nor Dimmler, nor even her +own children, nor any of the clothes they figured in. + +"That one, who is she?" she asked the governess, stopping a Kazan +Tartar, who was, in fact, her own daughter. "One of the Rostows, is it +not? And you, gallant hussar, what regiment do you belong to?" she went +on, addressing Natacha. "Give some _pastila_ to this Turkish lady," she +cried to the butler; "it is not forbidden by her religion, I believe." + +At the sight of some of the reckless dancing which the mummers performed +under the shelter of their disguise, Pélaguéïa Danilovna could not help +hiding her face in her handkerchief, while her huge person shook with +uncontrollable laughter--the laugh of a kindly matron, frankly jovial +and gay. + +When they had danced all the national dances, ending with the +_Horovody_, she placed every one, both masters and servants, in a large +circle, holding a cord with a ring and a rouble, and for a while they +played games. An hour after, when the finery was the worse for wear and +heat and laughter had removed much of the charcoal, Pélaguéïa Danilovna +could recognize them, compliment the girls on the success of their +disguise, and thank the whole party for the amusement they had given +her. Supper was served for the company in the drawing-room, and for the +servants in the large dining-room. + +"You should try your fortune in the bathroom over there; that is enough +to frighten you!" said an old maid who lived with the Mélukows. + +"Why?" said the eldest girl. + +"Oh! you would never dare to do it; you must be very brave." + +"Well, I will go," said Sonia. + +"Tell us what happened to that young girl, you know," said the youngest +Mélukow. + +"Once a young girl went to the bath, taking with her a cock and two +plates with knives and forks, which is what you must do; and she waited. +Suddenly she heard horses' bells--some one was coming; he stopped, came +up-stairs, and she saw an officer walk into the room; a real live +officer--at least so he seemed--who sat down opposite to her where the +second cover was laid." + +"Oh! how horrible!" exclaimed Natacha, wide-eyed. "And he spoke to +her--really spoke?" + +"Yes, just as if he had really been a man. He begged and prayed her to +listen to him, and all she had to do was to refuse him and hold out till +the cock crowed; but she was too much frightened. She covered her face +with her hands, and he clasped her in his arms; luckily some girls who +were on the watch rushed in when she screamed." + +"Why do you terrify them with such nonsense?" said Pélaguéïa Danilovna. + +"But, mamma, you know you wanted to try your fortune too." + +"And if you try your fortune in a barn, what do you do?" asked Sonia. + +"That is quite simple. You must go to the barn--now, for instance--and +listen. If you hear thrashing, it is for ill-luck; if you hear grain +dropping, that is good." + +"Tell us, mother, what happened to you in the barn." + +"It is so long ago," said the mother, with a smile, "that I have quite +forgotten; besides, not one of you is brave enough to try it." + +"Yes, I will go," said Sonia. "Let me go." + +"Go by all means if you are not afraid." + +"May I, Madame Schoss?" said Sonia to the governess. + +Now, whether playing games or sitting quietly and chatting, Nicolas had +not left Sonia's side the whole evening; he felt as if he had seen her +for the first time, and only just now appreciated all her merits. +Bright, bewitchingly pretty in her quaint costume, and excited as she +very rarely was, she had completely fascinated him. + +"What a simpleton I must have been!" thought he, responding in thought +to those sparkling eyes and that triumphant smile which had revealed to +him a little dimple at the tip of her mustache that he had never +observed before. + +"I am afraid of nothing," she declared. She rose, asked her way, +precisely, to the barn, and every detail as to what she was to expect, +waiting there in total silence; then she threw a fur cloak over her +shoulders, glanced at Nicolas, and went on. + +She went along the corridor and down the back-stairs; while Nicolas, +saying that the heat of the room was too much for him, slipped out by +the front entrance. It was as cold as ever, and the moon seemed to be +shining even more brightly than before. The snow at her feet was strewn +with stars, while their sisters overhead twinkled in the deep gloom of +the sky, and she soon looked away from them, back to the gleaming earth +in its radiant mantle of ermine. + +Nicolas hurried across the hall, turned the corner of the house, and +went past the side door where Sonia was to come out. Half-way to the +barn stacks of wood, in the full moonlight, threw their shadows on the +path, and beyond, an alley of lime-trees traced a tangled pattern on +the snow with the fine crossed lines of their leafless twigs. The beams +of the house and its snow-laden roof looked as if they had been hewn out +of a block of opal, with iridescent lights where the facets caught the +silvery moonlight. Suddenly a bough fell crashing off a tree in the +garden; then all was still again. Sonia's heart beat high with gladness; +as if she were drinking in not common air, but some life-giving elixir +of eternal youth and joy. + +"Straight on, if you please, miss, and on no account look behind you." + +"I am not afraid," said Sonia, her little shoes tapping the stone steps +and then crunching the carpet of snow as she ran to meet Nicolas, who +was within a couple of yards of her. And yet not the Nicolas of +every-day life. What had transfigured him so completely? Was it his +woman's costume with frizzed-out hair, or was it that radiant smile +which he so rarely wore, and which at this moment illumined his face? + +"But Sonia is quite unlike herself, and yet she is herself," thought +Nicolas on his side, looking down at the sweet little face in the +moonlight. He slipped his arms under the fur cloak that wrapped her, and +drew her to him, and he kissed her lips, which still tasted of the +burned cork that had blackened her mustache. + +"Nicolas--Sonia," they whispered; and Sonia put her little hands round +his face. Then, hand in hand, they ran to the barn and back, and each +went in by the different doors they had come out of. + +Natacha, who had noted everything, managed so that she, Mme. Schoss, and +Dimmler should return in one sleigh, while the maids went with Nicolas +and Sonia in another. Nicolas was in no hurry to get home; he could not +help looking at Sonia and trying to find under her disguise the true +Sonia--his Sonia, from whom nothing now could ever part him. The magical +effects of moonlight, the remembrance of that kiss on her sweet lips, +the dizzy flight of the snow-clad ground under the horses' hoofs, the +black sky, studded with diamonds, that bent over their heads, the icy +air that seemed to give vigor to his lungs--all was enough to make him +fancy that they were transported to a land of magic. + +"Sonia, are you not cold?" + +"No; and you?" + +Nicolas pulled up, and giving the reins to a man to drive, he ran back +to the sleigh in which Natacha was sitting. + +"Listen," he said, in a whisper and in French; "I have made up my mind +to tell Sonia." + +"And you have spoken to her?" exclaimed Natacha, radiant with joy. + +"Oh, Natacha, how queer that mustache makes you look! Are you glad?" + +"Glad! I am delighted. I did not say anything, you know, but I have been +so vexed with you. She is a jewel, a heart of gold. I--I am often +naughty, and I have no right to have all the happiness to myself now. +Go, go back to her." + +"No. Wait one minute. Mercy, how funny you look!" he repeated, examining +her closely and discovering in her face, too, an unwonted tenderness and +emotion that struck him deeply. "Natacha, is there not some magic at the +bottom of it all, heh?" + +"You have acted very wisely. Go." + +"If I had ever seen Natacha look as she does at this moment I should +have asked her advice and have obeyed her, whatever she had bid me do; +and all would have gone well. So you are glad?" he said, aloud. "I have +done right?" + +"Yes, yes, of course you have! I was quite angry with mamma the other +day about you two. Mamma would have it that Sonia was running after you. +I will not allow any one to say--no, nor even to think--any evil of her, +for she is sweetness and truth itself." + +"So much the better." Nicolas jumped down and in a few long strides +overtook his own sleigh, where the little Circassian received him with +a smile from under the fur hood; and the Circassian was Sonia, and Sonia +beyond a doubt would be his beloved little wife! + +When they got home the two girls went into the countess's room and gave +her an account of their expedition; then they went to bed. Without +stopping to wipe off their mustaches they stood chattering as they +undressed; they had so much to say of their happiness, their future +prospects, the friendship between their husbands: + +"But, oh! when will it all be? I am so afraid it will never come to +pass," said Natacha, as she went toward a table on which two +looking-glasses stood. + +"Sit down," said Sonia, "and look in the glass; perhaps you will see +something about it." Natacha lighted two pairs of candles and seated +herself. "I certainly see a pair of mustaches," she said, laughing. + +"You should not laugh," said the maid, very gravely. + +Natacha settled herself to gaze without blinking into the mirror; she +put on a solemn face and sat in silence for some time, wondering what +she should see. Would a coffin rise before her, or would Prince André +presently stand revealed against the confused background in the shining +glass? Her eyes were weary and could hardly distinguish even the +flickering light of the candles. But with the best will in the world +she could see nothing; not a spot to suggest the image either of a +coffin or of a human form. She rose. + +"Why do other people see things and I never see anything at all? Take my +place, Sonia; you must look for yourself and for me, too. I am so +frightened; if I could but know!" + +Sonia sat down and fixed her eyes on the mirror. + +"Sofia Alexandrovna will be sure to see something," whispered Douniacha; +"but you always are laughing at such things." Sonia heard the remark and +Natacha's whispered reply: "Yes, she is sure to see something; she did +last year." Three minutes they waited in total silence. "She is sure to +see something," Natacha repeated, trembling. + +Sonia started back, covered her face with one hand, and cried out: + +"Natacha!" + +"You saw something? What did you see?" And Natacha rushed forward to +hold up the glass. + +But Sonia had seen nothing; her eyes were getting dim, and she was on +the point of giving it up when Natacha's exclamation had stopped her; +she did not want to disappoint them; but there is nothing so tiring as +sitting motionless. She did not know why she had called out and hidden +her face. + +"Did you see him?" asked Natacha. + +"Yes; stop a minute. I saw him," said Sonia, not quite sure whether +"him" was to mean Nicolas or Prince André. "Why not make them believe +that I saw something?" she thought. "A great many people have done so +before, and no one can prove the contrary. Yes, I saw him," she +repeated. + +"How? standing up or lying down?" + +"I saw him--at first there was nothing; then suddenly I saw him lying +down." + +"André, lying down? Then he is ill!" And Natacha gazed horror-stricken +at her companion. + +"Not at all; he seemed quite cheerful, on the contrary," said she, +beginning to believe in her own inventions. + +"And then--Sonia, what then?" + +"Then I saw only confusion--red and blue." + +"And when will he come back, Sonia? When shall I see him again? O God! I +am afraid for him--afraid of everything." + +And, without listening to Sonia's attempts at comfort, Natacha slipped +into bed, and, long after the lights were out, she lay motionless but +awake, her eyes fixed on the moonshine that came dimly through the +frost-embroidered windows. + + + + +_A Wayfarer's Fancy._ + + + "A felicitous combination of the German, the Sclave, and the + Semite, with grand features, brown hair floating in artistic + fashion, and brown eyes in spectacles." + +_George Eliot._ + + + + +TWO CHRISTMASES. + + +I. + +It was the time of the great war. Germany was desolated. Towns and +villages were destroyed by flames. Order and law had given way to savage +power; and from the walls of many a ruined house of God the wooden image +of the Saviour looked down with a face of anguish on the horrors of the +degenerate times. + +The terrified citizens of towns that were still untouched by war, hid +themselves within their narrow walls, awaiting, in tremulous fear, the +day on which their homes must also fall a prey to plundering soldiers. +If any one were obliged to go beyond the boundaries, he would glance +anxiously at the bushes on either side of the road; and when night came +on, he would be forced to look with horror and sorrow at the reddened +horizon, where a little village or lonely hamlet was burning to ashes. + +But who is it cowers there in the ditch by the highway? A dried-up +little man with deathly-pale countenance, and clad in a black coat! +Flee, Wanderer! let him not gaze at you with his piercing gray eyes! +Beware! for that old man is the Plague-man! + +The heart of the Wanderer sinks within him. Horrified he rushes away, +and thanks heaven when, in the gray of the morning, he sees again the +towers of his native town. Enraptured by the sight of home he believes +these towers with the dear, well-known faces can protect him; but the +old cripple has been quicker than he. Before break of day he has knocked +at the town-gate, and the gate-keeper, on opening it, has scarcely +looked into his gray eyes before he sank down as though some one had +felled him with an axe. + +Then the gray old man begins his terrible work. Like a bat he slips into +all dwellings; no gate and no bolt is an obstacle to him. Right up into +the lofts he climbs and opens the most secret chamber. That threshold he +passes is doomed to the Black-death. + + * * * * * + +It had happened thus to a little town in Franconia, where but a few +houses remained untouched by the terrible plague. In this town there +lived a poor, honest couple with their child, a boy of nearly three +years. Their cottage lay on a small hill, and was divided from the road +by a little garden. People ascribed it to this that the awful spirit +for a long time had left their home untouched. But at last he seemed to +have found his way to even this out-of-the-way place. + +A few days before Christmas the boy fell sick, and on Christmas morning +he lay motionless in bed, so that the poor parents thought the plague +had taken their child from them. The father wanted to bury the body at +once, but the mother showed him the rosy cheeks of the dead child, and +said that a death that looked so like sleep could do them no harm. +Thereupon she went into the little garden and cut box-tree leaves from +under the snow, and made a wreath for the dead darling. She placed the +wreath on his curly head and moved his bed into the middle of the room, +where she set candles burning around it, just as we do in quieter times +for a dear departed one. Then she went into the wood, cut down a small +Christmas-tree and placed it, all decorated with lights, nuts, and +bright tinsel, next to the coffin, in order that the dead child might +also have his Christmas pleasure. + +This was the only Christmas-tree that the poor stricken town lit up! +People passing along the road looked with secret jealousy at the +illuminated window, wondering how they could still rejoice in such +bitter times. But no gladsome sounds from the window reached the +street, where flake after flake was whirling down from the gray heavens, +covering everything in its white cloak. And unceasingly, as flake after +flake sank down to earth, so in the little chamber the tears of the poor +woman rolled down her cheeks till the lights of the Christmas-tree +burned low, the fire in the stove died away, and sleep closed the +streaming eyes of the mother. Then all was quiet, very quiet, in the +little chamber. + + * * * * * + +But at the gates of Heaven it was very noisy that evening. Countless +hosts were crowding up the broad stairway, young and old, rich and poor: +a mixed and motley crowd. There the patrician elbowed the tailor who had +made his coat; the general the lowest sutler; and a ragged beggar was +even next to a king, who drew his purple closer around him in order not +to be contaminated. All were pushing towards the great, light gate, and +many a one, who on earth had only beaten and jostled others, received +here in the crowd his own first jostling. At the gate stood a beautiful, +tall angel, who sprinkled each one with water out of a golden vessel. +The touch of this water obliterated at once all remembrance of the past. + +St. Peter, who considered the noise and bustle too much of a good thing, +was of the opinion that mankind had none of the bother of dying, all +the work falling on him; and he was accordingly grumbling to himself. +Suddenly he saw a little fellow, clad only in a shirt, standing before +him, shivering all over, and regarding him with innocent, childish eyes, +as if asking whether he might enter. St. Peter, unwilling that such +little folks should cause delay in business, said, roughly, "In with +you!" The little frightened fellow rushed, thereupon, so quickly through +the gate that the angel did not have time to sprinkle him with the +waters of oblivion. + +Now, as children of two years have but short memories and very harmless +pasts, the angel smilingly let him slip by. Once inside, little Hans was +seized by a host of flying angels and whirled away to Paradise, which +was more beautiful than the fairest garden on earth. Rare plants with +big, magnificently colored blossoms filled the air with spicy odor. Here +dwelt the tiny children who had left earth before they knew anything of +it. Here they could dream on forever; and their breath swept softly over +every bud. Large butterflies with silken wings were bathing in the clear +ether, and floating entranced from bud to bud. The heavens glittered and +lightened as though composed of millions of diamonds; yet the sun did +not blind the eye, nor the warmth rise to summer heat. Eternal spring +had banished from these regions battle and death, tempest and decay, and +far away below in misty distance lay all the sorrows of tormented +creation. Amongst the flowers wandered blissful forms, absorbed in the +beauty of surrounding harmony. + +The boy curiously observed all this splendor, peered into the dewy buds +of the flowers, examined the wings of his heavenly playmates, and was +not a little rejoiced on observing that two wings had also grown on him, +with which he could fly like a bird. "If neighbor Liesel could only see +me!" thought Hans, and he felt quite proud at the thought. For, +notwithstanding all the splendor about him, the picture of his parents' +home presented itself constantly to his little mind. He had an excellent +memory of the much despised earth, which soon with magnetic power drew +all his thoughts towards it. At the sight of the wonderful flowers of +Paradise, such as the earth never produces, he could think of nothing +but the violets, and crocuses, and tulips which curled up in spring-time +out of the black earth of his father's garden. The golden fruits on the +trees reminded him of the gilded ones of the Christmas-tree, and seemed +to him even brighter; and although the Paradise of heaven, with its +eternal clearness, was a thousand times more beautiful than the +changing air below, yet the little heart felt a dim yearning for the +beloved earth, the griefs of which he had not yet learned to measure; +and, amidst all this angelic beauty, he only felt an uncontrollable +longing for the plain, human countenance of his mother. Then there came +an end to his enjoyment. He began to cry, and, finally, to roar lustily. +The other little angels gathered astonished around him, staring at the +strange playmate who had dewdrops in his eyes and made such awful faces. +Such a thing did not generally occur in heaven, where all were good and +quiet. But just then St. James came along and, on seeing the crying +angel, he spoke pleasantly to him, and finally took him up in his arms +in order to comfort him. But a great surprise lay in store for the +Saint; for it would have been easier for him to convert a thousand +heathens than to quiet the little unruly fellow, who commenced kicking +and wriggling, and made such a terrible outcry that the angels fluttered +away in consternation. There stood the Saint with the child in his arms, +and did not know what to do! At last he concluded to show the strange +being to the Lord Himself, and went with the little one before His +throne. Then the Lord Almighty smiled, and all the angels around His +throne smiled, when they saw St. James, who certainly did not seem very +well adapted for nursing children, and in whose arms little Hans, +regardless of all surroundings, continued to roar unmercifully. But the +merciful Lord opined that the greatest squallers often turned out the +best men, and He ordered an angel to carry the little one back to dear +earth. + +And this was done. With mighty strokes of his pinions the heavenly +messenger floated back to earth, which came nearer and nearer with its +mountains, lakes, and rivers, and with the old, lifeworn town, and from +out the town rose up the gabled roof of the parents' home with a cap of +snow upon it. + +The boy in the coffin opened his eyes, and with a cry of joy his mother +pressed him to her heart. Among the boughs of the Christmas-tree there +was a soft rustling and whispering. + +Methinks the tree remembered that winter is only a deep sleep, and was +dreaming of spring. + + +II. + +The years of misery and war were over. In the streets of the old town, +where only a few years ago the roll of the drum resounded, and where the +plague, in deathly silence, had spread its black wings, there, the stork +on the town-hall heard, to his great satisfaction, merry shouts of +children,--the ringing laugh of peace. A group of boys chased each +other noisily over the market-place, playing at war. War! which had +desolated so many of their homes. Oh! the fresh, merry laughter of +childhood! how like unto ivy it climbeth over all ruins and findeth at +last the sunshine! + +But there was one not amongst the noisy group, and that one was Hans. +His parents perceived with anxiety that the little noisy child had grown +into a silent, shy boy, who avoided the games of his comrades and +dreamingly went his own way. For hours he sat in the garden on the bench +near his mother's flowers, and gazed dreamingly at the busy bees and +butterflies, or lay in the woods near by and stared up through the +branches of the beech-trees at the blue sky. + +"What are you thinking of?" his mother would ask at times; then he would +start up like one awakened from sleep, the thread of whose dreams are +broken by awaking. "He is ill," the mother would think, anxiously. But +folks would shake their heads suspiciously when, on speaking to the boy, +they received no other answer than a shy, questioning look. "There is +something wanting," said some, with an unmistakable gesture. "He is a +fool," murmured others. + +Thus a boy fares who has peeped too early into Paradise. The children +of his own age made fun of him, and poor Hans would have been quite +forsaken if Liesel from next door had not taken his part. She was quite +the opposite to him,--merry and high-spirited. Whilst he sat dreaming, +she was romping about, singing and laughing. But the children kept +together, and the parents thought they might some day be a pair. The +boy's reserved nature vexed the father, and, being of the opinion that +man's hand cannot learn too early to handle and knead the tough clay of +existence, he apprenticed him to a potter, in the hope that time would +change the character of his son. He was mistaken, however; the boy grew +up a fine, handsome youth, but in character he remained the boy of +former days. If he looked up from his work it was not in order to gaze, +like other journeymen, after a young girl who maybe was tripping past; +but to stare up at the sky, which shone so blue between the houses, or +to follow with his eyes the great white clouds away,--who knows whither? +In his free time he did not go like others to the market-place, but +would mount the ramparts at the back of his parents' house and gaze into +the valley below, where the river was bearing its silvery wavelets into +the far distance. What might not be in the far distance? Far, far away +yonder must be the place where the dream of his childhood was realized! +How astonished, then, was his father, when one fine sunny spring morning +his son stood before him, with knapsack and staff, in order to bid him +farewell before setting out on his travels. Who would ever have thought +he would want to travel! The father rejoiced in the belief that the son +would seek work according to the custom of journeymen workmen, and gave +him his blessing, and much good advice besides. But he hardly even heard +the words and advice of his father; there was a singing in his ears and +a mist before his eyes, so that he felt like one intoxicated. Yes, he +was a fool! Nor did he see the tears his mother and Liesel were shedding +at his departure: he only thought of that far-off land, of the dream of +his childhood. What mattered to him their tears! He wanted only to +travel to find his Eden. And he travelled. With each rising sun he arose +and thought, "To-day you will find what you seek;" and when he laid +himself down tired at night, he thought, "To-morrow I shall reach my +goal;" and, happy in this thought, he would fall asleep. No mountain was +too steep for him, no path too stony, no forest too dense; he thought of +his Eden, and minded not the thorns that tore his flesh. Yes, he was a +fool! + +Far behind him, forgotten, lay his home in the dim distance! + +No living creature could tell him where his Paradise lay! The birds of +the forest went on with their song; the deer gazed at him astonished; +the brooks babbled on monotonously and sought the way to the ocean. +People he asked only laughed, and they looked back at the strange lad, +shaking their heads. + +Quickly the time flew by; the spring faded, summer and autumn passed, +and still he wandered on. His path, that once lay before him green and +fair, was now covered with snow. He, however, heeded it not, and +journeyed on. It must come at last, the long-sought goal! At last he +reached a mighty snow-covered mountain range, so mighty that he said to +himself, "Beyond this it must surely lie," and in glad hope passed +forward. A whole day he ascended over snow and ice: his feet were sore +and bruised, and he was shivering from the cold, and yet no hut was to +be seen that might offer him shelter. The sun went down in crimson +behind the ice-armored mountains, leaving behind a bitter coldness, so +great that the stars in the heavens shivered with frost. + +Then it occurred to tired Hans that it was Christmas, and for the first +time on his journey he thought for a long while of home, where the +Christmas-tree was now lighting up the warm room, and the dear ones were +assembling around it. But what mattered the Christmas-tree to him; he +was seeking Paradise! + +Suddenly he saw on the roadside an old man. He was sitting on his +bundle, and leaning his head on his hands. He must have been very old, +for his face was furrowed like the bark of an oak, and his snowy beard +hung nearly to the ground. + +Then tired Hans rejoiced, greeted him, and asked how far it might be to +the nearest habitation of man. + +"To-day you can no longer reach it," replied the old man. "Whither are +you journeying?" + +"I seek Paradise," answered Hans: "nearly a year have I wandered over +the earth, and yet have not found it." + +Thereupon the old man arose, laid his hands upon Hans's shoulder, and +said, "Turn back and go home! I have wandered for more than a thousand +years on earth, and sought Paradise, and have not found it. Know, then, +I am Ahasuerus, doomed to everlasting wandering as a penance. Wherever I +go I am persecuted; where I knock the gate is locked; and nowhere have I +a home. Stones are my bed, and my bundle is my pillow. Go, poor fool! +return to the place of your birth. There, some day, they will dig a +grave for you, wherein you may sleep peacefully. Go back to your home, +where a Christmas-tree is lit up for you, and where you are loved, and +leave to me all wandering and seeking: to me, the poor, old, accursed +man!" + +Then Hans was very sad: he threw down his bundle, sat down in the snow, +and wept bitterly. However, he was so tired from the long journey that +he soon forgot all his misery, and fell into a deep slumber. The old man +spread his cloak over him to protect him from the cold, and then +listened to the deep-drawn breathing of precious sleep, that drowns all +cares. The youth lying there could sleep, and die, and forget! but he +himself must keep awake, and live, and wander! + +Upon the face of Hans a smile was playing; he was dreaming! Did he see +the long-sought Paradise? He saw in his dream a house with snow-covered +gable and little windows; a small house, closely encircled by other +houses, a garden in front. In a room inside sat his parents round a +cheerful fire. The spinning-wheel whizzed, and the cat purred in comfort +in front of the fire. Softly there fell, now and again, a needle from +the Christmas-tree. A resinous, pine-tree odor filled the room. From the +next house a clear, maiden's voice was singing the old, old Christmas +carol,-- + + "A rose has bloomed + From a tender root, + Our fathers have sung: + Out of Jesse it came." + +And the crackling of the fire, the whizzing of the spinning-wheel, and +the maiden's song seemed to the dreamer fairer than a thousand Edens. An +indescribable homesickness overcame him. + +When he awoke, the east was radiant with the blush of morning. He sprang +up and seized his staff. Scales seemed to fall from his eyes. "Home, +home!" a thousand voices seemed to echo within him. + +But up the mountains, outlined by the red of the morn, he saw the old +man wandering on his comfortless path. + + + + +_A Yarn Spun by a Yankee._ + + + "A white-haired, thin-visaged, weather-worn old gentleman in a + blue, Quaker-cut coat." + +_Hawthorne._ + + + + +A TALE OF A TURKEY. + + +I. + +The shutters of a little spur of warehouses which breaks out into +mountainous stores and open valleys of streets around the corner, but +which itself overlooks no fairer view than a narrow, muddy alley of a +thoroughfare scarcely broad enough to admit two drays abreast, and, by +actual measurement,--taken with persistent diligence by the adjacent +office boys,--just two running-jumps from gutter to gutter; the shutters +of this, in its own eyes, important little trade centre, were up, and a +great clattering they had made in getting up on a clear, tingling night +before Christmas, eighteen hundred and--no matter what. + +The porters had come out in their faded greatcoats, bandaged right and +left in woolly mufflers, and more than usually clumsy in padded gloves, +and had been bitten and tossed about by the wind with such unbecoming +violence that even a porter felt it necessary to hurry and bustle. +Taking the shutters by assault from the foe's embraces, they had +thumped, and banged, and hammered, and scolded them into place, and, in +undignified haste, had betaken themselves, steaming warm breath through +their fingers, into their proper and respective places by the +counting-house fire. + +The magic--so it seemed in its effects--tolling of a deep-toned bell in +the neighborhood would not allow them to doze long in their warm nooks, +but, like the jealous monster in the fairy-tale, kept its captives +always going, going, going, for its sixth stroke had not died away +before they began to appear again, this time with the addition of fur +hats and little dinner-baskets, and with no perceptible noses--unless +the existence of watery eyes above their mufflers argued the missing +features to be in their proper places below--and with an accelerated +gait--also an act of enchantment. + +William, of No. 6, bawled as loud as his worsted gag would permit across +the street (so termed by a figure of rhetoric) to James, of No. 7: + +"Hello, Jim! Cold as blazes, ain't it?" + +James, of No. 7, assenting, Thomas, of No. 4, would like to know "How +blazes can be cold, now?" + +William, of No. 6, would say "as thunder," if that would suit him any +better; and as it appeared to do so they, with half a dozen others, +breasted the wind and trudged out into the blustery streets beyond. + +The merchants, too, had locked their doors, and tried their knobs, and +looked up at the faces of their stores as if to say, "Merry Christmas to +you, and I wish you a pleasant day to-morrow!" but in reality to see +that all was fast, and perchance to indulge in a comfortable survey of +their snug little properties--and the complacent tread with which they +followed the porters gives color to the suspicion--and draw from it +momentum for the enjoyment of the morrow's holiday. + +The shutters, then, were up--stop, not all up! One, as you may see by +the shaft of gas-light that has just fallen across the pavement near the +top of the court, is still down. + +The little square window through which the light eddies on the bricks is +supported on either side by a heavy door, and all three, the two doors +and the window, are in turn crowned and anointed on the head, as it +were, by a very bold sign containing very brazen--in every sense of the +word--letters which announced pompously, like some servants of similar +metallic qualities, the name of their master. + +Emanuel Griffin--the tongue uncontrollably adds Esquire--was the name, +and there, if you had looked through the window, in a deep funnel of a +room, at a desk near the fire, head behind the open leaves of a ledger, +and feet beneath the warm recesses of the stove, sat its possessor. + +Outside the railing which formed a barrier between Emanuel Griffin, +Esq., and the business world, and encompassed with a less elaborate +railing, sat, on a high stool in a cold corner, the little, +blackish-green (perhaps the color gas-light imparts to faded black) +clerk of Emanuel Griffin, Esq. Whether David Dubbs, such was he called, +derived the power of writing from his mouth; or whether the gentle +excitation of moving his lips over toothless gums assisted thought; or +whether, as some said, he chewed tobacco, a position which nobody ever +held long, as nobody ever proved him to have expectorated during his +whole life; his mouth--always closed--moved up and down, up and down, +with the motion of his pen. Hair he had none, that is, none to speak of; +there were some few isolated white locks behind his ears and at the back +of his head, but he made no pretensions to have any, and openly +acknowledged himself bald--and very candid of him it was to do so. + +Chroniclers have told us how, after fierce battles that have raged from +dawn till nightfall, the moon has come calmly up from the horizon and +shone peacefully and serenely over the field of strife and death. So +arose a beneficent smile ever and anon over the wrinkled and careworn +face of the old clerk; but still he wrote on, Faithful Dave! and if +pleasant thoughts swept through him they avoided the business that +occupied his hands and did not interrupt it. + +They had long sat in quietness, only broken by the noise of turning +leaves and crackling coals,--but, in truth, if David Dubbs's eye, in its +course to and from the clock, had not, like the world, worked silently +on its axis, there must have been continual creaking--when a noise like +the name of David emanated from the ledger, and following it--for it was +near-sighted--the head of Emanuel Griffin, Esq., lifted itself to an +erect posture and repeated in a less muffled tone, "David!" + +"Yes, sir," answered the old clerk, in a weak little voice, and climbing +down to the floor from his perch. + +"You may lock up, David. Ten thousand and odd. Ten thousand's a good +year, David; a very good year. Very--good--indeed! But go and lock up," +and then Mr. Griffin took a glance at the clock. "Half-past six! Why +it's surprising how time does fly, and Christmas Eve, too. Well, well! +But hurry up with the shutters, David, and we shan't be long----" + +Before Mr. Griffin had fully delivered himself of these remarks the +little person of David Dubbs was out in the cold, was in and out among +the screws on the door, had put up the shutters, and simultaneously with +the last word stood in the half-opened door and, all unseen by his +employer, waved his hand to some one at the corner of the court. He then +walked as quickly as his little, bent legs--parabolic were they in +outline, but, as this is not a geometric treatise, it is of no +particular consequence--would permit him up the long aisle in the centre +of the room, and sent off timid little echoes of his steps to ramble +away among the bales of crockery--for it was crockery that Emanuel +Griffin, Esq., dealt in--and rattle among the piles of plates. + +Having reached again his little cage of an office, he took down from its +accustomed peg an old, threadbare coat, and, with much exertion and +outstretching of arms, finally got it on, turned up the collar, tied +about his ears a not very robust scarf, and laid thereon, as the +copestone of his apparel, a dingy high hat that had undergone, in point +of nap, as many reverses as its wearer in point of fortune. Thus +attired, he tipped his hat to his employer, all ready, like himself, to +depart, and started out. + +Before he reached the door, a cry from Mr. Griffin arrested him, and he +came hastily back; for, although it would have required a thumbscrew to +have made him confess it, yet he had all day long looked forward to the +time of parting, when he half expected Emanuel Griffin, Esq., contrary +to his custom though it was, would offer him some little gift out of the +increased profits of a business he had done no little to advance. But no +such design had Mr. Griffin conceived, or if he had it was very soon +suppressed as entirely unworthy of a man of purely business habits, and +all he had to say was,-- + +"I know, David, there is something I was to have told you to do. Mrs. +Griffin impressed it on me this morning, but,"--here he stood thinking +for a moment,--"no matter," he resumed. "I guess it was nothing very +important, so good-by, David, and a--good-by!" He was going to say "and +a merry Christmas;" but for a man of purely business habits to unbend so +far and become cheerful--why, it's subversive of all business +discipline, and so he thought to himself. + +David, doubly disappointed, turned and passed out, and his old eyes must +have been extremely sensitive to the wind, for they ran with something +very like tears that he wiped away with his glove as he muttered,-- + +"So, no Christmas, after all. Poor girls! Poor girls!" Mr. Griffin was +not long behind his faithful old clerk. He extinguished the lights with +great care, and then, with the key in his hand, felt his way to the +door, banged it after him, and locked it with the satisfaction of a +miser over a casket of treasures. His journey home led him to the +opposite end of the court from that which David had passed through, and +he therefore did not overtake him. + +And if he had, would this hard, business-encrusted heart have been less +cold than the bitter winds that assailed it? Would the sight which made +David Dubbs forget the fierceness of night have penetrated the chilly +place where it rested and warmed it in pitying activity? Would the +tender impulses, which the unsifted morals of barter extinguish, as they +extinguish much of the nobility in man, have enkindled anew and +brightened this misery? Not if dollars would have done it; nay, not if +even a word would have done it, would Emanuel Griffin have relaxed from +the demeanor which purely business habits imposed upon him. He felt it +due to his position in business society to maintain rigidly its maxims, +the chief of which, "Do unto others as they would do unto you, if they +could," he practised to the letter. + + +II. + +Poor David Dubbs! Oh, the long time it seemed since boon companions had +smitten him on the back and cried, "Bravo, Dave Dubbs! Bravo, old +fellow!" to his little songs, or encouraged him by such exclamations as +"Dave Dubbs can't be beat at a ballad!" Oh, the long, long time ago! But +to proceed. As David Dubbs met the ambushed winds that leaped upon him +at the corner of the court, he also met the person to whom he had waved +his hand from the store-door. If you had looked for the stature of a man +you would have been doubly mistaken,--first in sex, next in size. It was +neither a man nor a woman. There, in a blustery doorway, shaking with +cold, but ever on the alert, crouched a little girl. She wore a knitted +hood, and out of it fell overflowing curls; but her poor, attenuated +little body was ill-assorted with plenty of any kind, and the wealth of +curls mocked the poverty of her clothes. A patched shawl affected to +protect her poor little shoulders, and a calico dress flapped coldly +about her legs. As David turned the corner she arose, and, for all her +stiffness and shivering, exclaimed, cheerily, "A merry Christmas, +father!" and reached to kiss him. + +He took her in his arms--she was very, very slight--and lifted her to +his lips, and then, throwing one side of his own scanty coat about her +and holding it there with an affectionate hug, he said, "Come, come, +little daughter, it's too bleak for a little body like you to be out. +It's cruel, cruel, but I dared not tell him it was so late. What does he +know or care for my poor little faithful, Loving Scout?" + +"Your Scout couldn't miss Christmas Eve, father, if it was ever so +cold." + +"And does she ever miss? No, no, she's a dutiful Scout, winter and +summer, rain and shine, morning and night, and what should I ever do +without her!" + +So, talking and fighting the wind by turns, they walked on, the bent and +shuffling old man and his Little Scout, as he had named her and as they +all affectionately called her, through dark streets where, ever and +anon, a car or belated dray shivered by, as if the cold had touched even +its insensibility, and made the tracks resound and the paving blocks +rattle in the clear air; through deep cisterns of streets, between lofty +stone banks--as stern almost as their governing boards, for, although +boards are chiefly wooden, a supplication will quickly petrify them; +through rows of illuminated stores like walls of Arabian Night visions, +with traceries of frost on their windows richer in design than the gems +within them; through clustering crowds that entered or left continually +the swinging doors of saloons and hotels; past waiting carriages; past +swearing men; past laughing ladies, and past beggars, wearier, and +colder, and lonelier than themselves. So they travelled, scarcely +heeding what they saw in their speed until, on the margin of all the +din, by a turn through a dark street, they reached a darker alley, and, +passing down it, at last stopped before their own homely door. + +The building had once been a warehouse,--David liked it the better for +that, he said. "Why, all my life has been spent in trade, and, you see, +I've sort a become attached to anything that smacks of it, though I've +little reason to feel so, the Lord knows!" he would exclaim to his +friends. Up above, over a long door in the top story--you can scarcely +make it out in the uncertain light--jutted a weather-beaten crane, with +a long disused pulley dangling at its point, cracked, and rusted, and +abandoned, and no less cracked and abandoned, shot out from the second +floor a moss-covered platform that had been intended for the reception +of bales of stuffs that had never arrived. The mortar had, here and +there, been wrenched from between the bricks by savage weather and age, +and the doors, too, had shrunk before their united malignity. How such +a house had drifted to such a locality is unaccountable, unless--as is +often the case--some navigator of real estate had thought he descried a +port, where was only a shoal that left his venture high and dry among +newer and costlier craft. + +However, the nearest approach it had made in the last twenty years or +so--so David said--to fulfilling its commercial place in the world was +in opening its doors to a gentleman in the carpentering line. This +gentleman, Mr. Jacob Tripple by name, occupied the ground floor, and all +around it were scattered evidences, in the shape of window-frames, and +wooden-horses, and props, and old lumber, of a thriving business. He, +with all his men, had departed long ago and left the place dark, and +still, and cold. + +It had lain in this stupor of silence for more than an hour, waiting +against hope to be resuscitated by any stray echoes that should drop in +from the neighboring hubbub and waken it up, when it caught among its +bleak angles the cheery voice of David's Little Scout, and revived--as +some old men do under the charm of gentle words--to a more respectable +opinion of itself. So immediately it seemed refreshed, that if it were +possible for such a decrepit--not to say inanimate--old structure as +that even metaphorically to prick up its ears, it metaphorically did as +the sound of Dolly's--her proper name--cheery welcome home echoed round +it. + +"Here we are once more, father," she cried, breaking away from him to +have the door open when he plodded up to it. "Once more, and a welcome +home, and a merry Christmas to you!" + +"Always on duty, Little Scout! Always on duty!" he called after her. +(The wind was keen and drew water to his eyes again, and again he +brushed it away.) "Always on duty," he went on repeating, with a doleful +effort at cheerfulness. + +She was up-stairs by that time, and, opening the door above, had called +in, "Here's father!" then ran back to meet him, which she did at the +door below. + +What these unusual proceedings meant, David Dubbs might have guessed or +might have known traditionally, they being of an annual nature, but +whether he did or not, or whether his ignorance was also traditional, he +gave no sign, and walked feebly up-stairs, guided by the Little Scout, +just as if it were not Christmas Eve at all. + +What the proceedings did mean was that a steaming pot of coffee at the +given signal was lifted from its warm corner and tilted into a cup that +held a conspicuous place at the head of a little white spread table. On +its right hand sat, in the position of an honored and seldom present +guest, a juicy-complexioned, but not corpulent beefsteak; opposite to +it, inviting death by explosion, rested a bowl full of steaming potatoes +in their native jackets, and the centre was fully occupied by a huge +loaf with a large family of slices. + +Around this collation--aroused by the signal, for they had been idly +waiting before--moved two pairs of hands with loving attention. The +cloth was resmoothed, the knives and forks straightened, a brace of +mealy potatoes was emptied on the two plates that awaited them, and at +last a ruddy slice of beefsteak was deposited beside and oozed through +them its savoriness. This last climax was reached just as the door +opened, and the two pairs of hands speedily transferred themselves to +the duty--no very arduous one--of helping David and Dolly out of their +wraps. + +And then, with many caresses and kisses and cries of "Take this side, +father, where the coals are bright!" or "Put your feet here and get them +good and warm, poor Little Scout!" then, when thick flying questions and +travellings to the one end of the room for things that were not wanted, +and excursions to the other end of the room for things that were wanted; +when the chairs were drawn up; when the grateful old man and his little +daughter, with those tender hands over their mouths to stifle the +gratitude they struggled to utter, were duly seated at the table, and +when the kettle was singing its approval in the corner, then, +only,--when all these preliminaries were gone through with,--did the +possessors of the hands that devised them seat themselves on a low +wooden settee opposite the table and enjoy the zest and delight they had +ministered to. + +Good nature and tender hearts, pale faces and cheerful eyes, honest red +hands and neatly bound-up hair have never been faithfully reproduced in +a state of print and paper, much less in imagination, and, indeed, how +can anything so buxom and comely, even if the plainest in dress, be +expected to be? It is, therefore, needless to say that the twin +daughters of David, namely, Molly and Polly Dubbs, being all that is +here set down, should have been seen in all their kindliness to be truly +known, and no other form of introduction would do them full justice. + +Molly was the counterpart of Polly in all respects save height. She was +a very little taller than Polly, and a fortunate thing it had been for +all concerned that she was so. Else, consider the vexation of the +measles and other diseases essential to youth. Why, in their quandary +which to begin on, they almost missed the twins altogether as it was. +Consider the complexity of young lovers who should pour into the ears of +Polly passionate adjectives intended solely to captivate the heart of +Molly; and, most important of all, consider the conflict of choice which +would have disquieted the soul of Mr. Jacob Tripple and at last driven +him to the alternatives of suicide or bigamy. + +But all these dangers had been averted by the provisions of Nature, and +the twins, who had supped, for economic reasons, earlier in the evening, +sat beaming on while David and little Dolly heartily devoured the +supper. + +David, looking up now for the first time, in the interval of a mouthful +swallowed and a mouthful threatened, espied a bowery wreath of holly +that hung around a picture of General Washington in the act of crossing +a dark, green river Delaware in a court dress of red and breeches of +yellow, surrounded on all sides by ice and officers in rainbow uniforms, +and, as this was the only adornment of a rather bare room, it is no +wonder it caught his eye. + +"Why, who's been a-brightening up the gen'ral so Christmas-like?" he +exclaimed. + +"We did, father! Leastwise it was Polly's present," said Molly. + +"And who may be a-sending presents to Polly now?" asked David, with a +twinkle in his eye that had seen better days but none kindlier. "It +wasn't young Cuffy over at the baker's, nor Jake Tripple, now, was it?" + +He looked at Polly for an answer, whereat she stretched her arm along +the back of the settee and let fall her hand on Molly's shoulder with a +punch which was intended as punishment for the giggles her sister +struggled to confine in her mouth with both hands; but which, in spite +of her, bubbled over and attacked David, and then, with a blush, Polly +muttered,-- + +"It wasn't young Cuffy at all, and I hate his loafy, little face, and I +hate----" + +"Not Jacob Tripple! No, no, not good Jake Tripple?" said David, +reprovingly. + +"I didn't say that, father!" she exclaimed. "He's your good old friend, +and how could I hate him? He came in just before leaving for the day, +and asked for you--what, made him think you were home I can't tell, for +it was long before your time--and asked for you, and left the wreath +for--for--me." + +The hem of her long checkered apron then needed close scrutiny and +folding for some unknown purpose, and this duty diverted her thoughts +from the subject, but she turned to Dolly, who enjoyed this banter in +her own quiet little way, which seldom rippled into a loud laugh, for +her own quiet little face was too pale and too pinched to invite such +freebooters. "Come, come, Little Scout," she said. "Is she warm now, and +were the rations good, and did she meet Kriss Kingle on his cold journey +(with a caress of her pale little cheeks) with heaps of warm dresses, +and heaps of pretty dolls, and heaps of sweetmeats too big to carry +himself, so he asked her to carry some home to help him! Did she? (with +another caress.) And would our Little Scout be sorry if he didn't come +himself to look after them and----" + +"Ah, that reminds me!" said David, quite audibly for him, and rising +from the table with knife and fork still in hand. + +"What reminds you, father?" asked the twins, in chorus. + +"Why, coming home!" said David, not very intelligibly. + +"What coming home?" again from the chorus, in expectant attitude. + +"Why, Tom, I told you!" which he hadn't done at all, but as by this time +he was deep in the cupboard, where his overcoat hung, and as his voice +was a little more muffled than usual, it was useless to argue the point, +so the chorus loudly exclaimed,-- + +"Tom?" + +"Yes, yes, yes!" from David, faintly and rather testily, as he had +groped through his old coat, and had successively dropped the knife and +fork, reeking with gravy, into the inside and outside pockets. + +"To be sure! Tom coming home and I clean forgot it, what with the cold +and the surprises," he said again, emerging with the knife and fork in +one hand and a letter in the other. "Here it is. He'll be home +to-morrow, he says, God willin', and eat our turkey with us. Poor Tom, +poor boy! He's been away so long he's forgot Griffin and hard times, or +he wouldn't say that!" + +"Tom! Be home! and to-morrow?"--interruption of chorus as it reaches for +the letter, opens and reads it aloud--Dolly being lifted in the sturdy +arms of Molly to look over. + +David, meanwhile, overcome by the toothsomeness of beefsteak, falls to +again, while the others dance a sort of fandango, and turn up the rag +carpet, and rattle the dishes on the dresser, and lift Dolly high in the +air to the improvised tune of "Tom's coming home! Tom's coming home! +Tom's coming home to-morrow!" + +"It's another mouth to feed, but it's hard to wish the poor boy back to +Californy again," huskily said David; then he exclaimed, as the noise +increased, "Hey dey! Why, you'll spill the coffee next, and cave in the +walls, too, in a minute, and then there'll be no home for Tom to come +to!" + +This was good humoredly added as the final swing was given to the dance, +which brought the twins holding Dolly aloft in their arms laughing and +panting on the settee. + +"But tell us, father, is he coming home for good? He don't say so in the +letter," asked Dolly, and all leaned forward to hear his answer. + +"Coming home for good?" mused David. "Yes, he's coming home for good, I +hope; but I'm fearful he'll find little beside the good in his sisters' +hearts." + +"Poor Tom," said Dolly, with far-away eyes, "he's had a weary life of it +in the mines, I guess, poor fellow." + +"Yes, yes," said David, "and that's what makes it harder that we can't +greet him with a good Christmas to-morrow. Well, well, it'll be a +delight to see my poor boy again, hard times or no hard times, and we'll +be as cheerful as we can be and are now, thanks to my good girls," and +here he arose from the table, and, seating himself at the fire, opened a +morning paper that he had found in the waste-basket in Mr. Griffin's +counting-house (and very worthless it must have been to be found there!) +in which, through the kind offices of a massive old pair of spectacles, +he was soon absorbed. + +And now, while the Little Scout--in fulfilment of her established +character--plays the spy on sundry crumbs that slink from notice under +the table, and while the twins, too busy to talk, wash the dishes and +dispose them in a glistening row along the dresser, and, while David +opens the paper and plods up and down it, column by column, like a +ploughman furrow by furrow up and down a field, and with almost as much +toil; and while the ancient clock on the shelf over the stove and under +the motley General Washington ticks loud enough to be heard above the +clinking dishes and simmering kettle; and while the table, divested of +its cloth and exhibiting a stained and blistered old back, is glad +enough to avoid attention by being stowed away in the corner; while the +pleasant spirits of domesticity that come only at the call of good men, +and good wives, and good sons, and good daughters, but resist the +imperious beckonings of the wealthiest hands, and wing on over their +roofs to lowlier, and scantier, and purer habitations--while the +pleasant spirits of domesticity and kindliness throng invisibly into the +room, and David Dubbs reads stray scraps from his paper to his +daughters, grouped near the fire at his feet, we must softly withdraw +and leave them to the care of coming Christmas dreams. + + +III. + +Christmas morning had opened brightly with David Dubbs. The sun, +preceded down the court by hustling winds that knocked at every +citizen's door and demanded admittance for their oncoming master, had +left at each house a gift of golden cheerfulness. The sky above was so +blithe and blue that it smiled down at even so insignificant a crack as +David Dubbs's court must have appeared to it; and the cold was a jolly +and snappish cold. + +The twins and David's Little Scout were as merry as the Christmas chimes +they lingered and listened to, and not the daintiest dinner that Mr. +Cuffy (and that gentleman held the subject somewhat in mind, too, on +Polly's account) could have delivered at their door would have added one +jot of happiness to their abundance. David's poor old back bent under +the stress of poverty that would permit him no indulgences for them--all +the more dear on that day; but, used to loving self-denial, they never +missed what they so little desired, and so far were they from giving it +a thought, that if David had spoken out what he so wilfully turned over +and over in his mind, that would have given them far more pain and +anxiety. Mr. Tripple was early in his shop, presumptively to attend to +some forgotten duties, but, as he did not pay very active attention to +anything but carefully tying up a square box in white paper, and as he +did pay very active attention to what went on up-stairs, at the same +time exhibiting no hurry to get home to dinner, David, who had, towards +noon, gone around the corner with Polly to make some little purchases of +groceries before the stores closed, dropped in on his way back and +invited Mr. Tripple up-stairs. Mr. Tripple at first firmly refused, and +said, "Very much obliged, Dave, but couldn't think of it. Indeed not. +They'd 'spect me at home, ye know, Dave." Whereupon Miss Polly added her +entreaties, and said he needn't expect anything very much, but if he +would walk up they would be very happy to have him. Mr. Tripple would +have walked up--and, indeed, wanted very much to walk up--at first, but +his extreme awkwardness, aggravated by holiday clothes of a tight cut +and by a paper collar bent above his coat like a scimetar, and almost as +sharp and glistening as that weapon, impelled him to do violence to his +wishes in order to appear calm--under _her_ eyes--and to deceive them +politely as to his real desire. But now, lured on by the siren voice of +Polly, he consented to go up "a little while" (which meant all the +afternoon), and taking the white box under his arm he locked the +shop-door and followed them up the creaking stairs. + +Arrived in the room and relieved of hat and coat, Mr. Tripple bowed +mysteriously to Dolly, and, intrusting her with the box, whispered,--"Go +and hand that to sister Polly, little un." Polly, receiving it from her, +exclaimed in surprise,-- + +"For me, Mr. Tripple?" + +"Yes, miss," he replied, growing red and smiling broadly, "a little +something for Christmas, that's all." + +Polly opened the box and extracted a pasteboard plane with some +artificial shavings pasted upon it, which, when lifted apart, discovered +a heap of sweetmeats. Dolly and Molly, looking on, exclaimed, "Why, Mr. +Tripple, what a surprise!" and Polly blushingly added, "So very +unexpected!" + +Mr. Tripple grew redder and nervously crossed his legs, saying, "I +thought 'twould be kind a appropriate to the trade, you know, and so I +just fetched it up, and----" + +Then Polly, seeing his embarrassment, called on David and the rest to +come and help themselves, and there was good humor and laughing until +the twins darted away to got dinner, which was soon prepared, for there +was little enough to get, and all invited to sit up to the table. + +All were duly in their places, and David had, in accordance with +Christmas custom, offered grace. Mr. Tripple and the girls were slowly +raising their bowed heads, when a loud knock announced a visitor, and +hastened the raising of heads to an unseemly hurry. + +"Tom!" all exclaimed. + +Molly hurried down-stairs, and the rest rushed to the stair-landing, +where, in a moment, they received, not Tom, but a large, square basket +that emitted a very fragrant smell of roasted fowl, in the arms of the +returning Molly. Once in the room, the lid was off in a twinkling, and +out came a sizable plate, enveloped in dainty, clean napkins, which, +being removed in layers, exhibited, in all its brown deliciousness, a +huge turkey, just done to a turn. + +The party gathered around in pleased wonder, and as Molly threw the +napkins into the basket a card fell on the floor. She picked it up and, +astonished, read, "Emanuel Griffin." + +"What!" said David, snatching it and reading it aloud to himself, +"Emanuel Griffin. So it is, and no mistake!" and then he burst out, +"Hurrah! hurrah for Griffin! I knew he couldn't forget us this year!" +His poor old face was almost young again, and his voice,--why, it could +actually be heard as he ran on: "Why, there never was such a year for +the china trade, Tripple, and how could he forget me? Jacob Tripple, +your hand! A kiss, Little Scout! Why, your old father's 'most young +again, and his good girls shall dine like other good girls, after all! +How very thoughtful of Griffin to send it in the nick of time, too. +Come, sit up again before it gets cold, and I wish we had something as +hot to drink Griffin's health in. Why, I believe I could sing a song +again if we had something hot. I do, indeed!" + +So he ran on in his childish delight at the thought of being remembered, +and at the far more grateful thought that his beloved daughters were to +share the gift with him. + +When he had ceased, all turned to Molly and asked in one breath who had +left it. When the clamor slackened, she replied, "Why, young Cuffy from +the baker's, and all he said was, 'David Dubbs,--to be sent--card +inside,' and then kissing his hand, and crying 'Love to her,' meaning I +don't know who," with a smirk at Polly, "he jumped aboard his wagon and +flew away down the court." + +Never was a turkey enjoyed so much, and never had a turkey better +deserved it. + +Mr. Tripple grew bland and talkative under its juicy influence. He even +winked at Polly occasionally, and one time actually chucked her under +the chin. She sat next to him, remarking that if he had his way she +should live forever on turkey and sugar-plums. David ventured to say +that that course of diet would be pretty indigestive, whereupon Mr. +Tripple fondly suggested, as he gazed into her eyes, "How would love do +for a substitute, then?" implying that "his way" would supply that +abstract edible in equally large doses. + +David dryly added "Starvation," and thereupon Polly covered her face +with her hands, but left open a laughing eye at Molly, and Mr. Tripple +looked boldly around the board as a man who had said a very bright thing +indeed, after which survey he broke out into a not very comfortable +laugh. All the rest laughed, too, then, and such good humor prevailed +that nothing seemed amiss, and Mr. Tripple's inexperience was kindly +overlooked. + +But now the turkey was fast becoming skeletonized, and the good company +was fast becoming the reverse. The jollity was increasing and the +serious intentions of Mr. Tripple were impending and ready to fall into +open profession on the slightest encouragement. The Little Scout's +pinched and pale face--sweet and uncomplaining, even through hunger and +want--smiled gently and less sadly as it leaned in Molly's arms, and, +looking up, she said,-- + +"Poor father! How quiet you were last night when we were walking home. +I knew you were thinking about to-day and the poor dinner. How kind it +was of good Mr. Griffin. I'd like to thank him myself, father!" + +"And so you shall, Little Scout," said David, gayly, bending over and +kissing her with boyish contempt of aged bones; "and so you shall, and I +make no doubt he'll be glad to see you, too, Deary." + +The clock in a neighboring steeple, simultaneously with its ancient +kinsman on the shelf, and followed by incoming echoes of a score of +others, struck one; but the company little heeded that, and the +conviviality was far from diminishing when another summons rattled the +street door, and again all exclaimed "There's Tom!" and crowded to the +landing as before. + +Polly this time tripped down and came back in a moment with only a +letter, saying,-- + +"A young man, father, with this letter for Mr. Griffin. It's addressed +to his store, but he said it was important, and, knowing you lived here, +he depended on you to deliver it at once." + +"Has he gone?" said David, grasping it. + +"Yes, father," replied Polly, "right off." + +Here was a pitiable state of affairs indeed. David Dubbs, aroused from +the joyful celebration of his Christmas dinner and from the midst of +this cosey party and sent off across the river to his master's house +with a miserable letter and by a miserable young man (and if delivering +letters when every other well-intentioned man is eating his turkey isn't +miserable, why what is it?). Sent off on a graceless errand for nothing, +perhaps. But his kind employer, who had done so much for his comfort and +joy that very day, must not suffer by his neglect, and off he must post; +that was imperative. Mr. Tripple offered his services when David had +started down-stairs, and when there was no chance of his turning back, +but David said, "No, no, Tripple; you just stay and keep the girls +company till I get back, and that'll be enough for you to attend to. +Good-by, girls. Good-by, Little Scout; if it wasn't so cold, she should +go too." And off he trudged, as patient, and cheerful, and proud of his +master's attention and of his mission, too, now he had fully set out, as +many a younger and better dressed man would have been. + + +IV. + +When Emanuel Griffin, Esq., leaving the dark little street wherein stood +his warehouse and wherein very much of his life and very little of his +money was spent--which latter fact had, however, no merely local +application but was of a general nature--when, to resume, Emanuel +Griffin, Esq., buttoning up his overcoat and, leaving the dark little +street, turned the next corner among the mountainous stores and looked +vexedly around for a car to bear him to his home across the river, and +rattled his keys in his pocket, and nearly hummed a tune in his +impatience, suddenly, as the car appeared like a new planet, and with +the easy-going motions of a planet in its ascent had nearly reached +him--suddenly a thought of something forgotten flashed through his mind, +and the violence of its reaction turned him completely around and sent +him in a precipitous hurry in the opposite direction, namely, in that +which David Dubbs and his little daughter had pursued but a short time +before. + +"Pshaw!" he muttered, and looked as if he would like to add something a +great deal stronger. "That's what I forgot to tell David; but Mrs. G. 'll +never forget it, nor forgive it, either, if I don't attend to it +before I get home." So he turned up his collar, and rubbed his ears, and +hurried on to keep warm. + +His destination proved to be a fancy bakery in the neighborhood of David +Dubbs's house. The pavement in front of it at that hour and season, +owing to holiday orders, was sending up warm steam from the oven +beneath, and a fragrant and appetizing smell of hot bread and browning +cakes pervaded the street. It was a large establishment of the kind, and +besides its legitimate line of bread-baking, took charge of the cooking +and preparing of dinners for ladies of limited domestic conveniences in +fashionable life. Heedless of the delicious scents which had attracted +several men with greedy eyes to linger at the window and devour in +fancy--a process which left them hungrier than ever--the heaps of loaves +and cakes on the counter within; heedless of the supplicating looks the +men turned on him, and of the confidential attempts of one or two at a +begging whisper (but his hurry was in nowise chargeable with that +inattention); heedless of everything but finishing his errand and +getting home, Mr. Griffin pushed through the crowd in the store, and, +reaching the counter, beckoned to a light-haired, light-eyed, and +red-cheeked youth, in a blue tie and black waistcoat that, through +constant friction with loaves and flour-barrels, had become of a light +pepper-and-salt pattern, and hurriedly said,-- + +"I want a turkey, Cuffy, of about fifteen or twenty pounds, cooked and +sent to my house by one o'clock to-morrow." + +"Can't do it, Mr. Griffin," said the young man, who knew him and had +bowed as he came up. + +"Can't do what?" exclaimed Mr. Griffin, with surprise and dismay. + +"Can't send it out," returned the young man, firmly. + +"Oh!" said Mr. Griffin, relieved; "I thought you meant that you couldn't +prepare it!" + +"No, sir," commenced the young man. "You see, sir, Mr. Griffin, it's so +late in the day that all our teams is ordered fur to-morrow at that +time, and so is our boys, but----" + +"Well, I'll soon fix that, Cuffy," said Mr. Griffin, opening his coat +and taking out a card. "There, just pin that on the turkey when it is +ready, and carry it over here to Dubbs's--David Dubbs is my clerk. He +will understand the card, and bring the turkey out to my house. I +shouldn't be so particular about it if Mrs. Griffin had not impressed it +on me this morning. I almost forgot it, too." + +Then asking the price, and answering,-- + +"That is very high, Cuffy;" to which that young man replied,-- + +"I know it is, sir, Mr. Griffin, but then, you see, the demand is werry +great, sir." + +Mr. Griffin paid the bill and hurried out, took a car at the next +corner, and, after a long, cold ride, got home to allay the anxiety of +Mrs. Griffin by assuring her that the turkey was ordered, and would be +sent home promptly to-morrow by David Dubbs. + +Christmas morning was, among the Griffin household, which consisted of +Mr. and Mrs. Griffin and a superannuated servant, a very busy morning +indeed, for the reason that Mrs. Griffin had, according to annual +custom, invited more guests to dine than she could conveniently provide +for. Their house was a cottage in the suburbs, pretty enough in summer +and no thanks to its mistress or the superannuated servant either, but +to the unaided impulse of nature, which climbed, in the form of bowery +vines, wherever a vine could find clinging room; but now, in the midst +of winter, bright though the day was, the skeletons of so much green +gayety looked bare, and inhospitable, and cold. The house was approached +by a long path that started at the iron gate and led up to the porch. It +was far from a large house, and looked inconvenient, and famished for +paint, and it was no less inconvenient than it looked, a fact, indeed, +which necessitated the purchase of a cooked turkey, for the oven was +small, and the stove in the crazy little kitchen needed all the surface +it could afford for the vegetables, oysters, and other viands which then +only, throughout the year, it blazed and glowed under. + +The morning wore on and twelve o'clock arrived. The big table in the +little dining-room was duly dressed and adorned with Mrs. Griffin's +miscellaneous silver; and after a heated debate between that lady and +the Superannuated, it was decided that when the company were all in the +parlor the dining-room door should be left open, and at the bottom of +the table, which now projected against the door, an additional chair for +Mr. Griffin should be inserted. Mrs. Griffin said of course the company +must squeeze in, but they understood all that, and were glad enough to +get in by any means, to which Superannuated readily assented. + +One o'clock, and now the company were all arrived. Mrs. Griffin was duly +excused by Mr. Griffin, who received them, on the plea of domestic +duties. They were mostly in the parlor, which contained, beside them, a +set of red velvet furniture and a shining piano, on legs which emulated +the unsteadiness of Superannuated's own, and which, in huskiness of +voice, also resembled that person; a portrait of Mr. Griffin in rigid +broadcloth, and a companion portrait of Mrs. Griffin in low neck and +volumes of lace; and last, a very pimply-looking carpet, which seemed to +suffer from a severe rash. + +Mr. Griffin had occupied the space between the folding-doors as the +company arrived and suavely--as suavely, by the way, as his wincing at +the cost of it all would admit of--received, introduced, and seated +them. The first arrival was a single gentleman, whom he saluted as Fred. +He was short, and bald, and spasmodic,--so much so that his pantaloons +were never straight, and his collar, through much moistening of its +raspy edges, was soiled. After him, a lady and gentleman drove up to the +gate in a carriage, and, alighting, the lady swept up the path, in a +double sense, while her husband upbraided the driver for the muddy +condition of the carriage, and then, loudly, "At ten, William!" To which +William as loudly replied, "Can't do it, sir. Got another order; but +I'll send you another man." + +The gentleman answered more quietly, with a careful look at the house, +where Mr. Griffin awaited him on the porch,-- + +"Very well, driver;" and also swept in, and was introduced to Fred as +Mr. Abbert. + +Now came a pair who walked, and were addressed and handed around by the +host as "My dear friends, Mr. and Mrs. Dripps;" and then the volume of +new-comers became quite abundant; so much so that a number of gentlemen +with no apparent use for their hands were forced to lean about the hall +and sit on the stairs, which they did up to the very top one. When the +company had simmered down a good deal, and only a few very bold +gentlemen ventured to launch remarks into the unanswering silence, and +when everybody was wondering what everybody else was going to do next, +and all were, as they reported the next day, "enjoying themselves +immensely," there was a stir above stairs, a rustling of dresses, and +then the gentlemen on the stairs, like a row of falling bricks, were +driven down before the gracious smiles and bows of the transformed +hostess. + +Tripping down after them and falling at last into the extended arms of +her husband--rather unsteady under the weight--while the stiffly polite +gentlemen formed a compact crowd out to the door. Mrs. Griffin was led, +with no little difficulty, through the seated guests, bestowing bows, +and smiles, and "Glad to see you, my dear Mr. Dripps," and "How well +you're looking, my dear Mrs. Abbert," and "Welcome, gentlemen," (whereat +a murmur ran through the crowd and all shook their heads and tried to +turn round and bow, but utterly failed,) and "Oh! here's my old Fred," +and sundry other bewitching remarks that led the crowd of gentlemen to +murmur again something like "Charming, be Gad!" and grow uneasy. + +But now the bell was rung by Superannuated, who had duly inserted the +chair, and Mr. Abbert, receiving the hostess from the arm of her +husband and in turn delivering his smiling wife to Mr. Griffin, led off +the throng to dinner. + +When they arrived at the protruding table, by a preconcerted arrangement +Mrs. Griffin handed Mr. Abbert to the one side and squeezed herself +through the other--an action which was imitated by the rest of the +company, who were finally seated close up to the door--all but Mr. +Griffin, who was to occupy the extra chair, and, as he was already +inside, and there was no other means of exit, he was obliged to pass +through the kitchen and around the house. He soon appeared again through +the front door and the dinner began. + +Mrs. Griffin, who had long before left Superannuated to finish while she +perfected her toilet, now rang the bell and, on her appearance, +whispered in her ear. Superannuated whispered in her mistress's ear. +Mrs. Griffin thereupon uttered a little cry and looked at Mr. Griffin. +Mr. Griffin, in consternation, cried, "My dear!" and attempted to +squeeze between the chairs, but failed. Then he looked wildly about him, +and at last ran through the front door. He soon reappeared at the side +of his fainting wife, who revived enough to say,-- + +"I shall never, never forgive you! Oh, the humiliation! the agony!" then +fainted again. + +"What is it?" "What's the matter?" "She's fainted!" and confused screams +of the ladies came from all sides. Mrs. Dripps passed along her salts +bottle. Mrs. Abbert held Mrs. Griffin's head, and Fred applied water. +Under the strong influence of these restoratives she soon revived, and +whispered to her husband something which caused him also to start and +look despairingly at her. + +She then said to him, loud enough for all to hear, "You must tell them +it was your fault. Oh, the humiliation!" Here she burst out again, with +her handkerchief to her eyes, and Mrs. Abbert soothingly said, "Oh, +never mind him, my dear. I wouldn't mind him!" This was growing +invidious, and all the gentlemen at the bottom of the table were looking +scornfully at him. + +He therefore said, in a loud voice,-- + +"The turkey has not arrived,--that is all." + +"That is all," whimpered Mrs. Griffin, mockingly. "That is all, he says; +and isn't it enough, sir, to have all your domestic failings exposed to +the world?" + +Mrs. Griffin alluded to cooking facilities, and grew very bitter, while +"the world" simpered and exchanged looks. + +Mr. Griffin then, in desperation, explained the whole matter,--how he +had left the card for David Dubbs, and paid for the turkey, and come +unsuspectingly home. "As," he added, "I have done year after year, +for----" + +Here Mrs. Griffin checked him with symptoms of another faint, and he +stopped short. + +Mr. Abbert then said it was all that rascally clerk, and he ought to be +discharged at once. + +"I know 'em," he added violently and with deeply implied wisdom, which, +by the way, was the only species of wisdom he ever attained to. "I know +'em, Griffin!" + +Mr. Fred was of a similar opinion, and even more violent in his +denunciation of David, as he had set his heart on turkey, and the +appetite died painfully within him. + +All the ladies and gentlemen were of various opinions, but all +concentrated their rage on the poor, innocent little clerk, and panted +for his clerkly death. In the midst of all this commotion the door-bell +rang, and intensified it twofold, for nobody could get through to the +door but by going around the house. This Superannuated finally did, and +brought back with her the identical little clerk,--the poor, agitated, +and bowing little clerk who had unconsciously aroused all the +indignation and tumult, whom sundry gentlemen at the lower end of the +table had threatened with severe punishment if they ever caught sight of +him, and who, now catching sight of him, were more than usually silent. + +Mr. Griffin looked threateningly at him as, hat in hand, he walked up to +him, presented a letter, and, in his faint voice, said,-- + +"A letter for you, sir, left for me to deliver." + +He took it, and David continued tremulously to say,-- + +"And how can I thank you, sir, and madam," turning to Mrs. Griffin, "for +the bounteous gift----" + +"Gift?" exclaimed both in a breath; "what gift? Where is the turkey you +brought? What gift? What gift?" + +"Why, a splendid turkey, with your card kindly----" + +This was received by the company with a volley of cries and calls, by a +relapse on the part of Mrs. Griffin, and by the descent of Mr. Griffin's +hand upon David's coat-collar, and finally by poor, frightened David's +ejectment from the kitchen-door, harshly reproached by his employer as a +thief and vagabond, and warned never to show his face in his store +again. + +"Be off, now!" he cried after him, "you ungrateful, deceitful old +villain!" and then he slammed the door, and joined the hungry guests, to +whom he declaimed at some length on the thanklessness of the lower +classes. + +Mrs. Griffin was quickly re-restored, this time to a state of injured +perfection, and after the united apologies of herself and husband, and +more abuse of poor, luckless David Dubbs, the company concluded with +pretty bad grace to make the most of what had been prepared in the way +of vegetables and side dishes, long ago cold. Mr. Griffin was mad, +insulted, and hungry, and the contents of the letter he had received +seemed to add very little warmth to the food, but a great deal to his +anger, for he tore it up into very small pieces, as if it were David +himself he was torturing, and, with a look the company did not consider +very sociable, scattered it on the floor. + + +V. + +The sky, as if presaging David Dubbs's misfortune, had grown overcast, +and flung down spiteful little sallies of snow as he crossed the river +on his way to Mr. Griffin's. The creaking of the bridge's huge timbers +and the splitting ice below it made him shiver and pull his threadbare +coat close about him and sacrifice his old hands to the wind to save his +freezing ears. The same scarf bound them as the night before, but an icy +gale like that which swept from the open river would have frozen through +arctic furs. Notwithstanding all this, his spirits were lighter than +usual. The scene he had left at home floated on before his eyes, and +transfused itself with the black, sketchy trees against the sky and +blent with the ragged barbs of smoke that depended from cottage +chimneys. The wind had been boisterous enough, and would have torn it +away on a cantering jaunt not many minutes ago, but, surcharged as it +was now with blinding snow, it had its own liberty to look after, and +paid little heed to anything else. + +The snow came on thicker and thicker, and had begun to whiten the +streets by the time David reached Mr. Griffin's house, and now, as he +stood shocked and bewildered in the garden again, it lay deep and +dreadfully silent as far as the eye could reach. Had he heard truly? Had +he, for the first time in a long, and honest, and reputable life, been +called a thief? And by the man whom his heart had overflowed in +gratitude to but a moment before! David Dubbs a thief! And what of? What +had he stolen? Oh, it was cruel to his poor old heart! "And the girls so +merry, even now," he thought. How; how could he go to them with these +bitter tidings? To be deprived of even the poor means his pen had +faithfully and honestly earned for them; to toil so long, so wearily for +the meed of a thief, for the name of a thief! and he wept in his utter +woe. + +His hat was still on his head, his coat was undone, his scarf had fallen +back on his shoulders; his poor old eyes were wide apart again, now, and +the wind tugged at his scanty hair, and the snow, no whiter than itself, +sifted through it and drifted into the folds of his clothes. But, +stunned, and tortured, and despairing though he was, the old clerk +staggered on insensibly homeward. Back through the dreary trees; back +through the drifted streets; back to the bridge, where he stopped by +some fatal impulse and leaned near a bleak abutment that overlooked the +river--gazing, gazing, gazing in a blank stare at the driving channel +below. The thought, the lurking purpose was shadowed dimly on his +distraught mind. The cold, rolling river once passed, the seething cakes +of ice once passed, and it would soon be over, soon be over. Life had +been a worthless gift to him. His youth had been falsely colored by the +visions of childhood; his age had been falsely colored by the ambitions +of youth. Nothing he had looked to in the distance ever had grown into +reality. Why should he survive his good name! And he clutched the stones +and raised himself up and quivered at the top of the stone wall. + +But now his hand relaxed, and his face, clouded and suffering before, +fell into a calmer look of attention, almost a smile broke over it, and +he gazed out against the sky as if transfixed. + +It was the vision that had, like the pillar of cloud by day and of fire +by night, preceded and gladdened him on his way; the scene of his happy, +unsuspecting girls; of the pale Little Scout--whose simple touch would +then have instantly revived and soothed him, whose tender love was his +comfort, his sanctuary from pursuing evils; the scene of his old home, +far cosier, far more beloved, far more cheerful for all its homeliness, +for all its poverty, than the more pretentious one of Emanuel Griffin; +the scene of lowly pleasures it had cherished; of the bitter trials it +had assuaged; and, finally, of the bright, laughing group he had left +there, oh! so little prepared, so little conscious of the blight he +would bring among them. This vision, these thoughts had flowed in upon +his already disturbed mind, and had driven quite away all consciousness +of where he was or how long he had stood in the bitter cold, when a +policeman--overcoated, and furred, and frozen-bearded,--came by, and, +suspecting things to be not altogether right, caught David by the +sleeve, and adjusted his scarf and hat, saying,-- + +"No loafing on the bridge, old man. Move on; move on, now!" at which +David started, looked all around him, and then moved on as commanded. +His back, always bent, and his gait, always decrepit and shuffling, were +now pitiably so, and he had a long, long journey before him; but, thanks +be to Him whose omnipotent care protects and watches over the poor in +spirit, he had escaped a far longer one. On and on he went, not cold +now, not thinking, not in haste; passing thick-coated travellers who +ran, and clapped their hands, and swung their arms for warmth; passing +gay companies in cabs that rolled over the snow as softly as footsteps +on velvet. But he heeded nothing of all this, and staggered onward to +his own poor home. + +A light was streaming out from the windows of the old warehouse, +crossing the snow piled on the platform above and slanting on the heaps +beneath. It was an inviting glimmer, a herald from within to all cold +travellers without of the blessedness of home, and, as David approached +the corner of the court, his eye was greeted cheerily by its "Welcome +home!" and, indeed, it was the first thing he had distinctly seen since +leaving the house of Mr. Griffin. But his heart failed him. How could he +face his dear girls again and tell them of the destitution of to-morrow? +Of the worse than poverty? Thus he thought, and lingered, and slunk +away by turns, but the ray of home-born light allured him, impassively, +into its midst, and as he stood over against the house, a poor, weak, +old man, rambling in his mind, and heroically deciding rather to leave +them in peace to-night, one more night, and return to them to-morrow, a +window was thrown up, and Jacob Tripple, putting forth his head, looked +up and down the court, and then directly in front of him, where David +stood immovable in the light. + +"Why, there he is, now!" he cried. "What's gone amiss, David? What's +kept you so long? Here he is! Here he is!" he exclaimed again and again, +and, drawing in his head in much less time than the words could be said, +Jacob Tripple, followed by the girls, was down-stairs, was--still +followed by the girls--out in the snow, and had forcibly carried David +up with them. + +They laid him on the settee, moaning and crying aloud against Emanuel +Griffin, and repeating again and again that they were "Beggars, beggars, +beggars!" and exclaiming, "My poor Little Scout! My poor girls! My +poor----" + +"They shall not suffer, father!" said a new voice, the sound of which +raised him up with wide-opened eyes and palsied hands at his head, and a +long stare at the speaker--"It's Tom, father. Don't you know me?" +repeated the voice. + +Know him! How should he know him? tall, and brawny, and whiskered, with +pleasant blue eyes, and ruddy cheeks, and good nature streaming from his +whole face! Him who, so many years ago,--a beardless youth--had run off +to California after gold bubbles, and whom little good had been heard of +when anything at all was heard of him. Know him? Of course he did not; +but, as he sat down beside him on the settee and shook his old hand, +David put his arms about his neck, and hung his head upon his bosom, and +saw, in imagination, the thriftless boy of long ago whom he loved for +all his waywardness. + +Tom's strong arms soon bore him to his old seat near the fire, and, for +the first time, David's wandering eye noticed the bower of green holly +and red-berried mistletoe that decked the room. General Washington was +loaded with it. The old clock, actually striking in a cheerier voice the +hour of nine, had its full share. The dresser hid in festoons of it. +Even David's chair had its sprig. But what was that on the floor? An +opened trunk, like a cloven pomegranate, displaying within rich trinkets +that many a lady might covet? + +"Wha--what's it all mean, girls? Tell me, Little Scout," said David, +catching her hand. "What happened to me? I thought I came home--home to +tell you Griffin threw me out in the snow, and called me a thief, and +how all of them scowled and cried out at me, and I thought----" then, +looking at the tall man, he cried again,-- + +"Tom, is it so? Is it so, my dear boy?" + +"Yes, father," said Tom, slowly, to calm him, "it is, happily, all so." + +Then his little daughter, who had stood by his side through it all, +kissed him, and said,-- + +"Come, father, look at the pretty presents Tom has brought us and you. +See here's a beautiful new coat hanging on your peg for you, and Molly +and Polly are as gay as any ladies," and she led him, tottering and +feeble, to the loaded table--no longer ashamed of its defaced back +beneath the pile of gifts it bore. + +Then Mr. Tripple, hand in hand with the unresisting Polly, and Molly, +and Tom, an unbroken circuit of cheery faces that electrified David +Dubbs into a wrinkled smile in spite of lingering grief, clustered +around the table and exclaimed aloud with admiration at the gifts Tom +had brought. + +But David, still overshadowed by the events of the afternoon, said, in a +quivering voice,-- + +"But to-morrow, children, to-morrow! I am discharged by Griffin; we +shall starve to-morrow!" + +"Not while I'm about," laughed Tom. "Come, come, be calm, and I'll tell +you all about it." + +And he did tell of the long years of hope and distress, of despair when +unconsciously within reach of fortune; of its final realization and of +its golden yield. "So here I am, father, and your old hand shall write +no more for Emanuel Griffin." + +Then said Dolly, "You don't speak, father; you are surely not sorry?" + +Sorry! He was stifled with gratitude; he was transforming into his old +self. The familiar tenderness of her voice opened the floodgates of his +heart, and he burst into a louder "Hurrah" than over Griffin's turkey, +and kissed them all around, Mr. Tripple included, and, indeed, the day +had been so successfully employed on the part of that gentleman that his +early entrance into the family was far from problematical--so of course +David did perfectly right. + +Polly here broke in, "And, father, it was Tom who brought the note, and +Tom who planned the surprise for you. What did it say, Tom? you can tell +us now." + +He laughed quietly, and then said, as if he were reading impressively +from the open sheet to Mr. Griffin himself, and making him writhe under +his coolness,-- + + "Emanuel Griffin, + + "Sir: The connection of my father, David Dubbs, Esq., with your + counting-house, will cease from this day forth. + +"Sir, your obedient servant, +"Thomas Dubbs." + + + + +_Told by an English Tourist._ + + + "He seemed to be a kind of connecting link between the old times + and the new, and to be, withal, a little antiquated in the taste of + his accomplishments." + +_Irving._ + + + + +A STILL CHRISTMAS. + + +It was Christmas eve in the year of our Lord 1653. The snow, which had +fallen fitfully throughout the day, shrouded in white the sloping roofs +and narrow London streets, and lay in little, sparkling heaps on every +jutting cornice or narrow window-ledge where it could find a +resting-place. But in the west the setting sun shone clearly, firing the +steeples into sudden glory and gilding every tiny pane of glass that +faced its dying splendor. The thoroughfares were strangely silent and +deserted. The roving groups that had been wont at this season to fill +them with boisterous merriment, the noise, the bustle, the good cheer of +Christmas--all were lacking. No maskers roamed from street to street, +jingling their bells, beating their mighty drums, and bidding the +delighted crowd to make way for the Lord of Misrule. No shouts of "Noel! +Noel!" rang through the frosty air. No children gathered round their +neighbors' doors, singing quaint carols and forgotten glees, and bearing +off rich guerdon in the shape of apples, nuts, and substantial +Christmas buns. In place of the old-time gayety a dreary silence reigned +through the deserted highways, and down the narrow footwalk, with even +step and half-shut eyes, tramped the Puritan herald, ringing his bell +and proclaiming ever and anon in measured tones, "No Christmas! No +Christmas!" + +In sober and sad-hued garments was the herald arrayed, with leathern +boots that defied the snow and a copious mantle enveloping his sturdy +frame. Now and then he stopped to warn a couple of belated idlers that +they would do well to separate and go quietly to their homes. Now and +then a little child peeped at him timorously from a doorway, and, +overawed by his sombre aspect and heavy frown, retreated rapidly to hide +its fears in the safe shelter of its mother's gown. Men shook their +heads as he went by, and muttered something that was not always +complimentary to his presence; and women shrugged their shoulders and +sighed, and thought, perchance, of other Christmases in the past, with +Yule-logs burning on the hearth and stray kisses snatched beneath the +mistletoe. From a latticed window a girl's face peered at him with such +a light of laughing malice in the brown eyes that the Puritan, catching +sight of their wicked gleam, paused a moment, as though to reprove the +maiden for her forwardness, or to inquire what mischief was afoot under +this humble roof. But the night was growing chill, and he had still far +to go. It might not be worth while to waste words of counsel on one so +evidently godless; and, with a heavier scowl than usual, he tramped on, +swinging his bell with lusty force. "No Christmas! No Christmas!" echoed +through the darkening streets, and, as he passed, the girl contracted +her features into a grimace that would have done credit to the +wide-mouthed gargoyle of a Gothic cathedral. + +"Cicely, Cicely!" cried a voice, at this juncture, from within, "close +the shutters, do, and come and help me." + +Cicely, who had been inclined to stare out a little longer, shot the +heavy oaken bolt into its socket, and, opening a door leading to the +inner room, disclosed a scene whose ruddy cheerfulness shone all the +brighter in contrast to the dreary streets outside. A mighty bunch of +fagots blazed and crackled on the hearth, and above the carved +chimney-place hung branches of holly, their scarlet, berries glowing +deeply in the firelight. In one corner, half-veiled by a tapestry +curtain, a waxen Bambino nestled in its little manger, while before it +burned a small copper lamp. Wreaths of holly and ivy bedecked the +doors, and, standing tip-toed on a tall wooden chair, a young girl was +even now striving to fasten these securely with the aid of a very old +and wrinkled woman, who seemed more competent to admire than to assist +the undertaking. + +"Some bigger berries, pray, Catherine," she said, impatiently; "and, +Cicely, if you feel you have loitered enough, hand me those two long ivy +branches. They should droop gracefully--so! And now stand off a little +way and tell me how it looks." + +The younger sister obeyed, and, stationing herself in the middle of the +room, surveyed the whole effect with much approval. Annis, her fair face +flushed with the exertion, balanced herself on her lofty perch and gazed +complacently upon her handiwork; while even Mistress Vane, who had been +seated quietly on a deep chair by the fireplace, roused herself as from +a reverie, and looked half-wistfully around the cheerful room. "What +bell was that I heard just now?" she asked. + +"The herald's, proclaiming a still Christmas," answered Cicely, +promptly; "and he watched me as sourly as though he knew that we were +plotting treason." + +"Cecil, Cecil!" remonstrated her mother, in alarm. "Surely you did +nothing imprudent." + +"I?" returned Cicely, apparently oblivious as to what she had done. "I +cast up the whites of my eyes, as though repeating psalms for mine own +inward sustainment; and seeing me so piously disposed, he was fain to +pass on to the correction of greater sinners." + +"That were well-nigh impossible," said her sister, laughing; but +Mistress Vane only looked anxious and disturbed. The sense of insecurity +to which Annis was indifferent, and which Cicely at fourteen found +absolutely amusing, weighed heavily on the older woman, who had a better +understanding of the danger, and who had suffered cruelly in the past. +Husband and son had fallen for a lost cause, confiscation had devoured +the larger portion of her once fair inheritance; and now, with her two +young daughters, she found herself beset by perils, harassed by +stringent laws, and at the mercy of any ill-wind fate might blow her. +Cromwell's mighty arm held the fretful country in subjection, making the +name of England great and terrible abroad, and silencing every whisper +of disaffection at home. The Puritans, in their hour of triumph, stamped +upon the land the impress of their strong and bitter individuality; and +a morose asceticism, part real and part affected, crushed out of life +all the innocent pleasure of living. With every man determined to be +better than his neighbor, the competition in saintliness ran high. Under +its vigorous stimulus the May-pole and the Yule-log were alike branded +as heathenish observances, the Christmas-pie became a "pye of +abomination," and all amusements, from the drama to bear-baiting, were +censured with impartial severity. Feast-days were abolished, and even to +display the emblems of the Nativity was held to be sedition. The +Established Church, cowed and shorn of its splendor, was treated with +surly contempt; the Catholics were altogether beyond the pale of +charity. It was not a time calculated to promote festivity; yet, while +the heralds proclaimed through the frosty streets that Christmas at last +was dead, Annis Vane, with holly and ivy, with Yule-dough and +Babie-cake, was making all things ready for its mysterious birth. And as +she worked she sang softly under breath the refrain of a carol she had +learned at her nurse's knee,-- + + "This endris night + I saw a sight, + A star as bright as day; + And ever among + A maiden sung + Lullay, by-by, lullay." + +"Is it not strange, mother," she said, breaking suddenly off, "that men +should deem it a mark of holiness to cast derision on the birth-night +of their Saviour?" + +"Let us be just even to our enemies," replied Mistress Vane, gently. +"They think not to deride the Nativity, so much as to condemn the +riotous fashion in which Christians were wont to keep the feast. There +have been times, Annis, when the Lord of Misrule did more discredit to +this holy season than does the Puritan to-day." + +Annis opened her blue eyes to their very utmost. This view of the matter +was one she was hardly prepared to accept. "Why, dearest mother," she +protested, "when should we venture to be happy, if not on Christmas-day? +And how can we show ourselves too joyful for our salvation? And did not +his most blessed majesty King Charles knight with his own royal hand a +Lord of Misrule who held court in the Middle Temple?" + +Mistress Vane smiled at her daughter's vehemence. She knew more about +these jovial monarchs and their courts than Annis did, and it may even +be that his most blessed majesty's approval carried less weight to her +experienced mind. But in these dark and chilly days a little enthusiasm +was helpful in keeping one's heart warm, and she was far too wise a +mother to disparage it. "Truly they made a brave show then upon +Christmas-day," she admitted, "for the lord mayor and his corporation, a +goodly company of gentlemen, rode in procession to the church of St. +Thomas Acon, and thence to dine together with many pleasant ceremonies. +And stoups of wine and huge venison pasties were despatched to the +Temple for the stay and comfort of the mock-court, who made merry all +day long. And the streets were crowded, far into the night, with maskers +and revellers; and even the poor might for once forget their poverty, +and were welcome to the brawn and plum-broth of their richer neighbors." + +"And now we have nothing of all this!" cried Cicely, with passionate +regret. "Nothing to look at and nothing to hear save the cracked bell of +a dingy herald, who does not even ride a hobby-horse like the merry +heralds of old. In truth, Master Prynne hath made good his own words +when he holds that Christmas should be rather a day of mourning than one +of rejoicing." + +"Not so thought my godfather, kind Master Breton," said Annis, +thoughtfully. "For he hath written that it is the duty of Christians to +rejoice for the remembrance of Christ and for the maintenance of +good-fellowship. 'I hold it,' he hath said, 'a memory of the Heaven's +love and the world's peace, the mirth of the honest and the meeting of +the friendly.'" + +Cicely's eyes danced with glee. "That were well remembered," she said, +mockingly; "if, now, you can but tell us in turn what your godfather's +nephew, Captain Rupert Breton, hath thought upon the matter." + +Annis flushed scarlet, and the quick tears welled into her eyes as she +turned them reproachfully upon her sister. It was not easy for her to +think of her absent lover and maintain the cheerful frame of mind she +deemed appropriate to the season. The shores of France seemed very far +away that night, and the long months that had elapsed since the defeat +at Worcester stretched backward like a lifetime, as she recalled his +last hurried farewell. He had ridden hard and risked much for those few +words, and patiently and bravely she had waited ever since, hoping, +praying, turning her face steadily to the brighter side, and keeping +ever in mind the happy hour which should reunite them to each other. +Now, in silence, she bound together the last green boughs and put all in +order for the night. Old Catherine had long since gone off, yawning and +blinking, to bed, and Cicely, half-asleep, nodded over the dying fire. +Only her mother watched her, with eyes of loving scrutiny, and Annis +smiled brightly as she kissed the careworn face. "I shall not cry +myself to sleep to-night," she said, resolutely. "This is a time for +gladness; for the star of Bethlehem is shining in the sky, and the birth +of the Lord is at hand." + + * * * * * + +Bright glowed the Christmas-logs on the capacious hearth till every +pointed leaf and scarlet holly-berry shone in the generous firelight. + + "Whosoever against holly doth cry, + In a rope shall be hung full high." + +For, when the oak and ash trees babbled to the wind, and betrayed the +Saviour's hiding-place, the holly, the ivy, and the pine kept the secret +hidden in their silent hearts; and for this good deed they stand green +and living under winter's icy breath, while their companions shiver +naked in the blast. Not till the risen sun has danced on Easter morn +shall the oak adorn a Christian household and prove itself forgiven. The +Christmas-pie--the Christ-cradle, as the Saxons used to call it--had +been baked in its oblong dish in memory of the manger at Bethlehem, with +the star of the Magi cut deeply in the swelling crust. The Yule-dough, +cunningly moulded into the likeness of a little babe, had been carefully +laid by as a sovereign protector from the evils of fire, floods, +carnage, and--so say some ancient writers--from the bite of rabid +dogs. Annis Vane, decked out in the bravest array her altered fortunes +would permit, knelt by the blazing hearth. Her ruff was of the finest +lace, and a row of milk-white pearls clasped her slender throat. She +shaded her face from the fire, and piled up shining cones of +bright-brown nuts that seemed to tempt the flames. + +[Illustration: The Cavalier From France] + +"All we lack now is the mistletoe," she said, half-despondently. "It was +no easy task to find the holly and bring it home unnoticed; but we +cannot gather mistletoe near London, and there is none for sale +throughout the city." + +"Of what use is the mistletoe," said the practical Cicely, "when we are +but three women here alone? We can kiss each other as readily under a +sprig of ivy, and we can fire our nuts without the help of man or lad, +provided only we keep one in our minds. Of whom shall I think, Annis?" +she queried, wrinkling up her pretty forehead in anxious perplexity over +so disturbing a doubt. + +"You are far too young to think of men at all," answered Annis, +reprovingly, and with all the conscious superiority of age. "Nor do you +know enough as yet to make such pastime profitable." + +Cicely's brows drew together with a frown which plainly indicated the +nature of the retort upon her lips, but a glance from her mother checked +her. "The word uttered in vexation is better left unspoken," said +Mistress Vane, with gentle authority. "And I am waiting here, not to +listen to disputes, which in these stormy times have grown wearisome, +but to hear the Christmas carol promised me to-night." + +Annis, with flushed cheeks, took down from the wall a little mandolin of +Spanish workmanship, and, striking a few chords, began the carol, in +which Cicely, after sacrificing some moments to ill-temper, concluded +presently to join, her clear flute-notes rising high above her sister's +weaker tones,-- + + "When Christ was born of Mary free, + In Bethlehem, in that fair citie, + Angels sungen with mirth and glee, + In Excelsis Gloria! + + "Herdsmen beheld these angels bright + To them appeared with great light, + And said, God's Son is born this night, + In Excelsis Gloria! + + "The King is comen to save kind, + Even in Scripture as we find; + Therefore this song have we in mind, + In Excelsis Gloria! + + "Then, dear Lord, for thy great grace, + Grant us in bliss to see thy face, + Where we may sing to thee solace, + In Excelsis Gloria!" + +As the sounds died into silence there stood one in the icy streets and +listened. No self-elected saint was he, scenting out treason to the +Commonwealth, but a cavalier from France, with his love-locks shorn for +sweet prudence's sake, and a mighty mantle enveloping him from head to +foot. If Annis Vane had waited, and hoped, and built up her faith in the +cheer of Christmas-night, the joy she coveted was very near at last. +After lingering a few moments, as though on the chance of hearing more, +the stranger advanced and knocked sharply at the heavily-barred door. It +was opened in due season and with great caution by old Catherine, who +evidently thought the hour ill-chosen for a new-comer, and mistrusted +sorely the purpose of his visit. He allowed her scant time, however, to +threaten or expostulate, but, putting her gently on one side, stepped to +the inner room. There, pale with anxiety and terror, Mistress Vane +leaned forward in her chair, while Cicely, half-frightened, +half-defiant, grasped her mother's skirt. Before the fire stood Annis, +her blue eyes shining like stars, a round, red spot burning feverishly +in each cheek, her lace ruff rising and falling distressfully with the +heaving bosom within. The mandolin had fallen from her hands; the ruddy +firelight lit up her slight figure and fair, disordered curls. She stood +thus for a moment, swaying breathless betwixt hope and fear, then, with +a low, joyous cry, sprang forward into her lover's arms. + +Welcome now the good cheer of Christmas-night! Welcome the +Christmas-pie, the pasty of venison, the pudding stuffed with plums, and +the flagon of old wine. Love is a brave appetizer when backed by long +fasting and a ten hours' ride, and Captain Breton brought all the vigor +of youth and happiness and of a noble hunger to bear upon the viands. +The glow of the cheerful room was infinitely comforting to the tired +traveller; the sight of Annis's happy face put fresh hope and courage in +his heart. He had much to tell of the gay court of France, and of the +royal exile, who should one day, God willing, sit on his father's +throne. Nor were there lacking adventures and dangers of his own to give +flavor to the narrative, nor plans for the future, colored with all the +happy confidence of youth. He had come home to win his bride, and to +carry her away to brighter scenes until this soured and gloomy England +should be merrie England once more. "He who would keep a light heart +within London walls," said he, "must needs be very sure of heaven, as +are Master Prynne and Master Philip Stubbes, or very much in love, as am +I. It lacks but a covered cart and a bell in every street to make one +feel the Black Death is upon us. If you can laugh in such an atmosphere +of melancholy, Annis, what will you do in France?" + +"Mayhap if I laugh enough in sober London I shall grow too giddy and +forward in foolish France," returned Annis, gayly; "unless----" + +"Unless what, dear heart?" + +"Unless while I am safe in Paris you are fighting the battles of the +king in England. Then tears will come easier than laughter, as in truth +they have done of late." + +"Wherever I may be, your prayers will prove my bulwark," said Captain +Breton, confidently. "It would take more than a silver bullet to find +its way to my heart while you are besieging heaven's doors in the +tumultuous fashion that only women can attain. I bear a charmed life as +long as you remember your petitions." + +Annis answered with a look, and Cicely, nestling by her mother's chair, +watched her sister with wide, serious eyes. To the child standing on the +threshold of womanhood the presence of love carries with it an +intoxicating flavor of mystery. It is something that fills her alike +with envy and a vague resentment, with wonder and an indefinable desire. +Its commonest expression is a perverse antipathy to one of the lovers, +with an irrational increase of affection for the other; and in this case +Captain Breton came in for his full share of Cicely's smothered anger +and disdain. He, meanwhile, in happy unconsciousness, chancing to meet +the brown eyes lifted dreamily to his own, and noting the upward curve +of the short, sweet lip, thought within himself that this elfish little +Cicely was growing almost as pretty as her sister--a judgment which +proves conclusively the blindness of love; for Annis, though fair and +comely to look upon, came no nearer to her young sister's beauty than +does the pink-tipped daisy to the half-opened rosebud uncurling slowly +in the sun. At present, the girl, seeing that she was watched, turned +away her head pettishly and eyed the leaping flames. + +"Annis said to-night there was but one thing lacking to her Christmas +cheer," she remarked, after a pause, and with the too evident intention +of saying something vexatious. + +"And that was I!" interposed the cavalier, with the ready assurance of a +lover. + +"It was not you at all," returned Cicely, "but the mistletoe. We +gathered the other greens ourselves, but there was no mistletoe to be +found within or without the gates of London." + +"By a happy chance we can proceed as though we had it," said Captain +Breton, contentedly, while Annis crimsoned like a rose. "It is a welcome +little plant, and carries a merry message; but if it be banished in +these saintly days, we obstinate sinners must kiss without its +sanction." + +"But the maid who is not kissed on Christmas-night beneath the mistletoe +will never be a wife during the coming year," persisted Cicely, who had +laid down her line of attack and was not to be driven therefrom. + +"Now, will you wager your ring or your new ear-drop on that, little +sister?" said the captain, laughing at the threat. "Or have you a +trinket that you value less to risk in such a cause?" + +Cicely, deeply affronted, puckered up her brow and drew closer to her +mother; but Annis, far too happy to be vexed, leaned over and kissed the +pouting lips. With her, joy meant thanksgiving, and her heart was +singing--singing the song of the angel of Judea: "In Excelsis Gloria!" + + + + +_A Norseman's Saga._ + + + "As he sat there with a sou'wester down over his ears, in a long + pilot coat, his figure appeared to assume quite supernatural + proportions, and you might almost imagine that you had one of the + old Vikings before you." + +_Asbjörnsen._ + + + + +THROND. + + +There was once a man named Alf, who had raised great expectations among +his fellow-parishioners because he excelled most of them both in the +work he accomplished and in the advice he gave. Now, when this man was +thirty years old, he went to live up the mountain, and cleared a piece +of land for farming, about fourteen miles from any settlement. Many +people wondered how he could endure thus depending on himself for +companionship, but they were still more astonished when, a few years +later, a young girl from the valley, and one, too, who had been the +gayest of the gay at all the social gatherings and dances of the parish, +was willing to share his solitude. + +This couple were called "the people in the wood," and the man was known +by the name of "Alf in the wood." People viewed him with inquisitive +eyes when they met him at church or at work, because they did not +understand him; but neither did he take the trouble to give them any +explanation of his conduct. His wife was only seen in the parish twice, +and on one of these occasions it was to present a child for baptism. + +This child was a son, and he was called Thrond. When he grew larger his +parents often talked about needing help, and, as they could not afford +to take a full-grown servant, they hired what they called "a half:" they +brought into their house a girl of fourteen, who took care of the boy +while the father and mother were busy in the field. + +This girl was not the brightest person in the world, and the boy soon +observed that his mother's words were easy to comprehend, but that it +was hard to get at the meaning of what Ragnhild said. He never talked +much with his father, and he was rather afraid of him, for the house had +to be kept very quiet when he was home. One Christmas Eve--they were +burning two candles on the table, and the father was drinking from a +white flask--the father took the boy up in his arms and set him on his +lap, looked him sternly in the eyes, and exclaimed,-- + +"Ugh, boy!" Then he added more gently,--"Why, you are not so much +afraid. Would you have the courage to listen to a story?" + +The boy made no reply, but he looked full in his father's face. His +father then told him about a man from Vaage, whose name was Blessom. +This man was in Copenhagen for the purpose of getting the king's verdict +in a law-suit he was engaged in, and he was detained so long that +Christmas eve overtook him there. Blessom was greatly annoyed at this, +and, as he was sauntering about the streets fancying himself at home, he +saw a very large man, in a white, short coat, walking in front of him. + +"How fast you are walking!" said Blessom. + +"I have a long distance to go in order to get home this evening," +replied the man. + +"Where are you going?" + +"To Vaage," answered the man, and walked on. + +"Why, that is very nice," said Blessom, "for that is where I am going, +too." + +"Well, then, you may ride with me, if you will stand on the runners of +my sledge," answered the man, and turned into a side street where his +horse was standing. + +He mounted his seat and looked over his shoulder at Blessom, who was +just getting on the runners. + +"You had better hold fast," said the stranger. + +Blessom did as he was told, and it was well he did, for their journey +was evidently not by land. + +"It seems to me that you are driving on the water," cried Blessom. + +"I am," said the man, and the spray whirled about them. + +But after a while it seemed to Blessom their course no longer lay on the +water. + +"It seems to me we are moving through the air," said he. + +"Yes, so we are," replied the stranger. + +But when they had gone still farther, Blessom thought he recognized the +parish they were driving through. + +"Is not this Vaage?" cried he. + +"Yes, now we are there," replied the stranger, and it seemed to Blessom +that they had gone pretty fast. + +"Thank you for the good ride," said he. + +"Thanks to yourself," replied the man, and added, as he whipped up his +horse, "Now you had better not look after me." + +"No, indeed," thought Blessom, and started over the hills for home. + +But just then so loud and terrible a crash was heard behind him that it +seemed as if the whole mountain must be tumbling down, and a bright +light was shed over the surrounding landscape; he looked round and +beheld the stranger in the white coat driving through the crackling +flames into the open mountain, which was yawning wide to receive him, +like some huge gate. Blessom felt somewhat strange in regard to his +travelling companion; and thought he would look in another direction; +but as he had turned his head so it remained, and never more could +Blossom get it straight again. + +The boy had never heard anything to equal this in all his life. He dared +not ask his father for more, but early the next morning he asked his +mother if she knew any stories. Yes, of course she did; but hers were +chiefly about princesses who were in captivity for seven years, until +the right prince came along. The boy believed that everything he heard +or read about took place close around him. + +He was about eight years old when the first stranger entered their door +one winter evening. He had black hair, and this was something Thrond had +never seen before. The stranger saluted them with a short +"Good-evening!" and came forward. Thrond grew frightened and sat down on +a cricket by the hearth. The mother asked the man to take a seat on the +bench along the wall; he did so, and then the mother could examine his +face more closely. + +"Dear me! is not this Knud the fiddler?" cried she. + +"Yes, to be sure it is. It has been a long time since I played at your +wedding." + +"Oh, yes; it is quite a while now. Have you been on a long journey?" + +"I have been playing for Christmas on the other side of the mountain. +But half-way down the slope I began to feel very badly, and I was +obliged to come in here to rest." + +The mother brought forward food for him; he sat down to the table, but +did not say "in the name of Jesus," as the boy had been accustomed to +hear. When he had finished eating, he got up from the table, and said,-- + +"Now I feel very comfortable; let me rest a little while." + +And he was allowed to rest on Thrond's bed. + +For Thrond a bed was made on the floor. As the boy lay there, he felt +cold on the side that was turned away from the fire, and that was the +left side. He discovered that it was because this side was exposed to +the chill night air; for he was lying out in the wood. How came he in +the wood? He got up and looked about him, and saw that there was fire +burning a long distance off, and that he was actually alone in the wood. +He longed to go home to the fire; but could not stir from the spot. Then +a great fear overcame him; for wild beasts might be roaming about, +trolls and ghosts might appear to him; he must get home to the fire; but +he could not stir from the spot. Then his terror grew, he strove with +all his might to gain self-control, and was at last able to cry, +"Mother," and then he awoke. + +"Dear child, you have had bad dreams," said she, and took him up. + +A shudder ran through him, and he glanced round. The stranger was gone, +and he dared not inquire after him. + +His mother appeared in her black dress, and started for the parish. She +came home with two new strangers, who also had black hair and who wore +flat caps. They did not say "in the name of Jesus," when they ate, and +they talked in low tones with the father. Afterwards the latter and they +went into the barn, and came out again with a large box, which the men +carried between them. They placed it on a sled, and said farewell. Then +the mother said,-- + +"Wait a little, and take with you the smaller box he brought here with +him." + +And she went in to get it. But one of the men said,-- + +"_He_ can have that," and he pointed at Thrond. + +"Use it as well as _he_ who is now lying _here_," added the other +stranger, pointing at the large box. + +Then they both laughed and went on. Thrond looked at the little box +which thus came into his possession. + +"What is there in it?" asked he. + +"Carry it in and find out," said the mother. + +He did as he was told, but his mother helped him open it. Then a great +joy lighted up his face, for he saw something very light and fine lying +there. + +"Take it up," said his mother. + +He put just one finger down on it, but quickly drew it back again in +great alarm. + +"It cries," said he. + +"Have courage," said his mother, and he grasped it with his whole hand +and drew it forth from the box. + +He weighed it and turned it round, he laughed and felt of it. + +"Dear me! what is it?" asked he, for it was as light as a toy. + +"It is a fiddle." + +This was the way that Thrond Alfson got his first violin. + +The father could play a little, and he taught the boy how to handle the +instrument; the mother could sing the tunes she remembered from her +dancing days, and these the boy learned, but soon began to make new ones +for himself. He played all the time he was not at his books; he played +until his father once told him he was fading away before his eyes. All +the boy had read and heard until that time was put into the fiddle. The +tender, delicate string was his mother; the one that lay close beside +it, and always accompanied his mother, was Ragnhild. The coarse string, +which he seldom ventured to play on, was his father. But of the last +solemn string he was half afraid, and he gave no name to it. When he +played a wrong note on the E string, it was the cat; but when he took a +wrong note on his father's string, it was the ox. The bow was Blessom, +who drove from Copenhagen to Vaage in one night. And every tune he +played represented something. The one containing the long solemn tones +was his mother in her black dress. The one that jerked and skipped was +like Moses, who stuttered and smote the rock with his staff. The one +that had to be played quietly, with the bow moving lightly over the +strings, was the hulder in yonder fog, calling together her cattle, +where no one but herself could see. + +But the music wafted him onward over the mountains, and a great yearning +took possession of his soul. One day, when his father told about a +little boy who had been playing at the fair and who had earned a great +deal of money, Thrond waited for his mother in the kitchen and asked her +softly if he could not go to the fair and play for people. + +"Whoever heard of such a thing!" said his mother; but she immediately +spoke to his father about it. + +"He will get out into the world soon enough," answered the father; and +he spoke in such a way that the mother did not ask again. + +Shortly after this, the father and mother were talking at table about +some new settlers who had recently moved up on the mountain and were +about to be married. They had no fiddler for the wedding, the father +said. + +"Could not I be the fiddler?" whispered the boy, when he was alone in +the kitchen once more with his mother. + +"What, a little boy like you?" said she; but she went out to the barn +where his father was and told him about it. + +"He has never been in the parish," she added; "he has never seen a +church." + +"I should not think you would ask about such things," said Alf; but +neither did he say anything more, and so the mother thought she had +permission. Consequently she went over to the new settlers and offered +the boy's services. + +"The way he plays," said she, "no little boy has ever played before;" +and the boy was to be allowed to come. + +What joy there was at home! Thrond played from morning until evening and +practised new tunes; at night he dreamed about them: they bore him far +over the hills, away to foreign lands, as though he were afloat on +sailing clouds. His mother made a new suit of clothes for him; but his +father would not take part in what was going on. + +The last night he did not sleep, but thought out a new tune about the +church which he had never seen. He was up early in the morning, and so +was his mother, in order to get him his breakfast, but he could not eat. +He put on his new clothes and took his fiddle in his hand, and it seemed +to him as though a bright light were glowing before his eyes. His mother +accompanied him out on the flag-stone, and stood watching him as he +ascended the slopes; it was the first time he had left home. + +His father got quietly out of bed, and walked to the window; he stood +there, following the boy with his eyes until he heard the mother out on +the flag-stone, then he went back to bed and was lying down when she +came in. + +She kept stirring about him, as if she wanted to relieve her mind of +something. And finally it came out,-- + +"I really think I must walk down to the church and see how things are +going." + +He made no reply, and therefore she considered the matter settled, +dressed herself, and started. + +It was a glorious, sunny day, the boy walked rapidly onward, he listened +to the song of the birds and saw the sun glittering among the foliage, +while he proceeded on his way, with his fiddle under his arm. And when +he reached the bride's house, he was still so occupied with his own +thoughts, that he observed neither the bridal splendor nor the +procession; he merely asked if they were about to start, and learned +that they were. He walked on in advance with his fiddle, and he played +the whole morning into it, and the tones he produced resounded through +the trees. + +"Will we soon see the church?" he asked over his shoulder. + +For a long time he received only "No" for an answer, but at last some +one said,-- + +"As soon as you reach that crag yonder, you will see it." + +He threw his newest tune into the fiddle, the bow danced on the strings, +and he kept his eyes fixed intently before him. There lay the parish +right in front of him! + +The first thing he saw was a little light mist, curling like smoke on +the opposite mountain side. His eyes wandered over the green meadow and +the large houses, with windows which glistened beneath the scorching +rays of the sun, like the glacier on a winter's day. The houses kept +increasing in size, the windows in number, and here on one side of him +lay the enormous red house, in front of which horses were tied; little +children were playing on a hill, dogs were sitting watching them. But +everywhere there penetrated a long, heavy tone, that shook him from head +to foot, and everything he saw seemed to vibrate with that tone. Then +suddenly he saw a large, straight house, with a tall, glittering staff +reaching up to the skies. And below, a hundred windows blazed, so that +the house seemed to be enveloped in flames. This must be the church, the +boy thought, and the music must come from it! Round about stood a vast +multitude of people, and they all looked alike! He put them forthwith +into relations with the church, and thus acquired a respect mingled with +awe for the smallest child he saw. + +"Now I must play," thought Thrond, and tried to do so. + +But what was this? The fiddle had no longer any sound in it. There must +be some defect in the strings; he examined, but could find none. + +"Then it must be because I do not press on hard enough," and he drew his +bow with a firmer hand; but the fiddle seemed as if it were cracked. + +He changed the tune that was meant to represent the church into +another, but with equally bad results; no music was produced, only +squeaking and wailing. He felt the cold sweat start out over his face; +he thought of all these wise people who were standing here and perhaps +laughing him to scorn, this boy who at home could play so beautifully, +but who here failed to bring out a single tone! + +"Thank God that mother is not here to see my shame!" said he softly to +himself, as he played among the people; but lo! there she stood, in her +black dress, and she shrank farther and farther away. + +At that moment he beheld far up on the spire the black-haired man who +had given him the fiddle. "Give it back to me," he now shouted, +laughing, and stretching out his arms, and the spire went up and down +with him, up and down. But the boy took the fiddle under one arm, +screaming, "You shall not have it!" and, turning, ran away from the +people, beyond the houses, onward through meadow and field, until his +strength forsook him, and then sank to the ground. + +There he lay for a long time, with his face toward the earth, and when +finally he looked round he saw and heard only God's infinite blue sky +that floated above him, with its everlasting sough. This was so terrible +to him that he had to turn his face to the ground again. When he raised +his head once more his eyes fell on his fiddle, which lay at his side. + +"This is all your fault!" shouted the boy, and seized the instrument +with the intention of dashing it to pieces, but hesitated as he looked +at it. + +"We have had many a happy hour together," said he, then paused. +Presently he said, "The strings must be severed, for they are +worthless." And he took out a knife and cut. "Oh!" cried the E string, +in a short, pained tone. The boy cut. "Oh!" wailed the next, but the boy +cut. "Oh!" said the third, mournfully; and he paused at the fourth. A +sharp pain seized him; that fourth string, to which he never dared give +a name, he did not cut. Now a feeling came over him that it was not the +fault of the strings that he was unable to play, and just then he saw +his mother walking slowly up the slope toward where he was lying, that +she might take him home with her. A greater fright than ever overcame +him; he held the fiddle by the severed strings, sprang to his feet, and +shouted down to her,-- + +"No, mother! I will not go home again until I can play what I have seen +to-day." + + + + +_Contributed by An Oriental Traveller._ + + "A great, long devil of a Spahi in his red burnous." + +_Daudet._ + + + + +CHRISTMAS IN THE DESERT. + + +I. + +It seemed all too good to be true: the rest from labor, the swift flight +across southern seas, the landing, amid strange, dark faces on a +burnished shore, the slow, delicious journey through tamarisk groves and +palm forests, and the halt in the Desert that came at last. + +I had been doing for the last twelve months what young artists and +authors are constantly doing, to their own ruin and the justifiable +ill-humor of critics, namely, working against the grain. A sweet, +generous, and beautiful Patroness, seeing me on the high road to brain +fever or hopeless mediocrity, stepped forward in time, and sent me to +the Desert. If ever I achieve anything excellent, it will be owing to +that lady, the Vittoria Colonna of her humble Michael Angelo. My little +sister Mary came with me, and, when I tell you that she was a teacher in +a school, you will easily understand what an intoxicating thing it was +for her to see a new world every day, and have nothing to do from +morning, till night. The poor child could hardly believe in an existence +without Czerny's scales being played on three or four pianos at once, +and a barrel organ and brass band in the street. "Oh, Tom!" she would +say to me, a dozen times a day, "I've got C scale and 'Wait for the +Wagon' on my brain, and can't get rid of them;" so that I verily believe +to my beautiful Vittoria Colonna Mary's present well-being is due as +much as my own. + +We halted at a little military station on the borders of the Great +Sahara, about a week before Christmas-day. The weather was perfect, and +not too warm. A delicious, mellow atmosphere enveloped palm, and plain, +and mosque; the air, blown across thousands and thousands of acres of +wild thyme and rosemary, refreshed us like wine: we seemed to have new +souls and new bodies given us, and were as free from care as the +swallows flying overhead. Travellers never came to Teschoun, as this +little oasis is called; but we had placed ourselves under the guidance +of an enterprising Frenchman, who transacted all sorts of business on +the road between Mascara and Fig-gig, the last French post in the +Desert. His name was Dominique, and I shall always look upon him as the +most remarkable man I ever knew. He was as witty as Sydney Smith, as +clever at expediences as Robinson Crusoe, as shrewd a politician as +Machiavelli, as apt at languages as Mezzofanti, and as brave as +Garibaldi. Being a bachelor, Dominique was none the less ready to +receive us, and, with the help of an old Corsican named Napoleon, made +us very comfortable. When Dominique was carrying His Imperial Majesty's +mails to some remote stations southward, or had gone to an Arab fair to +buy cattle, Napoleon catered for us and cooked for us, and did both +admirably. Both master and servant spiced their dishes plentifully with +that mother-wit, never seen in such perfection as in crude colonies +where people without it would fare so ill. + +"What are we to do for society for poor mademoiselle?" asked Dominique, +as he served our first dinner. "Monsieur can amuse himself with the +officers of the garrison, but there are no ladies here." + +"When my brother is out, I shall stay at home and talk to Napoleon," +Mary said, with a mock assumption of dignity. "I don't want to be +amused, Monsieur Dominique." + +"Mon Dieu, mademoiselle! the officers of the garrison will fall in love +with you, and that ought to amuse you better than talking to Napoleon," +Dominique answered. "It's a very dull life they lead here, these poor +officers; and if it weren't for hunting gazelles and hyenas, and +playing the deuce with the Arabs, they'd die of ennui; but a pretty +young lady like you will turn their heads soon enough." + +Mary blushed, and tried to turn the conversation. + +"What do they do with themselves all day long?" she asked. + +"I'll tell you that quickly enough, mademoiselle. M. le Commandant has +to see that the Cadi gets what he can out of the Sheiks, and the Sheiks +get what they can out of the tribes, and that the tribes hold their +tongue. That is what the Commandant has to do, young lady, and he does +it pretty well. M. le Capitaine has an easier time of it, except when +there is an insurrection, and then he makes a raid against the Arabs, +and after keeping his men out of their way very cleverly, sticks up the +French flag somewhere in the Desert and comes home. M. le Lieutenant +does odd jobs for the Commandant and the Capitaine, and plays the flute; +but we have got M. le Général down here for a few days, and he is +setting everybody to work. I dare say the end of it will be an +expedition into the Desert. You may look, monsieur. I'm not talking at +random, I assure you; generals love war as umbrella-makers love bad +weather; and it is easier to make people fight than it is to make it +rain." + +"I think French officers must be a wicked set; I hope none of them will +come near us," Mary said. "The poor Arabs! how my heart bleeds for +them." + +"Tiens! mademoiselle, there is no reason for your heart to bleed. Big +flies live on little ones all the world over; and if the French eat up +the Arabs, the Arabs eat up each other. The officers are very nice, +harmless gentlemen, I assure you; and as to the Commandant, though he +thinks fighting the best fun in the world, he wouldn't hurt a fly. To +see him pet his little gazelle would make you cry. She's the only lady +in the place, and I believe, if she died, it would break his heart. But +people must have something to be fond of. My old Napoleon, yonder, has +taken a fancy to a cat, and when the cat dies, Napoleon will be as lost +as his namesake the Emperor was at St. Helena. Listen a moment; that's +the Lieutenant practising on his flute: he has a little lodging next +door." + +The Lieutenant played very prettily, and Mary seemed to like his playing +much better than Dominique's stories. As her room adjoined the +Lieutenant's, she seemed likely to have the full benefit of his musical +capacities; but I do not think she lay awake to be serenaded that night. +We were fairly intoxicated with the sweet air of the Desert we had been +breathing all day, and went to bed at eight o'clock, too tired and happy +to dream. + +Next morning Dominique informed us that he had himself delivered our +letter of introduction to M. le Commandant, who promised to wait upon us +in the course of the day. Not knowing at what hour we might expect him, +we set to work immediately after breakfast to prepare my room for the +reception of so distinguished a visitor. I helped Mary as well as I was +able, and, when nothing remained to do but the dusting, retired into a +recess to trim my beard. + +An Englishwoman is never so well dressed as when she emerges from her +bedroom at early morning; and I must say that Mary looked the daintiest +little housewife possible to conceive as she went about dusting and +polishing in a pink cambric dress and tiny black apron. But, neat as she +was, and neat as my beard and the room were in a fair way of becoming, +we were overwhelmed with surprise and confusion at what followed, for +quite suddenly the door was thrown open; there was a military tramp and +a rattling of a sword outside, and Dominique exclaimed, in a voice of +thunder, "M. le Commandant!" + +Impassible self-possession is a beautiful quality, and while Mary and I +stood blushing and aghast, like school children caught at stealing +cherries, M. le Commandant had made a courteous speech, welcoming us to +Teschoun. Then we all sat down, and M. le Commandant talked to us. He +was a sunburnt, soldierly man about fifty-five, with a rough manner but +a kind smile, and we felt at home with him in a moment. + +"I presume that monsieur wishes to see as much of the country as +possible," he said; "and I shall be enchanted to place at monsieur's +disposal horses, and my servant and a spahi as guides. But what will +mademoiselle do while her brother is away? I must send her my little +gazelle to play with her." + +"My sister will like to go with me where it is practicable," I said. + +The Commandant opened his eyes, and looked at Mary much as one looks +upon a pretty little duckling or a year-old baby. + +"Monsieur is evidently jesting," he answered. "Mademoiselle would be too +fatigued to undertake such journeys." + +"I don't think so," Mary said. "I have no fear, monsieur, and I like to +be with my brother." + +"Ah, what courage you English ladies have! Well, mademoiselle, we will +find you a quiet horse, and make everything as pleasant as possible." +And after inviting us to dine with him one evening, and bidding us to +make use of him in every possible way, he took leave of us. + +"How nice he is!" cried Mary, as soon as the door was closed; "if all +French officers were like this one, Tom, I think we shall not care how +long we stay in the Desert----" + +"Your heart has very quickly ceased to bleed for the poor Arabs, I see." + +"But how can we be sure that Dominique's stories are all true? No, Tom; +I won't believe any harm of this kind-looking Commandant. I only wish he +had not come till the room was tidied and I had got on a muslin frock, +but, as we are sure of having no more visitors, I'll finish your room +and then unpack." + +We were fairly at our work again, when another military step sounded, +and another sword rattled in the passage outside. This time Dominique's +arm swung back the door with less pomposity, and Dominique's voice was a +trifle less emphatic as he ushered in "M. le Capitaine." + +Again Mary and I scuttled about like young rabbits, and then stood +still, staring shyly, and again our embarrassment was met by the calmest +nonchalance. The second figure was a man of much more presence than the +Commandant. He had the polished, graceful ease of a man of the world, +and, though quite as good-natured as the Commandant, his good-nature +pleased us less, because it was less spontaneous. + +"I hope you will stay some time at Teschoun," he said, looking at Mary. +"The ennui of our lives here is terrible. Think of it, mademoiselle; we +have no theatre, no music, no society, and no domestic life. To find a +lady here is like the miraculous advent of an angel." Mary blushed, and +had no courage to make the sprightly answers she had made the +Commandant. + +The fine air and grand compliments of the Capitaine overcame the little +thing, but she looked distractingly pretty as she sat opposite to him, +smiling and blushing when he addressed her, and only saying, "Oui, +monsieur," or "Non, monsieur," or at most, "Vraiment, monsieur." + +"Does mademoiselle ride?" asked the gallant Capitaine. + +"Oui, monsieur." + +"Then mademoiselle shall ride my little barb; there is hardly such a +horse anywhere, mademoiselle, so docile, so sweet-tempered, and so +sure-footed. It is not every lady I would trust with my little horse; +but I know how an Englishwoman can sit in the saddle, and I am proud to +offer it to mademoiselle." + +"Je vous remercie bien, monsieur." + +Then the Capitaine talked of Christmas-day. + +"We will have a little fête-champêtre in mademoiselle's honor," he said; +"we will go to the great water-falls of Boisel-Kebir and breakfast there. +I will invite my Commandant and all the officers of the garrison. +Monsieur can make a sketch and mademoiselle can gather flowers." + +We expressed ourselves delighted at the proposal, and, after promising +to send Mary ostrich eggs and jackal skins to take to England, the +Capitaine left us. + +"I don't like the Capitaine as well as the Commandant," Mary said; "but +how kind they all are to us! It is as if we were princes on a journey of +triumph. Oh, Tom! what days to remember are these!" + +"I think your head will be fairly turned, what with the Commandant's +dinners and the Capitaine's fêtes-champêtres," I said; "and if the +Lieutenant----" + +"M. le Lieutenant!" announced Dominique, opening the door calmly, as if +nothing was the matter. + +We had been twice so shocked and surprised that we had no more +embarrassment to expend on the Lieutenant. Indeed, he was rather shy +himself, which was the very thing to reassure a warm-hearted, +sympathetic little creature like my sister, and they began to talk +together without any effort. + +He was young and handsome, with a very frank, pleasant expression. + +"I am afraid that it is useless for me to offer my poor services," he +said, very modestly, "my superior officers having forestalled me; but it +will make me very happy to do anything for you. If mademoiselle would +like any stuffed birds, or dried flowers and plants, it will give me +pleasure to procure them for her; and perhaps monsieur would like me to +show him some wonderful things to paint. I draw a little myself, and +know where the finest points of view are to be found." + +We thanked him heartily, and accepted all that he offered us. As it was +now time for our second breakfast, or, more properly speaking, lunch, we +pressed him to partake of it with us, which he did. We should not have +ventured upon inviting the Commandant, much less the Capitaine, so +unceremoniously, but the Lieutenant's diffident manner had set us quite +at our ease. + +"I have a very humble apartment," he said; "but if monsieur and +mademoiselle will visit me, I will do the honors of it with pride and +pleasure. I can at least offer them a little music." + +"Yes, I know that you play," Mary said, smiling; "our rooms join, and I +heard you playing before I went to sleep last night." + +"Oh, mademoiselle! I shall never forgive myself if I disturbed you." + +"No, indeed, you did not, monsieur. Much as I liked the music, I was too +tired to listen to it, and went to sleep all the same." + +Then they both laughed gleefully, like children, and the Lieutenant +promised to play to her and send her to sleep every night. + +After breakfast he accompanied us on a tour of inspection. We soon saw +all that there was to see of Teschoun, namely, a little line of bazaars +kept by Jews and negroes, a little boulevard of a year's growth, two +imposing-looking gates,--one looking towards Morocco, one towards the +Sahara,--a straggling camp, and a wall of circumvallation. There were +gardens in embryo here and there, but no trees of any size, and not till +you had got fairly away from Teschoun could you perceive that its aspect +was striking or imposing. Then, looking back from the craggy heights +that surrounded it, the white line of the camp and the belt of verdure +encircling it like a ribbon, struck the eye as a pleasant contrast to +the warm, yellow atmosphere of earth and sky. The warmth and the +yellowness were delicious. A fresh, sweet breeze blew across our faces +from the Desert. We sat down and drew it in with long, devouring +breaths. + +A hundred yards behind us, his bright-brown body sharply outlined +against the pale, amber-colored sky, stood a little Bedouin smiling down +upon us. It was a perfect personification of Eastern life, and I made a +sketch, while the Lieutenant told Mary of his hard campaign southward, +and his joy at catching the first glimpse of Teschoun from the distance. + +When we returned home we found that the Commandant's servant had left a +bunch of roses for Mary, with his master's compliments; that the +Capitaine's servant had been sent round with his master's horse for her +to try, and that the Général had sent word by his aide-de-camp that he +would himself have the pleasure of calling upon us that evening. + +Mary and I felt utterly overwhelmed by such goodness and condescension. +A real starred, laced Général was about to call on us! We could hardly +believe that we were our identical, insignificant selves, who, but for +you, oh! most sweet and honored Patroness, would have sunk under the +burden of toil imposed upon us. But how all was changed! The poor, +unknown artist was treated as if he had been Sir Peter Paul Rubens; the +humble little school teacher was fêted and flattered like the wife of a +conquering commander-in-chief. + +We had invited the young Lieutenant to drink tea with us at eight +o'clock, and were enjoying a little music after a very sociable fashion, +when a noisy excitement seemed to shake the house like a shock of an +earthquake, and M. le Général was announced in Dominique's most +impressive manner. + +M. le Général was by no means an awful-looking person; and, indeed, we +had so expended our surprise already, that we had no more at command. + +He was an excessively stout, merry person, middle-aged, of a beautiful +complexion, and a capacity to wink that would have vulgarized any one +else but a general. He made himself very pleasant, accepted a cup of +tea, praised Mary's French, said that he intended to dine with us at the +Commandant's to-morrow, and told us some laughable stories about the +Arabs. I noticed that the Lieutenant seemed quite overawed by the +presence of the Général, and sat flute in hand, like a statue. Mary +tried to put him at his ease, but to no purpose. It did not mend matters +when the Général began first to twit him about his musical +accomplishments, and then to catechise him on military matters. + +"You were in that affair of '59, in Kabylia, weren't you?" he asked, +in that quick, positive, military tone to which we with difficulty get +accustomed. + +[Illustration: My Little Sister Mary] + +"Oui, mon Général." + +"It was a badly managed thing, I believe. The Kabyles got the better of +you more than once, didn't they?" + +"I believe so, mon Général." + +"Bah!" cried the Général, turning to me. "You see what these young +officers know of their trade. I have no doubt that Monsieur le +Lieutenant's musical education is much more advanced, and to serenade +mademoiselle suits him much better than to make war against the enemies +of his country." + +And, at the mention of the enemies of his country, the Général indulged +in a wink. When he was ready to go, he sent the Lieutenant to order his +horse, much as if he had been a little boy of ten years old; and on +taking leave added half a dozen commissions in the same peremptory tone. +The poor Lieutenant listened very submissively, but no sooner had the +Général dashed down the street, followed by his servant, equally well +mounted, than he grew gay and easy again. + +As soon as we were alone, Mary brought out her slender supply of gala +dresses, and we discussed the important subject of her toilet of the +next evening. + +"It seems to me," I said, "that if you dress for the Lieutenant, you +will displease the Capitaine; if you dress for the Capitaine, you will +displease the Commandant; and if you dress for the Commandant, you will +displease the Général." + +Mary gathered up her fineries in alarm. "Don't you think I had better +stay away from the dinner altogether, Tom?" + +"By no means," I said; "settle the matter by dressing to please me." + +Which she accordingly did, and the result was a semi-moresque, dainty, +and glowing bit of costume quite in keeping with the time and place. + + +II. + +Precisely at seven o'clock we presented ourselves at the Commandant's, +Mary looking very pretty in her transparent white dress, brilliant sack +of Tunis silk, and necklets and bracelets of coral and palm-seeds. The +little thing had such loving, dark eyes, such a soft bloom on her +cheeks, and such a sweet mouth, that I could hardly blame the Général +for wishing to have her sit beside him at dinner. The Commandant, being +a little shy, would have given up all his privileges as host, but the +Général insisted upon the Commandant leading her in, and she sat +between the two. It was very mortifying for the Capitaine and the +Lieutenant; the former made an effort to be complimentary and +entertaining across the table, but the latter looked quite crestfallen, +and hardly raised his eyes from his plate. When we retired to the +drawing-room, matters went a little better. The tame gazelle was brought +in for Mademoiselle Marie to see; and while the Général and the +Commandant had a long discussion on military affairs, the rest of us +sported with the pretty creature and made pleasant plans for the morrow. +Then an amusing game of cards was set on foot, over which we were +growing very merry, when up came the Général and the Commandant. + +"Eh, bien!" said the Général, slyly nudging the Capitaine. "We have not +been so engrossed, but we heard one or two pleasant things talked of. +Upon my word, Capitaine, I am half disposed not to go to Mascara till +after your picnic to the water-falls." + +"You will do my poor little fête great honor, mon Général," answered the +Capitaine, adding, naïvely, "but I think that the wild geese flying +northwards means rain." + +"Not a bit of it. We shall have no rain until a fortnight after +Christmas. Mademoiselle Marie, I shall do myself the honor of offering +you one of my horses to ride." + +"Mademoiselle has already condescended to accept mine," the Capitaine +put in, with stiffness. + +"Mademoiselle Marie, this gentleman has no horse fit to carry a lady. +The brute he offers you has no more mouth than an elephant. Keep on the +safe side and ride mine, which is a lamb, I assure you, mademoiselle,--a +lamb." + +The Général spoke in jest, but the Capitaine was very near losing his +temper. Mary being thus appealed to, thought to extricate herself from +the difficulty by declaring herself half afraid to ride either horse, +being an inexperienced horsewoman. But both the gentlemen had mules, and +both the gentlemen's mules were the best. Poor Mary colored, and looked +at me in despair. + +"I think," I said, "the safest plan will be for my sister to try the +horses, and see which suits her the best." + +Then the different routes to the water-falls were discussed, and the +different Douars or Arab villages where it would be best to have a +Diffa, or feast, provided,--Mary's judgment being asked in every +instance. All this time the Lieutenant had turned over the leaves of a +newspaper very meekly, and the Commandant had caressed his tame +gazelle. As soon as she could politely free herself, Mary went up to +him. + +"How pretty, and playful, and fond it is!" she said, stooping down to +stroke the little creature. The grave face of the Commandant brightened. + +"Yes; it would be very _triste_ here without the little thing." + +"Do you never go to France, monsieur?" + +"I shall perhaps go in two years' time; but you see, mademoiselle, that +is a long time to look forward to; and if my mother should not be +living, I might as well stay here." + +"Do you like fighting the Arabs in the Desert, then, monsieur?" + +"Mademoiselle, when one takes up the profession of arms, fighting and +exile are _choses entendues_. I often sigh for a settled, domestic life; +but I might have been worse off. I might have gone to Mexico, for +instance." + +The Commandant's manner was so simple, so manly, and so tinged with +sadness, that I think any woman would have sympathized with him as much +as my little sister Mary did. She, poor child, having lived all her life +in a school-room, was quite ready to make a hero of any man that smiled +kindly upon her; and here were four heroes, in handsome uniforms, all +smiling upon her at once! There was the sweet sense of youth drawing +her to the Lieutenant; but I think the Commandant stood next in her +favor, and she could not for a moment forget the courteous kindness of +the other two. + +"It must all be a dream, Tom," she said, as she gave me her good-night +kiss; "but, oh! if it is a dream, don't let me wake yet." + +We dreamed some wonderful things in the next few days. Dominique made us +get up, one morning, very early, and drove us in his little wooden gig +to an Arab encampment miles away in the Desert. It was dawn when we +started, and large, pale stars were shining in a violet sky; then, like +a gorgeous butterfly emerging from a dusky chrysalis, came the Eastern +day, and we felt as if living in a world warmed by a hundred suns. The +warm, intoxicating light took possession of our senses, and so sweet, so +rarefied, so indescribably delicious was the air, that it seemed to give +wings to our dull bodies. Every now and then we were overtaken by clouds +of locusts, their little wings glistening like diamonds against the soft +sky, or flocks of starlings darkened the air, or a serried line of wild +geese passed majestically overhead. Then we came to the tents, and at +our approach a dozen dogs rushed out to snap and snarl, and a hundred +little naked children scampered and scuttled across the way. A stately +Bedouin made us welcome, and, while Dominique transacted business with +him, his women gathered around us, chattering and grinning like +children. Then we were feasted upon cous-cous-sou and figs, and took +leave, after many "salamaleks." + +Another day we went out hunting gazelles, bivouacking along a riverside, +and feasting, Arab fashion, off a sheep roasted whole. Dominique had +found a pretty little French girl, daughter of a travelling farrier, to +act as Mary's handmaid; and she now felt less isolated among so many +men, and less shy, too. The poor child stood a fair chance of being +spoiled, what with suddenly finding herself transformed from a +school-room Cinderella to a fairy-tale princess, and having four lovers, +all heroes, at once. For it was impossible to deny that the Général, the +Commandant, the Capitaine, and the Lieutenant all behaved like lovers, +presenting her with jackal skins, ostrich plumes and eggs, rare birds, +and other treasures of the Sahara. The Général went so far as to give +her a little negro boy about ten years old, though this gift we had +accepted only temporarily, not quite knowing what to do with him when we +left Teschoun. + +Christmas-day came at last. Mary had artfully evaded the delicate point +about horses by declaring herself afraid of every one's beast but +Dominique's; accordingly, mounted on Dominique's ugly hack, she led the +way with the Général, her long, bright hair flowing in curls over her +shoulders, her cheeks glowing with excitement. The pleasure and +picturesqueness of the last few days--for Mary had an artistic +perception of beauty--had brought out a new side to her character; and +she quite surprised me, from time to time, with her saucy humor and +quick repartee. + +We made a brilliant cavalcade, what with the uniforms of the officers, +and the richly embroidered saddles and bright-red burnouses of our +attendant spahis. After riding some miles across a monotonous tract of +stony desert, we came to a majestic sierra of crag, down which fell a +dozen water-falls, narrow and bright as sword-blades. A thin little +stream threaded the ravine, and on its banks grew clumps of the +tamarisk, the oleander, and the thuya, making an oasis grateful to the +eyes. Here we sat down and ate our Christmas breakfast, with stray +thoughts of village bells chiming at home, and school children lustily +singing their Christmas hymns. + +Our host, the Capitaine, had provided a sumptuous feast of Desert +fare,--roast quails and plovers, cous-cous-sou, figs, dates, and +bananas, with the addition of champagne; and we were very merry. + +"Mademoiselle," said the Capitaine, "think what our next Christmas will +be if you are not here. Persuade monsieur, your brother, to purchase +some land between Mascara and Teschoun, so that we shall not lose you +altogether." + +The Général nudged the Commandant. + +"You see what our friend the Capitaine is dreaming of! Mon Capitaine, +your escadron is sure to be sent into the interior this spring; put all +romances out of your head, my dear fellow, and do not entice monsieur +into the committal of follies." + +"I am not the only one to entertain romances," said the Capitaine, +coolly. "You, mon Général, did us all the honor to spend Christmas at +Teschoun. We can but attribute such a condescension to the gracious +influence of mademoiselle." + +"Look well after the Commandant when I am gone, gentlemen," continued +the Général, looking round with a smile. "Matters are gone so far +already that he loses his temper if a fellow-officer but jests with him. +What a terrible slur it would be upon the glorious annals of +French-African conquest, if such a brave officer should show himself +fonder of stuffing birds for an English demoiselle than running swords +through ungrateful Arabs!" and the Général looked round with a very +comical expression of mock horror. + +"Mademoiselle has indiscriminately accepted our tokens of homage," the +Commandant said, maliciously. + +"But it yet remains to be seen whose offering has been most acceptable +to her," went on the Général, adding, _au grand sérieux_, "we won't +resort to duels unless absolutely necessary." + +This sort of banter lasted so long that poor Mary's cheeks burned with +mixed vanity and mortification, and she made an excuse to leave us. + +"And what does our Lieutenant advise monsieur to do?" asked the +Général,--"to settle here, or to follow his escadron to the Desert?" +Whereupon the poor Lieutenant colored, and said nothing. + +What an experience it was, that Christmas-day in the Desert! The noonday +sun seemed to dissolve in the warm atmosphere, and, instead of a single +orb shining overhead, large and golden, we had melted suns innumerable +about us, and almost lost the sense of corporeity in their charmed +medium. + +When the short bright day waned, and the large stars were coming out one +by one, we found ourselves near home; and when the heavens had turned to +bluish-black, and the stars to splendid silvery moons, we passed under +the gate of Teschoun, and saw our shadows, darker and deeper than real +things, fall across the white walls of mosque and fortress. For shadow +and substance lost their identity in the Desert and one is always on the +point of mistaking the one for the other: if anything, shadow is the +more real of the two. + +So absorbed was I in the suggestions of this mysterious beauty, that I +had forgotten all about my sister's lovers till we were fairly in our +little sitting-room. Then Mary began to sigh and blush, and to hint that +she thought we had better leave Teschoun very soon. + +"You see, Tom, dear," she said, with tears in her eyes, "the Général +says he adores me, and the Commandant says he never loved any one in the +world until he saw me, and the Capitaine says that if I go away he will +blow his brains out, and what am I to do?" + +"And the Lieutenant,--what did he say?" + +"He says nothing," said Mary, looking down; "and,"--here came a +sob,--"and I like him best of all!" + +"But, if he does not declare the same liking for you, we must leave him +out of the question, and choose between the other three, I suppose." + +"He does not speak because he is too modest: I'm sure he likes me," Mary +added, still ready to cry. + +"His state of feeling does not help us much, unless expressed," I +replied. "Meantime, what am I to say to the Général, the Commandant, +and the Capitaine, if they ask to marry you?" + +The little thing plucked at the folds of her riding-skirt in the +greatest perplexity. + +"I like the Général and I like the Commandant, and I ought not to +dislike the Capitaine; but I cannot marry one without offending the +others; and, if I were to marry out here in the Desert, Tom, would you +stay, too?" + +We had been living in such utter fairy-land lately, that I felt as if it +were quite possible for me to marry some brown-skinned, soft-eyed +Rebecca, and turn Mahometan. But, in any case, could I desire for my +sister a happier fate than to marry one of these brave gentlemen, and +live in the sunny South all the rest of her days? She would be rescued +from a life of toil and friendlessness, and have another protector +besides her Bohemian of a brother. + +"My dear child," I said, "it would be impossible for me to say that our +lives should be spent together; but you may be quite sure that nothing +would utterly divide them. The chief point is, of all your lovers, whom +do you love?" + +To this question I could elicit no positive reply. Mary, in fact, was +half in love with the Général and the Commandant, and wholly in love +with the Lieutenant, and was quite incapable of deciding her own fate. + +"You must not laugh at me," she said, simply, as we bade each other +good-night; "it is so new to me to have lovers, and so delightful, that +I wish I could go on forever being happy, and making them happy, without +marrying either." Then she blushed and ran off to bed. + +The next morning we were taking our early coffee, when we heard the +clatter of horses' feet, and, looking out, saw one of the Général's +splendid, brown-skinned, red-cloaked spahis dashing into the town at a +furious rate. He pulled up at Dominique's door, and, letting his little +barb prance and rear at will, looked towards us, showing his white teeth +and waving a letter in one hand. + +I left my breakfast and ran down to him. We exchanged "salamaleks," and +then he put the letter in my hand, adding, in broken French, "Le +Général,--envoyer cela,--va faire le guerre,--la-bas." Then he put spurs +to his horse's flanks, and dashed away as fast as he had come. + +I broke the seal of the Général's letter, which ran as follows: + + "Monsieur,--This morning at daybreak I received telegraphic + information that a serious rising has taken place among the tribes + southward of Fig-gig, and I have resolved to march upon them + without delay. Judge, monsieur, how more than sorry I am to be + forced to quit the society of your charming sister and yourself + without making my adieux; but a soldier's duty forces him from the + consummation of his fondest desires, when such a consummation seems + close at hand, and I go, if not with joy, at least without + soldierly reluctance. I shall never forget, monsieur, this episode, + an oasis in the desert of my military life; and, while wishing for + mademoiselle and yourself all possible prosperity, I hope you will + remember Teschoun and the poor exiled officers there, who will + never think of you both without regret. + + "I feel it right, under the grave circumstances of the revolt, to + advise your speedy return to Mascara, and will order a trusty + escort to be in readiness for you when you shall require it. + + "Meantime, receive, monsieur, the expression of my utmost esteem. + +"De Marion." + +We were both of us talking over the astounding contents of the Général's +letter, when Napoleon came in, full of news. The insurgents numbered +thousands, and there were skirmishing parties close to Teschoun. +Teschoun would be most likely besieged, as it had been more than once, +etc., etc. As the day wore on, the excitement increased. Little groups +of French or Jewish shopkeepers collected together and talked gravely, +Arabs walked about in stately fashion, smiling superciliously. In the +French camp it was the old story on a lesser scale: + + "And there was mounting in hot haste; the steed, + The mustering squadron, and the clattering car + Went pouring forward with impetuous speed." + +And so great was the need for hurry that we doubted whether we should +see either of our gallant hosts again. Late in the afternoon, however, +the Capitaine paid us a formal, sentimental visit, and after him came +the Commandant, who stood up before us, square and stiff, and stammered +out a word or two with tears in his kind eyes. Mary held out her little +hand; but he seemed overcome with shyness or sadness, or both, and +rushed away without having taken it. + +Last of all, when we had quite given him up, came the poor Lieutenant: +he had been busy on a hundred errands for his superior officers, and had +only five minutes to spare. We can never do anything with a few last +moments, and Mary and the Lieutenant had not a word to say to each +other, though I could see well enough what both would fain have said. + +So I quietly left them under the pretext of fetching a cigar, and when I +returned, at the close of the fifth minute, all that was necessary had +been said. We then embraced each other after the hearty French fashion. +Mary and the Lieutenant exchanged rings, and he went off to fight the +disaffected Arabs as happy as a king! + +It was a fine sight to see the troops march out of Teschoun. Color is +really color in the South, and the lines of blue zouaves and crimson +spahis against the mellow afternoon sky were vivid and picturesque +beyond description. + +On they went, arms flashing, drums beating, colors flying, till the last +column had turned the hill, and then evening came on all at once, and we +felt a dreary sense of disenchantment creeping over us. It was as if we +had been dreaming during the last few weeks, and now we were waked, +indeed! Dominique recalled us to ourselves with a cynical smile. + +"Bah!" he cries, "it's all play; let 'em pretend to put down +insurrection as often as they please. It is good for trade and +promotion, and the Arabs know how to defend themselves." + +But events falsified this sarcasm of Monsieur Dominique's, for the +insurrection proved serious, and it was months before we heard of our +Lieutenant. When we did hear, the news was good; and the news of him and +of his English wife--dowered by our Vittoria Colonna--has been good ever +since. + + +END OF BOOK I. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Yule-Log Glow, Book I, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE YULE-LOG GLOW, BOOK I *** + +***** This file should be named 18720-8.txt or 18720-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/7/2/18720/ + +Produced by Paul Ereaut, Jason Isbell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Morris + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + visibility: hidden; + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + + + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Yule-Log Glow, Book I, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In the Yule-Log Glow, Book I + Christmas Tales from 'Round the World + +Author: Various + +Editor: Harrison S. Morris + +Release Date: June 29, 2006 [EBook #18720] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE YULE-LOG GLOW, BOOK I *** + + + + +Produced by Paul Ereaut, Jason Isbell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h4> +[Transcribers note: Several original spelling, punctuation and +hyphenation inconsistencies have been rationalised.] +</h4> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 429px;"> +<img src="images/img-01.jpg" width="429" height="600" alt="The Yule-log glow" title="The Yule-log glow" /> +<span class="caption">The Yule-log glow</span> +</div> + + +<h1> +IN THE<br /> +YULE-LOG GLOW</h1> + +<h2> +CHRISTMAS TALES FROM<br /> +'ROUND THE WORLD<br /><br /><br /></h2> + +<h4> +"Sic as folk tell ower at a winter ingle"<br /> +<i>Scott</i><br /><br /><br /></h4> + +<h3> +EDITED BY</h3> +<h2>HARRISON S. MORRIS<br /><br /></h2> + +<h4>THREE VOLUMES IN ONE.</h4> + +<h2>Book I.<br /><br /></h2> + + +<h4>PHILADELPHIA</h4> + +<h2>J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY</h2> + +<h3>1900.</h3> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span><br /><br /></p> + + + +<h4>Copyright, 1891, by <span class="smcap">J. B. Lippincott Company.</span></h4> + +<h4><span class="smcap">Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.</span></h4> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE THRESHOLD.</h2> + + +<p>If, gentle reader, you will step across this threshold, now, as the moon +rises in the keen Christmas air, and will find a place by the ruddy +ingle within-doors, you may hear, if you will, a Babel of voices from +many lands, telling over the adventures of the road and falling into the +good-fellowship of the happy Christmas season.</p> + +<p>Here from the north, with his ample furs thrown back, sits the Russian +in friendly talk with a gay little wanderer from Sicilian valleys. +There, with elbow crooked by a foaming tankard, leans the German, +narrating his perils and pleasures to a gallant Frenchman and a +sunbrowned Spaniard who smoke and chatter together as now and then +Mynheer stops for a pull at his pipe.</p> + +<p>A Swede, Norwegians, an Englishman or two, and even a happy-go-lucky +American, are clustered about the Yule-log; for the place you have +entered is the common-room of the wide world.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> + +<p>As you slip the latch and take your seat, some traveller calls out: A +Merry Christmas! Another cries: A story, a story! and so they fall to, +each from his own scrip taking forth a native tale,—and so they sit the +midnight out listening and talking in turn; while the good cheer goes +round in endless abundance and laughter and song make interludes for the +varied narratives.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS OF BOOK I.</h2> + + + + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> + +<tr> +<td></td> +<td align='left'><span class="smcap">PAGE</span></td> +</tr> +<tr><td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Three Kings of Cologne</span></td> +<td align='left'><a href='#Page_9'>9</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>A modern version of an old English Chronicle. </i></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>By Harrison S. Morris.</i><br /><br /></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Three Christmas Masses</span></td> +<td align='left'><a href='#Page_47'>47</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>From the French of Alphonse Daudet.</i></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>By Harrison S. Morris.</i><br /><br /></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Russian Christmas Party</span><a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></td> +<td align='left'><a href='#Page_63'>63</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>By Count Léon Tolstoi.</i><br /><br /></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Two Christmases</span></td> +<td align='left'><a href='#Page_103'>103</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>From the German of Georg Schuster.</i><br /><br /></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Tale of a Turkey</span></td> +<td align='left'><a href='#Page_121'>121</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>By Harrison S. Morris.</i><br /><br /></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Still Christmas</span><a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></td> +<td align='left'><a href='#Page_173'>173</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>By Agnes Repplier.</i><br /><br /></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Thrond</span></td> +<td align='left'><a href='#Page_193'>193</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>From the Norwegian of Björnson.</i><br /><br /></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Christmas in the Desert</span></td> +<td align='left'><a href='#Page_211'>211</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><i>By Matilda Betham Edwards.</i><br /><br /></td> +<td></td></tr> + +</table></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> By courtesy of Messrs. W. S. Gottsberger & Co.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> By courtesy of "The Catholic World."</p></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS, BOOK I.</h2> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Yule-log Glow</span></td> +<td align='left'>Frontispiece.</td></tr> + + + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Sonia</span></td> +<td align='left'>Page <a href='#Page_83'>83</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Cavalier From France </span></td> +<td align='left'>Page <a href='#Page_183'>183</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">My Little Sister Mary</span></td> +<td align='left'>Page <a href='#Page_225'>225</a></td></tr> + +</table></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><i>A Tale Spoken by a Graybeard Out of the East.</i></h2> + +<p>"Gracious powers! Perhaps you <i>are</i> a hundred years old, now I think of +it! You look more than a hundred. Yes, you may be a thousand years old +for what I know."</p> + +<p><i>Thackeray.</i></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>THE THREE KINGS OF COLOGNE.</h2> + +<h3>A CHRISTMAS TALE FROM AN OLD ENGLISH CHRONICLE.</h3> + +<h4>(Written by John of Hildesheim in the Fourteenth Century.)</h4> + +<p>Here followeth the manner and form of seeking and offering; and also of +the burying and translations of the three Holy and Worshipful Kings of +Cologne: Jaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.</p> + + +<p>Now when the Children of Israel were gone out of Egypt and had won and +made subject to them Jerusalem and all the land lying about, so that no +man durst set against them in all that country for dread that they had +of them; then was there a little hill called Vaws, which was also called +the Hill of Victory, and on this hill the ward of them of Ind was +ordained and kept by divers sentinels by night and by day against the +Children of Israel, and afterward against the Romans; so that if any +people at any time purposed with strong hand to enter into the country +of the Kingdom of Ind, anon, sentinels of other hills about, through +tokens, warned the keepers on the hill of Vaws. And by night they made a +great fire and by day they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> made a great smoke, for that hill Vaws +passeth the height of all other hills in all the East. Wherefore, when +any such token was seen, then all manner of men made ready to defend +themselves from the enemy that approached.</p> + +<p>Now in the time when Balaam prophesied of the Star that should betoken +the coming of Christ, all the great lords and all the other people of +Ind and in the East desired greatly to see the Star of which he spake, +and gave gifts to the keepers of the hill of Vaws, and moreover hired +them with great rewards, that, if it so were, they saw by day or by +night, far or near, any light or any star in the air other than was seen +beforetime, anon they should show and send them word. And thus was it +that for so long a time the fame of this Star was borne through all the +lands of the East; until, of the name of the hill of Vaws, arose up a +worshipful and a great kindred in Ind, which is called the progeny of +Vaws even unto this day; and there is not a more mighty kindred in all +the kingdoms of the East; for this worshipful kindred came first from +the King's blood that was named Melchior, that offered gold to our Lord, +as ye shall hereafter learn.</p> + +<p>In the year of our Lord 1200, when the city of Acon, that in this +country is called Akers, flourished and stood in virtue, joy, and +pros<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>perity, and was inhabited richly with worshipful princes, and +lords, and divers orders of men of religion, and all manner of men of +all nations and tongues, so that there was no city like unto it in +nobility and might; then, because of its great name and of the marvels +that were there, the greatest of birth that were of the progeny of Vaws +came out of Ind unto Acon; and when they saw there all things more +wonderful than in Ind; then, because of delight, they abode there and +made a fair and strong castle for any king or lord. And they brought +with them out of the East many rich and wonderful ornaments and jewels. +And among all other jewels, they brought a diadem of gold arrayed with +precious stones and pearls, and about its edge stood letters of +Chaldaic, and a star made like after the Star that appeared to the Three +Kings of the East when they sought God, with a sign of the cross, +beside. And that diadem was Melchior's, the king of Nubia and of Araby, +that offered gold to the Babe in the manger. And afterward the master of +the Order of Templars received this same diadem of gold and many other +precious jewels; but when that Order was destroyed the diadem and +precious ornaments were lost, and have never been found unto this day. +Wherefore there was great sorrow made in all the country for a long time +after.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> + +<p>But these same princes of Vaws brought with them out of Ind books +written in Hebrew and Chaldaic, concerning the life and deeds of these +three blessed Kings, which books were afterward translated into the +French tongue: and so, from these books, and from hearsay, and sight, +and also from sermons and homilies out of divers other works, the story +here written hath been brought together into one book.</p> + +<p>And you shall understand that the old kindred of Vaws beareth always in +its banner, unto this day, a star with a sign of the cross, made after +the same manner as it appeared to the three blessed Kings.</p> + +<p>Now it so happened that after Balaam had prophesied of this Star, the +more it was sought for the more its fame increased through the land of +Ind and Chaldee, and all the people desired to see it.</p> + +<p>So they ordained twelve of the wisest and greatest clerks of astronomy +that were in all that country about, and gave them great hire to keep +watch upon this hill of Vaws for the Star that was prophesied of Balaam. +And the cause that there were ordained twelve men was, that if one man +died another should be put in his stead; and also that some should keep +watch at one time and some another—nevertheless the people looked not +only after the Star, but after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> the Man who was betokened by the Star, +the which Man should be Lord of all folk.</p> + +<p>And they of Ind and Chaldee who came often into Jerusalem because of +merchandise and also for disport—the which, for the most part, be +learned in astronomy—said that in Ind were many stars in the firmament +that might not be seen by night in Jerusalem; but, specially on this +hill of Vaws in clear weather, were seen many and divers strange stars +that at the foot of the hill were not seen. Yet this hill of Vaws hath +no more breadth than a little chapel is made upon, the which the three +worshipful kings did build of stone and timber. And there be about this +hill many steps upon which men go up to the chapel on high, and also +there grew many good trees and herbs and divers spices all about the +hill—for else men might not well go upon this hill because it is so +high and so narrow. There is also a pillar of stone made above this +chapel, of wondrous height, and in the head of the pillar standeth a +great star, well made of gilt, and which turneth with the wind as a +vane: and through the light of the sun by day, and of the moon by night, +this star gives light a great way about the country. And many other +marvels are spoken of this hill of Vaws, the which were long to tell.</p> + +<p>Now when the time of grace was come, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> God would have mercy on all +mankind, in which time the Father of Heaven sent down his Son to take +flesh and blood and to be born a man for salvation of all the world: in +that time Octavianus, that was Emperor of Rome, sent out a commandment +that all the people within his empire should be counted and taxed; and +every man went forth from his dwelling-place into his native country. +Then came Joseph up from Nazareth unto Bethlehem the city of David, +because he was of the household and race of King David, and with him +came Mary that was his wife, and also great with child.</p> + +<p>And you shall understand that Bethlehem was never of much reputation, +neither a place of great quantity. It hath a good site and good ground, +for there be many caves and dens under the earth thereabout; and it is +distant from Jerusalem but two little miles; and it is but a castle, but +is called a city because King David was born there. And in that town was +sometime a house which belonged to Isai, the father of David, where +David was born and anointed into the kingdom of Israel by Samuel the +prophet. And in this same dwelling was the Son of Heaven born of Mary.</p> + +<p>And this same house was at the end of a street that was in that time +called the Covered Street, because, to keep out the great heat and +burn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>ing of the sun, this street was canopied above with black cloths +and other things,—for such is the use in that country always. And here +was wont to be great bargaining, or a fair once a week of old clothes; +and specially of trees or timber, by the little house which stood before +a den under the earth, made and shaped like a little cellar, where Isai +and others that dwelt there after him put certain necessaries that +belonged to the household, against the heat of the sun. It is also the +manner in all that country that there be certain houses, the which be +called there <i>alchan</i>, that we call hostelries, and in these houses be +mules, horses, asses, and camels always ready, that, if so that any +merchant or any man that travelled by the way, be it far or near, need +any beast for himself, or for his merchandise, then he goeth to such a +house and there he may hire a horse, or what beast that he will, for a +certain price. And when he hath such a beast then he goeth from that +city to another, where to abide and rest him for a time. Then he +dischargeth his beast of his burden, and so sendeth him to a house +called there also <i>alchan</i>; and the master of the house giveth his beast +meat, and, when he may, he sendeth it home to the same place that it +came from.</p> + +<p>And such a house was, before the birth of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> Christ, in the place where +Christ was born; but, about the time of the Nativity, that house was all +destroyed, insomuch that there was nothing left but broken walls on +every side, and a little cave under earth, and a little unthrifty house +before the cave: and there men sold bread on the same ground; for it is +the usage in all that country that all the bread that is sold shall be +brought unto a certain place.</p> + +<p>Now when Octavianus had sent out a commandment as it is aforesaid, then +went Joseph and Mary riding on an ass, late in the eventide, toward the +city of Bethlehem, and because they came so late, and all places were +occupied with pilgrims and other men, and also because they came in poor +array and went about the city, none would receive them, and specially, +men say, because that Mary, a young woman, sitting upon an ass, heavy +and sorry, and full weary of the way, was near to the time of bearing of +her child. Then Joseph led his wife into this shed that none took keep +of, down into the little dark house, and there our Lord, Jesus Christ, +the same night was born of the Virgin, without any disease or sorrow of +her body, for salvation of all mankind.</p> + +<p>And in that house, before the cave of old time, was left a manger of the +length of a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> fathom, made in the wall; and to that same manger was an ox +of a poor man tied, that none might harbor. And beside that ox Joseph +tied his ass, and in that same manger Mary wrapped her blessed Son in +cloths and laid Him on high before the ass and the ox,—for there was +none other place.</p> + +<p>And shepherds were fast by in the same country keeping their sheep in +the night, and an angel of Heaven came and stood beside them with a +great light, wherefore they were in much dread. And the angel said to +them, "Be not afraid, for I tell you a great joy that shall be to all +people, for this day is born to us our Lord, Christ, in the city of +David, and this shall be to you a token: Ye shall find a young child +wrapped in cloths and put in a manger." And then suddenly there came a +great multitude of angels of Heaven praising God, who said: "Joy be to +God on high and peace in earth to men of good will."</p> + +<p>Now the place where the angel appeared to the shepherds that night when +Christ was born is but half a mile from Bethlehem, and in that same +place David, when he was a child, fed sheep and kept them from the bear +and the lion.</p> + +<p>Some books say that the shepherds in that country, twice in the year, +are wont to keep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> their sheep in the night, and, therein, times be when +the day and the night are both of one length. And you shall understand +that the land about Bethlehem is all mountainous for the most part, so +that in some places a man shall not well know winter from summer, and in +some places it is right cold, and some it is both winter and summer at +one time, and sometimes on the mountains, in parts of the East, men +shall find snow in the month of August, and that snow is gathered by +them that dwell about, and put in caves, and afterward it is borne to +the market, where the great lords of the country will buy it, and take +it to their houses, and set it in a basin upon their board to make their +drink cold.</p> + +<p>In September and October, when the sun cometh a little low in that +country, then seeds and all manner of herbs commonly begin to wax in the +fields, as in this country herbs begin to grow in March and April; also +in some parts of the East they reap corn in April and in March, but most +in May, as in some places the ground is higher, in some places lower; +but beside Bethlehem are many more places of good pasture and of flat +ground than elsewhere: insomuch that at Christmas-tide barley beginneth +to ear and to wax ripe; and then men send thither, from divers +countries, their horses and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> mules, to make them fat: and that time we +call among us Christmas, they call, in their language, the time of +herbage. And forasmuch as when Christ was born, peace was in all the +world, and betwixt Bethlehem and that place where the angel appeared to +the shepherds was but half a mile and a little way more, and also there +was no great cold thereabout, therefore the shepherds, all that winter +night and day, now in one place, now in another, dwelled there with +their sheep, and so they do yet to this day.</p> + +<p>Now when Christ was born of the Virgin Mary for salvation of all +mankind, then His Star, that was prophesied of Balaam and long awaited +and looked for by the twelve astronomers on the hill of Vaws, at that +same night and at that same hour, began to arise in the manner of a sun, +bright shining; and so after, in the form of an eagle, it ascended above +the hill of Vaws. And all that day in highest air it abode without +moving, insomuch that when the sun was most hot and most high there was +no difference in shining betwixt them.</p> + +<p>But when the day of the Nativity was passed, the Star ascended up into +the firmament, and it was nothing like to stars that be painted in +divers places, for it had right many long streaks and beams, more +burning and lighter than a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> brand of fire; and, as an eagle flying and +beating the air with his wings, right so the streaks and beams of the +Star stirred it about. And it had in itself the form and likeness of a +young child, and above him a sign of the holy cross, and a voice was +heard in the Star, saying: "This day is born to us the King of Jews that +folk have awaited, and Lord is of them. Go and seek Him and do Him +worship!"</p> + +<p>Then all the people, both man and woman, of all the country about, when +they saw this wonderful and marvellous Star and also heard the voice out +of the Star, were greatly aghast and had wonder thereof; but yet they +knew well that it was the Star that was prophesied by Balaam, and long +time was desired of all the people in that country.</p> + +<p>Now when the three worshipful Kings who in that time reigned in Ind, +Chaldee, and Persia were informed, by the astronomers, of this Star, +they were right glad that they had grace to see the Star in their days. +Wherefore these three worshipful Kings, though each of them was far from +the other, and none knew of the other's purpose, yet in the same hour +the Star appeared to all three, and then they ordained and purposed +them, with great and rich gifts and many rich and diverse ornaments that +belong to a king's array, and also with mules and camels<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> and horses +charged with treasure, and with a great multitude of people, to go seek +and worship the Lord and King of the Jews that was new born, as the +voice of the Star had commanded. And furthermore they arrayed themselves +the much more honestly and worshipfully, because they knew well that he +was a worthier King than any of them was.</p> + +<p>And you shall understand that there be three Indias, of which these +three lords were kings; and all the lands for the most part are islands, +and there are also there great waters and wildernesses full of wild and +perilous beasts and horrible serpents, and there grow also reeds so high +and so great that men make thereof houses and ships. And these isles are +divided every one by itself far from the others, so that only with great +travail shall a man pass from one kingdom to another.</p> + +<p>Now, in the first Ind was the land of Nubia, and therein reigned King +Melchior, in the time that Christ was born. Therein also is the land of +Araby, in which is the hill Sinai: and a man may lightly sail by the Red +Sea out of Egypt and Syria into Ind. In this land is found gold +wonderfully red, like thin and small roots, and that gold is the best +that is in the world. Herein is also a hill called Bena, where is found +a precious stone, called smaragd.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> + +<p>In the second Ind was the kingdom of Godolia, of which Balthazar was +king when Christ was born; and this Balthazar offered incense to the +Babe; for in this land many more good spices grow than in all the +countries of the East, and especially incense, more than in all places +of the world; and it droppeth down out of certain trees in the manner of +gum.</p> + +<p>In the third Ind was the kingdom of Thaars. Of that kingdom was Jaspar +king at the birth of Christ. And Jaspar offered myrrh to the young +Child, and in this land is the isle of Egrisoulla, where groweth myrrh +more plentifully than in any place of the world, and it waxeth like ears +of corn that are burnt with the weather, and right thick; and when it is +ripe it is so soft that it cleaveth to men's clothes as they go by the +way.</p> + +<p>Now when these three worshipful Kings were passed forth out of their +kingdoms, the Star evenly went before each King and his people, and when +they stood still and rested the Star stood still, and when they went +forward again the Star always went before them in virtue and strength, +and gave light all the way. And, as it is written before, in the time +that Christ was born there was peace in all the world, wherefore in all +the cities and towns which they went through there was no gate shut +neither by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> night nor by day; and all men of the cities and towns that +these worthy Kings went through in the night were wonderfully aghast and +passingly marvelled thereof, for they saw kings and vast multitudes go +by in great haste; but they knew not what they were, nor whence they +came, nor whither they should go. On the morrow the way was greatly +befouled with horses' hoofs, whereof they were in much doubt what it +might mean, and great altercation was among them for a long time.</p> + +<p>Furthermore, these Kings rode forth over hills, waters, valleys, plains, +and other divers and perilous places without hindrance or disease, for +all the way seemed to them plain and even, and they never took shelter +by night nor by day; nor ever rested; nor did their horses or other +beasts ever eat or drink till they had come to Bethlehem; and all this +time seemed to them but a day.</p> + +<p>And thus, through the mercy of God and the leading of the Star, they +came unto Jerusalem and Bethlehem the thirteenth day after Christ was +born, at the uprising of the sun, whereof is no doubt: for they found +Mary and her son in the same place where the Child was born, and laid in +the manger.</p> + +<p>But when the three blessed Kings, with their host and company were +almost come to Jerusa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>lem, saving but two miles, then a great and dark +cloud held all the earth, and in that dark cloud they lost the Star. And +Melchior with his people was come fast by Jerusalem beside the hill of +Calvary, where Christ was afterward crucified; and there the King abode +in a cloud of fog and in darkness.</p> + +<p>At that time the hill of Calvary was a rock of twelve degrees high, +where thieves and other men for divers trespasses were put to death; and +there was beside this hill a place where three highways met together. +But because of the darkness of the cloud, and also because they knew not +the way, they abode there, and went no further at that time.</p> + +<p>And next came Balthazar, and he abode under the same cloud, beside the +Mount of Olives in a little town that is called Galilee.</p> + +<p>Then, when the two Kings were come to these places, the cloud began to +ascend and wax clear, yet the Star appeared not. But when they saw that +they were near to the city of Jerusalem, knowing not each other, they +took their way thither with all their folk; and when they came where the +three ways met, then also appeared King Jaspar with all his host. And so +these three glorious Kings, each with his host and burdens and beasts, +met together in the highway beside the Hill of Calvary. And, +notwith<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>standing that none of them ever before had seen the other, nor +knew him, nor had heard of his coming, yet, at their meeting, each one +with reverence and joy kissed the other. And they were of diverse +language, yet all, seeming, used the same tongue.</p> + +<p>So, afterward, when they had spoken together and each had told his +purpose and the cause of his journey, and the cause of all was learned +to be the same, then they were much more glad and more fervent. And so +they rode forth, and suddenly, at the uprising of the sun, they came +into the city of Jerusalem. And when they knew that this was the city +which the Chaldeans of old time had besieged and destroyed, they were +right glad, expecting to have found the King born in that city. But +Herod and all his people were greatly disturbed at their sudden coming, +for their company and beasts of burden were of so great a number that +the city might not receive them, but for the most part they lay without +the gates all about, whereof Isaias prophesied: "The strength of folk +cometh to thee—that is to say, to the City of Jerusalem—great plenty +of camels shall do thee service, and dromedaries of Madyan and Effa +shall come to thee. All men shall come from Saba, bringing gold and +incense and showing praise to God."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> + +<p>So, these three worshipful Kings, when they were come into the city, +asked of the people concerning the Child that was born; and, when Herod +heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him, and he gathered +together all his princes and priests and asked them where Christ should +be born, and they said: "In Bethlehem of Judea." Then Herod privily +summoned to him these three Kings, and learned of them the time that the +Star appeared, and so sent them forth unto Bethlehem, saying: "Go and +inquire busily of this Child, and when you have found Him, come and tell +me, that I may go and do Him worship."</p> + +<p>Now when these three Kings were informed of the birth of Christ and of +the place where He was born, and so were passed out of Jerusalem, then +the Star appeared to them again as it did erst, and went before them +till they came to Bethlehem. And fast by that place were the shepherds +to whom the angel appeared with great light, showing them the birth of +Christ. And the three Kings spake with them, and when the shepherds saw +the Star they run together and told how the angel had appeared to them, +and furthermore all that the angel had spoken to them. And the Kings +were wondrous glad, and with good cheer heard and took consideration of +the shepherds' words; and so from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> witness, and from the words of the +shepherds and from the voice of the angel that was heard out of the +Star, they had no doubt of the thing. Then anon, when they knew that +they were come to Bethlehem, they got down from their horses and changed +all their array, and clothed themselves in the best and richest that +they had, as kings should be clothed—and always the Star went forth +before them.</p> + +<p>Now the nearer the Kings came to the place where Christ was born the +brighter shined the Star, and they entered Bethlehem the sixth hour of +the day. And then they rode through the covered street till they came +before that little house. And there the Star stood still, and then +descended and shone with so great a light that the little house and the +cave within were full of radiance, till anon the Star again went upward +into the air, and stood still always above the same place, yet the light +ever remained in the house where Christ and Mary were. So as it is said +in the Gospel: "They went into the house and found the Child, and fell +down and worshipped Him, and offered to Him gifts of gold, myrrh, and +incense."</p> + +<p>Of this example came afterward a usage, that in all the countries of the +East no man should go into the presence of the Sultan, but he brought +gold or silver or somewhat else in his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> hands; and, also, ere he spoke +to the Sultan he should kiss the ground, and this is a custom which is +used in all the countries of the East to this day. But the Franciscan +friars, when they approached the Sultan, offered to him only pears or +apples, for they might not touch gold nor silver; and these offerings +were received by the Sultan with all reverence and meekness.</p> + +<p>Now on the day that the three Kings sought Christ and worshipped Him, He +was a little child of thirteen days old, and He was somewhat fat, and +lay wrapped in poor clothes in the hay of the manger up to His arms. And +Mary, His Mother, as it is written in divers books, was, in person, +fleshy and somewhat brown. In the presence of the three Kings she was +covered with a poor white mantle, which she held close before her with +her left hand. Her head was concealed altogether, save her face, with a +linen cloth; and she sat upon the manger and with her right hand held up +the young Child's head. And the Kings worshipped Him and kissed His hand +devoutly and laid their gifts beside His head.</p> + +<p>But what was done with these gifts, ye shall learn hereafter.</p> + +<p>Now Melchior, that offered gold to the Holy Child, was the least in +stature and person of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> the three Kings. Balthazar, that offered incense, +was of a medium stature; and Jaspar, that offered myrrh, was most in +person; whereof is no doubt, for the prophet saith: "Before Him shall +fall down Ethiops, and His enemies shall lick the earth. They shall come +to Thee that betrayed Thee, and they shall worship the steps of Thy +feet." And having regard to the stature of men of that time these Kings +were right little of person, insomuch that all manner of people +marvelled at them. And this showed well that they were come from far out +of the East, for the nearer toward the uprising of the sun that men be +born, the less they be of stature and be feebler and more tender.</p> + +<p>And you shall understand that these three Kings brought out of their +lands many gifts and rich ornaments which King Alexander left in Ind, in +Chaldee, and in Persia; and all the ornaments which Queen Saba found in +Solomon's temple, and divers vessels that were of the king's house and +the Temple of God in Jerusalem, which, in the time of its destruction, +were borne into their countries by the Persians and Chaldeans, and many +other jewels, both gold and silver, and precious stones, brought they +with them to offer to Christ. But when they found our Lord laid on high +in the manger and in poor cloths, and the Star that gave so great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> light +in all the place, that it seemed as though they stood in a furnace of +fire, then these Kings were so sore afraid that, of all the rich jewels +and ornaments they brought with them, they chose nothing, when their +treasury was opened, but what came first to their hands, for Melchior +took a round apple of gold, as much as a man might hold in his hand, and +thirty gilt pennies, and these he offered to our Lord. Balthazar took +out of his treasury incense; and Jaspar took out myrrh, as it came +first, and that he offered, with weeping and tears.</p> + +<p>And the Kings were so aghast and so devout and fervent in their +oblations, that to all the words that Mary said they gave but little +consideration, save only that to every King as he offered his gifts she +bowed down her head meekly, and said, "<i>Deo gracias</i>:" that is to say, +"I thank God."</p> + +<p>When these three Kings had thus performed their way and will, and done +all things that they came for, then, as mankind asketh and would, they +and all their men and beasts began to eat, and drink, and sleep, and +betook them to rest and sport all that day in Bethlehem. For, as is said +before, they had neither eaten nor drunk during thirteen days. And then +they meekly told to all men in that city how won<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>derfully the Star had +brought them thither from the furthest part of the world.</p> + +<p>Now, as the Evangelist saith: A command came to these Kings in their +sleep that they should not return again to Herod, and so, by another +way, they went home to their kingdoms. But the Star that went before +them, appeared no more. And so these three Kings, that suddenly met +together at the Mount of Calvary, rode home together with great joy and +honor, and rested by the way as men should do.</p> + +<p>And they rode through the provinces that Holofernes of old time had +traversed with all his hosts, and the people supposed that Holofernes +had come again, for as they journeyed into any town they were meekly and +worshipfully received, and evermore they told what they had seen, done, +and heard, so that their name and praise were never after forgot. But +the way that before had taken only thirteen days, through leading of the +Star, they found now to take two years, which was ordained, that all men +should know what difference is between God's working and man's.</p> + +<p>Now, when Herod and the scribes heard that the Kings were gone home +again, and came not to him as he had bade them, then, of much envy and +malice, he pursued them a great way; and always he found the people +bless them, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> praise them, and tell of their nobility. Wherefore +Herod burnt and destroyed all the land that was under his power where +the Kings had ridden, and especially Tharsis and Cilicia, for he charged +them that they had suffered the three Kings privily to pass across the +sea in their ships. And Herod's envy was great when he heard how +marvellously the Kings had come out of their lands in thirteen days +through leading of the Star, and how, afterward, they went home again, +without the Star, through guides and interpreters,—yet no man could +tell, for wonder, how night and day they passed by; and for this reason +the paynims, who had no knowledge of Holy Writ, nor of the birth of +Christ, called these three Kings <i>Magos</i>; that is to say, Wise Men of +the East.</p> + +<p>Now, when the Kings were come with great travail to the Hill of Vaws, +they made there, as is aforesaid, a fair chapel in worship of the Child +they had sought. Also they made a covenant to meet together at the same +place once in the year; and there they ordained their burial. Then all +the princes and lords and worshipful knights of their kingdoms, hearing +of the return of these three Kings, anon rode forth to them with great, +solemnity and met them at the place aforesaid, and with meekness and +humility received them. And when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> they heard how wonderfully God had +wrought for their Kings, they held them in more reverence, love, and +dread forever after.</p> + +<p>So, when the Kings had done what they would, they took leave of each +other, and each one, with his people, rode home to his own land with +great joy.</p> + +<p>And when they were come into their own realms, they preached to all the +people what they had seen and done on their journey; and they made in +their temples a star after the likeness of that which appeared to them, +wherefore many paynims left their errors and worshipped the Holy Child.</p> + +<p>And thus these three worshipful Kings dwelt in their kingdoms in honest +and devout conversation until the coming of St. Thomas, the apostle.</p> + +<p>Now, after the three Kings had gone forth from Bethlehem, there began to +wax, all about, a great fame for Mary and her Child, and for the Kings +of the East. Wherefore, Mary, in dread of persecution, fled out of the +little house where Christ was born, and went to another dark cave and +there abode; and divers men and women loved her and ministered to her +all manner of necessaries. But when she went out of the little house, +Mary forgot and left behind her her smock and the clothes in which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +Christ was wrapped, folded together and laid in the manger; and there +they were, whole and fresh, in the same place to the time when St. +Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, came thither, long after.</p> + +<p>Anon so great was grown Mary's fame that she durst not abide longer +there for dread of Herod and the Jews, and an angel appeared to Joseph, +saying: "Arise, and take the Child and His mother and flee into Egypt, +and tarry there till I summon thee, for it is to come that Herod shall +seek the Child to slay Him." Then Joseph arose and took the Child and +His mother and went into Egypt in the night, and there he remained until +Herod died. And Mary and her Son dwelt in Egypt seven years.</p> + +<p>And it is told that by the road which Mary journeyed thither and came +back again, grew roses, which are called the Roses of Jericho, and they +grow in no other place. The shepherds of that country, in following +their sheep, gather these roses in their season, and sell them to +pilgrims, and thus they be borne into divers lands. And the place where +Mary dwelt is now a garden where groweth balm, and to every bush a +Christian man, among the Sultan's prisoners, is assigned to protect it +and keep it clean; for when a paynim keepeth them, anon the bushes wax +dry and grow no more. And<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> this balm hath many virtues the which were +long to tell; but all men in the East believe truly that the place bears +such a virtue of growing balm because Mary dwelt there seven years, and +washed and bathed her Son in its wells of water.</p> + +<p>And as to the gifts which the three Kings gave to Christ: the thirty +gilt pennies of Melchior were made of old by Thara, father of Abraham, +and Abraham bare them with him when he went on pilgrimage out of the +land of Chaldee into Ebron, which was then called Arabia, and there he +bought with them a burial-place for himself, his wife, and his children, +Isaac and Jacob. In exchange for the same thirty pieces Joseph was sold +by his brethren to merchants of Egypt. Afterward, when Jacob died, they +were sent to the land of Sheba to buy divers spices and ornaments for +his sepulture, and so they were put into the king's treasury of that +land. Then by process of time, in Solomon's reign, the Queen of Sheba +offered these thirty gilt pennies, with many rich jewels, in the Temple +at Jerusalem; but in the time of Roboam, King Solomon's son, when +Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple despoiled, they were carried to +the King of Arabia, and were put into his treasury with other spoils +from the Temple.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> + +<p>And Melchior offered these same thirty pieces to Christ, because they +were of the finest gold, and the best that he had. But when Mary went +into Egypt she lost all the gifts of the three Kings by the way, bound +all in one cloth together. And it happened there was a shepherd who had +so great an infirmity that no leech might heal him, and all that he had +he paid to the leeches to be whole,—yet it might not be. But, on a +time, as he went into the fields with his sheep, he found these thirty +gilt pennies, with incense and myrrh, bound all in a cloth together, and +he kept them privily to himself, until, hearing tell of a holy prophet +that healed all men of their infirmities by a word, he came to Christ +and prayed Him for grace and help; and, being healed, he offered the +gold, and incense, and myrrh to Him with good devotion. And when Christ +saw the thirty gilt pennies and precious herbs He knew them well, and +bade the shepherd go into the Temple and offer them upon the altar.</p> + +<p>Now, when the priest saw such oblations laid upon the altar he marvelled +much, and took all three things and put them in the common treasury. And +afterward, when Judas Iscariot came into the Temple to make covenant +with the Princes of the Law to betray his master, they gave him for his +pay the same thirty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> pieces of gold, and for them Judas sold his Master. +And after Christ was crucified, then Judas repented, and went to the +Temple and cast down to the Princes of the Law the thirty pieces. And +with fifteen of these gilt pennies the Jews bought a field of burial for +pilgrims; and the other fifteen they gave to the knights who kept the +sepulchre of Christ.</p> + +<p>And the reason these thirty gilt pennies were called silver in the +Gospel, notwithstanding they were fine gold, is, that it is the common +usage in that country so to call them, as men in this country call gold +from beyond the sea scutys, motouns or florins; moreover in the East the +same print is made in gold and silver and copper, and the print on the +thirty pieces is this: on one side is a king's head crowned, and on the +other are written letters in Chaldaic, which men now cannot read. And +many marvels are told of these pieces of gold which were long to tell.</p> + +<p>How when Our Lord was ascended into heaven, then he sent St. Thomas, his +apostle, into Ind, to preach there God's word. And as St. Thomas went +about in the temples he found a star in every one, painted after the +manner of the Star that appeared to the three Kings when Christ was +born, in which Star was a sign of the Cross and a Child above. And when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> +St. Thomas saw this he asked of the bishops what it was, and they told +him that such a Star of old time appeared on the Hill of Vaws in token +of a Child that was born who should be king of the Jews, as was heard +spoken out of the same Star.</p> + +<p>And when St. Thomas had preached and taught the people the understanding +of this Star and of the Cross and the Child, then he went to the +kingdoms of the three Kings, and he found them whole of body and of a +great age. And St. Thomas christened these three Kings and all their +people, and the Kings began anon to preach with the Apostle, and when +they had converted the people to the law of Christ he ordained them to +be Archbishops. And after this St. Thomas was slain, and in all that +country where he was martyred both men and women have visages shaped +like hounds, yet they be not hairy—and they are so unto this day.</p> + +<p>Now under the Hill of Vaws St. Thomas and these three Kings had made a +rich city and called it Sewill, and this city is the best and richest +city in all the country of Ind to this day; and therein is the +habitation of Prester John that is called lord of Ind, and there +dwelleth also the Patriarch of Ind who is called Thomas, in worship of +St. Thomas and for an everlasting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> memorial. And when all things were +disposed by these three Kings they went to the city of Sewill, and there +they lived twelve years.</p> + +<p>And a little before the feast of Christ's nativity, when these years +were drawn to an end, there appeared a wonderful star above this city +and the Kings knew that their time was nigh when they should pass out of +this world. Then of one assent they ordained a fair and large tomb for +their burial in the church they had made in the city; and in the feast +of Christmas they did, solemnly, God's service.</p> + +<p>And in the feast of the Circumcision, Melchior, King of Araby, laid him +down before all his people and without any disease yielded up his +spirit, in the year of his age one hundred and sixteen. Then in the +feast of Epiphany, five days thereafter, Balthazar, King of Godolie and +Saba, died in the year of his age one hundred and twelve. And then +Jaspar the third king, the sixth day after was taken into everlasting +joy, and they were all buried in the same tomb that they had ordained; +and the Star that appeared over the city before their death, abode +always till their bodies were translated unto Cologne, as they of Ind +tell.</p> + +<p>Now after much time had passed, Queen Helen, the mother of the glorious +Emperor Constantine, began to think greatly of the bodies<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> of these +three Kings, and she arrayed her with certain people and went into the +land of Ind. And she had much praise among the people because of the +finding of Mary's smock and the cloths that Christ was wound in in his +childhood; and seeing that she was worshipped of all people, the +Patriarch Thomas and Prester John, took counsel of other lords and +princes and gave her the bodies of King Melchior and King Balthazar. But +the Nestorines had borne the body of the third king, King Jaspar, into +the isle of Egrisoulla. And these Nestorines were the worst heretics of +the world. For the most part they were black Ethiops, who painted Christ +and His Mother Mary and the three Kings in their churches all in black, +and the Devil all white, in despite of all other Christian men. But +because Queen Helen wished not that the three Kings should be parted, +she made many prayers and gave great gifts to the chief lords of the +isle of Egrisoulla, and thus anon did she get the body of King Jaspar.</p> + +<p>And you shall understand that after she had found the bodies of all +these three Kings, Queen Helen put them into one chest and arrayed it +with great riches, and she brought them unto Constantinople with joy and +reverence, and laid them in a church that is called St. Sophia; and this +church King Constantine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> did make—and he alone, with a little child, +set up all the pillars of marble.</p> + +<p>Now after the death of this worshipful King Constantine and Queen Helen +aforesaid, there began a new persecution of heresy against the Christian +faith, and of death against them that would maintain the law of Christ. +The Greeks forsook the Church and chose a Patriarch for themselves, whom +they yet obey until this day.</p> + +<p>Now in this persecution the bodies and the relics of the three holy +Kings were put at no reverence, but utterly set at naught. For the +Saracens and Turks at this time won with strong battle the lands of +Greece and Armenia, and destroyed a great part of these lands.</p> + +<p>Then came an Emperor of Rome who was called Mauricius, and through the +help of them of Milan he recovered all these lands again, and, as is +said among men in that country, through counsel of this Emperor the +bodies of the three Kings were carried unto Milan, and they were there +laid with all solemnity and worship in a fair church which is called +after St. Eustorgio, because he had asked the bodies from the Emperor, +and being granted them had sent them unto Milan.</p> + +<p>Then afterward by process of time, it happed that the city of Milan +began to rebel against the Emperor, who was called Frederick I., and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +this Emperor sent to the Archbishop of Cologne, who was called Rainald, +for help. Then this Archbishop, through help of divers lords of the land +of Milan, took the city of Milan and destroyed a great part thereof. And +the chief men of the city took the bodies of the three Kings and hid +them privily in the earth.</p> + +<p>Now among all others there was in Milan a lord named Asso, and the +Emperor hated him more than all the rest of its people. So it happed +that in the destruction of the city the Archbishop won Asso's palace +through strong hand, and lived therein a great while, for Asso was taken +and put into prison.</p> + +<p>Then, anon, Asso sent privily by his keepers to the Archbishop of +Cologne and prayed him that he would come and speak with him, and it was +granted that Asso should go to the Archbishop. And when he was come to +him, he prayed him that, if he would get him grace of the Emperor and +his love and the restoration of his lordship, he would give him the +bodies of the three Kings.</p> + +<p>When the Archbishop heard this, he went to the Emperor and prayed for +Lord Asso, and got him grace and love. And when this was done, Asso +brought, secretly, the three bodies of the Kings to the Archbishop of +Cologne.</p> + +<p>Then the Archbishop sent the bodies forth,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> by private means, a great +way out of the city of Milan, whereupon he went to the Emperor anew and +prayed him that he would grant him these three bodies, and the Emperor +did so with good will. Then the Archbishop openly, with great solemnity +and procession, brought the three holy Kings unto Cologne, and there put +them in the fair church of St. Peter, worshipfully; and all the people +of the country, with all the reverence they might, received these holy +relics; and there they are kept and beholden of all manner of nations +unto this day.<br /><br /></p> + + + +<p>Thus endeth the translation of these Three Worshipful Kings: Melchior, +Balthazar, and Jaspar.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><i>A French Yeoman's Legend.</i></h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"He laughed fit to make the plates rattle, his little brown eyes +twinkling all the while."</p> + +<p><i>Erckmann-Chatrian.</i></p></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE THREE CHRISTMAS MASSES.</h2> + + +<p>I.</p> + +<p>"Two truffled turkeys, Garrigou?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, reverend Father, two magnificent turkeys stuffed with truffles. +There's no mistake, for I helped to stuff them myself. The flesh almost +cracked as they roasted, it was so tight—so——"</p> + +<p>"Holy Virgin! and I, who love truffles as——Hurry; give me my +surplice, Garrigou. And what else besides the turkeys; what else did you +see in the kitchen?"</p> + +<p>"Oh! all sorts of good things. Since noon we've done nothing but pluck +pheasants, pewits, wood-hens, and heath-cocks. Feathers are scattered +thick. Then from the pond they've brought eels and golden carp and +trout, and——"</p> + +<p>"What size are the trout, Garrigou?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, as big as that! reverend Father. Enormous!"</p> + +<p>"Heavens, I seem to see them! Have you put the wine in the flasks?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, reverend Father, I've put the wine in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> the flasks. But what's a +mouthful or two as you go to midnight Mass! You should see the +dining-hall in the château, full of decanters that sparkle with wine of +every color. And the silver dishes, above all the ornamented ones; the +flowers; the candlesticks! I never saw anything to equal it. Monsieur +the Marquis has invited all the nobility of the neighborhood. You will +be at least forty at table, without counting either the bailiff or the +notary. Ah! it will make you very happy to be there, reverend Father. +Why, only to smell the delicious turkeys—the odor of truffles pursues +me even yet. Muh!"</p> + +<p>"Come, come, Garrigou, you must guard against the sin of greediness, and +especially on the night of the Nativity. Quickly, now, light the candles +and sound the first bell for Mass; midnight is very near, and we must +not be late."</p> + +<p>This conversation was held on Christmas night, in the year of grace +sixteen hundred and sixteen, between the reverend Dom Balaguère, +formerly prior of Barnabites, now chaplain in the service of the Sires +de Trinquelague, and his clerk Garrigou; or at least what he supposed +was his clerk Garrigou, because you will learn that the devil had that +night taken on the round face and wavering traits of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> young +sacristan, the better to tempt the reverend Father to commit the +dreadful sin of gluttony. Now, while the supposed Garrigou (hum! hum!) +rung, with all his might, the bells of the seignorial chapel, the +reverend Father put on his chasuble in the little sacristy of the +château; and, his mind already becoming troubled by the gastronomic +descriptions he had heard, he repeated to himself:</p> + +<p>"Roasted turkeys; golden carp; trout as large as that!"</p> + +<p>Outside, the night wind blew, scattering the music of the bells, and one +by one lights began to appear in the shadows about the flanks of Mont +Ventoux, upon the summit of which rose the ancient towers of +Trinquelague. These lights were carried by the farmers on their way to +attend midnight Mass at the château. They climbed the paths in groups of +five or six, the father leading, lantern in hand, the women enveloped in +their big brown mantles, where their infants nestled for shelter. In +spite of the hour and the cold all these honest people marched +cheerfully on, sustained by the thought that when they came out from the +Mass they would find, as they did each year, tables spread for them +below in the kitchens. Now and again on the rough ascent, the coach of +some seigneur, preceded by torch-bearing porters,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> reflected in its +glasses the cold moonlight; or, maybe, a mule trotted along shaking his +bells, and in the light of the lanterns covered with frost, the farmers +recognized their bailiff and saluted him as he passed:</p> + +<p>"Good-evening, good-evening, Master Arnoton."</p> + +<p>"Good-evening, good-evening, my children."</p> + +<p>The night was clear, the stars were polished with cold, the wind stung, +and a fine sleet, which glistened on the clothes without wetting them, +kept faithfully the tradition of Christmases white with snow. Raised +there aloft, the château appeared like the goal of all things, with its +enormous mass of towers and gables, the belfry of its chapel mounting +into the blue-black sky, and a crowd of small lights that winked, went +and came, twinkled at all the windows, and seemed, on the sombre +background of the building, like sparks running through the cinders of +burnt paper. Once past the drawbridge and the postern, it was necessary, +in order to gain the chapel, to traverse the first courtyard, full of +coaches, of valets, of sedan-chairs, and bright with the flare of +torches and the fires of the kitchens. There was the click of the +turnspits, the crash of stewpans, the noises of glass and silver +preparing for the dinner. From below, a warm vapor, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> smelt of +roasting meat and the strong herbs of curious sauces, whispered to the +farmers, to the chaplain, to the bailiff—to all the world:</p> + +<p>"What a revel we are going to have after Mass!"<br /><br /></p> + + +<p>II.</p> + +<p>Drelindin din! Drelindin din! Midnight Mass is about to begin. In the +chapel of the château, a miniature cathedral with arches intercrossed +and a wainscot of oak mounting as high as the walls, all the hangings +have been arranged, all the candles lit.</p> + +<p>And what a host of people! And what toilettes! First, seated in the +sculptured stall which surrounds the choir, behold the Sire de +Trinquelague in a suit of salmon-colored taffeta; and next to him all +the invited nobles. Facing these, on a prie-dieu trimmed with velvet, is +the old dowager Marquise in her robe of fire-colored brocade, and the +young Dame de Trinquelague, surmounted by a huge head-dress of lace, +made in the latest fashion of the French court. Further down, dressed in +black, with vast pointed perukes and shaven faces, are the bailiff, +Thomas Arnoton, and the notary, Master Ambroy, two grave objects among +the flowing silks and figured damasks. Then come the fat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> majordomos, +the pages, the grooms, the attendants; dame Barbe, all her keys +suspended at her side on a ring of thin silver. At the bottom of the +hall, on the benches, are the Servants, the yeomen with their families; +and lastly, beyond, all about the doors as they open and shut +discretely, are the scullions, who steal in, between two sauces, to get +a little of the Mass, carrying an odor of the revelry into the church, +all in its gay attire and warm with so many burning candles.</p> + +<p>Is it a glimpse of their little white caps that distracts the celebrant +of the Mass? Or, it may be the clangor made by Garrigou's bells, that +pulsating sound which shakes the altar with an infernal vibration and +seems to say all the time:</p> + +<p>"Hurry up, hurry up. We'll soon be done; we'll soon be at table!"</p> + +<p>The fact is, that each time it sounds—that peal of the devil—the +chaplain forgets his Mass and thinks of nothing but the coming revel. He +pictures to himself the uproar of the kitchens; the furnace heated like +a blacksmith's forge; the vapor of opening trenchers, and in that vapor +two magnificent turkeys, buttered, tender, bursting with truffles.</p> + +<p>Or, perhaps he saw pass the files of little pages bearing dishes +enveloped in tempting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> steam, and, with them, entered the grand saloon +already prepared for the feast. O deliciousness! behold the immense +table all set and sparkling; the peacocks in their plumes; the pheasants +with their open wings of reddish-brown; the ruby-colored flagons; the +pyramids of fruit peeping from green branches; and those marvellous fish +of which Garrigou told (ah! well, yes, Garrigou!) held aloft on a bed of +fennel, the mother-of-pearl scales as bright as when they came from the +water, with a bouquet of odorous herbs in their monster-like nostrils. +So distinct is the vision of these marvels, that it seems to Dom +Balaguère as if all the wonderful dishes are served before him on the +embroideries of the altar-cloth; and two or three times, in place of +<i>Dominus vobiscum</i>, he is surprised to find himself repeating the +<i>Benedicite</i>. Saving these slight mistakes, the holy man does his office +very conscientiously, without skipping a line, without omitting a +genuflexion; and all goes well enough as far as the end of the first +Mass; because, you know, on Christmas night the same celebrant must +repeat three consecutive Masses.</p> + +<p>"One!" said the chaplain, with a sigh of relief; then, without losing a +minute, he made a sign to his clerk—or the person he believed to be his +clerk, and—<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>—</p> + +<p>Drelindin din! Drelindin din!</p> + +<p>The second Mass begins, and with it begins also the sin of Dom +Balaguère.</p> + +<p>"Hurry, hurry, let's get done," cries the thin voice of Garrigou's bell, +and this time the unlucky priest, abandoning himself to the demon of +gluttony, rushes through the missal, devouring its pages with all the +avidity of an overcharged appetite. Frantically he bows; arises; makes +the signs of the cross, goes through the genuflexions, abbreviates all +his gestures, the sooner to be finished. Scarcely does he extend his +arms to the Gospel, or strike his breast where it is required. Between +the clerk and him it is a race which shall jabber the faster. Verse and +response hurry each other, tumble over each other. The words, hardly +pronounced, because it takes too much time to open the mouth, become +incomprehensible murmurs.</p> + +<p> +<i>Oremus ps—ps—ps—<br /> +Meâ culpâ—pâ—pâ—.</i><br /> +</p> + +<p>Like hard-working vintagers pressing grapes in a vat, both wade through +the Latin of the Mass, splashing it on all sides.</p> + +<p>"<i>Dom—scum!</i>" says Balaguère.</p> + +<p>"<i>Stutuo!</i>" responds Garrigou, and all the while the damnable chime +sounds in their ears, like those little bells put on the post-horses to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> +make them gallop more swiftly. Believe me, under such conditions a low +Mass is vastly expedited!</p> + +<p>"Two!" said the chaplain, all out of breath; then without taking time to +breathe, red, perspiring, he tumbled down the stairs of the altar.</p> + +<p>Drelindin din! Drelindin din! The third Mass begins.</p> + +<p>Only a step or so and then the dining-hall! but, alas, the nearer the +revel approaches, the more the unfortunate Balaguère is seized with the +very folly of impatience and greediness. His vision accentuates it; the +golden carp, the roast turkeys are there. He may touch them—he may—Oh, +Holy Virgin! the dishes steam; the wines send forth sweet odors; and +shaking out its reckless song, the bell cries to him:</p> + +<p>"Hurry up, hurry up; still faster, still faster!"</p> + +<p>But how can he go any faster? He scarcely moves his lips, he pronounces +fully not a single word. He tries to cheat the good God altogether of +His Mass, and that is what brings his ruin. By temptation upon +temptation, he begins to jump one verse, then two. Then the epistle is +too long—he does not finish it; skims the Gospel, passes by the creed +without even entering, skips the pater, salutes from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> afar the preface, +and by bounds and jumps precipitates himself into eternal damnation, +always following the infamous Garrigou (<i>vade retro, Satanas</i>), who +seconds him with marvellous skill; tucks up his chasuble, turns the +leaves two by two, disarranges the music-desk, reverses the flagons, and +unceasingly rings the bell more and more vigorously, more and more +quickly.</p> + +<p>You should have seen what a figure all the assistants cut. Obliged to +follow, like mimics, a Mass of which they did not understand a word, +some rose when others kneeled, or seated themselves when others stood, +and all the actors in this singular office mixed themselves on the +benches in numberless contrary attitudes.</p> + +<p>The star of Christmas, on its journey through the heavens yonder by the +little manger, paled with astonishment at the confusion.</p> + +<p>"The Abbe's in a dreadful hurry: I can't follow him at all," said the +aged dowager, shaking her head-dress with bewilderment. Master Arnoton, +his great steel spectacles on his nose, searched in his prayer-book +where the deuce the words could be. But, after all, that gallant host, +which itself was thinking only of the feast, was far from being vexed +because the Mass rode post; and when Balaguère, with beaming +countenance, turned toward the assem<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>bly crying with all his might, <i>Ite +missa est</i>, with a single voice they returned, <i>Deo gratias</i>, so +joyously, so fervently, that one might have thought them already at +table responding to the first toast of the night.<br /><br /></p> + + +<p>III.</p> + +<p>Five minutes later the crowd of seigneurs was seated in the grand +dining-hall, the chaplain in the midst of them. The château, illuminated +from top to bottom, echoed with songs, cries, laughter, uproar, and the +venerable Dom Balaguère planted his fork in the wing of a wood-hen, +drowning the remorse of his sin under floods of wine of the Pope and the +sweet juices of the meats.</p> + +<p>So much did he eat and drink, that the poor holy man died in the night +of a terrible attack of sickness, without having even time to repent. +Then near the morning he arrived in heaven with all the savor of the +feast still about him and I leave you to imagine how he was received:</p> + +<p>"Retire from my sight, evil Christian!" said the Sovereign Judge, "thy +fault is dark enough to efface a whole life of virtue. Ah, thou hast +robbed me of a Mass to-night. Thou shalt pay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> me back three hundred in +its place, and thou shalt not enter into Paradise unless thou shalt have +celebrated in thy proper chapel these three hundred Christmas Masses in +the presence of all those who have sinned by thy fault and with thee."</p> + +<p>This, then, is the true legend of Dom Balaguère as they tell it in the +land of olives. To-day the château of Trinquelague is no more, but the +chapel still stands erect on the summit of Mont Ventoux, in a grove of +green oaks. The wind beats its disjointed portal; the grass creeps +across its threshold; the birds have built in the angles of the altar +and in the embrasures of the high windows, whence the colored panes have +long ago vanished. But it appears that every year at Christmas, a +supernatural light runs about these ruins, and that, in going to Mass or +feast, the peasants see the chapel illuminated by invisible candles +which burn brightly even through the wind and snow.</p> + +<p>You may laugh if you will, but a vine-dresser of the neighborhood named +Garrigue, without doubt a descendant of Garrigou, has assured me that +one Christmas night, finding himself a little so-so-ish, he became lost +on the mountain beside Trinquelague, and behold what he saw! At eleven +o'clock, nothing. All was silent, dark, lifeless. Suddenly, toward +midnight, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> chime sounded up above from a clock, an old, old chime +which seemed six leagues away. Pretty soon, on the ascending road, +Garrigue saw lights trembling in the uncertain shadows. Under the porch +of the chapel somebody walked, somebody whispered:</p> + +<p>"Good-evening, Master Arnoton."</p> + +<p>"Good-evening, good-evening, my children."</p> + +<p>When the whole company was entered, my vine-dresser, who was exceedingly +brave, approached stealthily, and peeping through the broken door saw a +strange spectacle. All those who had passed him were ranged about the +choir, in the ruined nave, as if the ancient benches still existed. +Beautiful dames in brocade with coifs of lace; seigneurs bedizzened from +top to toe; peasants in flowered jackets like those of our +grandfathers,—everything with an ancient air, faded, dusty, worn-out. +Now and then the night-birds, habitual dwellers in the chapel, awakened +by all these lights, winged about the candles, whose flames mounted +straight and vague as if they burnt behind gauze. And what amused +Garrigue most was a certain personage with great steel spectacles, who +shook at each instant his high black peruke, on which one of the birds +had alighted and entangled itself, silently beating its wings.</p> + +<p>At the farthest end, a little old man of boyish<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> size, on his knees in +the midst of the choir, pulled desperately at the chimeless and silent +bell; while a priest attired in ancient gold, went and came before the +altar reciting orisons of which one heard not a single word. Surely, +that was Dom Balaguère in the act of saying his third low Mass.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><i>A Love-Passage from a Wandering Cossack.</i></h3> + + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Dressed in his everlasting blue frock, he sat near the fire +playing cards."</p></div> + +<p><i>Turgenieff.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>A RUSSIAN CHRISTMAS PARTY.</h2> + + +<p>Count Rostow's affairs were going from bad to worse. He was of a warm, +generous nature, with unlimited faith in his servants, and hence was +blind to the mismanagement and dishonesty which had sapped his fortune. +The possessor of a handsome establishment at the Russian capital, +Moscow, the owner of rich provincial estates, and the inheritor of a +noble name and wealth, he was nevertheless on the verge of ruin. He had +given up his appointment as <i>Maréchal de la Noblesse</i>, which he had gone +to his seat of Otradnoë to assume, because it entailed too many +expenses; and yet there was no improvement in the state of his finances.</p> + +<p>Nicolas and Natacha, his son and daughter, often found their father and +mother in anxious consultation, talking in low tones of the sale of +their Moscow house or of their property in the neighborhood. Having thus +retired into private life, the count now gave neither fêtes nor +entertainments. Life at Otradnoë was much less gay than in past years; +still, the house and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> domain were as full of servants as ever, and +twenty persons or more sat down to dinner daily. These were dependants, +friends, and intimates, who were regarded almost as part of the family, +or at any rate seemed unable to tear themselves away from it: among them +a musician named Dimmler and his wife, Ioghel the dancing-master and his +family, and old Mlle. Bélow, former governess of Natacha and Sonia, the +count's niece and adopted child, and now the tutor of Pétia, his younger +son; besides others who found it simpler to live at the count's expense +than at their own. Thus, though there were no more festivities, life was +carried on almost as expensively as of old, and neither the master nor +the mistress ever imagined any change possible. Nicolas, again, had +added to the hunting establishment; there were still fifty horses in the +stables, still fifteen drivers; handsome presents were given on all +birthdays and fête days, which invariably wound up as of old with a +grand dinner to all the neighborhood; the count still played whist or +boston, invariably letting his cards be seen by his friends, who were +always ready to make up his table, and relieve him without hesitation of +the few hundred roubles which constituted their principal income. The +old man marched on blindfold through the tangle of his pecuniary +difficulties,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> trying to conceal them, and only succeeding in augmenting +them; having neither the courage nor the patience to untie the knots one +by one.</p> + +<p>The loving heart by his side foresaw their children's ruin, but she +could not accuse her husband, who was, alas! too old for amendment; she +could only seek some remedy for the disaster. From her woman's point of +view there was but one: Nicolas's marriage, namely, with some rich +heiress. She clung desperately to this last chance of salvation; but if +her son should refuse the wife she should propose to him, every hope of +reinstating their fortune would vanish. The young lady whom she had in +view was the daughter of people of the highest respectability, whom the +Rostows had known from her infancy: Julie Karaguine, who, by the death +of her second brother, had suddenly come into great wealth.</p> + +<p>The countess herself wrote to Mme. Karaguine to ask her whether she +could regard the match with favor, and received a most flattering +answer. Indeed, Mme. Karaguine invited Nicolas to her house at Moscow, +to give her daughter an opportunity of deciding for herself.</p> + +<p>Nicolas had often heard his mother say, with tears in her eyes, that her +dearest wish was to see him married. The fulfilment of this wish<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> would +sweeten her remaining days, she would say, adding covert hints as to a +charming girl who would exactly suit him. One day she took the +opportunity of speaking plainly to him of Julie's charms and merits, and +urged him to spend a short time in Moscow before Christmas. Nicolas, who +had no difficulty in guessing what she was aiming at, persuaded her to +be explicit on the matter, and she owned frankly that her hope was to +see their sinking fortunes restored by his marriage with her dear Julie!</p> + +<p>"Then, mother, if I loved a penniless girl, you would desire me to +sacrifice my feelings and my honor—to marry solely for money?"</p> + +<p>"Nay, nay; you have misunderstood me," she said, not knowing how to +excuse her mercenary hopes. "I wish only for your happiness!" And then, +conscious that this was not her sole aim, and that she was not perfectly +honest, she burst into tears.</p> + +<p>"Do not cry, mamma; you have only to say that you really and truly +desire it, and you know I would give my life to see you happy; that I +would sacrifice everything, even my feelings."</p> + +<p>But this was not his mother's notion. She asked no sacrifice, she would +have none; she would sooner have sacrificed herself, if it had been +possible.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Say no more about it; you do not understand," she said, drying away her +tears.</p> + +<p>"How could she think of such a marriage?" thought Nicolas. "Does she +think that because Sonia is poor I do not love her? And yet I should be +a thousand times happier with her than with a doll like Julie."</p> + +<p>He stayed in the country, and his mother did not revert to the subject. +Still, as she saw the growing intimacy between Nicolas and Sonia, she +could not help worrying Sonia about every little thing, and speaking to +her with colder formality. Sometimes she reproached herself for these +continual pin-pricks of annoyance, and was quite vexed with the poor +girl for submitting to them with such wonderful humility and sweetness, +for taking every opportunity of showing her devoted gratitude, and for +loving Nicolas with a faithful and disinterested affection which +commanded her admiration.</p> + +<p>Just about this time a letter came from Prince André, dated from Rome, +whither he had gone to pass the year of probation demanded by his father +as a condition to giving consent to his son's marriage with the Countess +Natacha. It was the fourth the Prince had written since his departure. +He ought long since to have been on his way home, he said, but the heat +of the summer had caused the wound he had received<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> at Austerlitz to +reopen, and this compelled him to postpone his return till early in +January.</p> + +<p>Natacha, though she was so much in love that her very passion for Prince +André had made her day-dreams happy, had hitherto been open to all the +bright influences of her young life; but now, after nearly four months +of parting, she fell into a state of extreme melancholy, and gave way to +it completely. She bewailed her hard fate, she bewailed the time that +was slipping away and lost to her, while her heart ached with the dull +craving to love and be loved. Nicolas, too, had nearly spent his leave +from his regiment, and the anticipation of his departure added gloom to +the saddened household.</p> + +<p>Christmas came; but, excepting the pompous high Mass and the other +religious ceremonies, the endless string of neighbors and servants with +the regular compliments of the season, and the new gowns which made +their first appearance on the occasion, nothing more than usual happened +on that day, or more extraordinary than twenty degrees of frost, with +brilliant sunshine, a still atmosphere, and at night a glorious starry +sky.</p> + +<p>After dinner, on the third day of Christmas-tide, when every one had +settled into his own corner once more, ennui reigned supreme through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>out +the house. Nicolas, who had been paying a round of visits in the +neighborhood, was fast asleep in the drawing-room. The old count had +followed his example in his room. Sonia, seated at a table in the +sitting-room, was copying a drawing. The countess was playing out a +"patience," and Nastacia Ivanovna, the old buffoon, with his peevish +face, sitting in a window with two old women, did not say a word.</p> + +<p>Natacha came into the room, and, after leaning over Sonia for a minute +or two to examine her work, went over to her mother and stood still in +front of her.</p> + +<p>The countess looked up. "Why are you wandering about like a soul in +torment? What do you want?" she said.</p> + +<p>"Want! I want him!" replied Natacha, shortly, and her eyes glowed. "Now, +here—at once!"</p> + +<p>Her mother gazed at her anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Do not look at me like that; you will make me cry."</p> + +<p>"Sit down here."</p> + +<p>"Mamma, I want him, I want him! Why must I die of weariness?" Her voice +broke and tears started from her eyes. She hastily quitted the +drawing-room and went to the housekeeper's room, where an old servant +was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> scolding one of the girls who had just come in breathless from +out-of-doors.</p> + +<p>"There is a time for all things," growled the old woman. "You have had +time enough for play."</p> + +<p>"Oh, leave her in peace, Kondratievna," said Natacha. "Run away, +Mavroucha—go."</p> + +<p>Pursuing her wandering, Natacha went into the hall; an old man-servant +was playing cards with two of the boys. Her entrance stopped their game +and they rose. "And what am I to say to these?" thought she.</p> + +<p>"Nikita, would you please go—what on earth can I ask for?—go and find +me a cock; and you, Micha, a handful of corn."</p> + +<p>"A handful of corn?" said Micha, laughing.</p> + +<p>"Go, go at once," said the old man.</p> + +<p>"And you, Fédor, can you give me a piece of chalk?"</p> + +<p>Then she went on to the servants' hall and ordered the samovar to be got +ready, though it was not yet tea-time; she wanted to try her power over +Foka, the old butler, the most morose and disobliging of all the +servants. He could not believe his ears, and asked her if she really +meant it. "What next will our young lady want?" muttered Foka, affecting +to be very cross.</p> + +<p>No one gave so many orders as Natacha, no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> one sent them on so many +errands at once. As soon as a servant came in sight she seemed to invent +some want or message; she could not help it. It seemed as though she +wanted to try her power over them; to see whether, some fine day, one or +another would not rebel against her tyranny; but, on the contrary, they +always flew to obey her more readily than any one else.</p> + +<p>"And now what shall I do, where can I go?" thought she, as she slowly +went along the corridor, where she presently met the buffoon.</p> + +<p>"Nastacia Ivanovna," said she, "if I ever have children, what will they +be?"</p> + +<p>"You! Fleas and grasshoppers, you may depend upon it!"</p> + +<p>Natacha went on. "Good God! have mercy, have mercy!" she said to +herself. "Wherever I go it is always, always the same. I am so weary; +what shall I do?"</p> + +<p>Skipping lightly from step to step, she went to the upper story and +dropped in on the Ioghels. Two governesses were sitting chatting with M. +and Mme. Ioghel; dessert, consisting of dried fruit, was on the table, +and they were eagerly discussing the cost of living at Moscow and +Odessa. Natacha took a seat for a moment, listened with pensive +attention, and then jumped up again. "The island of Madagascar!" she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +murmured, "Ma-da-gas-car!" and she separated the syllables. Then she +left the room without answering Mme. Schoss, who was utterly mystified +by her strange exclamation.</p> + +<p>She next met Pétia and a companion, both very full of some fireworks +which were to be let off that evening. "Pétia!" she exclaimed, "carry me +down-stairs!" And she sprang upon his back, throwing her arms round his +neck; and, laughing and galloping, they thus scrambled along to the head +of the stairs.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, that will do. Madagascar!" she repeated; and, jumping down, +she ran down the flight.</p> + +<p>After thus inspecting her dominions, testing her power, and convincing +herself that her subjects were docile, and that there was no novelty to +be got out of them, Natacha settled herself in the darkest corner of the +music-room with her guitar, striking the bass strings, and trying to +make an accompaniment to an air from an opera that she and Prince André +had once heard together at St. Petersburg. The uncertain chords which +her unpractised fingers sketched out would have struck the least +experienced ear as wanting in harmony and musical accuracy, while to her +excited imagination they brought a whole train of memories. Leaning +against the wall and half hidden by a cabi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>net, with her eyes fixed on a +thread of light that came under the door from the rooms beyond, she +listened in ecstasy and dreamed of the past.</p> + +<p>Sonia crossed the room with a glass in her hand. Natacha glanced round +at her and again fixed her eyes on the streak of light. She had the +strange feeling of having once before gone through the same +experience—sat in the same place, surrounded by the same details, and +watching Sonia pass carrying a tumbler. "Yes, it was exactly the same," +she thought.</p> + +<p>"Sonia, what is this tune?" she said, playing a few notes.</p> + +<p>"What, are you there?" said Sonia, startled. "I do not know," she said, +coming closer to listen, "unless it is from 'La Tempête';" but she spoke +doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"It was exactly so," thought Natacha. "She started as she came forward, +smiling so gently; and I thought then, as I think now, that there is +something in her which is quite lacking in me. No," she said aloud, "you +are quite out; it is the chorus from the 'Porteur d'Eau'—listen," and +she hummed the air. "Where are you going?"</p> + +<p>"For some fresh water to finish my drawing."</p> + +<p>"You are always busy and I never. Where is Nicolas?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Asleep, I think."</p> + +<p>"Go and wake him, Sonia. Tell him to come and sing."</p> + +<p>Sonia went, and Natacha relapsed into dreaming and wondering how it had +all happened. Not being able to solve the puzzle, she drifted into +reminiscence once more. She could see him—<i>him</i>—and feel his +impassioned eyes fixed on her face. "Oh, make haste back! I am so afraid +he will not come yet! Besides, it is all very well, but I am growing +old; I shall be quite different from what I am now! Who knows? Perhaps +he will come to-day! Perhaps he is here already! Here in the +drawing-room. Perhaps he came yesterday and I have forgotten."</p> + +<p>She rose, laid down the guitar, and went into the next room. All the +household party were seated round the tea-table,—the professors, the +governesses, the guests; the servants were waiting on one and +another—but there was no Prince André.</p> + +<p>"Ah, here she is," said her father. "Come and sit down here." But +Natacha stopped by her mother without heeding his bidding.</p> + +<p>"Oh, mamma, bring him to me, give him to me soon, very soon," she +murmured, swallowing down a sob. Then she sat down and listened to the +others. "Good God! always the same<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> people! always the same thing! Papa +holds his cup as he always does, and blows his tea to cool it as he did +yesterday, and as he will to-morrow."</p> + +<p>She felt a sort of dull rebellion against them all; she hated them for +always being the same.</p> + +<p>After tea Sonia, Natacha, and Nicolas huddled together in their +favorite, snug corner of the drawing-room; that was where they talked +freely to each other.</p> + +<p>"Do you ever feel," Natacha asked her brother, "as if there was nothing +left to look forward to; as if you had had all your share of happiness, +and were not so much weary as utterly dull?"</p> + +<p>"Of course I have. Very often I have seen my friends and fellow-officers +in the highest spirits and been just as jolly myself, and suddenly have +been struck so dull and dismal, have so hated life, that I have wondered +whether we were not all to die at once. I remember one day, for +instance, when I was with the regiment; the band was playing, and I had +such a fit of melancholy that I never even thought of going to the +promenade."</p> + +<p>"How well I understand that! I recollect once," Natacha went on, "once +when I was a little girl, I was punished for having eaten some plums, I +think. I had not done it, and you were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> all dancing, and I was left +alone in the school-room. How I cried! cried because I was so sorry for +myself, and so vexed with you all for making me so unhappy."</p> + +<p>"I remember; and I went to comfort you and did not know how; we were +funny children then; I had a toy with bells that jingled, and I made you +a present of it."</p> + +<p>"Do you remember," said Natacha, "long before that, when we were no +bigger than my hand, my uncle called us into his room, where it was +quite dark, and suddenly we saw——"</p> + +<p>"A negro!" interrupted Nicolas, smiling at her recollection. "To be +sure. I can see him now; and to this day I wonder whether it was a dream +or a reality, or mere fancy invented afterwards."</p> + +<p>"He had white teeth and stared at us with his black eyes."</p> + +<p>"Do you remember him, Sonia?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes—but very dimly."</p> + +<p>"But papa and mamma have always declared that no negro ever came to the +house. And the eggs; do you remember the eggs we used to roll up at +Easter; and one day how two little grinning old women came up through +the floor and began to spin round the table?"</p> + +<p>"Of course. And how papa used to put on his fur coat and fire off his +gun from the balcony.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> And don t you remember——?" And so they went on +recalling, one after the other, not the bitter memories of old age, but +the bright pictures of early childhood, which float and fade on a +distant horizon of poetic vagueness, midway between reality and dreams. +Sonia remembered being frightened once at the sight of Nicolas in his +braided jacket, and her nurse promising her that she should some day +have a frock trimmed from top to bottom.</p> + +<p>"And they told me you had been found in the garden under a cabbage," +said Natacha. "I dared not say it was not true, but it puzzled me +tremendously."</p> + +<p>A door opened, and a woman put in her head, exclaiming, "Mademoiselle, +mademoiselle, they have fetched the cock!"</p> + +<p>"I do not want it now; send it away again, Polia." said Natacha.</p> + +<p>Dimmler, who had meanwhile come into the room, went up to the harp, +which stood in a corner, and in taking off the cover made the strings +ring discordantly.</p> + +<p>"Edward Karlovitch, play my favorite nocturne—Field's," cried the +countess, from the adjoining room.</p> + +<p>Dimmler struck a chord. "How quiet you young people are," he said, +addressing them.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we are studying philosophy," said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> Natacha, and they went on +talking of their dreams.</p> + +<p>Dimmler had no sooner begun his nocturne than Natacha, crossing the room +on tiptoe, seized the wax-light that was burning on the table and +carried it into the next room; then she stole back to her seat, it was +now quite dark in the larger room, especially in their corner, but the +silvery moonbeams came in at the wide windows and lay in broad sheets on +the floor.</p> + +<p>"Do you know," whispered Natacha, while Dimmler, after playing the +nocturne, let his fingers wander over the strings, uncertain what to +play next, "when I go on remembering one thing beyond another, I go back +so far, so far, that at last I remember things that happened before I +was born, and——"</p> + +<p>"That is metempsychosis," interrupted Sonia, with a reminiscence of her +early lessons. "The Egyptians believed that our souls had once inhabited +the bodies of animals, and would return to animals again after our +death."</p> + +<p>"I do not believe that," said Natacha, still in a low voice, though the +music had ceased. "But I am quite sure that we were angels once, +somewhere there beyond, or, perhaps, even here; and that is the reason +we remember a previous existence."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p> + +<p>"May I join the party?" asked Dimmler, coming towards them.</p> + +<p>"If we were once angels, how is it that we have fallen lower?"</p> + +<p>"Lower? Who says that it is lower? Who knows what I was?" Natacha +retorted with full conviction. "Since the soul is immortal, and I am to +live forever in the future, I must have existed in the past, so I have +eternity behind me, too."</p> + +<p>"Yes; but it is very difficult to conceive of that eternity," said +Dimmler, whose ironical smile had died away.</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Natacha. "After to-day comes to-morrow, and then the day +after, and so on forever; yesterday has been, to-morrow will be——"</p> + +<p>"Natacha, now it is your turn; sing me something," said her mother. +"What are you doing in that corner like a party of conspirators?"</p> + +<p>"I am not at all in the humor, mamma," said she; nevertheless she rose. +Nicolas sat down to the piano; and standing, as usual, in the middle of +the room, where the voice sounded best, she sang her mother's favorite +ballad.</p> + +<p>Though she had said she was not in the humor, it was long since Natacha +had sung so well as she did that evening, and long before she sang so +well again. Her father, who was talking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> over business with Mitenka in +his room, hurriedly gave him some final instructions as soon as he heard +the first note, as a schoolboy scrambles through his tasks to get to his +play; but as the steward did not go, he sat in silence, listening, while +Mitenka, too, standing in his presence, listened with evident +satisfaction. Nicolas did not take his eyes off his sister's face, and +only breathed when she took breath. Sonia was under the spell of that +exquisite voice and thinking of the gulf of difference that lay between +her and her friend, full conscious that she could never exercise such +fascination. The old countess had paused in her "patience,"—a sad, fond +smile played on her lips, her eyes were full of tears, and she shook her +head, remembering her own youth, looking forward to her daughter's +future and reflecting on her strange prospects of marriage.</p> + +<p>Dimmler, sitting by her side, listened with rapture, his eyes half +closed.</p> + +<p>"She really has a marvellous gift!" he exclaimed. "She has nothing to +learn,—such power, such sweetness, such roundness!"</p> + +<p>"And how much I fear for her happiness!" replied the countess, who in +her mother's heart could feel the flame that must some day be fatal to +her child's peace.</p> + +<p>Natacha was still singing when Pétia dashed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> noisily into the room to +announce, in triumphant tones, that a party of mummers had come.</p> + +<p>"Idiot!" exclaimed Natacha, stopping short, and, dropping into a chair, +she began to sob so violently that it was some time before she could +recover herself. "It is nothing, mamma, really nothing at all," she +declared, trying to smile. "Only Pétia frightened me; nothing more." And +her tears flowed afresh.</p> + +<p>All the servants had dressed up, some as bears, Turks, tavern-keepers, +or fine ladies; others as mongrel monsters. Bringing with them the chill +of the night outside, they did not at first venture any farther than the +hall; by degrees, however, they took courage; pushing each other forward +for self-protection, they all soon came into the music-room. Once there, +their shyness thawed; they became expansively merry, and singing, +dancing, and sports were soon the order of the day. The countess, after +looking at them and identifying them all, went back into the +sitting-room, leaving her husband, whose jovial face encouraged them to +enjoy themselves.</p> + +<p>The young people had all vanished; but half an hour later an old +marquise with patches appeared on the scene—none other than Nicolas; +Pétia as a Turk; a clown—Dimmler; a hussar—Natacha; and a +Circassian—Sonia. Both the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> girls had blackened their eyebrows and +given themselves mustaches with burned cork.</p> + +<p>After being received with well-feigned surprise, and recognized more or +less quickly, the children, who were very proud of their costumes, +unanimously declared that they must go and display them elsewhere. +Nicolas, who was dying to take them all for a long drive <i>en troïka</i>,<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a> +proposed that, as the roads were in splendid order, they should go, a +party of ten, to the Little Uncle's.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> A team of three horses harnessed abreast.</p></div> + +<p>"You will disturb the old man, and that will be all," said the countess. +"Why, he has not even room for you all to get into the house! If you +must go out, you had better go to the Mélukows'."</p> + +<p>Mme. Mélukow was a widow living in the neighborhood; her house, full of +children of all ages, with tutors and governesses, was distant only four +versts from Otradnoë.</p> + +<p>"A capital idea, my dear," cried the count, enchanted. "I will dress up +in costume and go, too. I will wake them up, I warrant you!"</p> + +<p>But this did not at all meet his wife's views. Perfect madness! For him +to go out with his gouty feet in such cold weather was sheer folly! The +count gave way, and Mme. Schoss volun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>teered to chaperon the girls. +Sonia's was by far the most successful disguise; her fierce eyebrows and +mustache were wonderfully becoming, her pretty features gained +expression, and she wore the dress of a man with unexpected swagger and +smartness. Something in her inmost soul told her that this evening would +seal her fate.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 287px;"> +<img src="images/img-02.jpg" width="287" height="600" +alt="Sonia" title="Sonia" /> +<span class="caption">Sonia</span> +</div> + +<p>In a few minutes four sleighs with three horses abreast to each, their +harness jingling with bells, drew up in a line before the steps, the +runners creaking and crunching over the frozen snow. Natacha was the +foremost, and the first to tune her spirits to the pitch of this +carnival freak. This mirth, in fact, proved highly infectious, and +reached its height of tumult and excitement when the party went down the +steps and packed themselves into the sleighs, laughing and shouting to +each other at the top of their voices. Two of the sleighs were drawn by +light cart-horses, to the third the count's carriage horses were +harnessed, and one of these was reputed a famous trotter from Orlow's +stable; the fourth sleigh, with its rough-coated, black shaft-horse, was +Nicolas's private property. In his marquise costume, over which he had +thrown his hussar's cloak, fastened with a belt round the waist, he +stood gathering up the reins. The moon was shining brightly, re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>flected +in the plating of the harness and in the horses' anxious eyes as they +turned their heads in uneasy amazement at the noisy group that clustered +under the dark porch. Natacha, Sonia, and Mme. Schoss, with two women +servants, got into Nicolas's sleigh; Dimmler and his wife, with Pétia, +into the count's; the rest of the mummers packed into the other sleighs.</p> + +<p>"Lead the way, Zakhare!" cried Nicolas, to his father's coachman, +promising himself the pleasure of outstripping him presently; the +count's sleigh swayed and strained, the runners, which the frost had +already glued to the ground, creaked, the bells rang out, the horses +closed up for a pull, and off they went over the glittering, hard snow, +flinging it up right and left like spray of powdered sugar. Nicolas +started next, and the others followed along the narrow way, with no less +jingling and creaking. While they drove under the wall of the park the +shadows of the tall, skeleton trees lay on the road, checkering the +broad moonlight; but as soon as they had left it behind them, the wide +and spotless plain spread on all sides, its whiteness broken by myriads +of flashing sparks and spangles of reflected light. Suddenly a rut +caused the foremost sleigh to jolt violently, and then the others in +succession; they fell away a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> little, their intrusive clatter breaking +the supreme and solemn silence of the night.</p> + +<p>"A hare's tracks!" exclaimed Natacha, and her voice pierced the frozen +air like an arrow.</p> + +<p>"How light it is, Nicolas," said Sonia. Nicolas turned round to look at +the pretty face with its black mustache, under the sable hood, looking +at once so far away and so close in the moonshine. "It is not Sonia at +all," he said, smiling.</p> + +<p>"Why, what is the matter?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing," said he, returning to his former position.</p> + +<p>When they got out on the high-road, beaten and ploughed by horses' hoofs +and polished with the tracks of sleighs, his steeds began to pull and go +at a great pace. The near horse, turning away his head, was galloping +rather wildly, while the horse in the shafts pricked his ears and still +seemed to doubt whether the moment for a dash had come. Zakhare's +sleigh, lost in the distance, was no more than a black spot on the white +snow, and as he drew farther away the ringing of the bells was fainter +and fainter; only the shouts and songs of the maskers rang through the +calm, clear night.</p> + +<p>"On you go, my beauties!" cried Nicolas, shaking the reins and raising +his whip. The sleigh seemed to leap forward, but the sharp air that cut +their faces and the flying pace of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> the two outer horses alone gave them +any idea of the speed they were making. Nicolas glanced back at the +other two drivers; they were shouting and urging their shaft-horses with +cries and cracking of whips, so as not to be quite left behind; +Nicolas's middle horse, swinging steadily along under the shaft-bow, +kept up his regular pace, quite ready to go twice as fast the moment he +should be called upon.</p> + +<p>They soon overtook the first troïka, and after going down a slope they +came upon a wide cross-road running by the side of a meadow.</p> + +<p>"Where are we, I wonder," thought Nicolas; "this must be the field and +slope by the river. No—I do not know where we are! This is all new and +unfamiliar to me! God only knows where we are! But no matter!" And +smacking his whip with a will, he went straight ahead. Zakhare held in +his beasts for an instant, and turned his face, all fringed with frost, +to look at Nicolas, who came flying onward.</p> + +<p>"Steady there, sir!" cried the coachman, and leaning forward, with a +click of his tongue he urged his horses in their turn to their utmost +speed. For a few minutes the sleighs ran equal, but before long, in +spite of all Zakhare could do, Nicolas gained on him and at last flew +past him like a lightning flash; a cloud of fine snow, kicked up by the +horses, came showering down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> on the rival sleigh; the women squeaked, +and the two teams had a struggle for the precedence, their shadows +crossing and mingling on the snow.</p> + +<p>Then Nicolas, moderating his speed, looked about him; before, behind, +and on each side of him stretched the fairy scene; a plain strewn with +stars and flooded with light.</p> + +<p>"To the left, Zakhare says. Why to the left?" thought he. "We were going +to the Mélukows'. But we are going where fate directs or as Heaven may +guide us. It is all very strange and most delightful, is it not?" he +said, turning to the others.</p> + +<p>"Oh! look at his eyelashes and beard; they are quite white!" exclaimed +one of the sweet young men, with pencilled mustache and arched eyebrows.</p> + +<p>"That I believe is Natacha?" said Nicolas. "And that little +Circassian—who is he? I do not know him, but I like his looks +uncommonly! Are you not frozen?" Their answer was a shout of laughter.</p> + +<p>Dimmler was talking himself hoarse, and he must be saying very funny +things, for the party in his sleigh were in fits of laughing.</p> + +<p>"Better and better," said Nicolas to himself; "now we are in an +enchanted forest—the black shadows lie across a flooring of diamonds +and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> mix with the sparkling of gems. That might be a fairy palace, out +there, built of large blocks of marble and jewelled tiles? Did I not +hear the howl of wild beasts in the distance? Supposing it were only +Mélukovka that I am coming to after all! On my word, it would be no less +miraculous to have reached port after steering so completely at random!"</p> + +<p>It was, in fact, Mélukovka, for he could see the house servants coming +out on the balcony with lights, and then down to meet them, only too +glad of this unexpected diversion.</p> + +<p>"Who is there?" a voice asked within.</p> + +<p>"The mummers from Count Rostow's; they are his teams," replied the +servants.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Pélaguéïa Danilovna Mélukow, a stout and commanding personality, in +spectacles and a flowing dressing-gown, was sitting in her drawing-room +surrounded by her children, whom she was doing her best to amuse by +modelling heads in wax and tracing the shadows they cast on the wall, +when steps and voices were heard in the ante-room. Hussars, witches, +clowns, and bears were rubbing their faces, which were scorched by the +cold and covered with rime, or shaking the snow off their clothes. As +soon as they had cast off their furs they rushed into the large +drawing-room, which was hastily lighted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> up. Dimmler, the clown, and +Nicolas, the marquise, performed a dance, while the others stood close +along the wall, the children shouting and jumping about them with glee.</p> + +<p>"It is impossible to know who is who—can that really be Natacha? Look +at her; does not she remind you of some one? Edward, before Karlovitch, +how fine you are! and how beautifully you dance! Oh! and that splendid +Circassian—why, it is Sonia! What a kind and delightful surprise; we +were so desperately dull. Ha, ha! what a beautiful hussar! A real +hussar, or a real monkey of a boy—which is he, I wonder? I cannot look +at you without laughing." They all shouted and laughed and talked at +once, at the top of their voices.</p> + +<p>Natacha, to whom the Mélukows were devoted, soon vanished with them to +their own room, where corks and various articles of men's clothing were +brought to them, and clutched by bare arms through a half-open door. Ten +minutes later all the young people of the house rejoined the company, +equally unrecognizable. Pélaguéïa Danilovna, going and coming among them +all, with her spectacles on her nose and a quiet smile, had seats +arranged and a supper laid out for the visitors, masters and servants +alike. She looked straight in the face of each in turn, recognizing no +one of the motley crew<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>—neither the Rostows, nor Dimmler, nor even her +own children, nor any of the clothes they figured in.</p> + +<p>"That one, who is she?" she asked the governess, stopping a Kazan +Tartar, who was, in fact, her own daughter. "One of the Rostows, is it +not? And you, gallant hussar, what regiment do you belong to?" she went +on, addressing Natacha. "Give some <i>pastila</i> to this Turkish lady," she +cried to the butler; "it is not forbidden by her religion, I believe."</p> + +<p>At the sight of some of the reckless dancing which the mummers performed +under the shelter of their disguise, Pélaguéïa Danilovna could not help +hiding her face in her handkerchief, while her huge person shook with +uncontrollable laughter—the laugh of a kindly matron, frankly jovial +and gay.</p> + +<p>When they had danced all the national dances, ending with the +<i>Horovody</i>, she placed every one, both masters and servants, in a large +circle, holding a cord with a ring and a rouble, and for a while they +played games. An hour after, when the finery was the worse for wear and +heat and laughter had removed much of the charcoal, Pélaguéïa Danilovna +could recognize them, compliment the girls on the success of their +disguise, and thank the whole party for the amusement they had given +her. Supper<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> was served for the company in the drawing-room, and for the +servants in the large dining-room.</p> + +<p>"You should try your fortune in the bathroom over there; that is enough +to frighten you!" said an old maid who lived with the Mélukows.</p> + +<p>"Why?" said the eldest girl.</p> + +<p>"Oh! you would never dare to do it; you must be very brave."</p> + +<p>"Well, I will go," said Sonia.</p> + +<p>"Tell us what happened to that young girl, you know," said the youngest +Mélukow.</p> + +<p>"Once a young girl went to the bath, taking with her a cock and two +plates with knives and forks, which is what you must do; and she waited. +Suddenly she heard horses' bells—some one was coming; he stopped, came +up-stairs, and she saw an officer walk into the room; a real live +officer—at least so he seemed—who sat down opposite to her where the +second cover was laid."</p> + +<p>"Oh! how horrible!" exclaimed Natacha, wide-eyed. "And he spoke to +her—really spoke?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, just as if he had really been a man. He begged and prayed her to +listen to him, and all she had to do was to refuse him and hold out till +the cock crowed; but she was too much<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> frightened. She covered her face +with her hands, and he clasped her in his arms; luckily some girls who +were on the watch rushed in when she screamed."</p> + +<p>"Why do you terrify them with such nonsense?" said Pélaguéïa Danilovna.</p> + +<p>"But, mamma, you know you wanted to try your fortune too."</p> + +<p>"And if you try your fortune in a barn, what do you do?" asked Sonia.</p> + +<p>"That is quite simple. You must go to the barn—now, for instance—and +listen. If you hear thrashing, it is for ill-luck; if you hear grain +dropping, that is good."</p> + +<p>"Tell us, mother, what happened to you in the barn."</p> + +<p>"It is so long ago," said the mother, with a smile, "that I have quite +forgotten; besides, not one of you is brave enough to try it."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I will go," said Sonia. "Let me go."</p> + +<p>"Go by all means if you are not afraid."</p> + +<p>"May I, Madame Schoss?" said Sonia to the governess.</p> + +<p>Now, whether playing games or sitting quietly and chatting, Nicolas had +not left Sonia's side the whole evening; he felt as if he had seen her +for the first time, and only just now appreciated all her merits. +Bright, bewitchingly pretty in her quaint costume, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> excited as she +very rarely was, she had completely fascinated him.</p> + +<p>"What a simpleton I must have been!" thought he, responding in thought +to those sparkling eyes and that triumphant smile which had revealed to +him a little dimple at the tip of her mustache that he had never +observed before.</p> + +<p>"I am afraid of nothing," she declared. She rose, asked her way, +precisely, to the barn, and every detail as to what she was to expect, +waiting there in total silence; then she threw a fur cloak over her +shoulders, glanced at Nicolas, and went on.</p> + +<p>She went along the corridor and down the back-stairs; while Nicolas, +saying that the heat of the room was too much for him, slipped out by +the front entrance. It was as cold as ever, and the moon seemed to be +shining even more brightly than before. The snow at her feet was strewn +with stars, while their sisters overhead twinkled in the deep gloom of +the sky, and she soon looked away from them, back to the gleaming earth +in its radiant mantle of ermine.</p> + +<p>Nicolas hurried across the hall, turned the corner of the house, and +went past the side door where Sonia was to come out. Half-way to the +barn stacks of wood, in the full moonlight, threw their shadows on the +path, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> beyond, an alley of lime-trees traced a tangled pattern on +the snow with the fine crossed lines of their leafless twigs. The beams +of the house and its snow-laden roof looked as if they had been hewn out +of a block of opal, with iridescent lights where the facets caught the +silvery moonlight. Suddenly a bough fell crashing off a tree in the +garden; then all was still again. Sonia's heart beat high with gladness; +as if she were drinking in not common air, but some life-giving elixir +of eternal youth and joy.</p> + +<p>"Straight on, if you please, miss, and on no account look behind you."</p> + +<p>"I am not afraid," said Sonia, her little shoes tapping the stone steps +and then crunching the carpet of snow as she ran to meet Nicolas, who +was within a couple of yards of her. And yet not the Nicolas of +every-day life. What had transfigured him so completely? Was it his +woman's costume with frizzed-out hair, or was it that radiant smile +which he so rarely wore, and which at this moment illumined his face?</p> + +<p>"But Sonia is quite unlike herself, and yet she is herself," thought +Nicolas on his side, looking down at the sweet little face in the +moonlight. He slipped his arms under the fur cloak that wrapped her, and +drew her to him, and he kissed her lips, which still tasted of the +burned cork that had blackened her mustache.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Nicolas—Sonia," they whispered; and Sonia put her little hands round +his face. Then, hand in hand, they ran to the barn and back, and each +went in by the different doors they had come out of.</p> + +<p>Natacha, who had noted everything, managed so that she, Mme. Schoss, and +Dimmler should return in one sleigh, while the maids went with Nicolas +and Sonia in another. Nicolas was in no hurry to get home; he could not +help looking at Sonia and trying to find under her disguise the true +Sonia—his Sonia, from whom nothing now could ever part him. The magical +effects of moonlight, the remembrance of that kiss on her sweet lips, +the dizzy flight of the snow-clad ground under the horses' hoofs, the +black sky, studded with diamonds, that bent over their heads, the icy +air that seemed to give vigor to his lungs—all was enough to make him +fancy that they were transported to a land of magic.</p> + +<p>"Sonia, are you not cold?"</p> + +<p>"No; and you?"</p> + +<p>Nicolas pulled up, and giving the reins to a man to drive, he ran back +to the sleigh in which Natacha was sitting.</p> + +<p>"Listen," he said, in a whisper and in French; "I have made up my mind +to tell Sonia."</p> + +<p>"And you have spoken to her?" exclaimed Natacha, radiant with joy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Oh, Natacha, how queer that mustache makes you look! Are you glad?"</p> + +<p>"Glad! I am delighted. I did not say anything, you know, but I have been +so vexed with you. She is a jewel, a heart of gold. I—I am often +naughty, and I have no right to have all the happiness to myself now. +Go, go back to her."</p> + +<p>"No. Wait one minute. Mercy, how funny you look!" he repeated, examining +her closely and discovering in her face, too, an unwonted tenderness and +emotion that struck him deeply. "Natacha, is there not some magic at the +bottom of it all, heh?"</p> + +<p>"You have acted very wisely. Go."</p> + +<p>"If I had ever seen Natacha look as she does at this moment I should +have asked her advice and have obeyed her, whatever she had bid me do; +and all would have gone well. So you are glad?" he said, aloud. "I have +done right?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, of course you have! I was quite angry with mamma the other +day about you two. Mamma would have it that Sonia was running after you. +I will not allow any one to say—no, nor even to think—any evil of her, +for she is sweetness and truth itself."</p> + +<p>"So much the better." Nicolas jumped down and in a few long strides +overtook his own sleigh, where the little Circassian received him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> with +a smile from under the fur hood; and the Circassian was Sonia, and Sonia +beyond a doubt would be his beloved little wife!</p> + +<p>When they got home the two girls went into the countess's room and gave +her an account of their expedition; then they went to bed. Without +stopping to wipe off their mustaches they stood chattering as they +undressed; they had so much to say of their happiness, their future +prospects, the friendship between their husbands:</p> + +<p>"But, oh! when will it all be? I am so afraid it will never come to +pass," said Natacha, as she went toward a table on which two +looking-glasses stood.</p> + +<p>"Sit down," said Sonia, "and look in the glass; perhaps you will see +something about it." Natacha lighted two pairs of candles and seated +herself. "I certainly see a pair of mustaches," she said, laughing.</p> + +<p>"You should not laugh," said the maid, very gravely.</p> + +<p>Natacha settled herself to gaze without blinking into the mirror; she +put on a solemn face and sat in silence for some time, wondering what +she should see. Would a coffin rise before her, or would Prince André +presently stand revealed against the confused background in the shining +glass? Her eyes were weary and could hardly distinguish even the +flickering light of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> the candles. But with the best will in the world +she could see nothing; not a spot to suggest the image either of a +coffin or of a human form. She rose.</p> + +<p>"Why do other people see things and I never see anything at all? Take my +place, Sonia; you must look for yourself and for me, too. I am so +frightened; if I could but know!"</p> + +<p>Sonia sat down and fixed her eyes on the mirror.</p> + +<p>"Sofia Alexandrovna will be sure to see something," whispered Douniacha; +"but you always are laughing at such things." Sonia heard the remark and +Natacha's whispered reply: "Yes, she is sure to see something; she did +last year." Three minutes they waited in total silence. "She is sure to +see something," Natacha repeated, trembling.</p> + +<p>Sonia started back, covered her face with one hand, and cried out:</p> + +<p>"Natacha!"</p> + +<p>"You saw something? What did you see?" And Natacha rushed forward to +hold up the glass.</p> + +<p>But Sonia had seen nothing; her eyes were getting dim, and she was on +the point of giving it up when Natacha's exclamation had stopped her; +she did not want to disappoint them; but there is nothing so tiring as +sitting motionless.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> She did not know why she had called out and hidden +her face.</p> + +<p>"Did you see him?" asked Natacha.</p> + +<p>"Yes; stop a minute. I saw him," said Sonia, not quite sure whether +"him" was to mean Nicolas or Prince André. "Why not make them believe +that I saw something?" she thought. "A great many people have done so +before, and no one can prove the contrary. Yes, I saw him," she +repeated.</p> + +<p>"How? standing up or lying down?"</p> + +<p>"I saw him—at first there was nothing; then suddenly I saw him lying +down."</p> + +<p>"André, lying down? Then he is ill!" And Natacha gazed horror-stricken +at her companion.</p> + +<p>"Not at all; he seemed quite cheerful, on the contrary," said she, +beginning to believe in her own inventions.</p> + +<p>"And then—Sonia, what then?"</p> + +<p>"Then I saw only confusion—red and blue."</p> + +<p>"And when will he come back, Sonia? When shall I see him again? O God! I +am afraid for him—afraid of everything."</p> + +<p>And, without listening to Sonia's attempts at comfort, Natacha slipped +into bed, and, long after the lights were out, she lay motionless but +awake, her eyes fixed on the moonshine that came dimly through the +frost-embroidered windows.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><i>A Wayfarer's Fancy.</i></h3> + + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"A felicitous combination of the German, the Sclave, and the +Semite, with grand features, brown hair floating in artistic +fashion, and brown eyes in spectacles."</p></div> + +<p><i>George Eliot.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>TWO CHRISTMASES.</h2> + + +<p>I.</p> + +<p>It was the time of the great war. Germany was desolated. Towns and +villages were destroyed by flames. Order and law had given way to savage +power; and from the walls of many a ruined house of God the wooden image +of the Saviour looked down with a face of anguish on the horrors of the +degenerate times.</p> + +<p>The terrified citizens of towns that were still untouched by war, hid +themselves within their narrow walls, awaiting, in tremulous fear, the +day on which their homes must also fall a prey to plundering soldiers. +If any one were obliged to go beyond the boundaries, he would glance +anxiously at the bushes on either side of the road; and when night came +on, he would be forced to look with horror and sorrow at the reddened +horizon, where a little village or lonely hamlet was burning to ashes.</p> + +<p>But who is it cowers there in the ditch by the highway? A dried-up +little man with deathly-pale countenance, and clad in a black coat!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +Flee, Wanderer! let him not gaze at you with his piercing gray eyes! +Beware! for that old man is the Plague-man!</p> + +<p>The heart of the Wanderer sinks within him. Horrified he rushes away, +and thanks heaven when, in the gray of the morning, he sees again the +towers of his native town. Enraptured by the sight of home he believes +these towers with the dear, well-known faces can protect him; but the +old cripple has been quicker than he. Before break of day he has knocked +at the town-gate, and the gate-keeper, on opening it, has scarcely +looked into his gray eyes before he sank down as though some one had +felled him with an axe.</p> + +<p>Then the gray old man begins his terrible work. Like a bat he slips into +all dwellings; no gate and no bolt is an obstacle to him. Right up into +the lofts he climbs and opens the most secret chamber. That threshold he +passes is doomed to the Black-death.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>It had happened thus to a little town in Franconia, where but a few +houses remained untouched by the terrible plague. In this town there +lived a poor, honest couple with their child, a boy of nearly three +years. Their cottage lay on a small hill, and was divided from the road +by a little garden. People ascribed it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> to this that the awful spirit +for a long time had left their home untouched. But at last he seemed to +have found his way to even this out-of-the-way place.</p> + +<p>A few days before Christmas the boy fell sick, and on Christmas morning +he lay motionless in bed, so that the poor parents thought the plague +had taken their child from them. The father wanted to bury the body at +once, but the mother showed him the rosy cheeks of the dead child, and +said that a death that looked so like sleep could do them no harm. +Thereupon she went into the little garden and cut box-tree leaves from +under the snow, and made a wreath for the dead darling. She placed the +wreath on his curly head and moved his bed into the middle of the room, +where she set candles burning around it, just as we do in quieter times +for a dear departed one. Then she went into the wood, cut down a small +Christmas-tree and placed it, all decorated with lights, nuts, and +bright tinsel, next to the coffin, in order that the dead child might +also have his Christmas pleasure.</p> + +<p>This was the only Christmas-tree that the poor stricken town lit up! +People passing along the road looked with secret jealousy at the +illuminated window, wondering how they could still rejoice in such +bitter times. But no gladsome sounds from the window reached the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> +street, where flake after flake was whirling down from the gray heavens, +covering everything in its white cloak. And unceasingly, as flake after +flake sank down to earth, so in the little chamber the tears of the poor +woman rolled down her cheeks till the lights of the Christmas-tree +burned low, the fire in the stove died away, and sleep closed the +streaming eyes of the mother. Then all was quiet, very quiet, in the +little chamber.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>But at the gates of Heaven it was very noisy that evening. Countless +hosts were crowding up the broad stairway, young and old, rich and poor: +a mixed and motley crowd. There the patrician elbowed the tailor who had +made his coat; the general the lowest sutler; and a ragged beggar was +even next to a king, who drew his purple closer around him in order not +to be contaminated. All were pushing towards the great, light gate, and +many a one, who on earth had only beaten and jostled others, received +here in the crowd his own first jostling. At the gate stood a beautiful, +tall angel, who sprinkled each one with water out of a golden vessel. +The touch of this water obliterated at once all remembrance of the past.</p> + +<p>St. Peter, who considered the noise and bustle too much of a good thing, +was of the opin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>ion that mankind had none of the bother of dying, all +the work falling on him; and he was accordingly grumbling to himself. +Suddenly he saw a little fellow, clad only in a shirt, standing before +him, shivering all over, and regarding him with innocent, childish eyes, +as if asking whether he might enter. St. Peter, unwilling that such +little folks should cause delay in business, said, roughly, "In with +you!" The little frightened fellow rushed, thereupon, so quickly through +the gate that the angel did not have time to sprinkle him with the +waters of oblivion.</p> + +<p>Now, as children of two years have but short memories and very harmless +pasts, the angel smilingly let him slip by. Once inside, little Hans was +seized by a host of flying angels and whirled away to Paradise, which +was more beautiful than the fairest garden on earth. Rare plants with +big, magnificently colored blossoms filled the air with spicy odor. Here +dwelt the tiny children who had left earth before they knew anything of +it. Here they could dream on forever; and their breath swept softly over +every bud. Large butterflies with silken wings were bathing in the clear +ether, and floating entranced from bud to bud. The heavens glittered and +lightened as though composed of millions of diamonds; yet the sun did +not blind the eye, nor the warmth rise to sum<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>mer heat. Eternal spring +had banished from these regions battle and death, tempest and decay, and +far away below in misty distance lay all the sorrows of tormented +creation. Amongst the flowers wandered blissful forms, absorbed in the +beauty of surrounding harmony.</p> + +<p>The boy curiously observed all this splendor, peered into the dewy buds +of the flowers, examined the wings of his heavenly playmates, and was +not a little rejoiced on observing that two wings had also grown on him, +with which he could fly like a bird. "If neighbor Liesel could only see +me!" thought Hans, and he felt quite proud at the thought. For, +notwithstanding all the splendor about him, the picture of his parents' +home presented itself constantly to his little mind. He had an excellent +memory of the much despised earth, which soon with magnetic power drew +all his thoughts towards it. At the sight of the wonderful flowers of +Paradise, such as the earth never produces, he could think of nothing +but the violets, and crocuses, and tulips which curled up in spring-time +out of the black earth of his father's garden. The golden fruits on the +trees reminded him of the gilded ones of the Christmas-tree, and seemed +to him even brighter; and although the Paradise of heaven, with its +eternal clearness, was a thousand times more beautiful than the +changing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> air below, yet the little heart felt a dim yearning for the +beloved earth, the griefs of which he had not yet learned to measure; +and, amidst all this angelic beauty, he only felt an uncontrollable +longing for the plain, human countenance of his mother. Then there came +an end to his enjoyment. He began to cry, and, finally, to roar lustily. +The other little angels gathered astonished around him, staring at the +strange playmate who had dewdrops in his eyes and made such awful faces. +Such a thing did not generally occur in heaven, where all were good and +quiet. But just then St. James came along and, on seeing the crying +angel, he spoke pleasantly to him, and finally took him up in his arms +in order to comfort him. But a great surprise lay in store for the +Saint; for it would have been easier for him to convert a thousand +heathens than to quiet the little unruly fellow, who commenced kicking +and wriggling, and made such a terrible outcry that the angels fluttered +away in consternation. There stood the Saint with the child in his arms, +and did not know what to do! At last he concluded to show the strange +being to the Lord Himself, and went with the little one before His +throne. Then the Lord Almighty smiled, and all the angels around His +throne smiled, when they saw St. James, who certainly did not seem very +well<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> adapted for nursing children, and in whose arms little Hans, +regardless of all surroundings, continued to roar unmercifully. But the +merciful Lord opined that the greatest squallers often turned out the +best men, and He ordered an angel to carry the little one back to dear +earth.</p> + +<p>And this was done. With mighty strokes of his pinions the heavenly +messenger floated back to earth, which came nearer and nearer with its +mountains, lakes, and rivers, and with the old, lifeworn town, and from +out the town rose up the gabled roof of the parents' home with a cap of +snow upon it.</p> + +<p>The boy in the coffin opened his eyes, and with a cry of joy his mother +pressed him to her heart. Among the boughs of the Christmas-tree there +was a soft rustling and whispering.</p> + +<p>Methinks the tree remembered that winter is only a deep sleep, and was +dreaming of spring.<br /><br /></p> + + +<p>II.</p> + +<p>The years of misery and war were over. In the streets of the old town, +where only a few years ago the roll of the drum resounded, and where the +plague, in deathly silence, had spread its black wings, there, the stork +on the town-hall heard, to his great satisfaction, merry shouts of +children,—the ringing laugh of peace.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> A group of boys chased each +other noisily over the market-place, playing at war. War! which had +desolated so many of their homes. Oh! the fresh, merry laughter of +childhood! how like unto ivy it climbeth over all ruins and findeth at +last the sunshine!</p> + +<p>But there was one not amongst the noisy group, and that one was Hans. +His parents perceived with anxiety that the little noisy child had grown +into a silent, shy boy, who avoided the games of his comrades and +dreamingly went his own way. For hours he sat in the garden on the bench +near his mother's flowers, and gazed dreamingly at the busy bees and +butterflies, or lay in the woods near by and stared up through the +branches of the beech-trees at the blue sky.</p> + +<p>"What are you thinking of?" his mother would ask at times; then he would +start up like one awakened from sleep, the thread of whose dreams are +broken by awaking. "He is ill," the mother would think, anxiously. But +folks would shake their heads suspiciously when, on speaking to the boy, +they received no other answer than a shy, questioning look. "There is +something wanting," said some, with an unmistakable gesture. "He is a +fool," murmured others.</p> + +<p>Thus a boy fares who has peeped too early<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> into Paradise. The children +of his own age made fun of him, and poor Hans would have been quite +forsaken if Liesel from next door had not taken his part. She was quite +the opposite to him,—merry and high-spirited. Whilst he sat dreaming, +she was romping about, singing and laughing. But the children kept +together, and the parents thought they might some day be a pair. The +boy's reserved nature vexed the father, and, being of the opinion that +man's hand cannot learn too early to handle and knead the tough clay of +existence, he apprenticed him to a potter, in the hope that time would +change the character of his son. He was mistaken, however; the boy grew +up a fine, handsome youth, but in character he remained the boy of +former days. If he looked up from his work it was not in order to gaze, +like other journeymen, after a young girl who maybe was tripping past; +but to stare up at the sky, which shone so blue between the houses, or +to follow with his eyes the great white clouds away,—who knows whither? +In his free time he did not go like others to the market-place, but +would mount the ramparts at the back of his parents' house and gaze into +the valley below, where the river was bearing its silvery wavelets into +the far distance. What might not be in the far distance? Far, far away<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> +yonder must be the place where the dream of his childhood was realized! +How astonished, then, was his father, when one fine sunny spring morning +his son stood before him, with knapsack and staff, in order to bid him +farewell before setting out on his travels. Who would ever have thought +he would want to travel! The father rejoiced in the belief that the son +would seek work according to the custom of journeymen workmen, and gave +him his blessing, and much good advice besides. But he hardly even heard +the words and advice of his father; there was a singing in his ears and +a mist before his eyes, so that he felt like one intoxicated. Yes, he +was a fool! Nor did he see the tears his mother and Liesel were shedding +at his departure: he only thought of that far-off land, of the dream of +his childhood. What mattered to him their tears! He wanted only to +travel to find his Eden. And he travelled. With each rising sun he arose +and thought, "To-day you will find what you seek;" and when he laid +himself down tired at night, he thought, "To-morrow I shall reach my +goal;" and, happy in this thought, he would fall asleep. No mountain was +too steep for him, no path too stony, no forest too dense; he thought of +his Eden, and minded not the thorns that tore his flesh. Yes, he was a +fool!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p> + +<p>Far behind him, forgotten, lay his home in the dim distance!</p> + +<p>No living creature could tell him where his Paradise lay! The birds of +the forest went on with their song; the deer gazed at him astonished; +the brooks babbled on monotonously and sought the way to the ocean. +People he asked only laughed, and they looked back at the strange lad, +shaking their heads.</p> + +<p>Quickly the time flew by; the spring faded, summer and autumn passed, +and still he wandered on. His path, that once lay before him green and +fair, was now covered with snow. He, however, heeded it not, and +journeyed on. It must come at last, the long-sought goal! At last he +reached a mighty snow-covered mountain range, so mighty that he said to +himself, "Beyond this it must surely lie," and in glad hope passed +forward. A whole day he ascended over snow and ice: his feet were sore +and bruised, and he was shivering from the cold, and yet no hut was to +be seen that might offer him shelter. The sun went down in crimson +behind the ice-armored mountains, leaving behind a bitter coldness, so +great that the stars in the heavens shivered with frost.</p> + +<p>Then it occurred to tired Hans that it was Christmas, and for the first +time on his journey he thought for a long while of home, where the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> +Christmas-tree was now lighting up the warm room, and the dear ones were +assembling around it. But what mattered the Christmas-tree to him; he +was seeking Paradise!</p> + +<p>Suddenly he saw on the roadside an old man. He was sitting on his +bundle, and leaning his head on his hands. He must have been very old, +for his face was furrowed like the bark of an oak, and his snowy beard +hung nearly to the ground.</p> + +<p>Then tired Hans rejoiced, greeted him, and asked how far it might be to +the nearest habitation of man.</p> + +<p>"To-day you can no longer reach it," replied the old man. "Whither are +you journeying?"</p> + +<p>"I seek Paradise," answered Hans: "nearly a year have I wandered over +the earth, and yet have not found it."</p> + +<p>Thereupon the old man arose, laid his hands upon Hans's shoulder, and +said, "Turn back and go home! I have wandered for more than a thousand +years on earth, and sought Paradise, and have not found it. Know, then, +I am Ahasuerus, doomed to everlasting wandering as a penance. Wherever I +go I am persecuted; where I knock the gate is locked; and nowhere have I +a home. Stones are my bed, and my bundle is my pillow. Go, poor fool! +return to the place of your birth. There, some day, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> will dig a +grave for you, wherein you may sleep peacefully. Go back to your home, +where a Christmas-tree is lit up for you, and where you are loved, and +leave to me all wandering and seeking: to me, the poor, old, accursed +man!"</p> + +<p>Then Hans was very sad: he threw down his bundle, sat down in the snow, +and wept bitterly. However, he was so tired from the long journey that +he soon forgot all his misery, and fell into a deep slumber. The old man +spread his cloak over him to protect him from the cold, and then +listened to the deep-drawn breathing of precious sleep, that drowns all +cares. The youth lying there could sleep, and die, and forget! but he +himself must keep awake, and live, and wander!</p> + +<p>Upon the face of Hans a smile was playing; he was dreaming! Did he see +the long-sought Paradise? He saw in his dream a house with snow-covered +gable and little windows; a small house, closely encircled by other +houses, a garden in front. In a room inside sat his parents round a +cheerful fire. The spinning-wheel whizzed, and the cat purred in comfort +in front of the fire. Softly there fell, now and again, a needle from +the Christmas-tree. A resinous, pine-tree odor filled the room. From the +next house a clear, maiden's voice was singing the old, old Christmas +carol,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>—</p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" summary="poem"> +<tr> +<td align='left'> +"A rose has bloomed<br /> +From a tender root,<br /> +Our fathers have sung:<br /> +Out of Jesse it came." +</td></tr></table></div> + +<p>And the crackling of the fire, the whizzing of the spinning-wheel, and +the maiden's song seemed to the dreamer fairer than a thousand Edens. An +indescribable homesickness overcame him.</p> + +<p>When he awoke, the east was radiant with the blush of morning. He sprang +up and seized his staff. Scales seemed to fall from his eyes. "Home, +home!" a thousand voices seemed to echo within him.</p> + +<p>But up the mountains, outlined by the red of the morn, he saw the old +man wandering on his comfortless path.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><i>A Yarn Spun by a Yankee.</i></h3> + + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"A white-haired, thin-visaged, weather-worn old gentleman in a +blue, Quaker-cut coat."</p></div> + +<p><i>Hawthorne.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>A TALE OF A TURKEY.</h2> + + +<p>I.</p> + +<p>The shutters of a little spur of warehouses which breaks out into +mountainous stores and open valleys of streets around the corner, but +which itself overlooks no fairer view than a narrow, muddy alley of a +thoroughfare scarcely broad enough to admit two drays abreast, and, by +actual measurement,—taken with persistent diligence by the adjacent +office boys,—just two running-jumps from gutter to gutter; the shutters +of this, in its own eyes, important little trade centre, were up, and a +great clattering they had made in getting up on a clear, tingling night +before Christmas, eighteen hundred and—no matter what.</p> + +<p>The porters had come out in their faded greatcoats, bandaged right and +left in woolly mufflers, and more than usually clumsy in padded gloves, +and had been bitten and tossed about by the wind with such unbecoming +violence that even a porter felt it necessary to hurry and bustle.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +Taking the shutters by assault from the foe's embraces, they had +thumped, and banged, and hammered, and scolded them into place, and, in +undignified haste, had betaken themselves, steaming warm breath through +their fingers, into their proper and respective places by the +counting-house fire.</p> + +<p>The magic—so it seemed in its effects—tolling of a deep-toned bell in +the neighborhood would not allow them to doze long in their warm nooks, +but, like the jealous monster in the fairy-tale, kept its captives +always going, going, going, for its sixth stroke had not died away +before they began to appear again, this time with the addition of fur +hats and little dinner-baskets, and with no perceptible noses—unless +the existence of watery eyes above their mufflers argued the missing +features to be in their proper places below—and with an accelerated +gait—also an act of enchantment.</p> + +<p>William, of No. 6, bawled as loud as his worsted gag would permit across +the street (so termed by a figure of rhetoric) to James, of No. 7:</p> + +<p>"Hello, Jim! Cold as blazes, ain't it?"</p> + +<p>James, of No. 7, assenting, Thomas, of No. 4, would like to know "How +blazes can be cold, now?"</p> + +<p>William, of No. 6, would say "as thunder,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> if that would suit him any +better; and as it appeared to do so they, with half a dozen others, +breasted the wind and trudged out into the blustery streets beyond.</p> + +<p>The merchants, too, had locked their doors, and tried their knobs, and +looked up at the faces of their stores as if to say, "Merry Christmas to +you, and I wish you a pleasant day to-morrow!" but in reality to see +that all was fast, and perchance to indulge in a comfortable survey of +their snug little properties—and the complacent tread with which they +followed the porters gives color to the suspicion—and draw from it +momentum for the enjoyment of the morrow's holiday.</p> + +<p>The shutters, then, were up—stop, not all up! One, as you may see by +the shaft of gas-light that has just fallen across the pavement near the +top of the court, is still down.</p> + +<p>The little square window through which the light eddies on the bricks is +supported on either side by a heavy door, and all three, the two doors +and the window, are in turn crowned and anointed on the head, as it +were, by a very bold sign containing very brazen—in every sense of the +word—letters which announced pompously, like some servants of similar +metallic qualities, the name of their master.</p> + +<p>Emanuel Griffin—the tongue uncontrollably<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> adds Esquire—was the name, +and there, if you had looked through the window, in a deep funnel of a +room, at a desk near the fire, head behind the open leaves of a ledger, +and feet beneath the warm recesses of the stove, sat its possessor.</p> + +<p>Outside the railing which formed a barrier between Emanuel Griffin, +Esq., and the business world, and encompassed with a less elaborate +railing, sat, on a high stool in a cold corner, the little, +blackish-green (perhaps the color gas-light imparts to faded black) +clerk of Emanuel Griffin, Esq. Whether David Dubbs, such was he called, +derived the power of writing from his mouth; or whether the gentle +excitation of moving his lips over toothless gums assisted thought; or +whether, as some said, he chewed tobacco, a position which nobody ever +held long, as nobody ever proved him to have expectorated during his +whole life; his mouth—always closed—moved up and down, up and down, +with the motion of his pen. Hair he had none, that is, none to speak of; +there were some few isolated white locks behind his ears and at the back +of his head, but he made no pretensions to have any, and openly +acknowledged himself bald—and very candid of him it was to do so.</p> + +<p>Chroniclers have told us how, after fierce battles that have raged from +dawn till nightfall,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> the moon has come calmly up from the horizon and +shone peacefully and serenely over the field of strife and death. So +arose a beneficent smile ever and anon over the wrinkled and careworn +face of the old clerk; but still he wrote on, Faithful Dave! and if +pleasant thoughts swept through him they avoided the business that +occupied his hands and did not interrupt it.</p> + +<p>They had long sat in quietness, only broken by the noise of turning +leaves and crackling coals,—but, in truth, if David Dubbs's eye, in its +course to and from the clock, had not, like the world, worked silently +on its axis, there must have been continual creaking—when a noise like +the name of David emanated from the ledger, and following it—for it was +near-sighted—the head of Emanuel Griffin, Esq., lifted itself to an +erect posture and repeated in a less muffled tone, "David!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," answered the old clerk, in a weak little voice, and climbing +down to the floor from his perch.</p> + +<p>"You may lock up, David. Ten thousand and odd. Ten thousand's a good +year, David; a very good year. Very—good—indeed! But go and lock up," +and then Mr. Griffin took a glance at the clock. "Half-past six! Why +it's surprising how time does fly, and Christmas Eve,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> too. Well, well! +But hurry up with the shutters, David, and we shan't be long——"</p> + +<p>Before Mr. Griffin had fully delivered himself of these remarks the +little person of David Dubbs was out in the cold, was in and out among +the screws on the door, had put up the shutters, and simultaneously with +the last word stood in the half-opened door and, all unseen by his +employer, waved his hand to some one at the corner of the court. He then +walked as quickly as his little, bent legs—parabolic were they in +outline, but, as this is not a geometric treatise, it is of no +particular consequence—would permit him up the long aisle in the centre +of the room, and sent off timid little echoes of his steps to ramble +away among the bales of crockery—for it was crockery that Emanuel +Griffin, Esq., dealt in—and rattle among the piles of plates.</p> + +<p>Having reached again his little cage of an office, he took down from its +accustomed peg an old, threadbare coat, and, with much exertion and +outstretching of arms, finally got it on, turned up the collar, tied +about his ears a not very robust scarf, and laid thereon, as the +copestone of his apparel, a dingy high hat that had undergone, in point +of nap, as many reverses as its wearer in point of fortune. Thus +attired, he tipped his hat to his employer, all ready, like himself, to +depart, and started out.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> + +<p>Before he reached the door, a cry from Mr. Griffin arrested him, and he +came hastily back; for, although it would have required a thumbscrew to +have made him confess it, yet he had all day long looked forward to the +time of parting, when he half expected Emanuel Griffin, Esq., contrary +to his custom though it was, would offer him some little gift out of the +increased profits of a business he had done no little to advance. But no +such design had Mr. Griffin conceived, or if he had it was very soon +suppressed as entirely unworthy of a man of purely business habits, and +all he had to say was,—</p> + +<p>"I know, David, there is something I was to have told you to do. Mrs. +Griffin impressed it on me this morning, but,"—here he stood thinking +for a moment,—"no matter," he resumed. "I guess it was nothing very +important, so good-by, David, and a—good-by!" He was going to say "and +a merry Christmas;" but for a man of purely business habits to unbend so +far and become cheerful—why, it's subversive of all business +discipline, and so he thought to himself.</p> + +<p>David, doubly disappointed, turned and passed out, and his old eyes must +have been extremely sensitive to the wind, for they ran with something +very like tears that he wiped away with his glove as he muttered,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>—</p> + +<p>"So, no Christmas, after all. Poor girls! Poor girls!" Mr. Griffin was +not long behind his faithful old clerk. He extinguished the lights with +great care, and then, with the key in his hand, felt his way to the +door, banged it after him, and locked it with the satisfaction of a +miser over a casket of treasures. His journey home led him to the +opposite end of the court from that which David had passed through, and +he therefore did not overtake him.</p> + +<p>And if he had, would this hard, business-encrusted heart have been less +cold than the bitter winds that assailed it? Would the sight which made +David Dubbs forget the fierceness of night have penetrated the chilly +place where it rested and warmed it in pitying activity? Would the +tender impulses, which the unsifted morals of barter extinguish, as they +extinguish much of the nobility in man, have enkindled anew and +brightened this misery? Not if dollars would have done it; nay, not if +even a word would have done it, would Emanuel Griffin have relaxed from +the demeanor which purely business habits imposed upon him. He felt it +due to his position in business society to maintain rigidly its maxims, +the chief of which, "Do unto others as they would do unto you, if they +could," he practised to the letter.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span><br /></p> + +<p>II.</p> + +<p>Poor David Dubbs! Oh, the long time it seemed since boon companions had +smitten him on the back and cried, "Bravo, Dave Dubbs! Bravo, old +fellow!" to his little songs, or encouraged him by such exclamations as +"Dave Dubbs can't be beat at a ballad!" Oh, the long, long time ago! But +to proceed. As David Dubbs met the ambushed winds that leaped upon him +at the corner of the court, he also met the person to whom he had waved +his hand from the store-door. If you had looked for the stature of a man +you would have been doubly mistaken,—first in sex, next in size. It was +neither a man nor a woman. There, in a blustery doorway, shaking with +cold, but ever on the alert, crouched a little girl. She wore a knitted +hood, and out of it fell overflowing curls; but her poor, attenuated +little body was ill-assorted with plenty of any kind, and the wealth of +curls mocked the poverty of her clothes. A patched shawl affected to +protect her poor little shoulders, and a calico dress flapped coldly +about her legs. As David turned the corner she arose, and, for all her +stiffness and shivering, exclaimed, cheerily, "A merry Christmas, +father!" and reached to kiss him.</p> + +<p>He took her in his arms—she was very, very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> slight—and lifted her to +his lips, and then, throwing one side of his own scanty coat about her +and holding it there with an affectionate hug, he said, "Come, come, +little daughter, it's too bleak for a little body like you to be out. +It's cruel, cruel, but I dared not tell him it was so late. What does he +know or care for my poor little faithful, Loving Scout?"</p> + +<p>"Your Scout couldn't miss Christmas Eve, father, if it was ever so +cold."</p> + +<p>"And does she ever miss? No, no, she's a dutiful Scout, winter and +summer, rain and shine, morning and night, and what should I ever do +without her!"</p> + +<p>So, talking and fighting the wind by turns, they walked on, the bent and +shuffling old man and his Little Scout, as he had named her and as they +all affectionately called her, through dark streets where, ever and +anon, a car or belated dray shivered by, as if the cold had touched even +its insensibility, and made the tracks resound and the paving blocks +rattle in the clear air; through deep cisterns of streets, between lofty +stone banks—as stern almost as their governing boards, for, although +boards are chiefly wooden, a supplication will quickly petrify them; +through rows of illuminated stores like walls of Arabian Night visions, +with traceries of frost on their windows richer in design than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> the gems +within them; through clustering crowds that entered or left continually +the swinging doors of saloons and hotels; past waiting carriages; past +swearing men; past laughing ladies, and past beggars, wearier, and +colder, and lonelier than themselves. So they travelled, scarcely +heeding what they saw in their speed until, on the margin of all the +din, by a turn through a dark street, they reached a darker alley, and, +passing down it, at last stopped before their own homely door.</p> + +<p>The building had once been a warehouse,—David liked it the better for +that, he said. "Why, all my life has been spent in trade, and, you see, +I've sort a become attached to anything that smacks of it, though I've +little reason to feel so, the Lord knows!" he would exclaim to his +friends. Up above, over a long door in the top story—you can scarcely +make it out in the uncertain light—jutted a weather-beaten crane, with +a long disused pulley dangling at its point, cracked, and rusted, and +abandoned, and no less cracked and abandoned, shot out from the second +floor a moss-covered platform that had been intended for the reception +of bales of stuffs that had never arrived. The mortar had, here and +there, been wrenched from between the bricks by savage weather and age, +and the doors, too, had shrunk before their united ma<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>lignity. How such +a house had drifted to such a locality is unaccountable, unless—as is +often the case—some navigator of real estate had thought he descried a +port, where was only a shoal that left his venture high and dry among +newer and costlier craft.</p> + +<p>However, the nearest approach it had made in the last twenty years or +so—so David said—to fulfilling its commercial place in the world was +in opening its doors to a gentleman in the carpentering line. This +gentleman, Mr. Jacob Tripple by name, occupied the ground floor, and all +around it were scattered evidences, in the shape of window-frames, and +wooden-horses, and props, and old lumber, of a thriving business. He, +with all his men, had departed long ago and left the place dark, and +still, and cold.</p> + +<p>It had lain in this stupor of silence for more than an hour, waiting +against hope to be resuscitated by any stray echoes that should drop in +from the neighboring hubbub and waken it up, when it caught among its +bleak angles the cheery voice of David's Little Scout, and revived—as +some old men do under the charm of gentle words—to a more respectable +opinion of itself. So immediately it seemed refreshed, that if it were +possible for such a decrepit—not to say inanimate—old structure as +that even metaphorically to prick up its ears, it metaphorically<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> did as +the sound of Dolly's—her proper name—cheery welcome home echoed round +it.</p> + +<p>"Here we are once more, father," she cried, breaking away from him to +have the door open when he plodded up to it. "Once more, and a welcome +home, and a merry Christmas to you!"</p> + +<p>"Always on duty, Little Scout! Always on duty!" he called after her. +(The wind was keen and drew water to his eyes again, and again he +brushed it away.) "Always on duty," he went on repeating, with a doleful +effort at cheerfulness.</p> + +<p>She was up-stairs by that time, and, opening the door above, had called +in, "Here's father!" then ran back to meet him, which she did at the +door below.</p> + +<p>What these unusual proceedings meant, David Dubbs might have guessed or +might have known traditionally, they being of an annual nature, but +whether he did or not, or whether his ignorance was also traditional, he +gave no sign, and walked feebly up-stairs, guided by the Little Scout, +just as if it were not Christmas Eve at all.</p> + +<p>What the proceedings did mean was that a steaming pot of coffee at the +given signal was lifted from its warm corner and tilted into a cup that +held a conspicuous place at the head of a little white spread table. On +its right<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> hand sat, in the position of an honored and seldom present +guest, a juicy-complexioned, but not corpulent beefsteak; opposite to +it, inviting death by explosion, rested a bowl full of steaming potatoes +in their native jackets, and the centre was fully occupied by a huge +loaf with a large family of slices.</p> + +<p>Around this collation—aroused by the signal, for they had been idly +waiting before—moved two pairs of hands with loving attention. The +cloth was resmoothed, the knives and forks straightened, a brace of +mealy potatoes was emptied on the two plates that awaited them, and at +last a ruddy slice of beefsteak was deposited beside and oozed through +them its savoriness. This last climax was reached just as the door +opened, and the two pairs of hands speedily transferred themselves to +the duty—no very arduous one—of helping David and Dolly out of their +wraps.</p> + +<p>And then, with many caresses and kisses and cries of "Take this side, +father, where the coals are bright!" or "Put your feet here and get them +good and warm, poor Little Scout!" then, when thick flying questions and +travellings to the one end of the room for things that were not wanted, +and excursions to the other end of the room for things that were wanted; +when the chairs were drawn up; when the grateful old man and his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> little +daughter, with those tender hands over their mouths to stifle the +gratitude they struggled to utter, were duly seated at the table, and +when the kettle was singing its approval in the corner, then, +only,—when all these preliminaries were gone through with,—did the +possessors of the hands that devised them seat themselves on a low +wooden settee opposite the table and enjoy the zest and delight they had +ministered to.</p> + +<p>Good nature and tender hearts, pale faces and cheerful eyes, honest red +hands and neatly bound-up hair have never been faithfully reproduced in +a state of print and paper, much less in imagination, and, indeed, how +can anything so buxom and comely, even if the plainest in dress, be +expected to be? It is, therefore, needless to say that the twin +daughters of David, namely, Molly and Polly Dubbs, being all that is +here set down, should have been seen in all their kindliness to be truly +known, and no other form of introduction would do them full justice.</p> + +<p>Molly was the counterpart of Polly in all respects save height. She was +a very little taller than Polly, and a fortunate thing it had been for +all concerned that she was so. Else, consider the vexation of the +measles and other diseases essential to youth. Why, in their quandary +which to begin on, they almost missed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> the twins altogether as it was. +Consider the complexity of young lovers who should pour into the ears of +Polly passionate adjectives intended solely to captivate the heart of +Molly; and, most important of all, consider the conflict of choice which +would have disquieted the soul of Mr. Jacob Tripple and at last driven +him to the alternatives of suicide or bigamy.</p> + +<p>But all these dangers had been averted by the provisions of Nature, and +the twins, who had supped, for economic reasons, earlier in the evening, +sat beaming on while David and little Dolly heartily devoured the +supper.</p> + +<p>David, looking up now for the first time, in the interval of a mouthful +swallowed and a mouthful threatened, espied a bowery wreath of holly +that hung around a picture of General Washington in the act of crossing +a dark, green river Delaware in a court dress of red and breeches of +yellow, surrounded on all sides by ice and officers in rainbow uniforms, +and, as this was the only adornment of a rather bare room, it is no +wonder it caught his eye.</p> + +<p>"Why, who's been a-brightening up the gen'ral so Christmas-like?" he +exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"We did, father! Leastwise it was Polly's present," said Molly.</p> + +<p>"And who may be a-sending presents to Polly now?" asked David, with a +twinkle in his eye<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> that had seen better days but none kindlier. "It +wasn't young Cuffy over at the baker's, nor Jake Tripple, now, was it?"</p> + +<p>He looked at Polly for an answer, whereat she stretched her arm along +the back of the settee and let fall her hand on Molly's shoulder with a +punch which was intended as punishment for the giggles her sister +struggled to confine in her mouth with both hands; but which, in spite +of her, bubbled over and attacked David, and then, with a blush, Polly +muttered,—</p> + +<p>"It wasn't young Cuffy at all, and I hate his loafy, little face, and I +hate——"</p> + +<p>"Not Jacob Tripple! No, no, not good Jake Tripple?" said David, +reprovingly.</p> + +<p>"I didn't say that, father!" she exclaimed. "He's your good old friend, +and how could I hate him? He came in just before leaving for the day, +and asked for you—what, made him think you were home I can't tell, for +it was long before your time—and asked for you, and left the wreath +for—for—me."</p> + +<p>The hem of her long checkered apron then needed close scrutiny and +folding for some unknown purpose, and this duty diverted her thoughts +from the subject, but she turned to Dolly, who enjoyed this banter in +her own quiet little way, which seldom rippled into a loud laugh, for +her own quiet little face was too<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> pale and too pinched to invite such +freebooters. "Come, come, Little Scout," she said. "Is she warm now, and +were the rations good, and did she meet Kriss Kingle on his cold journey +(with a caress of her pale little cheeks) with heaps of warm dresses, +and heaps of pretty dolls, and heaps of sweetmeats too big to carry +himself, so he asked her to carry some home to help him! Did she? (with +another caress.) And would our Little Scout be sorry if he didn't come +himself to look after them and——"</p> + +<p>"Ah, that reminds me!" said David, quite audibly for him, and rising +from the table with knife and fork still in hand.</p> + +<p>"What reminds you, father?" asked the twins, in chorus.</p> + +<p>"Why, coming home!" said David, not very intelligibly.</p> + +<p>"What coming home?" again from the chorus, in expectant attitude.</p> + +<p>"Why, Tom, I told you!" which he hadn't done at all, but as by this time +he was deep in the cupboard, where his overcoat hung, and as his voice +was a little more muffled than usual, it was useless to argue the point, +so the chorus loudly exclaimed,—</p> + +<p>"Tom?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, yes!" from David, faintly and rather testily, as he had +groped through his old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> coat, and had successively dropped the knife and +fork, reeking with gravy, into the inside and outside pockets.</p> + +<p>"To be sure! Tom coming home and I clean forgot it, what with the cold +and the surprises," he said again, emerging with the knife and fork in +one hand and a letter in the other. "Here it is. He'll be home +to-morrow, he says, God willin', and eat our turkey with us. Poor Tom, +poor boy! He's been away so long he's forgot Griffin and hard times, or +he wouldn't say that!"</p> + +<p>"Tom! Be home! and to-morrow?"—interruption of chorus as it reaches for +the letter, opens and reads it aloud—Dolly being lifted in the sturdy +arms of Molly to look over.</p> + +<p>David, meanwhile, overcome by the toothsomeness of beefsteak, falls to +again, while the others dance a sort of fandango, and turn up the rag +carpet, and rattle the dishes on the dresser, and lift Dolly high in the +air to the improvised tune of "Tom's coming home! Tom's coming home! +Tom's coming home to-morrow!"</p> + +<p>"It's another mouth to feed, but it's hard to wish the poor boy back to +Californy again," huskily said David; then he exclaimed, as the noise +increased, "Hey dey! Why, you'll spill the coffee next, and cave in the +walls, too, in a minute, and then there'll be no home for Tom to come +to!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p> + +<p>This was good humoredly added as the final swing was given to the dance, +which brought the twins holding Dolly aloft in their arms laughing and +panting on the settee.</p> + +<p>"But tell us, father, is he coming home for good? He don't say so in the +letter," asked Dolly, and all leaned forward to hear his answer.</p> + +<p>"Coming home for good?" mused David. "Yes, he's coming home for good, I +hope; but I'm fearful he'll find little beside the good in his sisters' +hearts."</p> + +<p>"Poor Tom," said Dolly, with far-away eyes, "he's had a weary life of it +in the mines, I guess, poor fellow."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes," said David, "and that's what makes it harder that we can't +greet him with a good Christmas to-morrow. Well, well, it'll be a +delight to see my poor boy again, hard times or no hard times, and we'll +be as cheerful as we can be and are now, thanks to my good girls," and +here he arose from the table, and, seating himself at the fire, opened a +morning paper that he had found in the waste-basket in Mr. Griffin's +counting-house (and very worthless it must have been to be found there!) +in which, through the kind offices of a massive old pair of spectacles, +he was soon absorbed.</p> + +<p>And now, while the Little Scout—in fulfilment of her established +character—plays the spy on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> sundry crumbs that slink from notice under +the table, and while the twins, too busy to talk, wash the dishes and +dispose them in a glistening row along the dresser, and, while David +opens the paper and plods up and down it, column by column, like a +ploughman furrow by furrow up and down a field, and with almost as much +toil; and while the ancient clock on the shelf over the stove and under +the motley General Washington ticks loud enough to be heard above the +clinking dishes and simmering kettle; and while the table, divested of +its cloth and exhibiting a stained and blistered old back, is glad +enough to avoid attention by being stowed away in the corner; while the +pleasant spirits of domesticity that come only at the call of good men, +and good wives, and good sons, and good daughters, but resist the +imperious beckonings of the wealthiest hands, and wing on over their +roofs to lowlier, and scantier, and purer habitations—while the +pleasant spirits of domesticity and kindliness throng invisibly into the +room, and David Dubbs reads stray scraps from his paper to his +daughters, grouped near the fire at his feet, we must softly withdraw +and leave them to the care of coming Christmas dreams.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span><br /></p> + +<p>III.</p> + +<p>Christmas morning had opened brightly with David Dubbs. The sun, +preceded down the court by hustling winds that knocked at every +citizen's door and demanded admittance for their oncoming master, had +left at each house a gift of golden cheerfulness. The sky above was so +blithe and blue that it smiled down at even so insignificant a crack as +David Dubbs's court must have appeared to it; and the cold was a jolly +and snappish cold.</p> + +<p>The twins and David's Little Scout were as merry as the Christmas chimes +they lingered and listened to, and not the daintiest dinner that Mr. +Cuffy (and that gentleman held the subject somewhat in mind, too, on +Polly's account) could have delivered at their door would have added one +jot of happiness to their abundance. David's poor old back bent under +the stress of poverty that would permit him no indulgences for them—all +the more dear on that day; but, used to loving self-denial, they never +missed what they so little desired, and so far were they from giving it +a thought, that if David had spoken out what he so wilfully turned over +and over in his mind, that would have given them far more pain and +anxiety. Mr. Tripple was early in his shop, presumptively<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> to attend to +some forgotten duties, but, as he did not pay very active attention to +anything but carefully tying up a square box in white paper, and as he +did pay very active attention to what went on up-stairs, at the same +time exhibiting no hurry to get home to dinner, David, who had, towards +noon, gone around the corner with Polly to make some little purchases of +groceries before the stores closed, dropped in on his way back and +invited Mr. Tripple up-stairs. Mr. Tripple at first firmly refused, and +said, "Very much obliged, Dave, but couldn't think of it. Indeed not. +They'd 'spect me at home, ye know, Dave." Whereupon Miss Polly added her +entreaties, and said he needn't expect anything very much, but if he +would walk up they would be very happy to have him. Mr. Tripple would +have walked up—and, indeed, wanted very much to walk up—at first, but +his extreme awkwardness, aggravated by holiday clothes of a tight cut +and by a paper collar bent above his coat like a scimetar, and almost as +sharp and glistening as that weapon, impelled him to do violence to his +wishes in order to appear calm—under <i>her</i> eyes—and to deceive them +politely as to his real desire. But now, lured on by the siren voice of +Polly, he consented to go up "a little while" (which meant all the +afternoon), and taking the white box under his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> arm he locked the +shop-door and followed them up the creaking stairs.</p> + +<p>Arrived in the room and relieved of hat and coat, Mr. Tripple bowed +mysteriously to Dolly, and, intrusting her with the box, whispered,—"Go +and hand that to sister Polly, little un." Polly, receiving it from her, +exclaimed in surprise,—</p> + +<p>"For me, Mr. Tripple?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, miss," he replied, growing red and smiling broadly, "a little +something for Christmas, that's all."</p> + +<p>Polly opened the box and extracted a pasteboard plane with some +artificial shavings pasted upon it, which, when lifted apart, discovered +a heap of sweetmeats. Dolly and Molly, looking on, exclaimed, "Why, Mr. +Tripple, what a surprise!" and Polly blushingly added, "So very +unexpected!"</p> + +<p>Mr. Tripple grew redder and nervously crossed his legs, saying, "I +thought 'twould be kind a appropriate to the trade, you know, and so I +just fetched it up, and——"</p> + +<p>Then Polly, seeing his embarrassment, called on David and the rest to +come and help themselves, and there was good humor and laughing until +the twins darted away to got dinner, which was soon prepared, for there +was little enough to get, and all invited to sit up to the table.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p> + +<p>All were duly in their places, and David had, in accordance with +Christmas custom, offered grace. Mr. Tripple and the girls were slowly +raising their bowed heads, when a loud knock announced a visitor, and +hastened the raising of heads to an unseemly hurry.</p> + +<p>"Tom!" all exclaimed.</p> + +<p>Molly hurried down-stairs, and the rest rushed to the stair-landing, +where, in a moment, they received, not Tom, but a large, square basket +that emitted a very fragrant smell of roasted fowl, in the arms of the +returning Molly. Once in the room, the lid was off in a twinkling, and +out came a sizable plate, enveloped in dainty, clean napkins, which, +being removed in layers, exhibited, in all its brown deliciousness, a +huge turkey, just done to a turn.</p> + +<p>The party gathered around in pleased wonder, and as Molly threw the +napkins into the basket a card fell on the floor. She picked it up and, +astonished, read, "Emanuel Griffin."</p> + +<p>"What!" said David, snatching it and reading it aloud to himself, +"Emanuel Griffin. So it is, and no mistake!" and then he burst out, +"Hurrah! hurrah for Griffin! I knew he couldn't forget us this year!" +His poor old face was almost young again, and his voice,—why, it could +actually be heard as he ran on: "Why, there never was such a year for +the china trade,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> Tripple, and how could he forget me? Jacob Tripple, +your hand! A kiss, Little Scout! Why, your old father's 'most young +again, and his good girls shall dine like other good girls, after all! +How very thoughtful of Griffin to send it in the nick of time, too. +Come, sit up again before it gets cold, and I wish we had something as +hot to drink Griffin's health in. Why, I believe I could sing a song +again if we had something hot. I do, indeed!"</p> + +<p>So he ran on in his childish delight at the thought of being remembered, +and at the far more grateful thought that his beloved daughters were to +share the gift with him.</p> + +<p>When he had ceased, all turned to Molly and asked in one breath who had +left it. When the clamor slackened, she replied, "Why, young Cuffy from +the baker's, and all he said was, 'David Dubbs,—to be sent—card +inside,' and then kissing his hand, and crying 'Love to her,' meaning I +don't know who," with a smirk at Polly, "he jumped aboard his wagon and +flew away down the court."</p> + +<p>Never was a turkey enjoyed so much, and never had a turkey better +deserved it.</p> + +<p>Mr. Tripple grew bland and talkative under its juicy influence. He even +winked at Polly occasionally, and one time actually chucked her under +the chin. She sat next to him, remarking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> that if he had his way she +should live forever on turkey and sugar-plums. David ventured to say +that that course of diet would be pretty indigestive, whereupon Mr. +Tripple fondly suggested, as he gazed into her eyes, "How would love do +for a substitute, then?" implying that "his way" would supply that +abstract edible in equally large doses.</p> + +<p>David dryly added "Starvation," and thereupon Polly covered her face +with her hands, but left open a laughing eye at Molly, and Mr. Tripple +looked boldly around the board as a man who had said a very bright thing +indeed, after which survey he broke out into a not very comfortable +laugh. All the rest laughed, too, then, and such good humor prevailed +that nothing seemed amiss, and Mr. Tripple's inexperience was kindly +overlooked.</p> + +<p>But now the turkey was fast becoming skeletonized, and the good company +was fast becoming the reverse. The jollity was increasing and the +serious intentions of Mr. Tripple were impending and ready to fall into +open profession on the slightest encouragement. The Little Scout's +pinched and pale face—sweet and uncomplaining, even through hunger and +want—smiled gently and less sadly as it leaned in Molly's arms, and, +looking up, she said,—</p> + +<p>"Poor father! How quiet you were last<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> night when we were walking home. +I knew you were thinking about to-day and the poor dinner. How kind it +was of good Mr. Griffin. I'd like to thank him myself, father!"</p> + +<p>"And so you shall, Little Scout," said David, gayly, bending over and +kissing her with boyish contempt of aged bones; "and so you shall, and I +make no doubt he'll be glad to see you, too, Deary."</p> + +<p>The clock in a neighboring steeple, simultaneously with its ancient +kinsman on the shelf, and followed by incoming echoes of a score of +others, struck one; but the company little heeded that, and the +conviviality was far from diminishing when another summons rattled the +street door, and again all exclaimed "There's Tom!" and crowded to the +landing as before.</p> + +<p>Polly this time tripped down and came back in a moment with only a +letter, saying,—</p> + +<p>"A young man, father, with this letter for Mr. Griffin. It's addressed +to his store, but he said it was important, and, knowing you lived here, +he depended on you to deliver it at once."</p> + +<p>"Has he gone?" said David, grasping it.</p> + +<p>"Yes, father," replied Polly, "right off."</p> + +<p>Here was a pitiable state of affairs indeed. David Dubbs, aroused from +the joyful celebration of his Christmas dinner and from the midst of +this cosey party and sent off across the river<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> to his master's house +with a miserable letter and by a miserable young man (and if delivering +letters when every other well-intentioned man is eating his turkey isn't +miserable, why what is it?). Sent off on a graceless errand for nothing, +perhaps. But his kind employer, who had done so much for his comfort and +joy that very day, must not suffer by his neglect, and off he must post; +that was imperative. Mr. Tripple offered his services when David had +started down-stairs, and when there was no chance of his turning back, +but David said, "No, no, Tripple; you just stay and keep the girls +company till I get back, and that'll be enough for you to attend to. +Good-by, girls. Good-by, Little Scout; if it wasn't so cold, she should +go too." And off he trudged, as patient, and cheerful, and proud of his +master's attention and of his mission, too, now he had fully set out, as +many a younger and better dressed man would have been.<br /><br /></p> + + +<p>IV.</p> + +<p>When Emanuel Griffin, Esq., leaving the dark little street wherein stood +his warehouse and wherein very much of his life and very little of his +money was spent—which latter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> fact had, however, no merely local +application but was of a general nature—when, to resume, Emanuel +Griffin, Esq., buttoning up his overcoat and, leaving the dark little +street, turned the next corner among the mountainous stores and looked +vexedly around for a car to bear him to his home across the river, and +rattled his keys in his pocket, and nearly hummed a tune in his +impatience, suddenly, as the car appeared like a new planet, and with +the easy-going motions of a planet in its ascent had nearly reached +him—suddenly a thought of something forgotten flashed through his mind, +and the violence of its reaction turned him completely around and sent +him in a precipitous hurry in the opposite direction, namely, in that +which David Dubbs and his little daughter had pursued but a short time +before.</p> + +<p>"Pshaw!" he muttered, and looked as if he would like to add something a +great deal stronger. "That's what I forgot to tell David; but Mrs. G. 'll +never forget it, nor forgive it, either, if I don't attend to it +before I get home." So he turned up his collar, and rubbed his ears, and +hurried on to keep warm.</p> + +<p>His destination proved to be a fancy bakery in the neighborhood of David +Dubbs's house. The pavement in front of it at that hour and season, +owing to holiday orders, was sending up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> warm steam from the oven +beneath, and a fragrant and appetizing smell of hot bread and browning +cakes pervaded the street. It was a large establishment of the kind, and +besides its legitimate line of bread-baking, took charge of the cooking +and preparing of dinners for ladies of limited domestic conveniences in +fashionable life. Heedless of the delicious scents which had attracted +several men with greedy eyes to linger at the window and devour in +fancy—a process which left them hungrier than ever—the heaps of loaves +and cakes on the counter within; heedless of the supplicating looks the +men turned on him, and of the confidential attempts of one or two at a +begging whisper (but his hurry was in nowise chargeable with that +inattention); heedless of everything but finishing his errand and +getting home, Mr. Griffin pushed through the crowd in the store, and, +reaching the counter, beckoned to a light-haired, light-eyed, and +red-cheeked youth, in a blue tie and black waistcoat that, through +constant friction with loaves and flour-barrels, had become of a light +pepper-and-salt pattern, and hurriedly said,—</p> + +<p>"I want a turkey, Cuffy, of about fifteen or twenty pounds, cooked and +sent to my house by one o'clock to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"Can't do it, Mr. Griffin," said the young<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> man, who knew him and had +bowed as he came up.</p> + +<p>"Can't do what?" exclaimed Mr. Griffin, with surprise and dismay.</p> + +<p>"Can't send it out," returned the young man, firmly.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said Mr. Griffin, relieved; "I thought you meant that you couldn't +prepare it!"</p> + +<p>"No, sir," commenced the young man. "You see, sir, Mr. Griffin, it's so +late in the day that all our teams is ordered fur to-morrow at that +time, and so is our boys, but——"</p> + +<p>"Well, I'll soon fix that, Cuffy," said Mr. Griffin, opening his coat +and taking out a card. "There, just pin that on the turkey when it is +ready, and carry it over here to Dubbs's—David Dubbs is my clerk. He +will understand the card, and bring the turkey out to my house. I +shouldn't be so particular about it if Mrs. Griffin had not impressed it +on me this morning. I almost forgot it, too."</p> + +<p>Then asking the price, and answering,—</p> + +<p>"That is very high, Cuffy;" to which that young man replied,—</p> + +<p>"I know it is, sir, Mr. Griffin, but then, you see, the demand is werry +great, sir."</p> + +<p>Mr. Griffin paid the bill and hurried out, took a car at the next +corner, and, after a long, cold ride, got home to allay the anxiety of +Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> Griffin by assuring her that the turkey was ordered, and would be +sent home promptly to-morrow by David Dubbs.</p> + +<p>Christmas morning was, among the Griffin household, which consisted of +Mr. and Mrs. Griffin and a superannuated servant, a very busy morning +indeed, for the reason that Mrs. Griffin had, according to annual +custom, invited more guests to dine than she could conveniently provide +for. Their house was a cottage in the suburbs, pretty enough in summer +and no thanks to its mistress or the superannuated servant either, but +to the unaided impulse of nature, which climbed, in the form of bowery +vines, wherever a vine could find clinging room; but now, in the midst +of winter, bright though the day was, the skeletons of so much green +gayety looked bare, and inhospitable, and cold. The house was approached +by a long path that started at the iron gate and led up to the porch. It +was far from a large house, and looked inconvenient, and famished for +paint, and it was no less inconvenient than it looked, a fact, indeed, +which necessitated the purchase of a cooked turkey, for the oven was +small, and the stove in the crazy little kitchen needed all the surface +it could afford for the vegetables, oysters, and other viands which then +only, throughout the year, it blazed and glowed under.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p> + +<p>The morning wore on and twelve o'clock arrived. The big table in the +little dining-room was duly dressed and adorned with Mrs. Griffin's +miscellaneous silver; and after a heated debate between that lady and +the Superannuated, it was decided that when the company were all in the +parlor the dining-room door should be left open, and at the bottom of +the table, which now projected against the door, an additional chair for +Mr. Griffin should be inserted. Mrs. Griffin said of course the company +must squeeze in, but they understood all that, and were glad enough to +get in by any means, to which Superannuated readily assented.</p> + +<p>One o'clock, and now the company were all arrived. Mrs. Griffin was duly +excused by Mr. Griffin, who received them, on the plea of domestic +duties. They were mostly in the parlor, which contained, beside them, a +set of red velvet furniture and a shining piano, on legs which emulated +the unsteadiness of Superannuated's own, and which, in huskiness of +voice, also resembled that person; a portrait of Mr. Griffin in rigid +broadcloth, and a companion portrait of Mrs. Griffin in low neck and +volumes of lace; and last, a very pimply-looking carpet, which seemed to +suffer from a severe rash.</p> + +<p>Mr. Griffin had occupied the space between the folding-doors as the +company arrived and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> suavely—as suavely, by the way, as his wincing at +the cost of it all would admit of—received, introduced, and seated +them. The first arrival was a single gentleman, whom he saluted as Fred. +He was short, and bald, and spasmodic,—so much so that his pantaloons +were never straight, and his collar, through much moistening of its +raspy edges, was soiled. After him, a lady and gentleman drove up to the +gate in a carriage, and, alighting, the lady swept up the path, in a +double sense, while her husband upbraided the driver for the muddy +condition of the carriage, and then, loudly, "At ten, William!" To which +William as loudly replied, "Can't do it, sir. Got another order; but +I'll send you another man."</p> + +<p>The gentleman answered more quietly, with a careful look at the house, +where Mr. Griffin awaited him on the porch,—</p> + +<p>"Very well, driver;" and also swept in, and was introduced to Fred as +Mr. Abbert.</p> + +<p>Now came a pair who walked, and were addressed and handed around by the +host as "My dear friends, Mr. and Mrs. Dripps;" and then the volume of +newcomers became quite abundant; so much so that a number of gentlemen +with no apparent use for their hands were forced to lean about the hall +and sit on the stairs, which they did up to the very top one.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> When the +company had simmered down a good deal, and only a few very bold +gentlemen ventured to launch remarks into the unanswering silence, and +when everybody was wondering what everybody else was going to do next, +and all were, as they reported the next day, "enjoying themselves +immensely," there was a stir above stairs, a rustling of dresses, and +then the gentlemen on the stairs, like a row of falling bricks, were +driven down before the gracious smiles and bows of the transformed +hostess.</p> + +<p>Tripping down after them and falling at last into the extended arms of +her husband—rather unsteady under the weight—while the stiffly polite +gentlemen formed a compact crowd out to the door. Mrs. Griffin was led, +with no little difficulty, through the seated guests, bestowing bows, +and smiles, and "Glad to see you, my dear Mr. Dripps," and "How well +you're looking, my dear Mrs. Abbert," and "Welcome, gentlemen," (whereat +a murmur ran through the crowd and all shook their heads and tried to +turn round and bow, but utterly failed,) and "Oh! here's my old Fred," +and sundry other bewitching remarks that led the crowd of gentlemen to +murmur again something like "Charming, be Gad!" and grow uneasy.</p> + +<p>But now the bell was rung by Superannuated, who had duly inserted the +chair, and Mr. Abbert,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> receiving the hostess from the arm of her +husband and in turn delivering his smiling wife to Mr. Griffin, led off +the throng to dinner.</p> + +<p>When they arrived at the protruding table, by a preconcerted arrangement +Mrs. Griffin handed Mr. Abbert to the one side and squeezed herself +through the other—an action which was imitated by the rest of the +company, who were finally seated close up to the door—all but Mr. +Griffin, who was to occupy the extra chair, and, as he was already +inside, and there was no other means of exit, he was obliged to pass +through the kitchen and around the house. He soon appeared again through +the front door and the dinner began.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Griffin, who had long before left Superannuated to finish while she +perfected her toilet, now rang the bell and, on her appearance, +whispered in her ear. Superannuated whispered in her mistress's ear. +Mrs. Griffin thereupon uttered a little cry and looked at Mr. Griffin. +Mr. Griffin, in consternation, cried, "My dear!" and attempted to +squeeze between the chairs, but failed. Then he looked wildly about him, +and at last ran through the front door. He soon reappeared at the side +of his fainting wife, who revived enough to say,—</p> + +<p>"I shall never, never forgive you! Oh, the humiliation! the agony!" then +fainted again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What is it?" "What's the matter?" "She's fainted!" and confused screams +of the ladies came from all sides. Mrs. Dripps passed along her salts +bottle. Mrs. Abbert held Mrs. Griffin's head, and Fred applied water. +Under the strong influence of these restoratives she soon revived, and +whispered to her husband something which caused him also to start and +look despairingly at her.</p> + +<p>She then said to him, loud enough for all to hear, "You must tell them +it was your fault. Oh, the humiliation!" Here she burst out again, with +her handkerchief to her eyes, and Mrs. Abbert soothingly said, "Oh, +never mind him, my dear. I wouldn't mind him!" This was growing +invidious, and all the gentlemen at the bottom of the table were looking +scornfully at him.</p> + +<p>He therefore said, in a loud voice,—</p> + +<p>"The turkey has not arrived,—that is all."</p> + +<p>"That is all," whimpered Mrs. Griffin, mockingly. "That is all, he says; +and isn't it enough, sir, to have all your domestic failings exposed to +the world?"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Griffin alluded to cooking facilities, and grew very bitter, while +"the world" simpered and exchanged looks.</p> + +<p>Mr. Griffin then, in desperation, explained the whole matter,—how he +had left the card for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> David Dubbs, and paid for the turkey, and come +unsuspectingly home. "As," he added, "I have done year after year, +for——"</p> + +<p>Here Mrs. Griffin checked him with symptoms of another faint, and he +stopped short.</p> + +<p>Mr. Abbert then said it was all that rascally clerk, and he ought to be +discharged at once.</p> + +<p>"I know 'em," he added violently and with deeply implied wisdom, which, +by the way, was the only species of wisdom he ever attained to. "I know +'em, Griffin!"</p> + +<p>Mr. Fred was of a similar opinion, and even more violent in his +denunciation of David, as he had set his heart on turkey, and the +appetite died painfully within him.</p> + +<p>All the ladies and gentlemen were of various opinions, but all +concentrated their rage on the poor, innocent little clerk, and panted +for his clerkly death. In the midst of all this commotion the door-bell +rang, and intensified it twofold, for nobody could get through to the +door but by going around the house. This Superannuated finally did, and +brought back with her the identical little clerk,—the poor, agitated, +and bowing little clerk who had unconsciously aroused all the +indignation and tumult, whom sundry gentlemen at the lower end of the +table had threatened with severe punishment if they ever caught sight of +him,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> and who, now catching sight of him, were more than usually silent.</p> + +<p>Mr. Griffin looked threateningly at him as, hat in hand, he walked up to +him, presented a letter, and, in his faint voice, said,—</p> + +<p>"A letter for you, sir, left for me to deliver."</p> + +<p>He took it, and David continued tremulously to say,—</p> + +<p>"And how can I thank you, sir, and madam," turning to Mrs. Griffin, "for +the bounteous gift——"</p> + +<p>"Gift?" exclaimed both in a breath; "what gift? Where is the turkey you +brought? What gift? What gift?"</p> + +<p>"Why, a splendid turkey, with your card kindly——"</p> + +<p>This was received by the company with a volley of cries and calls, by a +relapse on the part of Mrs. Griffin, and by the descent of Mr. Griffin's +hand upon David's coat-collar, and finally by poor, frightened David's +ejectment from the kitchen-door, harshly reproached by his employer as a +thief and vagabond, and warned never to show his face in his store +again.</p> + +<p>"Be off, now!" he cried after him, "you ungrateful, deceitful old +villain!" and then he slammed the door, and joined the hungry guests, to +whom he declaimed at some length on the thanklessness of the lower +classes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> + +<p>Mrs. Griffin was quickly re-restored, this time to a state of injured +perfection, and after the united apologies of herself and husband, and +more abuse of poor, luckless David Dubbs, the company concluded with +pretty bad grace to make the most of what had been prepared in the way +of vegetables and side dishes, long ago cold. Mr. Griffin was mad, +insulted, and hungry, and the contents of the letter he had received +seemed to add very little warmth to the food, but a great deal to his +anger, for he tore it up into very small pieces, as if it were David +himself he was torturing, and, with a look the company did not consider +very sociable, scattered it on the floor.<br /><br /></p> + + +<p>V.</p> + +<p>The sky, as if presaging David Dubbs's misfortune, had grown overcast, +and flung down spiteful little sallies of snow as he crossed the river +on his way to Mr. Griffin's. The creaking of the bridge's huge timbers +and the splitting ice below it made him shiver and pull his threadbare +coat close about him and sacrifice his old hands to the wind to save his +freezing ears. The same scarf bound them as the night before, but an icy +gale like that which swept from the open river would have frozen through +arctic furs. Notwithstanding all this, his spirits were lighter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> than +usual. The scene he had left at home floated on before his eyes, and +transfused itself with the black, sketchy trees against the sky and +blent with the ragged barbs of smoke that depended from cottage +chimneys. The wind had been boisterous enough, and would have torn it +away on a cantering jaunt not many minutes ago, but, surcharged as it +was now with blinding snow, it had its own liberty to look after, and +paid little heed to anything else.</p> + +<p>The snow came on thicker and thicker, and had begun to whiten the +streets by the time David reached Mr. Griffin's house, and now, as he +stood shocked and bewildered in the garden again, it lay deep and +dreadfully silent as far as the eye could reach. Had he heard truly? Had +he, for the first time in a long, and honest, and reputable life, been +called a thief? And by the man whom his heart had overflowed in +gratitude to but a moment before! David Dubbs a thief! And what of? What +had he stolen? Oh, it was cruel to his poor old heart! "And the girls so +merry, even now," he thought. How; how could he go to them with these +bitter tidings? To be deprived of even the poor means his pen had +faithfully and honestly earned for them; to toil so long, so wearily for +the meed of a thief, for the name of a thief! and he wept in his utter +woe.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p> + +<p>His hat was still on his head, his coat was undone, his scarf had fallen +back on his shoulders; his poor old eyes were wide apart again, now, and +the wind tugged at his scanty hair, and the snow, no whiter than itself, +sifted through it and drifted into the folds of his clothes. But, +stunned, and tortured, and despairing though he was, the old clerk +staggered on insensibly homeward. Back through the dreary trees; back +through the drifted streets; back to the bridge, where he stopped by +some fatal impulse and leaned near a bleak abutment that overlooked the +river—gazing, gazing, gazing in a blank stare at the driving channel +below. The thought, the lurking purpose was shadowed dimly on his +distraught mind. The cold, rolling river once passed, the seething cakes +of ice once passed, and it would soon be over, soon be over. Life had +been a worthless gift to him. His youth had been falsely colored by the +visions of childhood; his age had been falsely colored by the ambitions +of youth. Nothing he had looked to in the distance ever had grown into +reality. Why should he survive his good name! And he clutched the stones +and raised himself up and quivered at the top of the stone wall.</p> + +<p>But now his hand relaxed, and his face, clouded and suffering before, +fell into a calmer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> look of attention, almost a smile broke over it, and +he gazed out against the sky as if transfixed.</p> + +<p>It was the vision that had, like the pillar of cloud by day and of fire +by night, preceded and gladdened him on his way; the scene of his happy, +unsuspecting girls; of the pale Little Scout—whose simple touch would +then have instantly revived and soothed him, whose tender love was his +comfort, his sanctuary from pursuing evils; the scene of his old home, +far cosier, far more beloved, far more cheerful for all its homeliness, +for all its poverty, than the more pretentious one of Emanuel Griffin; +the scene of lowly pleasures it had cherished; of the bitter trials it +had assuaged; and, finally, of the bright, laughing group he had left +there, oh! so little prepared, so little conscious of the blight he +would bring among them. This vision, these thoughts had flowed in upon +his already disturbed mind, and had driven quite away all consciousness +of where he was or how long he had stood in the bitter cold, when a +policeman—overcoated, and furred, and frozen-bearded,—came by, and, +suspecting things to be not altogether right, caught David by the +sleeve, and adjusted his scarf and hat, saying,—</p> + +<p>"No loafing on the bridge, old man. Move on; move on, now!" at which +David started,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> looked all around him, and then moved on as commanded. +His back, always bent, and his gait, always decrepit and shuffling, were +now pitiably so, and he had a long, long journey before him; but, thanks +be to Him whose omnipotent care protects and watches over the poor in +spirit, he had escaped a far longer one. On and on he went, not cold +now, not thinking, not in haste; passing thick-coated travellers who +ran, and clapped their hands, and swung their arms for warmth; passing +gay companies in cabs that rolled over the snow as softly as footsteps +on velvet. But he heeded nothing of all this, and staggered onward to +his own poor home.</p> + +<p>A light was streaming out from the windows of the old warehouse, +crossing the snow piled on the platform above and slanting on the heaps +beneath. It was an inviting glimmer, a herald from within to all cold +travellers without of the blessedness of home, and, as David approached +the corner of the court, his eye was greeted cheerily by its "Welcome +home!" and, indeed, it was the first thing he had distinctly seen since +leaving the house of Mr. Griffin. But his heart failed him. How could he +face his dear girls again and tell them of the destitution of to-morrow? +Of the worse than poverty? Thus he thought, and lingered, and slunk +away<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> by turns, but the ray of home-born light allured him, impassively, +into its midst, and as he stood over against the house, a poor, weak, +old man, rambling in his mind, and heroically deciding rather to leave +them in peace to-night, one more night, and return to them to-morrow, a +window was thrown up, and Jacob Tripple, putting forth his head, looked +up and down the court, and then directly in front of him, where David +stood immovable in the light.</p> + +<p>"Why, there he is, now!" he cried. "What's gone amiss, David? What's +kept you so long? Here he is! Here he is!" he exclaimed again and again, +and, drawing in his head in much less time than the words could be said, +Jacob Tripple, followed by the girls, was down-stairs, was—still +followed by the girls—out in the snow, and had forcibly carried David +up with them.</p> + +<p>They laid him on the settee, moaning and crying aloud against Emanuel +Griffin, and repeating again and again that they were "Beggars, beggars, +beggars!" and exclaiming, "My poor Little Scout! My poor girls! My +poor——"</p> + +<p>"They shall not suffer, father!" said a new voice, the sound of which +raised him up with wide-opened eyes and palsied hands at his head, and a +long stare at the speaker—"It's Tom,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> father. Don't you know me?" +repeated the voice.</p> + +<p>Know him! How should he know him? tall, and brawny, and whiskered, with +pleasant blue eyes, and ruddy cheeks, and good nature streaming from his +whole face! Him who, so many years ago,—a beardless youth—had run off +to California after gold bubbles, and whom little good had been heard of +when anything at all was heard of him. Know him? Of course he did not; +but, as he sat down beside him on the settee and shook his old hand, +David put his arms about his neck, and hung his head upon his bosom, and +saw, in imagination, the thriftless boy of long ago whom he loved for +all his waywardness.</p> + +<p>Tom's strong arms soon bore him to his old seat near the fire, and, for +the first time, David's wandering eye noticed the bower of green holly +and red-berried mistletoe that decked the room. General Washington was +loaded with it. The old clock, actually striking in a cheerier voice the +hour of nine, had its full share. The dresser hid in festoons of it. +Even David's chair had its sprig. But what was that on the floor? An +opened trunk, like a cloven pomegranate, displaying within rich trinkets +that many a lady might covet?</p> + +<p>"Wha—what's it all mean, girls? Tell me,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> Little Scout," said David, +catching her hand. "What happened to me? I thought I came home—home to +tell you Griffin threw me out in the snow, and called me a thief, and +how all of them scowled and cried out at me, and I thought——" then, +looking at the tall man, he cried again,—</p> + +<p>"Tom, is it so? Is it so, my dear boy?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, father," said Tom, slowly, to calm him, "it is, happily, all so."</p> + +<p>Then his little daughter, who had stood by his side through it all, +kissed him, and said,—</p> + +<p>"Come, father, look at the pretty presents Tom has brought us and you. +See here's a beautiful new coat hanging on your peg for you, and Molly +and Polly are as gay as any ladies," and she led him, tottering and +feeble, to the loaded table—no longer ashamed of its defaced back +beneath the pile of gifts it bore.</p> + +<p>Then Mr. Tripple, hand in hand with the unresisting Polly, and Molly, +and Tom, an unbroken circuit of cheery faces that electrified David +Dubbs into a wrinkled smile in spite of lingering grief, clustered +around the table and exclaimed aloud with admiration at the gifts Tom +had brought.</p> + +<p>But David, still overshadowed by the events of the afternoon, said, in a +quivering voice,—</p> + +<p>"But to-morrow, children, to-morrow! I am<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> discharged by Griffin; we +shall starve to-morrow!"</p> + +<p>"Not while I'm about," laughed Tom. "Come, come, be calm, and I'll tell +you all about it."</p> + +<p>And he did tell of the long years of hope and distress, of despair when +unconsciously within reach of fortune; of its final realization and of +its golden yield. "So here I am, father, and your old hand shall write +no more for Emanuel Griffin."</p> + +<p>Then said Dolly, "You don't speak, father; you are surely not sorry?"</p> + +<p>Sorry! He was stifled with gratitude; he was transforming into his old +self. The familiar tenderness of her voice opened the floodgates of his +heart, and he burst into a louder "Hurrah" than over Griffin's turkey, +and kissed them all around, Mr. Tripple included, and, indeed, the day +had been so successfully employed on the part of that gentleman that his +early entrance into the family was far from problematical—so of course +David did perfectly right.</p> + +<p>Polly here broke in, "And, father, it was Tom who brought the note, and +Tom who planned the surprise for you. What did it say, Tom? you can tell +us now."</p> + +<p>He laughed quietly, and then said, as if he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> were reading impressively +from the open sheet to Mr. Griffin himself, and making him writhe under +his coolness,—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Emanuel Griffin</span>,</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>: The connection of my father, David Dubbs, Esq., with your +counting-house, will cease from this day forth.</p> + +<p> +"Sir, your obedient servant,<br /> +"<span class="smcap">Thomas Dubbs.</span>"<br /></p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><i>Told by an English Tourist.</i></h3> + + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"He seemed to be a kind of connecting link between the old times +and the new, and to be, withal, a little antiquated in the taste of +his accomplishments."</p></div> + +<p><i>Irving.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>A STILL CHRISTMAS.</h2> + + +<p>It was Christmas eve in the year of our Lord 1653. The snow, which had +fallen fitfully throughout the day, shrouded in white the sloping roofs +and narrow London streets, and lay in little, sparkling heaps on every +jutting cornice or narrow window-ledge where it could find a +resting-place. But in the west the setting sun shone clearly, firing the +steeples into sudden glory and gilding every tiny pane of glass that +faced its dying splendor. The thoroughfares were strangely silent and +deserted. The roving groups that had been wont at this season to fill +them with boisterous merriment, the noise, the bustle, the good cheer of +Christmas—all were lacking. No maskers roamed from street to street, +jingling their bells, beating their mighty drums, and bidding the +delighted crowd to make way for the Lord of Misrule. No shouts of "Noel! +Noel!" rang through the frosty air. No children gathered round their +neighbors' doors, singing quaint carols and forgotten glees, and bearing +off rich guerdon in the shape of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> apples, nuts, and substantial +Christmas buns. In place of the old-time gayety a dreary silence reigned +through the deserted highways, and down the narrow footwalk, with even +step and half-shut eyes, tramped the Puritan herald, ringing his bell +and proclaiming ever and anon in measured tones, "No Christmas! No +Christmas!"</p> + +<p>In sober and sad-hued garments was the herald arrayed, with leathern +boots that defied the snow and a copious mantle enveloping his sturdy +frame. Now and then he stopped to warn a couple of belated idlers that +they would do well to separate and go quietly to their homes. Now and +then a little child peeped at him timorously from a doorway, and, +overawed by his sombre aspect and heavy frown, retreated rapidly to hide +its fears in the safe shelter of its mother's gown. Men shook their +heads as he went by, and muttered something that was not always +complimentary to his presence; and women shrugged their shoulders and +sighed, and thought, perchance, of other Christmases in the past, with +Yule-logs burning on the hearth and stray kisses snatched beneath the +mistletoe. From a latticed window a girl's face peered at him with such +a light of laughing malice in the brown eyes that the Puritan, catching +sight of their wicked gleam, paused a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> moment, as though to reprove the +maiden for her forwardness, or to inquire what mischief was afoot under +this humble roof. But the night was growing chill, and he had still far +to go. It might not be worth while to waste words of counsel on one so +evidently godless; and, with a heavier scowl than usual, he tramped on, +swinging his bell with lusty force. "No Christmas! No Christmas!" echoed +through the darkening streets, and, as he passed, the girl contracted +her features into a grimace that would have done credit to the +wide-mouthed gargoyle of a Gothic cathedral.</p> + +<p>"Cicely, Cicely!" cried a voice, at this juncture, from within, "close +the shutters, do, and come and help me."</p> + +<p>Cicely, who had been inclined to stare out a little longer, shot the +heavy oaken bolt into its socket, and, opening a door leading to the +inner room, disclosed a scene whose ruddy cheerfulness shone all the +brighter in contrast to the dreary streets outside. A mighty bunch of +fagots blazed and crackled on the hearth, and above the carved +chimney-place hung branches of holly, their scarlet, berries glowing +deeply in the firelight. In one corner, half-veiled by a tapestry +curtain, a waxen Bambino nestled in its little manger, while before it +burned a small copper lamp. Wreaths of holly and ivy be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>decked the +doors, and, standing tip-toed on a tall wooden chair, a young girl was +even now striving to fasten these securely with the aid of a very old +and wrinkled woman, who seemed more competent to admire than to assist +the undertaking.</p> + +<p>"Some bigger berries, pray, Catherine," she said, impatiently; "and, +Cicely, if you feel you have loitered enough, hand me those two long ivy +branches. They should droop gracefully—so! And now stand off a little +way and tell me how it looks."</p> + +<p>The younger sister obeyed, and, stationing herself in the middle of the +room, surveyed the whole effect with much approval. Annis, her fair face +flushed with the exertion, balanced herself on her lofty perch and gazed +complacently upon her handiwork; while even Mistress Vane, who had been +seated quietly on a deep chair by the fireplace, roused herself as from +a reverie, and looked half-wistfully around the cheerful room. "What +bell was that I heard just now?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"The herald's, proclaiming a still Christmas," answered Cicely, +promptly; "and he watched me as sourly as though he knew that we were +plotting treason."</p> + +<p>"Cecil, Cecil!" remonstrated her mother, in alarm. "Surely you did +nothing imprudent."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I?" returned Cicely, apparently oblivious as to what she had done. "I +cast up the whites of my eyes, as though repeating psalms for mine own +inward sustainment; and seeing me so piously disposed, he was fain to +pass on to the correction of greater sinners."</p> + +<p>"That were well-nigh impossible," said her sister, laughing; but +Mistress Vane only looked anxious and disturbed. The sense of insecurity +to which Annis was indifferent, and which Cicely at fourteen found +absolutely amusing, weighed heavily on the older woman, who had a better +understanding of the danger, and who had suffered cruelly in the past. +Husband and son had fallen for a lost cause, confiscation had devoured +the larger portion of her once fair inheritance; and now, with her two +young daughters, she found herself beset by perils, harassed by +stringent laws, and at the mercy of any ill-wind fate might blow her. +Cromwell's mighty arm held the fretful country in subjection, making the +name of England great and terrible abroad, and silencing every whisper +of disaffection at home. The Puritans, in their hour of triumph, stamped +upon the land the impress of their strong and bitter individuality; and +a morose asceticism, part real and part affected, crushed out of life +all the innocent pleasure of living. With every man determined<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> to be +better than his neighbor, the competition in saintliness ran high. Under +its vigorous stimulus the May-pole and the Yule-log were alike branded +as heathenish observances, the Christmas-pie became a "pye of +abomination," and all amusements, from the drama to bear-baiting, were +censured with impartial severity. Feast-days were abolished, and even to +display the emblems of the Nativity was held to be sedition. The +Established Church, cowed and shorn of its splendor, was treated with +surly contempt; the Catholics were altogether beyond the pale of +charity. It was not a time calculated to promote festivity; yet, while +the heralds proclaimed through the frosty streets that Christmas at last +was dead, Annis Vane, with holly and ivy, with Yule-dough and +Babie-cake, was making all things ready for its mysterious birth. And as +she worked she sang softly under breath the refrain of a carol she had +learned at her nurse's knee,—</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" summary="poem"> +<tr> +<td align='left'> +"This endris night<br /> +I saw a sight,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A star as bright as day;</span><br /> +And ever among<br /> +A maiden sung<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lullay, by-by, lullay."</span> +</td></tr></table></div> + + +<p>"Is it not strange, mother," she said, breaking suddenly off, "that men +should deem it a mark<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> of holiness to cast derision on the birth-night +of their Saviour?"</p> + +<p>"Let us be just even to our enemies," replied Mistress Vane, gently. +"They think not to deride the Nativity, so much as to condemn the +riotous fashion in which Christians were wont to keep the feast. There +have been times, Annis, when the Lord of Misrule did more discredit to +this holy season than does the Puritan to-day."</p> + +<p>Annis opened her blue eyes to their very utmost. This view of the matter +was one she was hardly prepared to accept. "Why, dearest mother," she +protested, "when should we venture to be happy, if not on Christmas-day? +And how can we show ourselves too joyful for our salvation? And did not +his most blessed majesty King Charles knight with his own royal hand a +Lord of Misrule who held court in the Middle Temple?"</p> + +<p>Mistress Vane smiled at her daughter's vehemence. She knew more about +these jovial monarchs and their courts than Annis did, and it may even +be that his most blessed majesty's approval carried less weight to her +experienced mind. But in these dark and chilly days a little enthusiasm +was helpful in keeping one's heart warm, and she was far too wise a +mother to disparage it. "Truly they made a brave<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> show then upon +Christmas-day," she admitted, "for the lord mayor and his corporation, a +goodly company of gentlemen, rode in procession to the church of St. +Thomas Acon, and thence to dine together with many pleasant ceremonies. +And stoups of wine and huge venison pasties were despatched to the +Temple for the stay and comfort of the mock-court, who made merry all +day long. And the streets were crowded, far into the night, with maskers +and revellers; and even the poor might for once forget their poverty, +and were welcome to the brawn and plum-broth of their richer neighbors."</p> + +<p>"And now we have nothing of all this!" cried Cicely, with passionate +regret. "Nothing to look at and nothing to hear save the cracked bell of +a dingy herald, who does not even ride a hobby-horse like the merry +heralds of old. In truth, Master Prynne hath made good his own words +when he holds that Christmas should be rather a day of mourning than one +of rejoicing."</p> + +<p>"Not so thought my godfather, kind Master Breton," said Annis, +thoughtfully. "For he hath written that it is the duty of Christians to +rejoice for the remembrance of Christ and for the maintenance of +good-fellowship. 'I hold it,' he hath said, 'a memory of the Heaven's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> +love and the world's peace, the mirth of the honest and the meeting of +the friendly.'"</p> + +<p>Cicely's eyes danced with glee. "That were well remembered," she said, +mockingly; "if, now, you can but tell us in turn what your godfather's +nephew, Captain Rupert Breton, hath thought upon the matter."</p> + +<p>Annis flushed scarlet, and the quick tears welled into her eyes as she +turned them reproachfully upon her sister. It was not easy for her to +think of her absent lover and maintain the cheerful frame of mind she +deemed appropriate to the season. The shores of France seemed very far +away that night, and the long months that had elapsed since the defeat +at Worcester stretched backward like a lifetime, as she recalled his +last hurried farewell. He had ridden hard and risked much for those few +words, and patiently and bravely she had waited ever since, hoping, +praying, turning her face steadily to the brighter side, and keeping +ever in mind the happy hour which should reunite them to each other. +Now, in silence, she bound together the last green boughs and put all in +order for the night. Old Catherine had long since gone off, yawning and +blinking, to bed, and Cicely, half-asleep, nodded over the dying fire. +Only her mother watched her, with eyes of loving scrutiny, and Annis +smiled brightly as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> she kissed the careworn face. "I shall not cry +myself to sleep to-night," she said, resolutely. "This is a time for +gladness; for the star of Bethlehem is shining in the sky, and the birth +of the Lord is at hand."</p> + + + +<p>Bright glowed the Christmas-logs on the capacious hearth till every +pointed leaf and scarlet holly-berry shone in the generous firelight.</p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" summary="poem"> +<tr> +<td align='left'> +"Whosoever against holly doth cry,<br /> +In a rope shall be hung full high." +</td></tr></table></div> + +<p>For, when the oak and ash trees babbled to the wind, and betrayed the +Saviour's hiding-place, the holly, the ivy, and the pine kept the secret +hidden in their silent hearts; and for this good deed they stand green +and living under winter's icy breath, while their companions shiver +naked in the blast. Not till the risen sun has danced on Easter morn +shall the oak adorn a Christian household and prove itself forgiven. The +Christmas-pie—the Christ-cradle, as the Saxons used to call it—had +been baked in its oblong dish in memory of the manger at Bethlehem, with +the star of the Magi cut deeply in the swelling crust. The Yule-dough, +cunningly moulded into the likeness of a little babe, had been carefully +laid by as a sovereign protector from the evils of fire, floods, +carnage, and—so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> say some ancient writers—from the bite of rabid +dogs. Annis Vane, decked out in the bravest array her altered fortunes +would permit, knelt by the blazing hearth. Her ruff was of the finest +lace, and a row of milk-white pearls clasped her slender throat. She +shaded her face from the fire, and piled up shining cones of +bright-brown nuts that seemed to tempt the flames.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/img-03.jpg" width="600" height="357" +alt="The Cavalier From France" title="The Cavalier From France" /> +<span class="caption">The Cavalier From France</span> +</div> + +<p>"All we lack now is the mistletoe," she said, half-despondently. "It was +no easy task to find the holly and bring it home unnoticed; but we +cannot gather mistletoe near London, and there is none for sale +throughout the city."</p> + +<p>"Of what use is the mistletoe," said the practical Cicely, "when we are +but three women here alone? We can kiss each other as readily under a +sprig of ivy, and we can fire our nuts without the help of man or lad, +provided only we keep one in our minds. Of whom shall I think, Annis?" +she queried, wrinkling up her pretty forehead in anxious perplexity over +so disturbing a doubt.</p> + +<p>"You are far too young to think of men at all," answered Annis, +reprovingly, and with all the conscious superiority of age. "Nor do you +know enough as yet to make such pastime profitable."</p> + +<p>Cicely's brows drew together with a frown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> which plainly indicated the +nature of the retort upon her lips, but a glance from her mother checked +her. "The word uttered in vexation is better left unspoken," said +Mistress Vane, with gentle authority. "And I am waiting here, not to +listen to disputes, which in these stormy times have grown wearisome, +but to hear the Christmas carol promised me to-night."</p> + +<p>Annis, with flushed cheeks, took down from the wall a little mandolin of +Spanish workmanship, and, striking a few chords, began the carol, in +which Cicely, after sacrificing some moments to ill-temper, concluded +presently to join, her clear flute-notes rising high above her sister's +weaker tones,—<br /></p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" summary="poem"> +<tr> +<td align='left'> +"When Christ was born of Mary free,<br /> +In Bethlehem, in that fair citie,<br /> +Angels sungen with mirth and glee,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In Excelsis Gloria!</span><br /> + +"Herdsmen beheld these angels bright<br /> +To them appeared with great light,<br /> +And said, God's Son is born this night,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In Excelsis Gloria!</span><br /> + +"The King is comen to save kind,<br /> +Even in Scripture as we find;<br /> +Therefore this song have we in mind,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In Excelsis Gloria!</span><br /> + +"Then, dear Lord, for thy great grace,<br /> +Grant us in bliss to see thy face,<br /> +Where we may sing to thee solace,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In Excelsis Gloria!"</span> +</td></tr></table></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p> + +<p>As the sounds died into silence there stood one in the icy streets and +listened. No self-elected saint was he, scenting out treason to the +Commonwealth, but a cavalier from France, with his love-locks shorn for +sweet prudence's sake, and a mighty mantle enveloping him from head to +foot. If Annis Vane had waited, and hoped, and built up her faith in the +cheer of Christmas-night, the joy she coveted was very near at last. +After lingering a few moments, as though on the chance of hearing more, +the stranger advanced and knocked sharply at the heavily-barred door. It +was opened in due season and with great caution by old Catherine, who +evidently thought the hour ill-chosen for a newcomer, and mistrusted +sorely the purpose of his visit. He allowed her scant time, however, to +threaten or expostulate, but, putting her gently on one side, stepped to +the inner room. There, pale with anxiety and terror, Mistress Vane +leaned forward in her chair, while Cicely, half-frightened, +half-defiant, grasped her mother's skirt. Before the fire stood Annis, +her blue eyes shining like stars, a round, red<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> spot burning feverishly +in each cheek, her lace ruff rising and falling distressfully with the +heaving bosom within. The mandolin had fallen from her hands; the ruddy +firelight lit up her slight figure and fair, disordered curls. She stood +thus for a moment, swaying breathless betwixt hope and fear, then, with +a low, joyous cry, sprang forward into her lover's arms.</p> + +<p>Welcome now the good cheer of Christmas-night! Welcome the +Christmas-pie, the pasty of venison, the pudding stuffed with plums, and +the flagon of old wine. Love is a brave appetizer when backed by long +fasting and a ten hours' ride, and Captain Breton brought all the vigor +of youth and happiness and of a noble hunger to bear upon the viands. +The glow of the cheerful room was infinitely comforting to the tired +traveller; the sight of Annis's happy face put fresh hope and courage in +his heart. He had much to tell of the gay court of France, and of the +royal exile, who should one day, God willing, sit on his father's +throne. Nor were there lacking adventures and dangers of his own to give +flavor to the narrative, nor plans for the future, colored with all the +happy confidence of youth. He had come home to win his bride, and to +carry her away to brighter scenes until this soured and gloomy England +should be merrie England once more. "He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> who would keep a light heart +within London walls," said he, "must needs be very sure of heaven, as +are Master Prynne and Master Philip Stubbes, or very much in love, as am +I. It lacks but a covered cart and a bell in every street to make one +feel the Black Death is upon us. If you can laugh in such an atmosphere +of melancholy, Annis, what will you do in France?"</p> + +<p>"Mayhap if I laugh enough in sober London I shall grow too giddy and +forward in foolish France," returned Annis, gayly; "unless——"</p> + +<p>"Unless what, dear heart?"</p> + +<p>"Unless while I am safe in Paris you are fighting the battles of the +king in England. Then tears will come easier than laughter, as in truth +they have done of late."</p> + +<p>"Wherever I may be, your prayers will prove my bulwark," said Captain +Breton, confidently. "It would take more than a silver bullet to find +its way to my heart while you are besieging heaven's doors in the +tumultuous fashion that only women can attain. I bear a charmed life as +long as you remember your petitions."</p> + +<p>Annis answered with a look, and Cicely, nestling by her mother's chair, +watched her sister with wide, serious eyes. To the child standing on the +threshold of womanhood the presence of love carries with it an +intoxicating<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> flavor of mystery. It is something that fills her alike +with envy and a vague resentment, with wonder and an indefinable desire. +Its commonest expression is a perverse antipathy to one of the lovers, +with an irrational increase of affection for the other; and in this case +Captain Breton came in for his full share of Cicely's smothered anger +and disdain. He, meanwhile, in happy unconsciousness, chancing to meet +the brown eyes lifted dreamily to his own, and noting the upward curve +of the short, sweet lip, thought within himself that this elfish little +Cicely was growing almost as pretty as her sister—a judgment which +proves conclusively the blindness of love; for Annis, though fair and +comely to look upon, came no nearer to her young sister's beauty than +does the pink-tipped daisy to the half-opened rosebud uncurling slowly +in the sun. At present, the girl, seeing that she was watched, turned +away her head pettishly and eyed the leaping flames.</p> + +<p>"Annis said to-night there was but one thing lacking to her Christmas +cheer," she remarked, after a pause, and with the too evident intention +of saying something vexatious.</p> + +<p>"And that was I!" interposed the cavalier, with the ready assurance of a +lover.</p> + +<p>"It was not you at all," returned Cicely,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> "but the mistletoe. We +gathered the other greens ourselves, but there was no mistletoe to be +found within or without the gates of London."</p> + +<p>"By a happy chance we can proceed as though we had it," said Captain +Breton, contentedly, while Annis crimsoned like a rose. "It is a welcome +little plant, and carries a merry message; but if it be banished in +these saintly days, we obstinate sinners must kiss without its +sanction."</p> + +<p>"But the maid who is not kissed on Christmas-night beneath the mistletoe +will never be a wife during the coming year," persisted Cicely, who had +laid down her line of attack and was not to be driven therefrom.</p> + +<p>"Now, will you wager your ring or your new ear-drop on that, little +sister?" said the captain, laughing at the threat. "Or have you a +trinket that you value less to risk in such a cause?"</p> + +<p>Cicely, deeply affronted, puckered up her brow and drew closer to her +mother; but Annis, far too happy to be vexed, leaned over and kissed the +pouting lips. With her, joy meant thanksgiving, and her heart was +singing—singing the song of the angel of Judea: "In Excelsis Gloria!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><i>A Norseman's Saga.</i></h3> + + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"As he sat there with a sou'wester down over his ears, in a long +pilot coat, his figure appeared to assume quite supernatural +proportions, and you might almost imagine that you had one of the +old Vikings before you."</p></div> + +<p><i>Asbjörnsen.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THROND.</h2> + + +<p>There was once a man named Alf, who had raised great expectations among +his fellow-parishioners because he excelled most of them both in the +work he accomplished and in the advice he gave. Now, when this man was +thirty years old, he went to live up the mountain, and cleared a piece +of land for farming, about fourteen miles from any settlement. Many +people wondered how he could endure thus depending on himself for +companionship, but they were still more astonished when, a few years +later, a young girl from the valley, and one, too, who had been the +gayest of the gay at all the social gatherings and dances of the parish, +was willing to share his solitude.</p> + +<p>This couple were called "the people in the wood," and the man was known +by the name of "Alf in the wood." People viewed him with inquisitive +eyes when they met him at church or at work, because they did not +understand him; but neither did he take the trouble to give them any +explanation of his conduct. His<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> wife was only seen in the parish twice, +and on one of these occasions it was to present a child for baptism.</p> + +<p>This child was a son, and he was called Thrond. When he grew larger his +parents often talked about needing help, and, as they could not afford +to take a full-grown servant, they hired what they called "a half:" they +brought into their house a girl of fourteen, who took care of the boy +while the father and mother were busy in the field.</p> + +<p>This girl was not the brightest person in the world, and the boy soon +observed that his mother's words were easy to comprehend, but that it +was hard to get at the meaning of what Ragnhild said. He never talked +much with his father, and he was rather afraid of him, for the house had +to be kept very quiet when he was home. One Christmas Eve—they were +burning two candles on the table, and the father was drinking from a +white flask—the father took the boy up in his arms and set him on his +lap, looked him sternly in the eyes, and exclaimed,—</p> + +<p>"Ugh, boy!" Then he added more gently,—"Why, you are not so much +afraid. Would you have the courage to listen to a story?"</p> + +<p>The boy made no reply, but he looked full in his father's face. His +father then told him about a man from Vaage, whose name was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> Blessom. +This man was in Copenhagen for the purpose of getting the king's verdict +in a law-suit he was engaged in, and he was detained so long that +Christmas eve overtook him there. Blessom was greatly annoyed at this, +and, as he was sauntering about the streets fancying himself at home, he +saw a very large man, in a white, short coat, walking in front of him.</p> + +<p>"How fast you are walking!" said Blessom.</p> + +<p>"I have a long distance to go in order to get home this evening," +replied the man.</p> + +<p>"Where are you going?"</p> + +<p>"To Vaage," answered the man, and walked on.</p> + +<p>"Why, that is very nice," said Blessom, "for that is where I am going, +too."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, you may ride with me, if you will stand on the runners of +my sledge," answered the man, and turned into a side street where his +horse was standing.</p> + +<p>He mounted his seat and looked over his shoulder at Blessom, who was +just getting on the runners.</p> + +<p>"You had better hold fast," said the stranger.</p> + +<p>Blessom did as he was told, and it was well he did, for their journey +was evidently not by land.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me that you are driving on the water," cried Blessom.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I am," said the man, and the spray whirled about them.</p> + +<p>But after a while it seemed to Blessom their course no longer lay on the +water.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me we are moving through the air," said he.</p> + +<p>"Yes, so we are," replied the stranger.</p> + +<p>But when they had gone still farther, Blessom thought he recognized the +parish they were driving through.</p> + +<p>"Is not this Vaage?" cried he.</p> + +<p>"Yes, now we are there," replied the stranger, and it seemed to Blessom +that they had gone pretty fast.</p> + +<p>"Thank you for the good ride," said he.</p> + +<p>"Thanks to yourself," replied the man, and added, as he whipped up his +horse, "Now you had better not look after me."</p> + +<p>"No, indeed," thought Blessom, and started over the hills for home.</p> + +<p>But just then so loud and terrible a crash was heard behind him that it +seemed as if the whole mountain must be tumbling down, and a bright +light was shed over the surrounding landscape; he looked round and +beheld the stranger in the white coat driving through the crackling +flames into the open mountain, which was yawning wide to receive him, +like some huge gate. Blessom felt somewhat strange in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> regard to his +travelling companion; and thought he would look in another direction; +but as he had turned his head so it remained, and never more could +Blossom get it straight again.</p> + +<p>The boy had never heard anything to equal this in all his life. He dared +not ask his father for more, but early the next morning he asked his +mother if she knew any stories. Yes, of course she did; but hers were +chiefly about princesses who were in captivity for seven years, until +the right prince came along. The boy believed that everything he heard +or read about took place close around him.</p> + +<p>He was about eight years old when the first stranger entered their door +one winter evening. He had black hair, and this was something Thrond had +never seen before. The stranger saluted them with a short +"Good-evening!" and came forward. Thrond grew frightened and sat down on +a cricket by the hearth. The mother asked the man to take a seat on the +bench along the wall; he did so, and then the mother could examine his +face more closely.</p> + +<p>"Dear me! is not this Knud the fiddler?" cried she.</p> + +<p>"Yes, to be sure it is. It has been a long time since I played at your +wedding."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes; it is quite a while now. Have you been on a long journey?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I have been playing for Christmas on the other side of the mountain. +But half-way down the slope I began to feel very badly, and I was +obliged to come in here to rest."</p> + +<p>The mother brought forward food for him; he sat down to the table, but +did not say "in the name of Jesus," as the boy had been accustomed to +hear. When he had finished eating, he got up from the table, and said,—</p> + +<p>"Now I feel very comfortable; let me rest a little while."</p> + +<p>And he was allowed to rest on Thrond's bed.</p> + +<p>For Thrond a bed was made on the floor. As the boy lay there, he felt +cold on the side that was turned away from the fire, and that was the +left side. He discovered that it was because this side was exposed to +the chill night air; for he was lying out in the wood. How came he in +the wood? He got up and looked about him, and saw that there was fire +burning a long distance off, and that he was actually alone in the wood. +He longed to go home to the fire; but could not stir from the spot. Then +a great fear overcame him; for wild beasts might be roaming about, +trolls and ghosts might appear to him; he must get home to the fire; but +he could not stir from the spot. Then his terror grew, he strove with +all his might to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> gain self-control, and was at last able to cry, +"Mother," and then he awoke.</p> + +<p>"Dear child, you have had bad dreams," said she, and took him up.</p> + +<p>A shudder ran through him, and he glanced round. The stranger was gone, +and he dared not inquire after him.</p> + +<p>His mother appeared in her black dress, and started for the parish. She +came home with two new strangers, who also had black hair and who wore +flat caps. They did not say "in the name of Jesus," when they ate, and +they talked in low tones with the father. Afterwards the latter and they +went into the barn, and came out again with a large box, which the men +carried between them. They placed it on a sled, and said farewell. Then +the mother said,—</p> + +<p>"Wait a little, and take with you the smaller box he brought here with +him."</p> + +<p>And she went in to get it. But one of the men said,—</p> + +<p>"<i>He</i> can have that," and he pointed at Thrond.</p> + +<p>"Use it as well as <i>he</i> who is now lying <i>here</i>," added the other +stranger, pointing at the large box.</p> + +<p>Then they both laughed and went on. Thrond looked at the little box +which thus came into his possession.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p> + +<p>"What is there in it?" asked he.</p> + +<p>"Carry it in and find out," said the mother.</p> + +<p>He did as he was told, but his mother helped him open it. Then a great +joy lighted up his face, for he saw something very light and fine lying +there.</p> + +<p>"Take it up," said his mother.</p> + +<p>He put just one finger down on it, but quickly drew it back again in +great alarm.</p> + +<p>"It cries," said he.</p> + +<p>"Have courage," said his mother, and he grasped it with his whole hand +and drew it forth from the box.</p> + +<p>He weighed it and turned it round, he laughed and felt of it.</p> + +<p>"Dear me! what is it?" asked he, for it was as light as a toy.</p> + +<p>"It is a fiddle."</p> + +<p>This was the way that Thrond Alfson got his first violin.</p> + +<p>The father could play a little, and he taught the boy how to handle the +instrument; the mother could sing the tunes she remembered from her +dancing days, and these the boy learned, but soon began to make new ones +for himself. He played all the time he was not at his books; he played +until his father once told him he was fading away before his eyes. All +the boy had read and heard until that time was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> put into the fiddle. The +tender, delicate string was his mother; the one that lay close beside +it, and always accompanied his mother, was Ragnhild. The coarse string, +which he seldom ventured to play on, was his father. But of the last +solemn string he was half afraid, and he gave no name to it. When he +played a wrong note on the E string, it was the cat; but when he took a +wrong note on his father's string, it was the ox. The bow was Blessom, +who drove from Copenhagen to Vaage in one night. And every tune he +played represented something. The one containing the long solemn tones +was his mother in her black dress. The one that jerked and skipped was +like Moses, who stuttered and smote the rock with his staff. The one +that had to be played quietly, with the bow moving lightly over the +strings, was the hulder in yonder fog, calling together her cattle, +where no one but herself could see.</p> + +<p>But the music wafted him onward over the mountains, and a great yearning +took possession of his soul. One day, when his father told about a +little boy who had been playing at the fair and who had earned a great +deal of money, Thrond waited for his mother in the kitchen and asked her +softly if he could not go to the fair and play for people.</p> + +<p>"Whoever heard of such a thing!" said his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> mother; but she immediately +spoke to his father about it.</p> + +<p>"He will get out into the world soon enough," answered the father; and +he spoke in such a way that the mother did not ask again.</p> + +<p>Shortly after this, the father and mother were talking at table about +some new settlers who had recently moved up on the mountain and were +about to be married. They had no fiddler for the wedding, the father +said.</p> + +<p>"Could not I be the fiddler?" whispered the boy, when he was alone in +the kitchen once more with his mother.</p> + +<p>"What, a little boy like you?" said she; but she went out to the barn +where his father was and told him about it.</p> + +<p>"He has never been in the parish," she added; "he has never seen a +church."</p> + +<p>"I should not think you would ask about such things," said Alf; but +neither did he say anything more, and so the mother thought she had +permission. Consequently she went over to the new settlers and offered +the boy's services.</p> + +<p>"The way he plays," said she, "no little boy has ever played before;" +and the boy was to be allowed to come.</p> + +<p>What joy there was at home! Thrond played from morning until evening and +practised new tunes; at night he dreamed about them: they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> bore him far +over the hills, away to foreign lands, as though he were afloat on +sailing clouds. His mother made a new suit of clothes for him; but his +father would not take part in what was going on.</p> + +<p>The last night he did not sleep, but thought out a new tune about the +church which he had never seen. He was up early in the morning, and so +was his mother, in order to get him his breakfast, but he could not eat. +He put on his new clothes and took his fiddle in his hand, and it seemed +to him as though a bright light were glowing before his eyes. His mother +accompanied him out on the flag-stone, and stood watching him as he +ascended the slopes; it was the first time he had left home.</p> + +<p>His father got quietly out of bed, and walked to the window; he stood +there, following the boy with his eyes until he heard the mother out on +the flag-stone, then he went back to bed and was lying down when she +came in.</p> + +<p>She kept stirring about him, as if she wanted to relieve her mind of +something. And finally it came out,—</p> + +<p>"I really think I must walk down to the church and see how things are +going."</p> + +<p>He made no reply, and therefore she considered the matter settled, +dressed herself, and started.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was a glorious, sunny day, the boy walked rapidly onward, he listened +to the song of the birds and saw the sun glittering among the foliage, +while he proceeded on his way, with his fiddle under his arm. And when +he reached the bride's house, he was still so occupied with his own +thoughts, that he observed neither the bridal splendor nor the +procession; he merely asked if they were about to start, and learned +that they were. He walked on in advance with his fiddle, and he played +the whole morning into it, and the tones he produced resounded through +the trees.</p> + +<p>"Will we soon see the church?" he asked over his shoulder.</p> + +<p>For a long time he received only "No" for an answer, but at last some +one said,—</p> + +<p>"As soon as you reach that crag yonder, you will see it."</p> + +<p>He threw his newest tune into the fiddle, the bow danced on the strings, +and he kept his eyes fixed intently before him. There lay the parish +right in front of him!</p> + +<p>The first thing he saw was a little light mist, curling like smoke on +the opposite mountain side. His eyes wandered over the green meadow and +the large houses, with windows which glistened beneath the scorching +rays of the sun, like the glacier on a winter's day. The houses<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> kept +increasing in size, the windows in number, and here on one side of him +lay the enormous red house, in front of which horses were tied; little +children were playing on a hill, dogs were sitting watching them. But +everywhere there penetrated a long, heavy tone, that shook him from head +to foot, and everything he saw seemed to vibrate with that tone. Then +suddenly he saw a large, straight house, with a tall, glittering staff +reaching up to the skies. And below, a hundred windows blazed, so that +the house seemed to be enveloped in flames. This must be the church, the +boy thought, and the music must come from it! Round about stood a vast +multitude of people, and they all looked alike! He put them forthwith +into relations with the church, and thus acquired a respect mingled with +awe for the smallest child he saw.</p> + +<p>"Now I must play," thought Thrond, and tried to do so.</p> + +<p>But what was this? The fiddle had no longer any sound in it. There must +be some defect in the strings; he examined, but could find none.</p> + +<p>"Then it must be because I do not press on hard enough," and he drew his +bow with a firmer hand; but the fiddle seemed as if it were cracked.</p> + +<p>He changed the tune that was meant to repre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>sent the church into +another, but with equally bad results; no music was produced, only +squeaking and wailing. He felt the cold sweat start out over his face; +he thought of all these wise people who were standing here and perhaps +laughing him to scorn, this boy who at home could play so beautifully, +but who here failed to bring out a single tone!</p> + +<p>"Thank God that mother is not here to see my shame!" said he softly to +himself, as he played among the people; but lo! there she stood, in her +black dress, and she shrank farther and farther away.</p> + +<p>At that moment he beheld far up on the spire the black-haired man who +had given him the fiddle. "Give it back to me," he now shouted, +laughing, and stretching out his arms, and the spire went up and down +with him, up and down. But the boy took the fiddle under one arm, +screaming, "You shall not have it!" and, turning, ran away from the +people, beyond the houses, onward through meadow and field, until his +strength forsook him, and then sank to the ground.</p> + +<p>There he lay for a long time, with his face toward the earth, and when +finally he looked round he saw and heard only God's infinite blue sky +that floated above him, with its everlasting sough. This was so terrible +to him that he had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> to turn his face to the ground again. When he raised +his head once more his eyes fell on his fiddle, which lay at his side.</p> + +<p>"This is all your fault!" shouted the boy, and seized the instrument +with the intention of dashing it to pieces, but hesitated as he looked +at it.</p> + +<p>"We have had many a happy hour together," said he, then paused. +Presently he said, "The strings must be severed, for they are +worthless." And he took out a knife and cut. "Oh!" cried the E string, +in a short, pained tone. The boy cut. "Oh!" wailed the next, but the boy +cut. "Oh!" said the third, mournfully; and he paused at the fourth. A +sharp pain seized him; that fourth string, to which he never dared give +a name, he did not cut. Now a feeling came over him that it was not the +fault of the strings that he was unable to play, and just then he saw +his mother walking slowly up the slope toward where he was lying, that +she might take him home with her. A greater fright than ever overcame +him; he held the fiddle by the severed strings, sprang to his feet, and +shouted down to her,—</p> + +<p>"No, mother! I will not go home again until I can play what I have seen +to-day."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><i>Contributed by An Oriental Traveller.</i></h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"A great, long devil of a Spahi in his red burnous."</p></div> + +<p><i>Daudet.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CHRISTMAS IN THE DESERT.</h2> + + +<p>I.</p> + +<p>It seemed all too good to be true: the rest from labor, the swift flight +across southern seas, the landing, amid strange, dark faces on a +burnished shore, the slow, delicious journey through tamarisk groves and +palm forests, and the halt in the Desert that came at last.</p> + +<p>I had been doing for the last twelve months what young artists and +authors are constantly doing, to their own ruin and the justifiable +ill-humor of critics, namely, working against the grain. A sweet, +generous, and beautiful Patroness, seeing me on the high road to brain +fever or hopeless mediocrity, stepped forward in time, and sent me to +the Desert. If ever I achieve anything excellent, it will be owing to +that lady, the Vittoria Colonna of her humble Michael Angelo. My little +sister Mary came with me, and, when I tell you that she was a teacher in +a school, you will easily understand what an intoxicating thing it was +for her to see a new world every day, and have nothing to do from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +morning, till night. The poor child could hardly believe in an existence +without Czerny's scales being played on three or four pianos at once, +and a barrel organ and brass band in the street. "Oh, Tom!" she would +say to me, a dozen times a day, "I've got C scale and 'Wait for the +Wagon' on my brain, and can't get rid of them;" so that I verily believe +to my beautiful Vittoria Colonna Mary's present well-being is due as +much as my own.</p> + +<p>We halted at a little military station on the borders of the Great +Sahara, about a week before Christmas-day. The weather was perfect, and +not too warm. A delicious, mellow atmosphere enveloped palm, and plain, +and mosque; the air, blown across thousands and thousands of acres of +wild thyme and rosemary, refreshed us like wine: we seemed to have new +souls and new bodies given us, and were as free from care as the +swallows flying overhead. Travellers never came to Teschoun, as this +little oasis is called; but we had placed ourselves under the guidance +of an enterprising Frenchman, who transacted all sorts of business on +the road between Mascara and Fig-gig, the last French post in the +Desert. His name was Dominique, and I shall always look upon him as the +most remarkable man I ever knew. He was as witty as Sydney Smith, as +clever at expediences as Robinson Crusoe, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> shrewd a politician as +Machiavelli, as apt at languages as Mezzofanti, and as brave as +Garibaldi. Being a bachelor, Dominique was none the less ready to +receive us, and, with the help of an old Corsican named Napoleon, made +us very comfortable. When Dominique was carrying His Imperial Majesty's +mails to some remote stations southward, or had gone to an Arab fair to +buy cattle, Napoleon catered for us and cooked for us, and did both +admirably. Both master and servant spiced their dishes plentifully with +that mother-wit, never seen in such perfection as in crude colonies +where people without it would fare so ill.</p> + +<p>"What are we to do for society for poor mademoiselle?" asked Dominique, +as he served our first dinner. "Monsieur can amuse himself with the +officers of the garrison, but there are no ladies here."</p> + +<p>"When my brother is out, I shall stay at home and talk to Napoleon," +Mary said, with a mock assumption of dignity. "I don't want to be +amused, Monsieur Dominique."</p> + +<p>"Mon Dieu, mademoiselle! the officers of the garrison will fall in love +with you, and that ought to amuse you better than talking to Napoleon," +Dominique answered. "It's a very dull life they lead here, these poor +officers; and if it weren't for hunting gazelles and hyenas,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> and +playing the deuce with the Arabs, they'd die of ennui; but a pretty +young lady like you will turn their heads soon enough."</p> + +<p>Mary blushed, and tried to turn the conversation.</p> + +<p>"What do they do with themselves all day long?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you that quickly enough, mademoiselle. M. le Commandant has +to see that the Cadi gets what he can out of the Sheiks, and the Sheiks +get what they can out of the tribes, and that the tribes hold their +tongue. That is what the Commandant has to do, young lady, and he does +it pretty well. M. le Capitaine has an easier time of it, except when +there is an insurrection, and then he makes a raid against the Arabs, +and after keeping his men out of their way very cleverly, sticks up the +French flag somewhere in the Desert and comes home. M. le Lieutenant +does odd jobs for the Commandant and the Capitaine, and plays the flute; +but we have got M. le Général down here for a few days, and he is +setting everybody to work. I dare say the end of it will be an +expedition into the Desert. You may look, monsieur. I'm not talking at +random, I assure you; generals love war as umbrella-makers love bad +weather; and it is easier to make people fight than it is to make it +rain."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I think French officers must be a wicked set; I hope none of them will +come near us," Mary said. "The poor Arabs! how my heart bleeds for +them."</p> + +<p>"Tiens! mademoiselle, there is no reason for your heart to bleed. Big +flies live on little ones all the world over; and if the French eat up +the Arabs, the Arabs eat up each other. The officers are very nice, +harmless gentlemen, I assure you; and as to the Commandant, though he +thinks fighting the best fun in the world, he wouldn't hurt a fly. To +see him pet his little gazelle would make you cry. She's the only lady +in the place, and I believe, if she died, it would break his heart. But +people must have something to be fond of. My old Napoleon, yonder, has +taken a fancy to a cat, and when the cat dies, Napoleon will be as lost +as his namesake the Emperor was at St. Helena. Listen a moment; that's +the Lieutenant practising on his flute: he has a little lodging next +door."</p> + +<p>The Lieutenant played very prettily, and Mary seemed to like his playing +much better than Dominique's stories. As her room adjoined the +Lieutenant's, she seemed likely to have the full benefit of his musical +capacities; but I do not think she lay awake to be serenaded that night. +We were fairly intoxicated with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> sweet air of the Desert we had been +breathing all day, and went to bed at eight o'clock, too tired and happy +to dream.</p> + +<p>Next morning Dominique informed us that he had himself delivered our +letter of introduction to M. le Commandant, who promised to wait upon us +in the course of the day. Not knowing at what hour we might expect him, +we set to work immediately after breakfast to prepare my room for the +reception of so distinguished a visitor. I helped Mary as well as I was +able, and, when nothing remained to do but the dusting, retired into a +recess to trim my beard.</p> + +<p>An Englishwoman is never so well dressed as when she emerges from her +bedroom at early morning; and I must say that Mary looked the daintiest +little housewife possible to conceive as she went about dusting and +polishing in a pink cambric dress and tiny black apron. But, neat as she +was, and neat as my beard and the room were in a fair way of becoming, +we were overwhelmed with surprise and confusion at what followed, for +quite suddenly the door was thrown open; there was a military tramp and +a rattling of a sword outside, and Dominique exclaimed, in a voice of +thunder, "M. le Commandant!"</p> + +<p>Impassible self-possession is a beautiful quality,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> and while Mary and I +stood blushing and aghast, like school children caught at stealing +cherries, M. le Commandant had made a courteous speech, welcoming us to +Teschoun. Then we all sat down, and M. le Commandant talked to us. He +was a sunburnt, soldierly man about fifty-five, with a rough manner but +a kind smile, and we felt at home with him in a moment.</p> + +<p>"I presume that monsieur wishes to see as much of the country as +possible," he said; "and I shall be enchanted to place at monsieur's +disposal horses, and my servant and a spahi as guides. But what will +mademoiselle do while her brother is away? I must send her my little +gazelle to play with her."</p> + +<p>"My sister will like to go with me where it is practicable," I said.</p> + +<p>The Commandant opened his eyes, and looked at Mary much as one looks +upon a pretty little duckling or a year-old baby.</p> + +<p>"Monsieur is evidently jesting," he answered. "Mademoiselle would be too +fatigued to undertake such journeys."</p> + +<p>"I don't think so," Mary said. "I have no fear, monsieur, and I like to +be with my brother."</p> + +<p>"Ah, what courage you English ladies have! Well, mademoiselle, we will +find you a quiet horse, and make everything as pleasant as pos<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>sible." +And after inviting us to dine with him one evening, and bidding us to +make use of him in every possible way, he took leave of us.</p> + +<p>"How nice he is!" cried Mary, as soon as the door was closed; "if all +French officers were like this one, Tom, I think we shall not care how +long we stay in the Desert——"</p> + +<p>"Your heart has very quickly ceased to bleed for the poor Arabs, I see."</p> + +<p>"But how can we be sure that Dominique's stories are all true? No, Tom; +I won't believe any harm of this kind-looking Commandant. I only wish he +had not come till the room was tidied and I had got on a muslin frock, +but, as we are sure of having no more visitors, I'll finish your room +and then unpack."</p> + +<p>We were fairly at our work again, when another military step sounded, +and another sword rattled in the passage outside. This time Dominique's +arm swung back the door with less pomposity, and Dominique's voice was a +trifle less emphatic as he ushered in "M. le Capitaine."</p> + +<p>Again Mary and I scuttled about like young rabbits, and then stood +still, staring shyly, and again our embarrassment was met by the calmest +nonchalance. The second figure was a man of much more presence than the +Commandant. He had the polished, graceful ease of a man of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> the world, +and, though quite as good-natured as the Commandant, his good-nature +pleased us less, because it was less spontaneous.</p> + +<p>"I hope you will stay some time at Teschoun," he said, looking at Mary. +"The ennui of our lives here is terrible. Think of it, mademoiselle; we +have no theatre, no music, no society, and no domestic life. To find a +lady here is like the miraculous advent of an angel." Mary blushed, and +had no courage to make the sprightly answers she had made the +Commandant.</p> + +<p>The fine air and grand compliments of the Capitaine overcame the little +thing, but she looked distractingly pretty as she sat opposite to him, +smiling and blushing when he addressed her, and only saying, "Oui, +monsieur," or "Non, monsieur," or at most, "Vraiment, monsieur."</p> + +<p>"Does mademoiselle ride?" asked the gallant Capitaine.</p> + +<p>"Oui, monsieur."</p> + +<p>"Then mademoiselle shall ride my little barb; there is hardly such a +horse anywhere, mademoiselle, so docile, so sweet-tempered, and so +sure-footed. It is not every lady I would trust with my little horse; +but I know how an Englishwoman can sit in the saddle, and I am proud to +offer it to mademoiselle."</p> + +<p>"Je vous remercie bien, monsieur."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p> + +<p>Then the Capitaine talked of Christmas-day.</p> + +<p>"We will have a little fête-champêtre in mademoiselle's honor," he said; +"we will go to the great water-falls of Boisel-Kebir and breakfast there. +I will invite my Commandant and all the officers of the garrison. +Monsieur can make a sketch and mademoiselle can gather flowers."</p> + +<p>We expressed ourselves delighted at the proposal, and, after promising +to send Mary ostrich eggs and jackal skins to take to England, the +Capitaine left us.</p> + +<p>"I don't like the Capitaine as well as the Commandant," Mary said; "but +how kind they all are to us! It is as if we were princes on a journey of +triumph. Oh, Tom! what days to remember are these!"</p> + +<p>"I think your head will be fairly turned, what with the Commandant's +dinners and the Capitaine's fêtes-champêtres," I said; "and if the +Lieutenant——"</p> + +<p>"M. le Lieutenant!" announced Dominique, opening the door calmly, as if +nothing was the matter.</p> + +<p>We had been twice so shocked and surprised that we had no more +embarrassment to expend on the Lieutenant. Indeed, he was rather shy +himself, which was the very thing to reassure a warm-hearted, +sympathetic little creature like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> my sister, and they began to talk +together without any effort.</p> + +<p>He was young and handsome, with a very frank, pleasant expression.</p> + +<p>"I am afraid that it is useless for me to offer my poor services," he +said, very modestly, "my superior officers having forestalled me; but it +will make me very happy to do anything for you. If mademoiselle would +like any stuffed birds, or dried flowers and plants, it will give me +pleasure to procure them for her; and perhaps monsieur would like me to +show him some wonderful things to paint. I draw a little myself, and +know where the finest points of view are to be found."</p> + +<p>We thanked him heartily, and accepted all that he offered us. As it was +now time for our second breakfast, or, more properly speaking, lunch, we +pressed him to partake of it with us, which he did. We should not have +ventured upon inviting the Commandant, much less the Capitaine, so +unceremoniously, but the Lieutenant's diffident manner had set us quite +at our ease.</p> + +<p>"I have a very humble apartment," he said; "but if monsieur and +mademoiselle will visit me, I will do the honors of it with pride and +pleasure. I can at least offer them a little music."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Yes, I know that you play," Mary said, smiling; "our rooms join, and I +heard you playing before I went to sleep last night."</p> + +<p>"Oh, mademoiselle! I shall never forgive myself if I disturbed you."</p> + +<p>"No, indeed, you did not, monsieur. Much as I liked the music, I was too +tired to listen to it, and went to sleep all the same."</p> + +<p>Then they both laughed gleefully, like children, and the Lieutenant +promised to play to her and send her to sleep every night.</p> + +<p>After breakfast he accompanied us on a tour of inspection. We soon saw +all that there was to see of Teschoun, namely, a little line of bazaars +kept by Jews and negroes, a little boulevard of a year's growth, two +imposing-looking gates,—one looking towards Morocco, one towards the +Sahara,—a straggling camp, and a wall of circumvallation. There were +gardens in embryo here and there, but no trees of any size, and not till +you had got fairly away from Teschoun could you perceive that its aspect +was striking or imposing. Then, looking back from the craggy heights +that surrounded it, the white line of the camp and the belt of verdure +encircling it like a ribbon, struck the eye as a pleasant contrast to +the warm, yellow atmosphere of earth and sky. The warmth and the +yellowness were delicious. A fresh, sweet breeze<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> blew across our faces +from the Desert. We sat down and drew it in with long, devouring +breaths.</p> + +<p>A hundred yards behind us, his bright-brown body sharply outlined +against the pale, amber-colored sky, stood a little Bedouin smiling down +upon us. It was a perfect personification of Eastern life, and I made a +sketch, while the Lieutenant told Mary of his hard campaign southward, +and his joy at catching the first glimpse of Teschoun from the distance.</p> + +<p>When we returned home we found that the Commandant's servant had left a +bunch of roses for Mary, with his master's compliments; that the +Capitaine's servant had been sent round with his master's horse for her +to try, and that the Général had sent word by his aide-de-camp that he +would himself have the pleasure of calling upon us that evening.</p> + +<p>Mary and I felt utterly overwhelmed by such goodness and condescension. +A real starred, laced Général was about to call on us! We could hardly +believe that we were our identical, insignificant selves, who, but for +you, oh! most sweet and honored Patroness, would have sunk under the +burden of toil imposed upon us. But how all was changed! The poor, +unknown artist was treated as if he had been Sir Peter Paul Rubens; the +humble little school<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> teacher was fêted and flattered like the wife of a +conquering commander-in-chief.</p> + +<p>We had invited the young Lieutenant to drink tea with us at eight +o'clock, and were enjoying a little music after a very sociable fashion, +when a noisy excitement seemed to shake the house like a shock of an +earthquake, and M. le Général was announced in Dominique's most +impressive manner.</p> + +<p>M. le Général was by no means an awful-looking person; and, indeed, we +had so expended our surprise already, that we had no more at command.</p> + +<p>He was an excessively stout, merry person, middle-aged, of a beautiful +complexion, and a capacity to wink that would have vulgarized any one +else but a general. He made himself very pleasant, accepted a cup of +tea, praised Mary's French, said that he intended to dine with us at the +Commandant's to-morrow, and told us some laughable stories about the +Arabs. I noticed that the Lieutenant seemed quite overawed by the +presence of the Général, and sat flute in hand, like a statue. Mary +tried to put him at his ease, but to no purpose. It did not mend matters +when the Général began first to twit him about his musical +accomplishments, and then to catechise him on military matters.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p><p>"You were in that affair of '59, in Kabylia, weren't you?" he asked, +in that quick, positive, military tone to which we with difficulty get +accustomed.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 316px;"> +<img src="images/img-04.jpg" width="316" height="400" +alt="My Little Sister Mary" title="My Little Sister Mary" /> +<span class="caption">My Little Sister Mary</span> +<br /></div> + +<p>"Oui, mon Général."</p> + +<p>"It was a badly managed thing, I believe. The Kabyles got the better of +you more than once, didn't they?"</p> + +<p>"I believe so, mon Général."</p> + +<p>"Bah!" cried the Général, turning to me. "You see what these young +officers know of their trade. I have no doubt that Monsieur le +Lieutenant's musical education is much more advanced, and to serenade +mademoiselle suits him much better than to make war against the enemies +of his country."</p> + +<p>And, at the mention of the enemies of his country, the Général indulged +in a wink. When he was ready to go, he sent the Lieutenant to order his +horse, much as if he had been a little boy of ten years old; and on +taking leave added half a dozen commissions in the same peremptory tone. +The poor Lieutenant listened very submissively, but no sooner had the +Général dashed down the street, followed by his servant, equally well +mounted, than he grew gay and easy again.</p> + +<p>As soon as we were alone, Mary brought out her slender supply of gala +dresses, and we dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>cussed the important subject of her toilet of the +next evening.</p> + +<p>"It seems to me," I said, "that if you dress for the Lieutenant, you +will displease the Capitaine; if you dress for the Capitaine, you will +displease the Commandant; and if you dress for the Commandant, you will +displease the Général."</p> + +<p>Mary gathered up her fineries in alarm. "Don't you think I had better +stay away from the dinner altogether, Tom?"</p> + +<p>"By no means," I said; "settle the matter by dressing to please me."</p> + +<p>Which she accordingly did, and the result was a semi-moresque, dainty, +and glowing bit of costume quite in keeping with the time and place.<br /><br /></p> + + +<p>II.</p> + +<p>Precisely at seven o'clock we presented ourselves at the Commandant's, +Mary looking very pretty in her transparent white dress, brilliant sack +of Tunis silk, and necklets and bracelets of coral and palm-seeds. The +little thing had such loving, dark eyes, such a soft bloom on her +cheeks, and such a sweet mouth, that I could hardly blame the Général +for wishing to have her sit beside him at dinner. The Commandant, being +a little shy, would have given up all his privileges as host, but the +Général insisted upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> the Commandant leading her in, and she sat +between the two. It was very mortifying for the Capitaine and the +Lieutenant; the former made an effort to be complimentary and +entertaining across the table, but the latter looked quite crestfallen, +and hardly raised his eyes from his plate. When we retired to the +drawing-room, matters went a little better. The tame gazelle was brought +in for Mademoiselle Marie to see; and while the Général and the +Commandant had a long discussion on military affairs, the rest of us +sported with the pretty creature and made pleasant plans for the morrow. +Then an amusing game of cards was set on foot, over which we were +growing very merry, when up came the Général and the Commandant.</p> + +<p>"Eh, bien!" said the Général, slyly nudging the Capitaine. "We have not +been so engrossed, but we heard one or two pleasant things talked of. +Upon my word, Capitaine, I am half disposed not to go to Mascara till +after your picnic to the water-falls."</p> + +<p>"You will do my poor little fête great honor, mon Général," answered the +Capitaine, adding, naïvely, "but I think that the wild geese flying +northwards means rain."</p> + +<p>"Not a bit of it. We shall have no rain until a fortnight after +Christmas. Mademoi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>selle Marie, I shall do myself the honor of offering +you one of my horses to ride."</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle has already condescended to accept mine," the Capitaine +put in, with stiffness.</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Marie, this gentleman has no horse fit to carry a lady. +The brute he offers you has no more mouth than an elephant. Keep on the +safe side and ride mine, which is a lamb, I assure you, mademoiselle,—a +lamb."</p> + +<p>The Général spoke in jest, but the Capitaine was very near losing his +temper. Mary being thus appealed to, thought to extricate herself from +the difficulty by declaring herself half afraid to ride either horse, +being an inexperienced horsewoman. But both the gentlemen had mules, and +both the gentlemen's mules were the best. Poor Mary colored, and looked +at me in despair.</p> + +<p>"I think," I said, "the safest plan will be for my sister to try the +horses, and see which suits her the best."</p> + +<p>Then the different routes to the water-falls were discussed, and the +different Douars or Arab villages where it would be best to have a +Diffa, or feast, provided,—Mary's judgment being asked in every +instance. All this time the Lieutenant had turned over the leaves of a +newspaper very meekly, and the Commandant had caressed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> his tame +gazelle. As soon as she could politely free herself, Mary went up to +him.</p> + +<p>"How pretty, and playful, and fond it is!" she said, stooping down to +stroke the little creature. The grave face of the Commandant brightened.</p> + +<p>"Yes; it would be very <i>triste</i> here without the little thing."</p> + +<p>"Do you never go to France, monsieur?"</p> + +<p>"I shall perhaps go in two years' time; but you see, mademoiselle, that +is a long time to look forward to; and if my mother should not be +living, I might as well stay here."</p> + +<p>"Do you like fighting the Arabs in the Desert, then, monsieur?"</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle, when one takes up the profession of arms, fighting and +exile are <i>choses entendues</i>. I often sigh for a settled, domestic life; +but I might have been worse off. I might have gone to Mexico, for +instance."</p> + +<p>The Commandant's manner was so simple, so manly, and so tinged with +sadness, that I think any woman would have sympathized with him as much +as my little sister Mary did. She, poor child, having lived all her life +in a school-room, was quite ready to make a hero of any man that smiled +kindly upon her; and here were four heroes, in handsome uniforms, all +smiling upon her at once! There was the sweet sense<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> of youth drawing +her to the Lieutenant; but I think the Commandant stood next in her +favor, and she could not for a moment forget the courteous kindness of +the other two.</p> + +<p>"It must all be a dream, Tom," she said, as she gave me her good-night +kiss; "but, oh! if it is a dream, don't let me wake yet."</p> + +<p>We dreamed some wonderful things in the next few days. Dominique made us +get up, one morning, very early, and drove us in his little wooden gig +to an Arab encampment miles away in the Desert. It was dawn when we +started, and large, pale stars were shining in a violet sky; then, like +a gorgeous butterfly emerging from a dusky chrysalis, came the Eastern +day, and we felt as if living in a world warmed by a hundred suns. The +warm, intoxicating light took possession of our senses, and so sweet, so +rarefied, so indescribably delicious was the air, that it seemed to give +wings to our dull bodies. Every now and then we were overtaken by clouds +of locusts, their little wings glistening like diamonds against the soft +sky, or flocks of starlings darkened the air, or a serried line of wild +geese passed majestically overhead. Then we came to the tents, and at +our approach a dozen dogs rushed out to snap and snarl, and a hundred +little naked children scampered and scuttled across the way. A stately +Bedouin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> made us welcome, and, while Dominique transacted business with +him, his women gathered around us, chattering and grinning like +children. Then we were feasted upon cous-cous-sou and figs, and took +leave, after many "salamaleks."</p> + +<p>Another day we went out hunting gazelles, bivouacking along a riverside, +and feasting, Arab fashion, off a sheep roasted whole. Dominique had +found a pretty little French girl, daughter of a travelling farrier, to +act as Mary's handmaid; and she now felt less isolated among so many +men, and less shy, too. The poor child stood a fair chance of being +spoiled, what with suddenly finding herself transformed from a +school-room Cinderella to a fairy-tale princess, and having four lovers, +all heroes, at once. For it was impossible to deny that the Général, the +Commandant, the Capitaine, and the Lieutenant all behaved like lovers, +presenting her with jackal skins, ostrich plumes and eggs, rare birds, +and other treasures of the Sahara. The Général went so far as to give +her a little negro boy about ten years old, though this gift we had +accepted only temporarily, not quite knowing what to do with him when we +left Teschoun.</p> + +<p>Christmas-day came at last. Mary had artfully evaded the delicate point +about horses by declaring herself afraid of every one's beast but +Dominique's; accordingly, mounted on Domi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>nique's ugly hack, she led the +way with the Général, her long, bright hair flowing in curls over her +shoulders, her cheeks glowing with excitement. The pleasure and +picturesqueness of the last few days—for Mary had an artistic +perception of beauty—had brought out a new side to her character; and +she quite surprised me, from time to time, with her saucy humor and +quick repartee.</p> + +<p>We made a brilliant cavalcade, what with the uniforms of the officers, +and the richly embroidered saddles and bright-red burnouses of our +attendant spahis. After riding some miles across a monotonous tract of +stony desert, we came to a majestic sierra of crag, down which fell a +dozen water-falls, narrow and bright as sword-blades. A thin little +stream threaded the ravine, and on its banks grew clumps of the +tamarisk, the oleander, and the thuya, making an oasis grateful to the +eyes. Here we sat down and ate our Christmas breakfast, with stray +thoughts of village bells chiming at home, and school children lustily +singing their Christmas hymns.</p> + +<p>Our host, the Capitaine, had provided a sumptuous feast of Desert +fare,—roast quails and plovers, cous-cous-sou, figs, dates, and +bananas, with the addition of champagne; and we were very merry.</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle," said the Capitaine, "think<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> what our next Christmas will +be if you are not here. Persuade monsieur, your brother, to purchase +some land between Mascara and Teschoun, so that we shall not lose you +altogether."</p> + +<p>The Général nudged the Commandant.</p> + +<p>"You see what our friend the Capitaine is dreaming of! Mon Capitaine, +your escadron is sure to be sent into the interior this spring; put all +romances out of your head, my dear fellow, and do not entice monsieur +into the committal of follies."</p> + +<p>"I am not the only one to entertain romances," said the Capitaine, +coolly. "You, mon Général, did us all the honor to spend Christmas at +Teschoun. We can but attribute such a condescension to the gracious +influence of mademoiselle."</p> + +<p>"Look well after the Commandant when I am gone, gentlemen," continued +the Général, looking round with a smile. "Matters are gone so far +already that he loses his temper if a fellow-officer but jests with him. +What a terrible slur it would be upon the glorious annals of +French-African conquest, if such a brave officer should show himself +fonder of stuffing birds for an English demoiselle than running swords +through ungrateful Arabs!" and the Général looked round with a very +comical expression of mock horror.</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle has indiscriminately accepted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> our tokens of homage," the +Commandant said, maliciously.</p> + +<p>"But it yet remains to be seen whose offering has been most acceptable +to her," went on the Général, adding, <i>au grand sérieux</i>, "we won't +resort to duels unless absolutely necessary."</p> + +<p>This sort of banter lasted so long that poor Mary's cheeks burned with +mixed vanity and mortification, and she made an excuse to leave us.</p> + +<p>"And what does our Lieutenant advise monsieur to do?" asked the +Général,—"to settle here, or to follow his escadron to the Desert?" +Whereupon the poor Lieutenant colored, and said nothing.</p> + +<p>What an experience it was, that Christmas-day in the Desert! The noonday +sun seemed to dissolve in the warm atmosphere, and, instead of a single +orb shining overhead, large and golden, we had melted suns innumerable +about us, and almost lost the sense of corporeity in their charmed +medium.</p> + +<p>When the short bright day waned, and the large stars were coming out one +by one, we found ourselves near home; and when the heavens had turned to +bluish-black, and the stars to splendid silvery moons, we passed under +the gate of Teschoun, and saw our shadows, darker and deeper than real +things, fall across<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> the white walls of mosque and fortress. For shadow +and substance lost their identity in the Desert and one is always on the +point of mistaking the one for the other: if anything, shadow is the +more real of the two.</p> + +<p>So absorbed was I in the suggestions of this mysterious beauty, that I +had forgotten all about my sister's lovers till we were fairly in our +little sitting-room. Then Mary began to sigh and blush, and to hint that +she thought we had better leave Teschoun very soon.</p> + +<p>"You see, Tom, dear," she said, with tears in her eyes, "the Général +says he adores me, and the Commandant says he never loved any one in the +world until he saw me, and the Capitaine says that if I go away he will +blow his brains out, and what am I to do?"</p> + +<p>"And the Lieutenant,—what did he say?"</p> + +<p>"He says nothing," said Mary, looking down; "and,"—here came a +sob,—"and I like him best of all!"</p> + +<p>"But, if he does not declare the same liking for you, we must leave him +out of the question, and choose between the other three, I suppose."</p> + +<p>"He does not speak because he is too modest: I'm sure he likes me," Mary +added, still ready to cry.</p> + +<p>"His state of feeling does not help us much, unless expressed," I +replied. "Meantime, what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> am I to say to the Général, the Commandant, +and the Capitaine, if they ask to marry you?"</p> + +<p>The little thing plucked at the folds of her riding-skirt in the +greatest perplexity.</p> + +<p>"I like the Général and I like the Commandant, and I ought not to +dislike the Capitaine; but I cannot marry one without offending the +others; and, if I were to marry out here in the Desert, Tom, would you +stay, too?"</p> + +<p>We had been living in such utter fairy-land lately, that I felt as if it +were quite possible for me to marry some brown-skinned, soft-eyed +Rebecca, and turn Mahometan. But, in any case, could I desire for my +sister a happier fate than to marry one of these brave gentlemen, and +live in the sunny South all the rest of her days? She would be rescued +from a life of toil and friendlessness, and have another protector +besides her Bohemian of a brother.</p> + +<p>"My dear child," I said, "it would be impossible for me to say that our +lives should be spent together; but you may be quite sure that nothing +would utterly divide them. The chief point is, of all your lovers, whom +do you love?"</p> + +<p>To this question I could elicit no positive reply. Mary, in fact, was +half in love with the Général and the Commandant, and wholly in love +with the Lieutenant, and was quite incapable of deciding her own fate.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p> + +<p>"You must not laugh at me," she said, simply, as we bade each other +good-night; "it is so new to me to have lovers, and so delightful, that +I wish I could go on forever being happy, and making them happy, without +marrying either." Then she blushed and ran off to bed.</p> + +<p>The next morning we were taking our early coffee, when we heard the +clatter of horses' feet, and, looking out, saw one of the Général's +splendid, brown-skinned, red-cloaked spahis dashing into the town at a +furious rate. He pulled up at Dominique's door, and, letting his little +barb prance and rear at will, looked towards us, showing his white teeth +and waving a letter in one hand.</p> + +<p>I left my breakfast and ran down to him. We exchanged "salamaleks," and +then he put the letter in my hand, adding, in broken French, "Le +Général,—envoyer cela,—va faire le guerre,—la-bas." Then he put spurs +to his horse's flanks, and dashed away as fast as he had come.</p> + +<p>I broke the seal of the Général's letter, which ran as follows:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Monsieur,</span>—This morning at daybreak I received telegraphic +information that a serious rising has taken place among the tribes +southward of Fig-gig, and I have resolved to march upon them +without delay. Judge, monsieur,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> how more than sorry I am to be +forced to quit the society of your charming sister and yourself +without making my adieux; but a soldier's duty forces him from the +consummation of his fondest desires, when such a consummation seems +close at hand, and I go, if not with joy, at least without +soldierly reluctance. I shall never forget, monsieur, this episode, +an oasis in the desert of my military life; and, while wishing for +mademoiselle and yourself all possible prosperity, I hope you will +remember Teschoun and the poor exiled officers there, who will +never think of you both without regret.</p> + +<p>"I feel it right, under the grave circumstances of the revolt, to +advise your speedy return to Mascara, and will order a trusty +escort to be in readiness for you when you shall require it.</p> + +<p>"Meantime, receive, monsieur, the expression of my utmost esteem.</p> + + +<p style="text-align: right">"<span class="smcap">De Marion.</span>"<br /></p> +</div> + +<p>We were both of us talking over the astounding contents of the Général's +letter, when Napoleon came in, full of news. The insurgents numbered +thousands, and there were skirmishing parties close to Teschoun. +Teschoun would be most likely besieged, as it had been more than once, +etc., etc. As the day wore on, the excitement increased. Little groups +of French or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> Jewish shopkeepers collected together and talked gravely, +Arabs walked about in stately fashion, smiling superciliously. In the +French camp it was the old story on a lesser scale:</p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" summary="poem"> +<tr> +<td align='left'> +"And there was mounting in hot haste; the steed,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The mustering squadron, and the clattering car</span><br /> +Went pouring forward with impetuous speed." +</td></tr></table></div> + +<p>And so great was the need for hurry that we doubted whether we should +see either of our gallant hosts again. Late in the afternoon, however, +the Capitaine paid us a formal, sentimental visit, and after him came +the Commandant, who stood up before us, square and stiff, and stammered +out a word or two with tears in his kind eyes. Mary held out her little +hand; but he seemed overcome with shyness or sadness, or both, and +rushed away without having taken it.</p> + +<p>Last of all, when we had quite given him up, came the poor Lieutenant: +he had been busy on a hundred errands for his superior officers, and had +only five minutes to spare. We can never do anything with a few last +moments, and Mary and the Lieutenant had not a word to say to each +other, though I could see well enough what both would fain have said.</p> + +<p>So I quietly left them under the pretext of fetching a cigar, and when I +returned, at the close of the fifth minute, all that was necessary<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> had +been said. We then embraced each other after the hearty French fashion. +Mary and the Lieutenant exchanged rings, and he went off to fight the +disaffected Arabs as happy as a king!</p> + +<p>It was a fine sight to see the troops march out of Teschoun. Color is +really color in the South, and the lines of blue zouaves and crimson +spahis against the mellow afternoon sky were vivid and picturesque +beyond description.</p> + +<p>On they went, arms flashing, drums beating, colors flying, till the last +column had turned the hill, and then evening came on all at once, and we +felt a dreary sense of disenchantment creeping over us. It was as if we +had been dreaming during the last few weeks, and now we were waked, +indeed! Dominique recalled us to ourselves with a cynical smile.</p> + +<p>"Bah!" he cries, "it's all play; let 'em pretend to put down +insurrection as often as they please. It is good for trade and +promotion, and the Arabs know how to defend themselves."</p> + +<p>But events falsified this sarcasm of Monsieur Dominique's, for the +insurrection proved serious, and it was months before we heard of our +Lieutenant. When we did hear, the news was good; and the news of him and +of his English wife—dowered by our Vittoria Colonna—has been good ever +since.</p> + + +<p> +END OF BOOK I.<br /> +</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Yule-Log Glow, Book I, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE YULE-LOG GLOW, BOOK I *** + +***** This file should be named 18720-h.htm or 18720-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/7/2/18720/ + +Produced by Paul Ereaut, Jason Isbell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In the Yule-Log Glow, Book I + Christmas Tales from 'Round the World + +Author: Various + +Editor: Harrison S. Morris + +Release Date: June 29, 2006 [EBook #18720] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE YULE-LOG GLOW, BOOK I *** + + + + +Produced by Paul Ereaut, Jason Isbell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +[Transcribers note: Several original spelling, punctuation and +hyphenation inconsistencies have been rationalised.] + +[Illustration: The Yule-log glow] + +IN THE +YULE-LOG GLOW + +CHRISTMAS TALES FROM +'ROUND THE WORLD + + +"Sic as folk tell ower at a winter ingle" +_Scott_ + + +EDITED BY +HARRISON S. MORRIS + + +THREE VOLUMES IN ONE. + +Book I. + + +PHILADELPHIA + +J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY + +1900. + + + + +Copyright, 1891, by J. B. Lippincott Company. + +Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. + + + + +THE THRESHOLD. + + +If, gentle reader, you will step across this threshold, now, as the moon +rises in the keen Christmas air, and will find a place by the ruddy +ingle within-doors, you may hear, if you will, a Babel of voices from +many lands, telling over the adventures of the road and falling into the +good-fellowship of the happy Christmas season. + +Here from the north, with his ample furs thrown back, sits the Russian +in friendly talk with a gay little wanderer from Sicilian valleys. +There, with elbow crooked by a foaming tankard, leans the German, +narrating his perils and pleasures to a gallant Frenchman and a +sunbrowned Spaniard who smoke and chatter together as now and then +Mynheer stops for a pull at his pipe. + +A Swede, Norwegians, an Englishman or two, and even a happy-go-lucky +American, are clustered about the Yule-log; for the place you have +entered is the common-room of the wide world. + +As you slip the latch and take your seat, some traveller calls out: A +Merry Christmas! Another cries: A story, a story! and so they fall to, +each from his own scrip taking forth a native tale,--and so they sit the +midnight out listening and talking in turn; while the good cheer goes +round in endless abundance and laughter and song make interludes for the +varied narratives. + + + + +CONTENTS OF BOOK I. + + + + +The Three Kings of Cologne + +_A modern version of an old English Chronicle._ + +_By Harrison S. Morris._ + + +The Three Christmas Masses + +_From the French of Alphonse Daudet._ + +_By Harrison S. Morris._ + + +A Russian Christmas Party[A] + +_By Count Leon Tolstoi._ + + +Two Christmases + +_From the German of Georg Schuster._ + + +A Tale of a Turkey + +_By Harrison S. Morris._ + + +A Still Christmas[B] + +_By Agnes Repplier._ + + +Thrond + +_From the Norwegian of Bjoernson._ + + +Christmas in the Desert + +_By Matilda Betham Edwards._ + + + +[A] By courtesy of Messrs. W. S. Gottsberger & Co. + +[B] By courtesy of "The Catholic World." + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS, BOOK I. + + +The Yule-log Glow Frontispiece. + +Sonia + +The Cavalier From France + +My Little Sister Mary + + + + +_A Tale Spoken by a Graybeard Out of the East._ + +"Gracious powers! Perhaps you _are_ a hundred years old, now I think of +it! You look more than a hundred. Yes, you may be a thousand years old +for what I know." + +_Thackeray._ + + + + +THE THREE KINGS OF COLOGNE. + +A CHRISTMAS TALE FROM AN OLD ENGLISH CHRONICLE. + +(Written by John of Hildesheim in the Fourteenth Century.) + +Here followeth the manner and form of seeking and offering; and also of +the burying and translations of the three Holy and Worshipful Kings of +Cologne: Jaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. + + +Now when the Children of Israel were gone out of Egypt and had won and +made subject to them Jerusalem and all the land lying about, so that no +man durst set against them in all that country for dread that they had +of them; then was there a little hill called Vaws, which was also called +the Hill of Victory, and on this hill the ward of them of Ind was +ordained and kept by divers sentinels by night and by day against the +Children of Israel, and afterward against the Romans; so that if any +people at any time purposed with strong hand to enter into the country +of the Kingdom of Ind, anon, sentinels of other hills about, through +tokens, warned the keepers on the hill of Vaws. And by night they made a +great fire and by day they made a great smoke, for that hill Vaws +passeth the height of all other hills in all the East. Wherefore, when +any such token was seen, then all manner of men made ready to defend +themselves from the enemy that approached. + +Now in the time when Balaam prophesied of the Star that should betoken +the coming of Christ, all the great lords and all the other people of +Ind and in the East desired greatly to see the Star of which he spake, +and gave gifts to the keepers of the hill of Vaws, and moreover hired +them with great rewards, that, if it so were, they saw by day or by +night, far or near, any light or any star in the air other than was seen +beforetime, anon they should show and send them word. And thus was it +that for so long a time the fame of this Star was borne through all the +lands of the East; until, of the name of the hill of Vaws, arose up a +worshipful and a great kindred in Ind, which is called the progeny of +Vaws even unto this day; and there is not a more mighty kindred in all +the kingdoms of the East; for this worshipful kindred came first from +the King's blood that was named Melchior, that offered gold to our Lord, +as ye shall hereafter learn. + +In the year of our Lord 1200, when the city of Acon, that in this +country is called Akers, flourished and stood in virtue, joy, and +prosperity, and was inhabited richly with worshipful princes, and +lords, and divers orders of men of religion, and all manner of men of +all nations and tongues, so that there was no city like unto it in +nobility and might; then, because of its great name and of the marvels +that were there, the greatest of birth that were of the progeny of Vaws +came out of Ind unto Acon; and when they saw there all things more +wonderful than in Ind; then, because of delight, they abode there and +made a fair and strong castle for any king or lord. And they brought +with them out of the East many rich and wonderful ornaments and jewels. +And among all other jewels, they brought a diadem of gold arrayed with +precious stones and pearls, and about its edge stood letters of +Chaldaic, and a star made like after the Star that appeared to the Three +Kings of the East when they sought God, with a sign of the cross, +beside. And that diadem was Melchior's, the king of Nubia and of Araby, +that offered gold to the Babe in the manger. And afterward the master of +the Order of Templars received this same diadem of gold and many other +precious jewels; but when that Order was destroyed the diadem and +precious ornaments were lost, and have never been found unto this day. +Wherefore there was great sorrow made in all the country for a long time +after. + +But these same princes of Vaws brought with them out of Ind books +written in Hebrew and Chaldaic, concerning the life and deeds of these +three blessed Kings, which books were afterward translated into the +French tongue: and so, from these books, and from hearsay, and sight, +and also from sermons and homilies out of divers other works, the story +here written hath been brought together into one book. + +And you shall understand that the old kindred of Vaws beareth always in +its banner, unto this day, a star with a sign of the cross, made after +the same manner as it appeared to the three blessed Kings. + +Now it so happened that after Balaam had prophesied of this Star, the +more it was sought for the more its fame increased through the land of +Ind and Chaldee, and all the people desired to see it. + +So they ordained twelve of the wisest and greatest clerks of astronomy +that were in all that country about, and gave them great hire to keep +watch upon this hill of Vaws for the Star that was prophesied of Balaam. +And the cause that there were ordained twelve men was, that if one man +died another should be put in his stead; and also that some should keep +watch at one time and some another--nevertheless the people looked not +only after the Star, but after the Man who was betokened by the Star, +the which Man should be Lord of all folk. + +And they of Ind and Chaldee who came often into Jerusalem because of +merchandise and also for disport--the which, for the most part, be +learned in astronomy--said that in Ind were many stars in the firmament +that might not be seen by night in Jerusalem; but, specially on this +hill of Vaws in clear weather, were seen many and divers strange stars +that at the foot of the hill were not seen. Yet this hill of Vaws hath +no more breadth than a little chapel is made upon, the which the three +worshipful kings did build of stone and timber. And there be about this +hill many steps upon which men go up to the chapel on high, and also +there grew many good trees and herbs and divers spices all about the +hill--for else men might not well go upon this hill because it is so +high and so narrow. There is also a pillar of stone made above this +chapel, of wondrous height, and in the head of the pillar standeth a +great star, well made of gilt, and which turneth with the wind as a +vane: and through the light of the sun by day, and of the moon by night, +this star gives light a great way about the country. And many other +marvels are spoken of this hill of Vaws, the which were long to tell. + +Now when the time of grace was come, that God would have mercy on all +mankind, in which time the Father of Heaven sent down his Son to take +flesh and blood and to be born a man for salvation of all the world: in +that time Octavianus, that was Emperor of Rome, sent out a commandment +that all the people within his empire should be counted and taxed; and +every man went forth from his dwelling-place into his native country. +Then came Joseph up from Nazareth unto Bethlehem the city of David, +because he was of the household and race of King David, and with him +came Mary that was his wife, and also great with child. + +And you shall understand that Bethlehem was never of much reputation, +neither a place of great quantity. It hath a good site and good ground, +for there be many caves and dens under the earth thereabout; and it is +distant from Jerusalem but two little miles; and it is but a castle, but +is called a city because King David was born there. And in that town was +sometime a house which belonged to Isai, the father of David, where +David was born and anointed into the kingdom of Israel by Samuel the +prophet. And in this same dwelling was the Son of Heaven born of Mary. + +And this same house was at the end of a street that was in that time +called the Covered Street, because, to keep out the great heat and +burning of the sun, this street was canopied above with black cloths +and other things,--for such is the use in that country always. And here +was wont to be great bargaining, or a fair once a week of old clothes; +and specially of trees or timber, by the little house which stood before +a den under the earth, made and shaped like a little cellar, where Isai +and others that dwelt there after him put certain necessaries that +belonged to the household, against the heat of the sun. It is also the +manner in all that country that there be certain houses, the which be +called there _alchan_, that we call hostelries, and in these houses be +mules, horses, asses, and camels always ready, that, if so that any +merchant or any man that travelled by the way, be it far or near, need +any beast for himself, or for his merchandise, then he goeth to such a +house and there he may hire a horse, or what beast that he will, for a +certain price. And when he hath such a beast then he goeth from that +city to another, where to abide and rest him for a time. Then he +dischargeth his beast of his burden, and so sendeth him to a house +called there also _alchan_; and the master of the house giveth his beast +meat, and, when he may, he sendeth it home to the same place that it +came from. + +And such a house was, before the birth of Christ, in the place where +Christ was born; but, about the time of the Nativity, that house was all +destroyed, insomuch that there was nothing left but broken walls on +every side, and a little cave under earth, and a little unthrifty house +before the cave: and there men sold bread on the same ground; for it is +the usage in all that country that all the bread that is sold shall be +brought unto a certain place. + +Now when Octavianus had sent out a commandment as it is aforesaid, then +went Joseph and Mary riding on an ass, late in the eventide, toward the +city of Bethlehem, and because they came so late, and all places were +occupied with pilgrims and other men, and also because they came in poor +array and went about the city, none would receive them, and specially, +men say, because that Mary, a young woman, sitting upon an ass, heavy +and sorry, and full weary of the way, was near to the time of bearing of +her child. Then Joseph led his wife into this shed that none took keep +of, down into the little dark house, and there our Lord, Jesus Christ, +the same night was born of the Virgin, without any disease or sorrow of +her body, for salvation of all mankind. + +And in that house, before the cave of old time, was left a manger of the +length of a fathom, made in the wall; and to that same manger was an ox +of a poor man tied, that none might harbor. And beside that ox Joseph +tied his ass, and in that same manger Mary wrapped her blessed Son in +cloths and laid Him on high before the ass and the ox,--for there was +none other place. + +And shepherds were fast by in the same country keeping their sheep in +the night, and an angel of Heaven came and stood beside them with a +great light, wherefore they were in much dread. And the angel said to +them, "Be not afraid, for I tell you a great joy that shall be to all +people, for this day is born to us our Lord, Christ, in the city of +David, and this shall be to you a token: Ye shall find a young child +wrapped in cloths and put in a manger." And then suddenly there came a +great multitude of angels of Heaven praising God, who said: "Joy be to +God on high and peace in earth to men of good will." + +Now the place where the angel appeared to the shepherds that night when +Christ was born is but half a mile from Bethlehem, and in that same +place David, when he was a child, fed sheep and kept them from the bear +and the lion. + +Some books say that the shepherds in that country, twice in the year, +are wont to keep their sheep in the night, and, therein, times be when +the day and the night are both of one length. And you shall understand +that the land about Bethlehem is all mountainous for the most part, so +that in some places a man shall not well know winter from summer, and in +some places it is right cold, and some it is both winter and summer at +one time, and sometimes on the mountains, in parts of the East, men +shall find snow in the month of August, and that snow is gathered by +them that dwell about, and put in caves, and afterward it is borne to +the market, where the great lords of the country will buy it, and take +it to their houses, and set it in a basin upon their board to make their +drink cold. + +In September and October, when the sun cometh a little low in that +country, then seeds and all manner of herbs commonly begin to wax in the +fields, as in this country herbs begin to grow in March and April; also +in some parts of the East they reap corn in April and in March, but most +in May, as in some places the ground is higher, in some places lower; +but beside Bethlehem are many more places of good pasture and of flat +ground than elsewhere: insomuch that at Christmas-tide barley beginneth +to ear and to wax ripe; and then men send thither, from divers +countries, their horses and mules, to make them fat: and that time we +call among us Christmas, they call, in their language, the time of +herbage. And forasmuch as when Christ was born, peace was in all the +world, and betwixt Bethlehem and that place where the angel appeared to +the shepherds was but half a mile and a little way more, and also there +was no great cold thereabout, therefore the shepherds, all that winter +night and day, now in one place, now in another, dwelled there with +their sheep, and so they do yet to this day. + +Now when Christ was born of the Virgin Mary for salvation of all +mankind, then His Star, that was prophesied of Balaam and long awaited +and looked for by the twelve astronomers on the hill of Vaws, at that +same night and at that same hour, began to arise in the manner of a sun, +bright shining; and so after, in the form of an eagle, it ascended above +the hill of Vaws. And all that day in highest air it abode without +moving, insomuch that when the sun was most hot and most high there was +no difference in shining betwixt them. + +But when the day of the Nativity was passed, the Star ascended up into +the firmament, and it was nothing like to stars that be painted in +divers places, for it had right many long streaks and beams, more +burning and lighter than a brand of fire; and, as an eagle flying and +beating the air with his wings, right so the streaks and beams of the +Star stirred it about. And it had in itself the form and likeness of a +young child, and above him a sign of the holy cross, and a voice was +heard in the Star, saying: "This day is born to us the King of Jews that +folk have awaited, and Lord is of them. Go and seek Him and do Him +worship!" + +Then all the people, both man and woman, of all the country about, when +they saw this wonderful and marvellous Star and also heard the voice out +of the Star, were greatly aghast and had wonder thereof; but yet they +knew well that it was the Star that was prophesied by Balaam, and long +time was desired of all the people in that country. + +Now when the three worshipful Kings who in that time reigned in Ind, +Chaldee, and Persia were informed, by the astronomers, of this Star, +they were right glad that they had grace to see the Star in their days. +Wherefore these three worshipful Kings, though each of them was far from +the other, and none knew of the other's purpose, yet in the same hour +the Star appeared to all three, and then they ordained and purposed +them, with great and rich gifts and many rich and diverse ornaments that +belong to a king's array, and also with mules and camels and horses +charged with treasure, and with a great multitude of people, to go seek +and worship the Lord and King of the Jews that was new born, as the +voice of the Star had commanded. And furthermore they arrayed themselves +the much more honestly and worshipfully, because they knew well that he +was a worthier King than any of them was. + +And you shall understand that there be three Indias, of which these +three lords were kings; and all the lands for the most part are islands, +and there are also there great waters and wildernesses full of wild and +perilous beasts and horrible serpents, and there grow also reeds so high +and so great that men make thereof houses and ships. And these isles are +divided every one by itself far from the others, so that only with great +travail shall a man pass from one kingdom to another. + +Now, in the first Ind was the land of Nubia, and therein reigned King +Melchior, in the time that Christ was born. Therein also is the land of +Araby, in which is the hill Sinai: and a man may lightly sail by the Red +Sea out of Egypt and Syria into Ind. In this land is found gold +wonderfully red, like thin and small roots, and that gold is the best +that is in the world. Herein is also a hill called Bena, where is found +a precious stone, called smaragd. + +In the second Ind was the kingdom of Godolia, of which Balthazar was +king when Christ was born; and this Balthazar offered incense to the +Babe; for in this land many more good spices grow than in all the +countries of the East, and especially incense, more than in all places +of the world; and it droppeth down out of certain trees in the manner of +gum. + +In the third Ind was the kingdom of Thaars. Of that kingdom was Jaspar +king at the birth of Christ. And Jaspar offered myrrh to the young +Child, and in this land is the isle of Egrisoulla, where groweth myrrh +more plentifully than in any place of the world, and it waxeth like ears +of corn that are burnt with the weather, and right thick; and when it is +ripe it is so soft that it cleaveth to men's clothes as they go by the +way. + +Now when these three worshipful Kings were passed forth out of their +kingdoms, the Star evenly went before each King and his people, and when +they stood still and rested the Star stood still, and when they went +forward again the Star always went before them in virtue and strength, +and gave light all the way. And, as it is written before, in the time +that Christ was born there was peace in all the world, wherefore in all +the cities and towns which they went through there was no gate shut +neither by night nor by day; and all men of the cities and towns that +these worthy Kings went through in the night were wonderfully aghast and +passingly marvelled thereof, for they saw kings and vast multitudes go +by in great haste; but they knew not what they were, nor whence they +came, nor whither they should go. On the morrow the way was greatly +befouled with horses' hoofs, whereof they were in much doubt what it +might mean, and great altercation was among them for a long time. + +Furthermore, these Kings rode forth over hills, waters, valleys, plains, +and other divers and perilous places without hindrance or disease, for +all the way seemed to them plain and even, and they never took shelter +by night nor by day; nor ever rested; nor did their horses or other +beasts ever eat or drink till they had come to Bethlehem; and all this +time seemed to them but a day. + +And thus, through the mercy of God and the leading of the Star, they +came unto Jerusalem and Bethlehem the thirteenth day after Christ was +born, at the uprising of the sun, whereof is no doubt: for they found +Mary and her son in the same place where the Child was born, and laid in +the manger. + +But when the three blessed Kings, with their host and company were +almost come to Jerusalem, saving but two miles, then a great and dark +cloud held all the earth, and in that dark cloud they lost the Star. And +Melchior with his people was come fast by Jerusalem beside the hill of +Calvary, where Christ was afterward crucified; and there the King abode +in a cloud of fog and in darkness. + +At that time the hill of Calvary was a rock of twelve degrees high, +where thieves and other men for divers trespasses were put to death; and +there was beside this hill a place where three highways met together. +But because of the darkness of the cloud, and also because they knew not +the way, they abode there, and went no further at that time. + +And next came Balthazar, and he abode under the same cloud, beside the +Mount of Olives in a little town that is called Galilee. + +Then, when the two Kings were come to these places, the cloud began to +ascend and wax clear, yet the Star appeared not. But when they saw that +they were near to the city of Jerusalem, knowing not each other, they +took their way thither with all their folk; and when they came where the +three ways met, then also appeared King Jaspar with all his host. And so +these three glorious Kings, each with his host and burdens and beasts, +met together in the highway beside the Hill of Calvary. And, +notwithstanding that none of them ever before had seen the other, nor +knew him, nor had heard of his coming, yet, at their meeting, each one +with reverence and joy kissed the other. And they were of diverse +language, yet all, seeming, used the same tongue. + +So, afterward, when they had spoken together and each had told his +purpose and the cause of his journey, and the cause of all was learned +to be the same, then they were much more glad and more fervent. And so +they rode forth, and suddenly, at the uprising of the sun, they came +into the city of Jerusalem. And when they knew that this was the city +which the Chaldeans of old time had besieged and destroyed, they were +right glad, expecting to have found the King born in that city. But +Herod and all his people were greatly disturbed at their sudden coming, +for their company and beasts of burden were of so great a number that +the city might not receive them, but for the most part they lay without +the gates all about, whereof Isaias prophesied: "The strength of folk +cometh to thee--that is to say, to the City of Jerusalem--great plenty +of camels shall do thee service, and dromedaries of Madyan and Effa +shall come to thee. All men shall come from Saba, bringing gold and +incense and showing praise to God." + +So, these three worshipful Kings, when they were come into the city, +asked of the people concerning the Child that was born; and, when Herod +heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him, and he gathered +together all his princes and priests and asked them where Christ should +be born, and they said: "In Bethlehem of Judea." Then Herod privily +summoned to him these three Kings, and learned of them the time that the +Star appeared, and so sent them forth unto Bethlehem, saying: "Go and +inquire busily of this Child, and when you have found Him, come and tell +me, that I may go and do Him worship." + +Now when these three Kings were informed of the birth of Christ and of +the place where He was born, and so were passed out of Jerusalem, then +the Star appeared to them again as it did erst, and went before them +till they came to Bethlehem. And fast by that place were the shepherds +to whom the angel appeared with great light, showing them the birth of +Christ. And the three Kings spake with them, and when the shepherds saw +the Star they run together and told how the angel had appeared to them, +and furthermore all that the angel had spoken to them. And the Kings +were wondrous glad, and with good cheer heard and took consideration of +the shepherds' words; and so from witness, and from the words of the +shepherds and from the voice of the angel that was heard out of the +Star, they had no doubt of the thing. Then anon, when they knew that +they were come to Bethlehem, they got down from their horses and changed +all their array, and clothed themselves in the best and richest that +they had, as kings should be clothed--and always the Star went forth +before them. + +Now the nearer the Kings came to the place where Christ was born the +brighter shined the Star, and they entered Bethlehem the sixth hour of +the day. And then they rode through the covered street till they came +before that little house. And there the Star stood still, and then +descended and shone with so great a light that the little house and the +cave within were full of radiance, till anon the Star again went upward +into the air, and stood still always above the same place, yet the light +ever remained in the house where Christ and Mary were. So as it is said +in the Gospel: "They went into the house and found the Child, and fell +down and worshipped Him, and offered to Him gifts of gold, myrrh, and +incense." + +Of this example came afterward a usage, that in all the countries of the +East no man should go into the presence of the Sultan, but he brought +gold or silver or somewhat else in his hands; and, also, ere he spoke +to the Sultan he should kiss the ground, and this is a custom which is +used in all the countries of the East to this day. But the Franciscan +friars, when they approached the Sultan, offered to him only pears or +apples, for they might not touch gold nor silver; and these offerings +were received by the Sultan with all reverence and meekness. + +Now on the day that the three Kings sought Christ and worshipped Him, He +was a little child of thirteen days old, and He was somewhat fat, and +lay wrapped in poor clothes in the hay of the manger up to His arms. And +Mary, His Mother, as it is written in divers books, was, in person, +fleshy and somewhat brown. In the presence of the three Kings she was +covered with a poor white mantle, which she held close before her with +her left hand. Her head was concealed altogether, save her face, with a +linen cloth; and she sat upon the manger and with her right hand held up +the young Child's head. And the Kings worshipped Him and kissed His hand +devoutly and laid their gifts beside His head. + +But what was done with these gifts, ye shall learn hereafter. + +Now Melchior, that offered gold to the Holy Child, was the least in +stature and person of the three Kings. Balthazar, that offered incense, +was of a medium stature; and Jaspar, that offered myrrh, was most in +person; whereof is no doubt, for the prophet saith: "Before Him shall +fall down Ethiops, and His enemies shall lick the earth. They shall come +to Thee that betrayed Thee, and they shall worship the steps of Thy +feet." And having regard to the stature of men of that time these Kings +were right little of person, insomuch that all manner of people +marvelled at them. And this showed well that they were come from far out +of the East, for the nearer toward the uprising of the sun that men be +born, the less they be of stature and be feebler and more tender. + +And you shall understand that these three Kings brought out of their +lands many gifts and rich ornaments which King Alexander left in Ind, in +Chaldee, and in Persia; and all the ornaments which Queen Saba found in +Solomon's temple, and divers vessels that were of the king's house and +the Temple of God in Jerusalem, which, in the time of its destruction, +were borne into their countries by the Persians and Chaldeans, and many +other jewels, both gold and silver, and precious stones, brought they +with them to offer to Christ. But when they found our Lord laid on high +in the manger and in poor cloths, and the Star that gave so great light +in all the place, that it seemed as though they stood in a furnace of +fire, then these Kings were so sore afraid that, of all the rich jewels +and ornaments they brought with them, they chose nothing, when their +treasury was opened, but what came first to their hands, for Melchior +took a round apple of gold, as much as a man might hold in his hand, and +thirty gilt pennies, and these he offered to our Lord. Balthazar took +out of his treasury incense; and Jaspar took out myrrh, as it came +first, and that he offered, with weeping and tears. + +And the Kings were so aghast and so devout and fervent in their +oblations, that to all the words that Mary said they gave but little +consideration, save only that to every King as he offered his gifts she +bowed down her head meekly, and said, "_Deo gracias_:" that is to say, +"I thank God." + +When these three Kings had thus performed their way and will, and done +all things that they came for, then, as mankind asketh and would, they +and all their men and beasts began to eat, and drink, and sleep, and +betook them to rest and sport all that day in Bethlehem. For, as is said +before, they had neither eaten nor drunk during thirteen days. And then +they meekly told to all men in that city how wonderfully the Star had +brought them thither from the furthest part of the world. + +Now, as the Evangelist saith: A command came to these Kings in their +sleep that they should not return again to Herod, and so, by another +way, they went home to their kingdoms. But the Star that went before +them, appeared no more. And so these three Kings, that suddenly met +together at the Mount of Calvary, rode home together with great joy and +honor, and rested by the way as men should do. + +And they rode through the provinces that Holofernes of old time had +traversed with all his hosts, and the people supposed that Holofernes +had come again, for as they journeyed into any town they were meekly and +worshipfully received, and evermore they told what they had seen, done, +and heard, so that their name and praise were never after forgot. But +the way that before had taken only thirteen days, through leading of the +Star, they found now to take two years, which was ordained, that all men +should know what difference is between God's working and man's. + +Now, when Herod and the scribes heard that the Kings were gone home +again, and came not to him as he had bade them, then, of much envy and +malice, he pursued them a great way; and always he found the people +bless them, and praise them, and tell of their nobility. Wherefore +Herod burnt and destroyed all the land that was under his power where +the Kings had ridden, and especially Tharsis and Cilicia, for he charged +them that they had suffered the three Kings privily to pass across the +sea in their ships. And Herod's envy was great when he heard how +marvellously the Kings had come out of their lands in thirteen days +through leading of the Star, and how, afterward, they went home again, +without the Star, through guides and interpreters,--yet no man could +tell, for wonder, how night and day they passed by; and for this reason +the paynims, who had no knowledge of Holy Writ, nor of the birth of +Christ, called these three Kings _Magos_; that is to say, Wise Men of +the East. + +Now, when the Kings were come with great travail to the Hill of Vaws, +they made there, as is aforesaid, a fair chapel in worship of the Child +they had sought. Also they made a covenant to meet together at the same +place once in the year; and there they ordained their burial. Then all +the princes and lords and worshipful knights of their kingdoms, hearing +of the return of these three Kings, anon rode forth to them with great, +solemnity and met them at the place aforesaid, and with meekness and +humility received them. And when they heard how wonderfully God had +wrought for their Kings, they held them in more reverence, love, and +dread forever after. + +So, when the Kings had done what they would, they took leave of each +other, and each one, with his people, rode home to his own land with +great joy. + +And when they were come into their own realms, they preached to all the +people what they had seen and done on their journey; and they made in +their temples a star after the likeness of that which appeared to them, +wherefore many paynims left their errors and worshipped the Holy Child. + +And thus these three worshipful Kings dwelt in their kingdoms in honest +and devout conversation until the coming of St. Thomas, the apostle. + +Now, after the three Kings had gone forth from Bethlehem, there began to +wax, all about, a great fame for Mary and her Child, and for the Kings +of the East. Wherefore, Mary, in dread of persecution, fled out of the +little house where Christ was born, and went to another dark cave and +there abode; and divers men and women loved her and ministered to her +all manner of necessaries. But when she went out of the little house, +Mary forgot and left behind her her smock and the clothes in which +Christ was wrapped, folded together and laid in the manger; and there +they were, whole and fresh, in the same place to the time when St. +Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, came thither, long after. + +Anon so great was grown Mary's fame that she durst not abide longer +there for dread of Herod and the Jews, and an angel appeared to Joseph, +saying: "Arise, and take the Child and His mother and flee into Egypt, +and tarry there till I summon thee, for it is to come that Herod shall +seek the Child to slay Him." Then Joseph arose and took the Child and +His mother and went into Egypt in the night, and there he remained until +Herod died. And Mary and her Son dwelt in Egypt seven years. + +And it is told that by the road which Mary journeyed thither and came +back again, grew roses, which are called the Roses of Jericho, and they +grow in no other place. The shepherds of that country, in following +their sheep, gather these roses in their season, and sell them to +pilgrims, and thus they be borne into divers lands. And the place where +Mary dwelt is now a garden where groweth balm, and to every bush a +Christian man, among the Sultan's prisoners, is assigned to protect it +and keep it clean; for when a paynim keepeth them, anon the bushes wax +dry and grow no more. And this balm hath many virtues the which were +long to tell; but all men in the East believe truly that the place bears +such a virtue of growing balm because Mary dwelt there seven years, and +washed and bathed her Son in its wells of water. + +And as to the gifts which the three Kings gave to Christ: the thirty +gilt pennies of Melchior were made of old by Thara, father of Abraham, +and Abraham bare them with him when he went on pilgrimage out of the +land of Chaldee into Ebron, which was then called Arabia, and there he +bought with them a burial-place for himself, his wife, and his children, +Isaac and Jacob. In exchange for the same thirty pieces Joseph was sold +by his brethren to merchants of Egypt. Afterward, when Jacob died, they +were sent to the land of Sheba to buy divers spices and ornaments for +his sepulture, and so they were put into the king's treasury of that +land. Then by process of time, in Solomon's reign, the Queen of Sheba +offered these thirty gilt pennies, with many rich jewels, in the Temple +at Jerusalem; but in the time of Roboam, King Solomon's son, when +Jerusalem was destroyed and the Temple despoiled, they were carried to +the King of Arabia, and were put into his treasury with other spoils +from the Temple. + +And Melchior offered these same thirty pieces to Christ, because they +were of the finest gold, and the best that he had. But when Mary went +into Egypt she lost all the gifts of the three Kings by the way, bound +all in one cloth together. And it happened there was a shepherd who had +so great an infirmity that no leech might heal him, and all that he had +he paid to the leeches to be whole,--yet it might not be. But, on a +time, as he went into the fields with his sheep, he found these thirty +gilt pennies, with incense and myrrh, bound all in a cloth together, and +he kept them privily to himself, until, hearing tell of a holy prophet +that healed all men of their infirmities by a word, he came to Christ +and prayed Him for grace and help; and, being healed, he offered the +gold, and incense, and myrrh to Him with good devotion. And when Christ +saw the thirty gilt pennies and precious herbs He knew them well, and +bade the shepherd go into the Temple and offer them upon the altar. + +Now, when the priest saw such oblations laid upon the altar he marvelled +much, and took all three things and put them in the common treasury. And +afterward, when Judas Iscariot came into the Temple to make covenant +with the Princes of the Law to betray his master, they gave him for his +pay the same thirty pieces of gold, and for them Judas sold his Master. +And after Christ was crucified, then Judas repented, and went to the +Temple and cast down to the Princes of the Law the thirty pieces. And +with fifteen of these gilt pennies the Jews bought a field of burial for +pilgrims; and the other fifteen they gave to the knights who kept the +sepulchre of Christ. + +And the reason these thirty gilt pennies were called silver in the +Gospel, notwithstanding they were fine gold, is, that it is the common +usage in that country so to call them, as men in this country call gold +from beyond the sea scutys, motouns or florins; moreover in the East the +same print is made in gold and silver and copper, and the print on the +thirty pieces is this: on one side is a king's head crowned, and on the +other are written letters in Chaldaic, which men now cannot read. And +many marvels are told of these pieces of gold which were long to tell. + +Now when Our Lord was ascended into heaven, then he sent St. Thomas, his +apostle, into Ind, to preach there God's word. And as St. Thomas went +about in the temples he found a star in every one, painted after the +manner of the Star that appeared to the three Kings when Christ was +born, in which Star was a sign of the Cross and a Child above. And when +St. Thomas saw this he asked of the bishops what it was, and they told +him that such a Star of old time appeared on the Hill of Vaws in token +of a Child that was born who should be king of the Jews, as was heard +spoken out of the same Star. + +And when St. Thomas had preached and taught the people the understanding +of this Star and of the Cross and the Child, then he went to the +kingdoms of the three Kings, and he found them whole of body and of a +great age. And St. Thomas christened these three Kings and all their +people, and the Kings began anon to preach with the Apostle, and when +they had converted the people to the law of Christ he ordained them to +be Archbishops. And after this St. Thomas was slain, and in all that +country where he was martyred both men and women have visages shaped +like hounds, yet they be not hairy--and they are so unto this day. + +Now under the Hill of Vaws St. Thomas and these three Kings had made a +rich city and called it Sewill, and this city is the best and richest +city in all the country of Ind to this day; and therein is the +habitation of Prester John that is called lord of Ind, and there +dwelleth also the Patriarch of Ind who is called Thomas, in worship of +St. Thomas and for an everlasting memorial. And when all things were +disposed by these three Kings they went to the city of Sewill, and there +they lived twelve years. + +And a little before the feast of Christ's nativity, when these years +were drawn to an end, there appeared a wonderful star above this city +and the Kings knew that their time was nigh when they should pass out of +this world. Then of one assent they ordained a fair and large tomb for +their burial in the church they had made in the city; and in the feast +of Christmas they did, solemnly, God's service. + +And in the feast of the Circumcision, Melchior, King of Araby, laid him +down before all his people and without any disease yielded up his +spirit, in the year of his age one hundred and sixteen. Then in the +feast of Epiphany, five days thereafter, Balthazar, King of Godolie and +Saba, died in the year of his age one hundred and twelve. And then +Jaspar the third king, the sixth day after was taken into everlasting +joy, and they were all buried in the same tomb that they had ordained; +and the Star that appeared over the city before their death, abode +always till their bodies were translated unto Cologne, as they of Ind +tell. + +Now after much time had passed, Queen Helen, the mother of the glorious +Emperor Constantine, began to think greatly of the bodies of these +three Kings, and she arrayed her with certain people and went into the +land of Ind. And she had much praise among the people because of the +finding of Mary's smock and the cloths that Christ was wound in in his +childhood; and seeing that she was worshipped of all people, the +Patriarch Thomas and Prester John, took counsel of other lords and +princes and gave her the bodies of King Melchior and King Balthazar. But +the Nestorines had borne the body of the third king, King Jaspar, into +the isle of Egrisoulla. And these Nestorines were the worst heretics of +the world. For the most part they were black Ethiops, who painted Christ +and His Mother Mary and the three Kings in their churches all in black, +and the Devil all white, in despite of all other Christian men. But +because Queen Helen wished not that the three Kings should be parted, +she made many prayers and gave great gifts to the chief lords of the +isle of Egrisoulla, and thus anon did she get the body of King Jaspar. + +And you shall understand that after she had found the bodies of all +these three Kings, Queen Helen put them into one chest and arrayed it +with great riches, and she brought them unto Constantinople with joy and +reverence, and laid them in a church that is called St. Sophia; and this +church King Constantine did make--and he alone, with a little child, +set up all the pillars of marble. + +Now after the death of this worshipful King Constantine and Queen Helen +aforesaid, there began a new persecution of heresy against the Christian +faith, and of death against them that would maintain the law of Christ. +The Greeks forsook the Church and chose a Patriarch for themselves, whom +they yet obey until this day. + +Now in this persecution the bodies and the relics of the three holy +Kings were put at no reverence, but utterly set at naught. For the +Saracens and Turks at this time won with strong battle the lands of +Greece and Armenia, and destroyed a great part of these lands. + +Then came an Emperor of Rome who was called Mauricius, and through the +help of them of Milan he recovered all these lands again, and, as is +said among men in that country, through counsel of this Emperor the +bodies of the three Kings were carried unto Milan, and they were there +laid with all solemnity and worship in a fair church which is called +after St. Eustorgio, because he had asked the bodies from the Emperor, +and being granted them had sent them unto Milan. + +Then afterward by process of time, it happed that the city of Milan +began to rebel against the Emperor, who was called Frederick I., and +this Emperor sent to the Archbishop of Cologne, who was called Rainald, +for help. Then this Archbishop, through help of divers lords of the land +of Milan, took the city of Milan and destroyed a great part thereof. And +the chief men of the city took the bodies of the three Kings and hid +them privily in the earth. + +Now among all others there was in Milan a lord named Asso, and the +Emperor hated him more than all the rest of its people. So it happed +that in the destruction of the city the Archbishop won Asso's palace +through strong hand, and lived therein a great while, for Asso was taken +and put into prison. + +Then, anon, Asso sent privily by his keepers to the Archbishop of +Cologne and prayed him that he would come and speak with him, and it was +granted that Asso should go to the Archbishop. And when he was come to +him, he prayed him that, if he would get him grace of the Emperor and +his love and the restoration of his lordship, he would give him the +bodies of the three Kings. + +When the Archbishop heard this, he went to the Emperor and prayed for +Lord Asso, and got him grace and love. And when this was done, Asso +brought, secretly, the three bodies of the Kings to the Archbishop of +Cologne. + +Then the Archbishop sent the bodies forth, by private means, a great +way out of the city of Milan, whereupon he went to the Emperor anew and +prayed him that he would grant him these three bodies, and the Emperor +did so with good will. Then the Archbishop openly, with great solemnity +and procession, brought the three holy Kings unto Cologne, and there put +them in the fair church of St. Peter, worshipfully; and all the people +of the country, with all the reverence they might, received these holy +relics; and there they are kept and beholden of all manner of nations +unto this day. + + * * * * * + +Thus endeth the translation of these Three Worshipful Kings: Melchior, +Balthazar, and Jaspar. + + + + +_A French Yeoman's Legend._ + + "He laughed fit to make the plates rattle, his little brown eyes + twinkling all the while." + + _Erckmann-Chatrian._ + + + + +THE THREE CHRISTMAS MASSES. + + +I. + +"Two truffled turkeys, Garrigou?" + +"Yes, reverend Father, two magnificent turkeys stuffed with truffles. +There's no mistake, for I helped to stuff them myself. The flesh almost +cracked as they roasted, it was so tight--so----" + +"Holy Virgin! and I, who love truffles as----Hurry; give me my +surplice, Garrigou. And what else besides the turkeys; what else did you +see in the kitchen?" + +"Oh! all sorts of good things. Since noon we've done nothing but pluck +pheasants, pewits, wood-hens, and heath-cocks. Feathers are scattered +thick. Then from the pond they've brought eels and golden carp and +trout, and----" + +"What size are the trout, Garrigou?" + +"Oh, as big as that! reverend Father. Enormous!" + +"Heavens, I seem to see them! Have you put the wine in the flasks?" + +"Yes, reverend Father, I've put the wine in the flasks. But what's a +mouthful or two as you go to midnight Mass! You should see the +dining-hall in the chateau, full of decanters that sparkle with wine of +every color. And the silver dishes, above all the ornamented ones; the +flowers; the candlesticks! I never saw anything to equal it. Monsieur +the Marquis has invited all the nobility of the neighborhood. You will +be at least forty at table, without counting either the bailiff or the +notary. Ah! it will make you very happy to be there, reverend Father. +Why, only to smell the delicious turkeys--the odor of truffles pursues +me even yet. Muh!" + +"Come, come, Garrigou, you must guard against the sin of greediness, and +especially on the night of the Nativity. Quickly, now, light the candles +and sound the first bell for Mass; midnight is very near, and we must +not be late." + +This conversation was held on Christmas night, in the year of grace +sixteen hundred and sixteen, between the reverend Dom Balaguere, +formerly prior of Barnabites, now chaplain in the service of the Sires +de Trinquelague, and his clerk Garrigou; or at least what he supposed +was his clerk Garrigou, because you will learn that the devil had that +night taken on the round face and wavering traits of the young +sacristan, the better to tempt the reverend Father to commit the +dreadful sin of gluttony. Now, while the supposed Garrigou (hum! hum!) +rung, with all his might, the bells of the seignorial chapel, the +reverend Father put on his chasuble in the little sacristy of the +chateau; and, his mind already becoming troubled by the gastronomic +descriptions he had heard, he repeated to himself: + +"Roasted turkeys; golden carp; trout as large as that!" + +Outside, the night wind blew, scattering the music of the bells, and one +by one lights began to appear in the shadows about the flanks of Mont +Ventoux, upon the summit of which rose the ancient towers of +Trinquelague. These lights were carried by the farmers on their way to +attend midnight Mass at the chateau. They climbed the paths in groups of +five or six, the father leading, lantern in hand, the women enveloped in +their big brown mantles, where their infants nestled for shelter. In +spite of the hour and the cold all these honest people marched +cheerfully on, sustained by the thought that when they came out from the +Mass they would find, as they did each year, tables spread for them +below in the kitchens. Now and again on the rough ascent, the coach of +some seigneur, preceded by torch-bearing porters, reflected in its +glasses the cold moonlight; or, maybe, a mule trotted along shaking his +bells, and in the light of the lanterns covered with frost, the farmers +recognized their bailiff and saluted him as he passed: + +"Good-evening, good-evening, Master Arnoton." + +"Good-evening, good-evening, my children." + +The night was clear, the stars were polished with cold, the wind stung, +and a fine sleet, which glistened on the clothes without wetting them, +kept faithfully the tradition of Christmases white with snow. Raised +there aloft, the chateau appeared like the goal of all things, with its +enormous mass of towers and gables, the belfry of its chapel mounting +into the blue-black sky, and a crowd of small lights that winked, went +and came, twinkled at all the windows, and seemed, on the sombre +background of the building, like sparks running through the cinders of +burnt paper. Once past the drawbridge and the postern, it was necessary, +in order to gain the chapel, to traverse the first courtyard, full of +coaches, of valets, of sedan-chairs, and bright with the flare of +torches and the fires of the kitchens. There was the click of the +turnspits, the crash of stewpans, the noises of glass and silver +preparing for the dinner. From below, a warm vapor, which smelt of +roasting meat and the strong herbs of curious sauces, whispered to the +farmers, to the chaplain, to the bailiff--to all the world: + +"What a revel we are going to have after Mass!" + + +II. + +Drelindin din! Drelindin din! Midnight Mass is about to begin. In the +chapel of the chateau, a miniature cathedral with arches intercrossed +and a wainscot of oak mounting as high as the walls, all the hangings +have been arranged, all the candles lit. + +And what a host of people! And what toilettes! First, seated in the +sculptured stall which surrounds the choir, behold the Sire de +Trinquelague in a suit of salmon-colored taffeta; and next to him all +the invited nobles. Facing these, on a prie-dieu trimmed with velvet, is +the old dowager Marquise in her robe of fire-colored brocade, and the +young Dame de Trinquelague, surmounted by a huge head-dress of lace, +made in the latest fashion of the French court. Further down, dressed in +black, with vast pointed perukes and shaven faces, are the bailiff, +Thomas Arnoton, and the notary, Master Ambroy, two grave objects among +the flowing silks and figured damasks. Then come the fat majordomos, +the pages, the grooms, the attendants; dame Barbe, all her keys +suspended at her side on a ring of thin silver. At the bottom of the +hall, on the benches, are the Servants, the yeomen with their families; +and lastly, beyond, all about the doors as they open and shut +discretely, are the scullions, who steal in, between two sauces, to get +a little of the Mass, carrying an odor of the revelry into the church, +all in its gay attire and warm with so many burning candles. + +Is it a glimpse of their little white caps that distracts the celebrant +of the Mass? Or, it may be the clangor made by Garrigou's bells, that +pulsating sound which shakes the altar with an infernal vibration and +seems to say all the time: + +"Hurry up, hurry up. We'll soon be done; we'll soon be at table!" + +The fact is, that each time it sounds--that peal of the devil--the +chaplain forgets his Mass and thinks of nothing but the coming revel. He +pictures to himself the uproar of the kitchens; the furnace heated like +a blacksmith's forge; the vapor of opening trenchers, and in that vapor +two magnificent turkeys, buttered, tender, bursting with truffles. + +Or, perhaps he saw pass the files of little pages bearing dishes +enveloped in tempting steam, and, with them, entered the grand saloon +already prepared for the feast. O deliciousness! behold the immense +table all set and sparkling; the peacocks in their plumes; the pheasants +with their open wings of reddish-brown; the ruby-colored flagons; the +pyramids of fruit peeping from green branches; and those marvellous fish +of which Garrigou told (ah! well, yes, Garrigou!) held aloft on a bed of +fennel, the mother-of-pearl scales as bright as when they came from the +water, with a bouquet of odorous herbs in their monster-like nostrils. +So distinct is the vision of these marvels, that it seems to Dom +Balaguere as if all the wonderful dishes are served before him on the +embroideries of the altar-cloth; and two or three times, in place of +_Dominus vobiscum_, he is surprised to find himself repeating the +_Benedicite_. Saving these slight mistakes, the holy man does his office +very conscientiously, without skipping a line, without omitting a +genuflexion; and all goes well enough as far as the end of the first +Mass; because, you know, on Christmas night the same celebrant must +repeat three consecutive Masses. + +"One!" said the chaplain, with a sigh of relief; then, without losing a +minute, he made a sign to his clerk--or the person he believed to be his +clerk, and---- + +Drelindin din! Drelindin din! + +The second Mass begins, and with it begins also the sin of Dom +Balaguere. + +"Hurry, hurry, let's get done," cries the thin voice of Garrigou's bell, +and this time the unlucky priest, abandoning himself to the demon of +gluttony, rushes through the missal, devouring its pages with all the +avidity of an overcharged appetite. Frantically he bows; arises; makes +the signs of the cross, goes through the genuflexions, abbreviates all +his gestures, the sooner to be finished. Scarcely does he extend his +arms to the Gospel, or strike his breast where it is required. Between +the clerk and him it is a race which shall jabber the faster. Verse and +response hurry each other, tumble over each other. The words, hardly +pronounced, because it takes too much time to open the mouth, become +incomprehensible murmurs. + + _Oremus ps--ps--ps-- + Mea culpa--pa--pa--._ + +Like hard-working vintagers pressing grapes in a vat, both wade through +the Latin of the Mass, splashing it on all sides. + +"_Dom--scum!_" says Balaguere. + +"_Stutuo!_" responds Garrigou, and all the while the damnable chime +sounds in their ears, like those little bells put on the post-horses to +make them gallop more swiftly. Believe me, under such conditions a low +Mass is vastly expedited! + +"Two!" said the chaplain, all out of breath; then without taking time to +breathe, red, perspiring, he tumbled down the stairs of the altar. + +Drelindin din! Drelindin din! The third Mass begins. + +Only a step or so and then the dining-hall! but, alas, the nearer the +revel approaches, the more the unfortunate Balaguere is seized with the +very folly of impatience and greediness. His vision accentuates it; the +golden carp, the roast turkeys are there. He may touch them--he may--Oh, +Holy Virgin! the dishes steam; the wines send forth sweet odors; and +shaking out its reckless song, the bell cries to him: + +"Hurry up, hurry up; still faster, still faster!" + +But how can he go any faster? He scarcely moves his lips, he pronounces +fully not a single word. He tries to cheat the good God altogether of +His Mass, and that is what brings his ruin. By temptation upon +temptation, he begins to jump one verse, then two. Then the epistle is +too long--he does not finish it; skims the Gospel, passes by the creed +without even entering, skips the pater, salutes from afar the preface, +and by bounds and jumps precipitates himself into eternal damnation, +always following the infamous Garrigou (_vade retro, Satanas_), who +seconds him with marvellous skill; tucks up his chasuble, turns the +leaves two by two, disarranges the music-desk, reverses the flagons, and +unceasingly rings the bell more and more vigorously, more and more +quickly. + +You should have seen what a figure all the assistants cut. Obliged to +follow, like mimics, a Mass of which they did not understand a word, +some rose when others kneeled, or seated themselves when others stood, +and all the actors in this singular office mixed themselves on the +benches in numberless contrary attitudes. + +The star of Christmas, on its journey through the heavens yonder by the +little manger, paled with astonishment at the confusion. + +"The Abbe's in a dreadful hurry: I can't follow him at all," said the +aged dowager, shaking her head-dress with bewilderment. Master Arnoton, +his great steel spectacles on his nose, searched in his prayer-book +where the deuce the words could be. But, after all, that gallant host, +which itself was thinking only of the feast, was far from being vexed +because the Mass rode post; and when Balaguere, with beaming +countenance, turned toward the assembly crying with all his might, _Ite +missa est_, with a single voice they returned, _Deo gratias_, so +joyously, so fervently, that one might have thought them already at +table responding to the first toast of the night. + + +III. + +Five minutes later the crowd of seigneurs was seated in the grand +dining-hall, the chaplain in the midst of them. The chateau, illuminated +from top to bottom, echoed with songs, cries, laughter, uproar, and the +venerable Dom Balaguere planted his fork in the wing of a wood-hen, +drowning the remorse of his sin under floods of wine of the Pope and the +sweet juices of the meats. + +So much did he eat and drink, that the poor holy man died in the night +of a terrible attack of sickness, without having even time to repent. +Then near the morning he arrived in heaven with all the savor of the +feast still about him and I leave you to imagine how he was received: + +"Retire from my sight, evil Christian!" said the Sovereign Judge, "thy +fault is dark enough to efface a whole life of virtue. Ah, thou hast +robbed me of a Mass to-night. Thou shalt pay me back three hundred in +its place, and thou shalt not enter into Paradise unless thou shalt have +celebrated in thy proper chapel these three hundred Christmas Masses in +the presence of all those who have sinned by thy fault and with thee." + +This, then, is the true legend of Dom Balaguere as they tell it in the +land of olives. To-day the chateau of Trinquelague is no more, but the +chapel still stands erect on the summit of Mont Ventoux, in a grove of +green oaks. The wind beats its disjointed portal; the grass creeps +across its threshold; the birds have built in the angles of the altar +and in the embrasures of the high windows, whence the colored panes have +long ago vanished. But it appears that every year at Christmas, a +supernatural light runs about these ruins, and that, in going to Mass or +feast, the peasants see the chapel illuminated by invisible candles +which burn brightly even through the wind and snow. + +You may laugh if you will, but a vine-dresser of the neighborhood named +Garrigue, without doubt a descendant of Garrigou, has assured me that +one Christmas night, finding himself a little so-so-ish, he became lost +on the mountain beside Trinquelague, and behold what he saw! At eleven +o'clock, nothing. All was silent, dark, lifeless. Suddenly, toward +midnight, a chime sounded up above from a clock, an old, old chime +which seemed six leagues away. Pretty soon, on the ascending road, +Garrigue saw lights trembling in the uncertain shadows. Under the porch +of the chapel somebody walked, somebody whispered: + +"Good-evening, Master Arnoton." + +"Good-evening, good-evening, my children." + +When the whole company was entered, my vine-dresser, who was exceedingly +brave, approached stealthily, and peeping through the broken door saw a +strange spectacle. All those who had passed him were ranged about the +choir, in the ruined nave, as if the ancient benches still existed. +Beautiful dames in brocade with coifs of lace; seigneurs bedizzened from +top to toe; peasants in flowered jackets like those of our +grandfathers,--everything with an ancient air, faded, dusty, worn-out. +Now and then the night-birds, habitual dwellers in the chapel, awakened +by all these lights, winged about the candles, whose flames mounted +straight and vague as if they burnt behind gauze. And what amused +Garrigue most was a certain personage with great steel spectacles, who +shook at each instant his high black peruke, on which one of the birds +had alighted and entangled itself, silently beating its wings. + +At the farthest end, a little old man of boyish size, on his knees in +the midst of the choir, pulled desperately at the chimeless and silent +bell; while a priest attired in ancient gold, went and came before the +altar reciting orisons of which one heard not a single word. Surely, +that was Dom Balaguere in the act of saying his third low Mass. + + + + +_A Love-Passage from a Wandering Cossack._ + + + "Dressed in his everlasting blue frock, he sat near the fire + playing cards." + +_Turgenieff._ + + + + +A RUSSIAN CHRISTMAS PARTY. + + +Count Rostow's affairs were going from bad to worse. He was of a warm, +generous nature, with unlimited faith in his servants, and hence was +blind to the mismanagement and dishonesty which had sapped his fortune. +The possessor of a handsome establishment at the Russian capital, +Moscow, the owner of rich provincial estates, and the inheritor of a +noble name and wealth, he was nevertheless on the verge of ruin. He had +given up his appointment as _Marechal de la Noblesse_, which he had gone +to his seat of Otradnoe to assume, because it entailed too many +expenses; and yet there was no improvement in the state of his finances. + +Nicolas and Natacha, his son and daughter, often found their father and +mother in anxious consultation, talking in low tones of the sale of +their Moscow house or of their property in the neighborhood. Having thus +retired into private life, the count now gave neither fetes nor +entertainments. Life at Otradnoe was much less gay than in past years; +still, the house and domain were as full of servants as ever, and +twenty persons or more sat down to dinner daily. These were dependants, +friends, and intimates, who were regarded almost as part of the family, +or at any rate seemed unable to tear themselves away from it: among them +a musician named Dimmler and his wife, Ioghel the dancing-master and his +family, and old Mlle. Below, former governess of Natacha and Sonia, the +count's niece and adopted child, and now the tutor of Petia, his younger +son; besides others who found it simpler to live at the count's expense +than at their own. Thus, though there were no more festivities, life was +carried on almost as expensively as of old, and neither the master nor +the mistress ever imagined any change possible. Nicolas, again, had +added to the hunting establishment; there were still fifty horses in the +stables, still fifteen drivers; handsome presents were given on all +birthdays and fete days, which invariably wound up as of old with a +grand dinner to all the neighborhood; the count still played whist or +boston, invariably letting his cards be seen by his friends, who were +always ready to make up his table, and relieve him without hesitation of +the few hundred roubles which constituted their principal income. The +old man marched on blindfold through the tangle of his pecuniary +difficulties, trying to conceal them, and only succeeding in augmenting +them; having neither the courage nor the patience to untie the knots one +by one. + +The loving heart by his side foresaw their children's ruin, but she +could not accuse her husband, who was, alas! too old for amendment; she +could only seek some remedy for the disaster. From her woman's point of +view there was but one: Nicolas's marriage, namely, with some rich +heiress. She clung desperately to this last chance of salvation; but if +her son should refuse the wife she should propose to him, every hope of +reinstating their fortune would vanish. The young lady whom she had in +view was the daughter of people of the highest respectability, whom the +Rostows had known from her infancy: Julie Karaguine, who, by the death +of her second brother, had suddenly come into great wealth. + +The countess herself wrote to Mme. Karaguine to ask her whether she +could regard the match with favor, and received a most flattering +answer. Indeed, Mme. Karaguine invited Nicolas to her house at Moscow, +to give her daughter an opportunity of deciding for herself. + +Nicolas had often heard his mother say, with tears in her eyes, that her +dearest wish was to see him married. The fulfilment of this wish would +sweeten her remaining days, she would say, adding covert hints as to a +charming girl who would exactly suit him. One day she took the +opportunity of speaking plainly to him of Julie's charms and merits, and +urged him to spend a short time in Moscow before Christmas. Nicolas, who +had no difficulty in guessing what she was aiming at, persuaded her to +be explicit on the matter, and she owned frankly that her hope was to +see their sinking fortunes restored by his marriage with her dear Julie! + +"Then, mother, if I loved a penniless girl, you would desire me to +sacrifice my feelings and my honor--to marry solely for money?" + +"Nay, nay; you have misunderstood me," she said, not knowing how to +excuse her mercenary hopes. "I wish only for your happiness!" And then, +conscious that this was not her sole aim, and that she was not perfectly +honest, she burst into tears. + +"Do not cry, mamma; you have only to say that you really and truly +desire it, and you know I would give my life to see you happy; that I +would sacrifice everything, even my feelings." + +But this was not his mother's notion. She asked no sacrifice, she would +have none; she would sooner have sacrificed herself, if it had been +possible. + +"Say no more about it; you do not understand," she said, drying away her +tears. + +"How could she think of such a marriage?" thought Nicolas. "Does she +think that because Sonia is poor I do not love her? And yet I should be +a thousand times happier with her than with a doll like Julie." + +He stayed in the country, and his mother did not revert to the subject. +Still, as she saw the growing intimacy between Nicolas and Sonia, she +could not help worrying Sonia about every little thing, and speaking to +her with colder formality. Sometimes she reproached herself for these +continual pin-pricks of annoyance, and was quite vexed with the poor +girl for submitting to them with such wonderful humility and sweetness, +for taking every opportunity of showing her devoted gratitude, and for +loving Nicolas with a faithful and disinterested affection which +commanded her admiration. + +Just about this time a letter came from Prince Andre, dated from Rome, +whither he had gone to pass the year of probation demanded by his father +as a condition to giving consent to his son's marriage with the Countess +Natacha. It was the fourth the Prince had written since his departure. +He ought long since to have been on his way home, he said, but the heat +of the summer had caused the wound he had received at Austerlitz to +reopen, and this compelled him to postpone his return till early in +January. + +Natacha, though she was so much in love that her very passion for Prince +Andre had made her day-dreams happy, had hitherto been open to all the +bright influences of her young life; but now, after nearly four months +of parting, she fell into a state of extreme melancholy, and gave way to +it completely. She bewailed her hard fate, she bewailed the time that +was slipping away and lost to her, while her heart ached with the dull +craving to love and be loved. Nicolas, too, had nearly spent his leave +from his regiment, and the anticipation of his departure added gloom to +the saddened household. + +Christmas came; but, excepting the pompous high Mass and the other +religious ceremonies, the endless string of neighbors and servants with +the regular compliments of the season, and the new gowns which made +their first appearance on the occasion, nothing more than usual happened +on that day, or more extraordinary than twenty degrees of frost, with +brilliant sunshine, a still atmosphere, and at night a glorious starry +sky. + +After dinner, on the third day of Christmas-tide, when every one had +settled into his own corner once more, ennui reigned supreme throughout +the house. Nicolas, who had been paying a round of visits in the +neighborhood, was fast asleep in the drawing-room. The old count had +followed his example in his room. Sonia, seated at a table in the +sitting-room, was copying a drawing. The countess was playing out a +"patience," and Nastacia Ivanovna, the old buffoon, with his peevish +face, sitting in a window with two old women, did not say a word. + +Natacha came into the room, and, after leaning over Sonia for a minute +or two to examine her work, went over to her mother and stood still in +front of her. + +The countess looked up. "Why are you wandering about like a soul in +torment? What do you want?" she said. + +"Want! I want him!" replied Natacha, shortly, and her eyes glowed. "Now, +here--at once!" + +Her mother gazed at her anxiously. + +"Do not look at me like that; you will make me cry." + +"Sit down here." + +"Mamma, I want him, I want him! Why must I die of weariness?" Her voice +broke and tears started from her eyes. She hastily quitted the +drawing-room and went to the housekeeper's room, where an old servant +was scolding one of the girls who had just come in breathless from +out-of-doors. + +"There is a time for all things," growled the old woman. "You have had +time enough for play." + +"Oh, leave her in peace, Kondratievna," said Natacha. "Run away, +Mavroucha--go." + +Pursuing her wandering, Natacha went into the hall; an old man-servant +was playing cards with two of the boys. Her entrance stopped their game +and they rose. "And what am I to say to these?" thought she. + +"Nikita, would you please go--what on earth can I ask for?--go and find +me a cock; and you, Micha, a handful of corn." + +"A handful of corn?" said Micha, laughing. + +"Go, go at once," said the old man. + +"And you, Fedor, can you give me a piece of chalk?" + +Then she went on to the servants' hall and ordered the samovar to be got +ready, though it was not yet tea-time; she wanted to try her power over +Foka, the old butler, the most morose and disobliging of all the +servants. He could not believe his ears, and asked her if she really +meant it. "What next will our young lady want?" muttered Foka, affecting +to be very cross. + +No one gave so many orders as Natacha, no one sent them on so many +errands at once. As soon as a servant came in sight she seemed to invent +some want or message; she could not help it. It seemed as though she +wanted to try her power over them; to see whether, some fine day, one or +another would not rebel against her tyranny; but, on the contrary, they +always flew to obey her more readily than any one else. + +"And now what shall I do, where can I go?" thought she, as she slowly +went along the corridor, where she presently met the buffoon. + +"Nastacia Ivanovna," said she, "if I ever have children, what will they +be?" + +"You! Fleas and grasshoppers, you may depend upon it!" + +Natacha went on. "Good God! have mercy, have mercy!" she said to +herself. "Wherever I go it is always, always the same. I am so weary; +what shall I do?" + +Skipping lightly from step to step, she went to the upper story and +dropped in on the Ioghels. Two governesses were sitting chatting with M. +and Mme. Ioghel; dessert, consisting of dried fruit, was on the table, +and they were eagerly discussing the cost of living at Moscow and +Odessa. Natacha took a seat for a moment, listened with pensive +attention, and then jumped up again. "The island of Madagascar!" she +murmured, "Ma-da-gas-car!" and she separated the syllables. Then she +left the room without answering Mme. Schoss, who was utterly mystified +by her strange exclamation. + +She next met Petia and a companion, both very full of some fireworks +which were to be let off that evening. "Petia!" she exclaimed, "carry me +down-stairs!" And she sprang upon his back, throwing her arms round his +neck; and, laughing and galloping, they thus scrambled along to the head +of the stairs. + +"Thank you, that will do. Madagascar!" she repeated; and, jumping down, +she ran down the flight. + +After thus inspecting her dominions, testing her power, and convincing +herself that her subjects were docile, and that there was no novelty to +be got out of them, Natacha settled herself in the darkest corner of the +music-room with her guitar, striking the bass strings, and trying to +make an accompaniment to an air from an opera that she and Prince Andre +had once heard together at St. Petersburg. The uncertain chords which +her unpractised fingers sketched out would have struck the least +experienced ear as wanting in harmony and musical accuracy, while to her +excited imagination they brought a whole train of memories. Leaning +against the wall and half hidden by a cabinet, with her eyes fixed on a +thread of light that came under the door from the rooms beyond, she +listened in ecstasy and dreamed of the past. + +Sonia crossed the room with a glass in her hand. Natacha glanced round +at her and again fixed her eyes on the streak of light. She had the +strange feeling of having once before gone through the same +experience--sat in the same place, surrounded by the same details, and +watching Sonia pass carrying a tumbler. "Yes, it was exactly the same," +she thought. + +"Sonia, what is this tune?" she said, playing a few notes. + +"What, are you there?" said Sonia, startled. "I do not know," she said, +coming closer to listen, "unless it is from 'La Tempete';" but she spoke +doubtfully. + +"It was exactly so," thought Natacha. "She started as she came forward, +smiling so gently; and I thought then, as I think now, that there is +something in her which is quite lacking in me. No," she said aloud, "you +are quite out; it is the chorus from the 'Porteur d'Eau'--listen," and +she hummed the air. "Where are you going?" + +"For some fresh water to finish my drawing." + +"You are always busy and I never. Where is Nicolas?" + +"Asleep, I think." + +"Go and wake him, Sonia. Tell him to come and sing." + +Sonia went, and Natacha relapsed into dreaming and wondering how it had +all happened. Not being able to solve the puzzle, she drifted into +reminiscence once more. She could see him--_him_--and feel his +impassioned eyes fixed on her face. "Oh, make haste back! I am so afraid +he will not come yet! Besides, it is all very well, but I am growing +old; I shall be quite different from what I am now! Who knows? Perhaps +he will come to-day! Perhaps he is here already! Here in the +drawing-room. Perhaps he came yesterday and I have forgotten." + +She rose, laid down the guitar, and went into the next room. All the +household party were seated round the tea-table,--the professors, the +governesses, the guests; the servants were waiting on one and +another--but there was no Prince Andre. + +"Ah, here she is," said her father. "Come and sit down here." But +Natacha stopped by her mother without heeding his bidding. + +"Oh, mamma, bring him to me, give him to me soon, very soon," she +murmured, swallowing down a sob. Then she sat down and listened to the +others. "Good God! always the same people! always the same thing! Papa +holds his cup as he always does, and blows his tea to cool it as he did +yesterday, and as he will to-morrow." + +She felt a sort of dull rebellion against them all; she hated them for +always being the same. + +After tea Sonia, Natacha, and Nicolas huddled together in their +favorite, snug corner of the drawing-room; that was where they talked +freely to each other. + +"Do you ever feel," Natacha asked her brother, "as if there was nothing +left to look forward to; as if you had had all your share of happiness, +and were not so much weary as utterly dull?" + +"Of course I have. Very often I have seen my friends and fellow-officers +in the highest spirits and been just as jolly myself, and suddenly have +been struck so dull and dismal, have so hated life, that I have wondered +whether we were not all to die at once. I remember one day, for +instance, when I was with the regiment; the band was playing, and I had +such a fit of melancholy that I never even thought of going to the +promenade." + +"How well I understand that! I recollect once," Natacha went on, "once +when I was a little girl, I was punished for having eaten some plums, I +think. I had not done it, and you were all dancing, and I was left +alone in the school-room. How I cried! cried because I was so sorry for +myself, and so vexed with you all for making me so unhappy." + +"I remember; and I went to comfort you and did not know how; we were +funny children then; I had a toy with bells that jingled, and I made you +a present of it." + +"Do you remember," said Natacha, "long before that, when we were no +bigger than my hand, my uncle called us into his room, where it was +quite dark, and suddenly we saw----" + +"A negro!" interrupted Nicolas, smiling at her recollection. "To be +sure. I can see him now; and to this day I wonder whether it was a dream +or a reality, or mere fancy invented afterwards." + +"He had white teeth and stared at us with his black eyes." + +"Do you remember him, Sonia?" + +"Yes, yes--but very dimly." + +"But papa and mamma have always declared that no negro ever came to the +house. And the eggs; do you remember the eggs we used to roll up at +Easter; and one day how two little grinning old women came up through +the floor and began to spin round the table?" + +"Of course. And how papa used to put on his fur coat and fire off his +gun from the balcony. And don t you remember----?" And so they went on +recalling, one after the other, not the bitter memories of old age, but +the bright pictures of early childhood, which float and fade on a +distant horizon of poetic vagueness, midway between reality and dreams. +Sonia remembered being frightened once at the sight of Nicolas in his +braided jacket, and her nurse promising her that she should some day +have a frock trimmed from top to bottom. + +"And they told me you had been found in the garden under a cabbage," +said Natacha. "I dared not say it was not true, but it puzzled me +tremendously." + +A door opened, and a woman put in her head, exclaiming, "Mademoiselle, +mademoiselle, they have fetched the cock!" + +"I do not want it now; send it away again, Polia." said Natacha. + +Dimmler, who had meanwhile come into the room, went up to the harp, +which stood in a corner, and in taking off the cover made the strings +ring discordantly. + +"Edward Karlovitch, play my favorite nocturne--Field's," cried the +countess, from the adjoining room. + +Dimmler struck a chord. "How quiet you young people are," he said, +addressing them. + +"Yes, we are studying philosophy," said Natacha, and they went on +talking of their dreams. + +Dimmler had no sooner begun his nocturne than Natacha, crossing the room +on tiptoe, seized the wax-light that was burning on the table and +carried it into the next room; then she stole back to her seat, it was +now quite dark in the larger room, especially in their corner, but the +silvery moonbeams came in at the wide windows and lay in broad sheets on +the floor. + +"Do you know," whispered Natacha, while Dimmler, after playing the +nocturne, let his fingers wander over the strings, uncertain what to +play next, "when I go on remembering one thing beyond another, I go back +so far, so far, that at last I remember things that happened before I +was born, and----" + +"That is metempsychosis," interrupted Sonia, with a reminiscence of her +early lessons. "The Egyptians believed that our souls had once inhabited +the bodies of animals, and would return to animals again after our +death." + +"I do not believe that," said Natacha, still in a low voice, though the +music had ceased. "But I am quite sure that we were angels once, +somewhere there beyond, or, perhaps, even here; and that is the reason +we remember a previous existence." + +"May I join the party?" asked Dimmler, coming towards them. + +"If we were once angels, how is it that we have fallen lower?" + +"Lower? Who says that it is lower? Who knows what I was?" Natacha +retorted with full conviction. "Since the soul is immortal, and I am to +live forever in the future, I must have existed in the past, so I have +eternity behind me, too." + +"Yes; but it is very difficult to conceive of that eternity," said +Dimmler, whose ironical smile had died away. + +"Why?" asked Natacha. "After to-day comes to-morrow, and then the day +after, and so on forever; yesterday has been, to-morrow will be----" + +"Natacha, now it is your turn; sing me something," said her mother. +"What are you doing in that corner like a party of conspirators?" + +"I am not at all in the humor, mamma," said she; nevertheless she rose. +Nicolas sat down to the piano; and standing, as usual, in the middle of +the room, where the voice sounded best, she sang her mother's favorite +ballad. + +Though she had said she was not in the humor, it was long since Natacha +had sung so well as she did that evening, and long before she sang so +well again. Her father, who was talking over business with Mitenka in +his room, hurriedly gave him some final instructions as soon as he heard +the first note, as a schoolboy scrambles through his tasks to get to his +play; but as the steward did not go, he sat in silence, listening, while +Mitenka, too, standing in his presence, listened with evident +satisfaction. Nicolas did not take his eyes off his sister's face, and +only breathed when she took breath. Sonia was under the spell of that +exquisite voice and thinking of the gulf of difference that lay between +her and her friend, full conscious that she could never exercise such +fascination. The old countess had paused in her "patience,"--a sad, fond +smile played on her lips, her eyes were full of tears, and she shook her +head, remembering her own youth, looking forward to her daughter's +future and reflecting on her strange prospects of marriage. + +Dimmler, sitting by her side, listened with rapture, his eyes half +closed. + +"She really has a marvellous gift!" he exclaimed. "She has nothing to +learn,--such power, such sweetness, such roundness!" + +"And how much I fear for her happiness!" replied the countess, who in +her mother's heart could feel the flame that must some day be fatal to +her child's peace. + +Natacha was still singing when Petia dashed noisily into the room to +announce, in triumphant tones, that a party of mummers had come. + +"Idiot!" exclaimed Natacha, stopping short, and, dropping into a chair, +she began to sob so violently that it was some time before she could +recover herself. "It is nothing, mamma, really nothing at all," she +declared, trying to smile. "Only Petia frightened me; nothing more." And +her tears flowed afresh. + +All the servants had dressed up, some as bears, Turks, tavern-keepers, +or fine ladies; others as mongrel monsters. Bringing with them the chill +of the night outside, they did not at first venture any farther than the +hall; by degrees, however, they took courage; pushing each other forward +for self-protection, they all soon came into the music-room. Once there, +their shyness thawed; they became expansively merry, and singing, +dancing, and sports were soon the order of the day. The countess, after +looking at them and identifying them all, went back into the +sitting-room, leaving her husband, whose jovial face encouraged them to +enjoy themselves. + +The young people had all vanished; but half an hour later an old +marquise with patches appeared on the scene--none other than Nicolas; +Petia as a Turk; a clown--Dimmler; a hussar--Natacha; and a +Circassian--Sonia. Both the girls had blackened their eyebrows and +given themselves mustaches with burned cork. + +After being received with well-feigned surprise, and recognized more or +less quickly, the children, who were very proud of their costumes, +unanimously declared that they must go and display them elsewhere. +Nicolas, who was dying to take them all for a long drive _en troika_,[C] +proposed that, as the roads were in splendid order, they should go, a +party of ten, to the Little Uncle's. + +[C] A team of three horses harnessed abreast. + +"You will disturb the old man, and that will be all," said the countess. +"Why, he has not even room for you all to get into the house! If you +must go out, you had better go to the Melukows'." + +Mme. Melukow was a widow living in the neighborhood; her house, full of +children of all ages, with tutors and governesses, was distant only four +versts from Otradnoe. + +"A capital idea, my dear," cried the count, enchanted. "I will dress up +in costume and go, too. I will wake them up, I warrant you!" + +But this did not at all meet his wife's views. Perfect madness! For him +to go out with his gouty feet in such cold weather was sheer folly! The +count gave way, and Mme. Schoss volunteered to chaperon the girls. +Sonia's was by far the most successful disguise; her fierce eyebrows and +mustache were wonderfully becoming, her pretty features gained +expression, and she wore the dress of a man with unexpected swagger and +smartness. Something in her inmost soul told her that this evening would +seal her fate. + +[Illustration: Sonia] + +In a few minutes four sleighs with three horses abreast to each, their +harness jingling with bells, drew up in a line before the steps, the +runners creaking and crunching over the frozen snow. Natacha was the +foremost, and the first to tune her spirits to the pitch of this +carnival freak. This mirth, in fact, proved highly infectious, and +reached its height of tumult and excitement when the party went down the +steps and packed themselves into the sleighs, laughing and shouting to +each other at the top of their voices. Two of the sleighs were drawn by +light cart-horses, to the third the count's carriage horses were +harnessed, and one of these was reputed a famous trotter from Orlow's +stable; the fourth sleigh, with its rough-coated, black shaft-horse, was +Nicolas's private property. In his marquise costume, over which he had +thrown his hussar's cloak, fastened with a belt round the waist, he +stood gathering up the reins. The moon was shining brightly, reflected +in the plating of the harness and in the horses' anxious eyes as they +turned their heads in uneasy amazement at the noisy group that clustered +under the dark porch. Natacha, Sonia, and Mme. Schoss, with two women +servants, got into Nicolas's sleigh; Dimmler and his wife, with Petia, +into the count's; the rest of the mummers packed into the other sleighs. + +"Lead the way, Zakhare!" cried Nicolas, to his father's coachman, +promising himself the pleasure of outstripping him presently; the +count's sleigh swayed and strained, the runners, which the frost had +already glued to the ground, creaked, the bells rang out, the horses +closed up for a pull, and off they went over the glittering, hard snow, +flinging it up right and left like spray of powdered sugar. Nicolas +started next, and the others followed along the narrow way, with no less +jingling and creaking. While they drove under the wall of the park the +shadows of the tall, skeleton trees lay on the road, checkering the +broad moonlight; but as soon as they had left it behind them, the wide +and spotless plain spread on all sides, its whiteness broken by myriads +of flashing sparks and spangles of reflected light. Suddenly a rut +caused the foremost sleigh to jolt violently, and then the others in +succession; they fell away a little, their intrusive clatter breaking +the supreme and solemn silence of the night. + +"A hare's tracks!" exclaimed Natacha, and her voice pierced the frozen +air like an arrow. + +"How light it is, Nicolas," said Sonia. Nicolas turned round to look at +the pretty face with its black mustache, under the sable hood, looking +at once so far away and so close in the moonshine. "It is not Sonia at +all," he said, smiling. + +"Why, what is the matter?" + +"Nothing," said he, returning to his former position. + +When they got out on the high-road, beaten and ploughed by horses' hoofs +and polished with the tracks of sleighs, his steeds began to pull and go +at a great pace. The near horse, turning away his head, was galloping +rather wildly, while the horse in the shafts pricked his ears and still +seemed to doubt whether the moment for a dash had come. Zakhare's +sleigh, lost in the distance, was no more than a black spot on the white +snow, and as he drew farther away the ringing of the bells was fainter +and fainter; only the shouts and songs of the maskers rang through the +calm, clear night. + +"On you go, my beauties!" cried Nicolas, shaking the reins and raising +his whip. The sleigh seemed to leap forward, but the sharp air that cut +their faces and the flying pace of the two outer horses alone gave them +any idea of the speed they were making. Nicolas glanced back at the +other two drivers; they were shouting and urging their shaft-horses with +cries and cracking of whips, so as not to be quite left behind; +Nicolas's middle horse, swinging steadily along under the shaft-bow, +kept up his regular pace, quite ready to go twice as fast the moment he +should be called upon. + +They soon overtook the first troika, and after going down a slope they +came upon a wide cross-road running by the side of a meadow. + +"Where are we, I wonder," thought Nicolas; "this must be the field and +slope by the river. No--I do not know where we are! This is all new and +unfamiliar to me! God only knows where we are! But no matter!" And +smacking his whip with a will, he went straight ahead. Zakhare held in +his beasts for an instant, and turned his face, all fringed with frost, +to look at Nicolas, who came flying onward. + +"Steady there, sir!" cried the coachman, and leaning forward, with a +click of his tongue he urged his horses in their turn to their utmost +speed. For a few minutes the sleighs ran equal, but before long, in +spite of all Zakhare could do, Nicolas gained on him and at last flew +past him like a lightning flash; a cloud of fine snow, kicked up by the +horses, came showering down on the rival sleigh; the women squeaked, +and the two teams had a struggle for the precedence, their shadows +crossing and mingling on the snow. + +Then Nicolas, moderating his speed, looked about him; before, behind, +and on each side of him stretched the fairy scene; a plain strewn with +stars and flooded with light. + +"To the left, Zakhare says. Why to the left?" thought he. "We were going +to the Melukows'. But we are going where fate directs or as Heaven may +guide us. It is all very strange and most delightful, is it not?" he +said, turning to the others. + +"Oh! look at his eyelashes and beard; they are quite white!" exclaimed +one of the sweet young men, with pencilled mustache and arched eyebrows. + +"That I believe is Natacha?" said Nicolas. "And that little +Circassian--who is he? I do not know him, but I like his looks +uncommonly! Are you not frozen?" Their answer was a shout of laughter. + +Dimmler was talking himself hoarse, and he must be saying very funny +things, for the party in his sleigh were in fits of laughing. + +"Better and better," said Nicolas to himself; "now we are in an +enchanted forest--the black shadows lie across a flooring of diamonds +and mix with the sparkling of gems. That might be a fairy palace, out +there, built of large blocks of marble and jewelled tiles? Did I not +hear the howl of wild beasts in the distance? Supposing it were only +Melukovka that I am coming to after all! On my word, it would be no less +miraculous to have reached port after steering so completely at random!" + +It was, in fact, Melukovka, for he could see the house servants coming +out on the balcony with lights, and then down to meet them, only too +glad of this unexpected diversion. + +"Who is there?" a voice asked within. + +"The mummers from Count Rostow's; they are his teams," replied the +servants. + + * * * * * + +Pelagueia Danilovna Melukow, a stout and commanding personality, in +spectacles and a flowing dressing-gown, was sitting in her drawing-room +surrounded by her children, whom she was doing her best to amuse by +modelling heads in wax and tracing the shadows they cast on the wall, +when steps and voices were heard in the ante-room. Hussars, witches, +clowns, and bears were rubbing their faces, which were scorched by the +cold and covered with rime, or shaking the snow off their clothes. As +soon as they had cast off their furs they rushed into the large +drawing-room, which was hastily lighted up. Dimmler, the clown, and +Nicolas, the marquise, performed a dance, while the others stood close +along the wall, the children shouting and jumping about them with glee. + +"It is impossible to know who is who--can that really be Natacha? Look +at her; does not she remind you of some one? Edward, before Karlovitch, +how fine you are! and how beautifully you dance! Oh! and that splendid +Circassian--why, it is Sonia! What a kind and delightful surprise; we +were so desperately dull. Ha, ha! what a beautiful hussar! A real +hussar, or a real monkey of a boy--which is he, I wonder? I cannot look +at you without laughing." They all shouted and laughed and talked at +once, at the top of their voices. + +Natacha, to whom the Melukows were devoted, soon vanished with them to +their own room, where corks and various articles of men's clothing were +brought to them, and clutched by bare arms through a half-open door. Ten +minutes later all the young people of the house rejoined the company, +equally unrecognizable. Pelagueia Danilovna, going and coming among them +all, with her spectacles on her nose and a quiet smile, had seats +arranged and a supper laid out for the visitors, masters and servants +alike. She looked straight in the face of each in turn, recognizing no +one of the motley crew--neither the Rostows, nor Dimmler, nor even her +own children, nor any of the clothes they figured in. + +"That one, who is she?" she asked the governess, stopping a Kazan +Tartar, who was, in fact, her own daughter. "One of the Rostows, is it +not? And you, gallant hussar, what regiment do you belong to?" she went +on, addressing Natacha. "Give some _pastila_ to this Turkish lady," she +cried to the butler; "it is not forbidden by her religion, I believe." + +At the sight of some of the reckless dancing which the mummers performed +under the shelter of their disguise, Pelagueia Danilovna could not help +hiding her face in her handkerchief, while her huge person shook with +uncontrollable laughter--the laugh of a kindly matron, frankly jovial +and gay. + +When they had danced all the national dances, ending with the +_Horovody_, she placed every one, both masters and servants, in a large +circle, holding a cord with a ring and a rouble, and for a while they +played games. An hour after, when the finery was the worse for wear and +heat and laughter had removed much of the charcoal, Pelagueia Danilovna +could recognize them, compliment the girls on the success of their +disguise, and thank the whole party for the amusement they had given +her. Supper was served for the company in the drawing-room, and for the +servants in the large dining-room. + +"You should try your fortune in the bathroom over there; that is enough +to frighten you!" said an old maid who lived with the Melukows. + +"Why?" said the eldest girl. + +"Oh! you would never dare to do it; you must be very brave." + +"Well, I will go," said Sonia. + +"Tell us what happened to that young girl, you know," said the youngest +Melukow. + +"Once a young girl went to the bath, taking with her a cock and two +plates with knives and forks, which is what you must do; and she waited. +Suddenly she heard horses' bells--some one was coming; he stopped, came +up-stairs, and she saw an officer walk into the room; a real live +officer--at least so he seemed--who sat down opposite to her where the +second cover was laid." + +"Oh! how horrible!" exclaimed Natacha, wide-eyed. "And he spoke to +her--really spoke?" + +"Yes, just as if he had really been a man. He begged and prayed her to +listen to him, and all she had to do was to refuse him and hold out till +the cock crowed; but she was too much frightened. She covered her face +with her hands, and he clasped her in his arms; luckily some girls who +were on the watch rushed in when she screamed." + +"Why do you terrify them with such nonsense?" said Pelagueia Danilovna. + +"But, mamma, you know you wanted to try your fortune too." + +"And if you try your fortune in a barn, what do you do?" asked Sonia. + +"That is quite simple. You must go to the barn--now, for instance--and +listen. If you hear thrashing, it is for ill-luck; if you hear grain +dropping, that is good." + +"Tell us, mother, what happened to you in the barn." + +"It is so long ago," said the mother, with a smile, "that I have quite +forgotten; besides, not one of you is brave enough to try it." + +"Yes, I will go," said Sonia. "Let me go." + +"Go by all means if you are not afraid." + +"May I, Madame Schoss?" said Sonia to the governess. + +Now, whether playing games or sitting quietly and chatting, Nicolas had +not left Sonia's side the whole evening; he felt as if he had seen her +for the first time, and only just now appreciated all her merits. +Bright, bewitchingly pretty in her quaint costume, and excited as she +very rarely was, she had completely fascinated him. + +"What a simpleton I must have been!" thought he, responding in thought +to those sparkling eyes and that triumphant smile which had revealed to +him a little dimple at the tip of her mustache that he had never +observed before. + +"I am afraid of nothing," she declared. She rose, asked her way, +precisely, to the barn, and every detail as to what she was to expect, +waiting there in total silence; then she threw a fur cloak over her +shoulders, glanced at Nicolas, and went on. + +She went along the corridor and down the back-stairs; while Nicolas, +saying that the heat of the room was too much for him, slipped out by +the front entrance. It was as cold as ever, and the moon seemed to be +shining even more brightly than before. The snow at her feet was strewn +with stars, while their sisters overhead twinkled in the deep gloom of +the sky, and she soon looked away from them, back to the gleaming earth +in its radiant mantle of ermine. + +Nicolas hurried across the hall, turned the corner of the house, and +went past the side door where Sonia was to come out. Half-way to the +barn stacks of wood, in the full moonlight, threw their shadows on the +path, and beyond, an alley of lime-trees traced a tangled pattern on +the snow with the fine crossed lines of their leafless twigs. The beams +of the house and its snow-laden roof looked as if they had been hewn out +of a block of opal, with iridescent lights where the facets caught the +silvery moonlight. Suddenly a bough fell crashing off a tree in the +garden; then all was still again. Sonia's heart beat high with gladness; +as if she were drinking in not common air, but some life-giving elixir +of eternal youth and joy. + +"Straight on, if you please, miss, and on no account look behind you." + +"I am not afraid," said Sonia, her little shoes tapping the stone steps +and then crunching the carpet of snow as she ran to meet Nicolas, who +was within a couple of yards of her. And yet not the Nicolas of +every-day life. What had transfigured him so completely? Was it his +woman's costume with frizzed-out hair, or was it that radiant smile +which he so rarely wore, and which at this moment illumined his face? + +"But Sonia is quite unlike herself, and yet she is herself," thought +Nicolas on his side, looking down at the sweet little face in the +moonlight. He slipped his arms under the fur cloak that wrapped her, and +drew her to him, and he kissed her lips, which still tasted of the +burned cork that had blackened her mustache. + +"Nicolas--Sonia," they whispered; and Sonia put her little hands round +his face. Then, hand in hand, they ran to the barn and back, and each +went in by the different doors they had come out of. + +Natacha, who had noted everything, managed so that she, Mme. Schoss, and +Dimmler should return in one sleigh, while the maids went with Nicolas +and Sonia in another. Nicolas was in no hurry to get home; he could not +help looking at Sonia and trying to find under her disguise the true +Sonia--his Sonia, from whom nothing now could ever part him. The magical +effects of moonlight, the remembrance of that kiss on her sweet lips, +the dizzy flight of the snow-clad ground under the horses' hoofs, the +black sky, studded with diamonds, that bent over their heads, the icy +air that seemed to give vigor to his lungs--all was enough to make him +fancy that they were transported to a land of magic. + +"Sonia, are you not cold?" + +"No; and you?" + +Nicolas pulled up, and giving the reins to a man to drive, he ran back +to the sleigh in which Natacha was sitting. + +"Listen," he said, in a whisper and in French; "I have made up my mind +to tell Sonia." + +"And you have spoken to her?" exclaimed Natacha, radiant with joy. + +"Oh, Natacha, how queer that mustache makes you look! Are you glad?" + +"Glad! I am delighted. I did not say anything, you know, but I have been +so vexed with you. She is a jewel, a heart of gold. I--I am often +naughty, and I have no right to have all the happiness to myself now. +Go, go back to her." + +"No. Wait one minute. Mercy, how funny you look!" he repeated, examining +her closely and discovering in her face, too, an unwonted tenderness and +emotion that struck him deeply. "Natacha, is there not some magic at the +bottom of it all, heh?" + +"You have acted very wisely. Go." + +"If I had ever seen Natacha look as she does at this moment I should +have asked her advice and have obeyed her, whatever she had bid me do; +and all would have gone well. So you are glad?" he said, aloud. "I have +done right?" + +"Yes, yes, of course you have! I was quite angry with mamma the other +day about you two. Mamma would have it that Sonia was running after you. +I will not allow any one to say--no, nor even to think--any evil of her, +for she is sweetness and truth itself." + +"So much the better." Nicolas jumped down and in a few long strides +overtook his own sleigh, where the little Circassian received him with +a smile from under the fur hood; and the Circassian was Sonia, and Sonia +beyond a doubt would be his beloved little wife! + +When they got home the two girls went into the countess's room and gave +her an account of their expedition; then they went to bed. Without +stopping to wipe off their mustaches they stood chattering as they +undressed; they had so much to say of their happiness, their future +prospects, the friendship between their husbands: + +"But, oh! when will it all be? I am so afraid it will never come to +pass," said Natacha, as she went toward a table on which two +looking-glasses stood. + +"Sit down," said Sonia, "and look in the glass; perhaps you will see +something about it." Natacha lighted two pairs of candles and seated +herself. "I certainly see a pair of mustaches," she said, laughing. + +"You should not laugh," said the maid, very gravely. + +Natacha settled herself to gaze without blinking into the mirror; she +put on a solemn face and sat in silence for some time, wondering what +she should see. Would a coffin rise before her, or would Prince Andre +presently stand revealed against the confused background in the shining +glass? Her eyes were weary and could hardly distinguish even the +flickering light of the candles. But with the best will in the world +she could see nothing; not a spot to suggest the image either of a +coffin or of a human form. She rose. + +"Why do other people see things and I never see anything at all? Take my +place, Sonia; you must look for yourself and for me, too. I am so +frightened; if I could but know!" + +Sonia sat down and fixed her eyes on the mirror. + +"Sofia Alexandrovna will be sure to see something," whispered Douniacha; +"but you always are laughing at such things." Sonia heard the remark and +Natacha's whispered reply: "Yes, she is sure to see something; she did +last year." Three minutes they waited in total silence. "She is sure to +see something," Natacha repeated, trembling. + +Sonia started back, covered her face with one hand, and cried out: + +"Natacha!" + +"You saw something? What did you see?" And Natacha rushed forward to +hold up the glass. + +But Sonia had seen nothing; her eyes were getting dim, and she was on +the point of giving it up when Natacha's exclamation had stopped her; +she did not want to disappoint them; but there is nothing so tiring as +sitting motionless. She did not know why she had called out and hidden +her face. + +"Did you see him?" asked Natacha. + +"Yes; stop a minute. I saw him," said Sonia, not quite sure whether +"him" was to mean Nicolas or Prince Andre. "Why not make them believe +that I saw something?" she thought. "A great many people have done so +before, and no one can prove the contrary. Yes, I saw him," she +repeated. + +"How? standing up or lying down?" + +"I saw him--at first there was nothing; then suddenly I saw him lying +down." + +"Andre, lying down? Then he is ill!" And Natacha gazed horror-stricken +at her companion. + +"Not at all; he seemed quite cheerful, on the contrary," said she, +beginning to believe in her own inventions. + +"And then--Sonia, what then?" + +"Then I saw only confusion--red and blue." + +"And when will he come back, Sonia? When shall I see him again? O God! I +am afraid for him--afraid of everything." + +And, without listening to Sonia's attempts at comfort, Natacha slipped +into bed, and, long after the lights were out, she lay motionless but +awake, her eyes fixed on the moonshine that came dimly through the +frost-embroidered windows. + + + + +_A Wayfarer's Fancy._ + + + "A felicitous combination of the German, the Sclave, and the + Semite, with grand features, brown hair floating in artistic + fashion, and brown eyes in spectacles." + +_George Eliot._ + + + + +TWO CHRISTMASES. + + +I. + +It was the time of the great war. Germany was desolated. Towns and +villages were destroyed by flames. Order and law had given way to savage +power; and from the walls of many a ruined house of God the wooden image +of the Saviour looked down with a face of anguish on the horrors of the +degenerate times. + +The terrified citizens of towns that were still untouched by war, hid +themselves within their narrow walls, awaiting, in tremulous fear, the +day on which their homes must also fall a prey to plundering soldiers. +If any one were obliged to go beyond the boundaries, he would glance +anxiously at the bushes on either side of the road; and when night came +on, he would be forced to look with horror and sorrow at the reddened +horizon, where a little village or lonely hamlet was burning to ashes. + +But who is it cowers there in the ditch by the highway? A dried-up +little man with deathly-pale countenance, and clad in a black coat! +Flee, Wanderer! let him not gaze at you with his piercing gray eyes! +Beware! for that old man is the Plague-man! + +The heart of the Wanderer sinks within him. Horrified he rushes away, +and thanks heaven when, in the gray of the morning, he sees again the +towers of his native town. Enraptured by the sight of home he believes +these towers with the dear, well-known faces can protect him; but the +old cripple has been quicker than he. Before break of day he has knocked +at the town-gate, and the gate-keeper, on opening it, has scarcely +looked into his gray eyes before he sank down as though some one had +felled him with an axe. + +Then the gray old man begins his terrible work. Like a bat he slips into +all dwellings; no gate and no bolt is an obstacle to him. Right up into +the lofts he climbs and opens the most secret chamber. That threshold he +passes is doomed to the Black-death. + + * * * * * + +It had happened thus to a little town in Franconia, where but a few +houses remained untouched by the terrible plague. In this town there +lived a poor, honest couple with their child, a boy of nearly three +years. Their cottage lay on a small hill, and was divided from the road +by a little garden. People ascribed it to this that the awful spirit +for a long time had left their home untouched. But at last he seemed to +have found his way to even this out-of-the-way place. + +A few days before Christmas the boy fell sick, and on Christmas morning +he lay motionless in bed, so that the poor parents thought the plague +had taken their child from them. The father wanted to bury the body at +once, but the mother showed him the rosy cheeks of the dead child, and +said that a death that looked so like sleep could do them no harm. +Thereupon she went into the little garden and cut box-tree leaves from +under the snow, and made a wreath for the dead darling. She placed the +wreath on his curly head and moved his bed into the middle of the room, +where she set candles burning around it, just as we do in quieter times +for a dear departed one. Then she went into the wood, cut down a small +Christmas-tree and placed it, all decorated with lights, nuts, and +bright tinsel, next to the coffin, in order that the dead child might +also have his Christmas pleasure. + +This was the only Christmas-tree that the poor stricken town lit up! +People passing along the road looked with secret jealousy at the +illuminated window, wondering how they could still rejoice in such +bitter times. But no gladsome sounds from the window reached the +street, where flake after flake was whirling down from the gray heavens, +covering everything in its white cloak. And unceasingly, as flake after +flake sank down to earth, so in the little chamber the tears of the poor +woman rolled down her cheeks till the lights of the Christmas-tree +burned low, the fire in the stove died away, and sleep closed the +streaming eyes of the mother. Then all was quiet, very quiet, in the +little chamber. + + * * * * * + +But at the gates of Heaven it was very noisy that evening. Countless +hosts were crowding up the broad stairway, young and old, rich and poor: +a mixed and motley crowd. There the patrician elbowed the tailor who had +made his coat; the general the lowest sutler; and a ragged beggar was +even next to a king, who drew his purple closer around him in order not +to be contaminated. All were pushing towards the great, light gate, and +many a one, who on earth had only beaten and jostled others, received +here in the crowd his own first jostling. At the gate stood a beautiful, +tall angel, who sprinkled each one with water out of a golden vessel. +The touch of this water obliterated at once all remembrance of the past. + +St. Peter, who considered the noise and bustle too much of a good thing, +was of the opinion that mankind had none of the bother of dying, all +the work falling on him; and he was accordingly grumbling to himself. +Suddenly he saw a little fellow, clad only in a shirt, standing before +him, shivering all over, and regarding him with innocent, childish eyes, +as if asking whether he might enter. St. Peter, unwilling that such +little folks should cause delay in business, said, roughly, "In with +you!" The little frightened fellow rushed, thereupon, so quickly through +the gate that the angel did not have time to sprinkle him with the +waters of oblivion. + +Now, as children of two years have but short memories and very harmless +pasts, the angel smilingly let him slip by. Once inside, little Hans was +seized by a host of flying angels and whirled away to Paradise, which +was more beautiful than the fairest garden on earth. Rare plants with +big, magnificently colored blossoms filled the air with spicy odor. Here +dwelt the tiny children who had left earth before they knew anything of +it. Here they could dream on forever; and their breath swept softly over +every bud. Large butterflies with silken wings were bathing in the clear +ether, and floating entranced from bud to bud. The heavens glittered and +lightened as though composed of millions of diamonds; yet the sun did +not blind the eye, nor the warmth rise to summer heat. Eternal spring +had banished from these regions battle and death, tempest and decay, and +far away below in misty distance lay all the sorrows of tormented +creation. Amongst the flowers wandered blissful forms, absorbed in the +beauty of surrounding harmony. + +The boy curiously observed all this splendor, peered into the dewy buds +of the flowers, examined the wings of his heavenly playmates, and was +not a little rejoiced on observing that two wings had also grown on him, +with which he could fly like a bird. "If neighbor Liesel could only see +me!" thought Hans, and he felt quite proud at the thought. For, +notwithstanding all the splendor about him, the picture of his parents' +home presented itself constantly to his little mind. He had an excellent +memory of the much despised earth, which soon with magnetic power drew +all his thoughts towards it. At the sight of the wonderful flowers of +Paradise, such as the earth never produces, he could think of nothing +but the violets, and crocuses, and tulips which curled up in spring-time +out of the black earth of his father's garden. The golden fruits on the +trees reminded him of the gilded ones of the Christmas-tree, and seemed +to him even brighter; and although the Paradise of heaven, with its +eternal clearness, was a thousand times more beautiful than the +changing air below, yet the little heart felt a dim yearning for the +beloved earth, the griefs of which he had not yet learned to measure; +and, amidst all this angelic beauty, he only felt an uncontrollable +longing for the plain, human countenance of his mother. Then there came +an end to his enjoyment. He began to cry, and, finally, to roar lustily. +The other little angels gathered astonished around him, staring at the +strange playmate who had dewdrops in his eyes and made such awful faces. +Such a thing did not generally occur in heaven, where all were good and +quiet. But just then St. James came along and, on seeing the crying +angel, he spoke pleasantly to him, and finally took him up in his arms +in order to comfort him. But a great surprise lay in store for the +Saint; for it would have been easier for him to convert a thousand +heathens than to quiet the little unruly fellow, who commenced kicking +and wriggling, and made such a terrible outcry that the angels fluttered +away in consternation. There stood the Saint with the child in his arms, +and did not know what to do! At last he concluded to show the strange +being to the Lord Himself, and went with the little one before His +throne. Then the Lord Almighty smiled, and all the angels around His +throne smiled, when they saw St. James, who certainly did not seem very +well adapted for nursing children, and in whose arms little Hans, +regardless of all surroundings, continued to roar unmercifully. But the +merciful Lord opined that the greatest squallers often turned out the +best men, and He ordered an angel to carry the little one back to dear +earth. + +And this was done. With mighty strokes of his pinions the heavenly +messenger floated back to earth, which came nearer and nearer with its +mountains, lakes, and rivers, and with the old, lifeworn town, and from +out the town rose up the gabled roof of the parents' home with a cap of +snow upon it. + +The boy in the coffin opened his eyes, and with a cry of joy his mother +pressed him to her heart. Among the boughs of the Christmas-tree there +was a soft rustling and whispering. + +Methinks the tree remembered that winter is only a deep sleep, and was +dreaming of spring. + + +II. + +The years of misery and war were over. In the streets of the old town, +where only a few years ago the roll of the drum resounded, and where the +plague, in deathly silence, had spread its black wings, there, the stork +on the town-hall heard, to his great satisfaction, merry shouts of +children,--the ringing laugh of peace. A group of boys chased each +other noisily over the market-place, playing at war. War! which had +desolated so many of their homes. Oh! the fresh, merry laughter of +childhood! how like unto ivy it climbeth over all ruins and findeth at +last the sunshine! + +But there was one not amongst the noisy group, and that one was Hans. +His parents perceived with anxiety that the little noisy child had grown +into a silent, shy boy, who avoided the games of his comrades and +dreamingly went his own way. For hours he sat in the garden on the bench +near his mother's flowers, and gazed dreamingly at the busy bees and +butterflies, or lay in the woods near by and stared up through the +branches of the beech-trees at the blue sky. + +"What are you thinking of?" his mother would ask at times; then he would +start up like one awakened from sleep, the thread of whose dreams are +broken by awaking. "He is ill," the mother would think, anxiously. But +folks would shake their heads suspiciously when, on speaking to the boy, +they received no other answer than a shy, questioning look. "There is +something wanting," said some, with an unmistakable gesture. "He is a +fool," murmured others. + +Thus a boy fares who has peeped too early into Paradise. The children +of his own age made fun of him, and poor Hans would have been quite +forsaken if Liesel from next door had not taken his part. She was quite +the opposite to him,--merry and high-spirited. Whilst he sat dreaming, +she was romping about, singing and laughing. But the children kept +together, and the parents thought they might some day be a pair. The +boy's reserved nature vexed the father, and, being of the opinion that +man's hand cannot learn too early to handle and knead the tough clay of +existence, he apprenticed him to a potter, in the hope that time would +change the character of his son. He was mistaken, however; the boy grew +up a fine, handsome youth, but in character he remained the boy of +former days. If he looked up from his work it was not in order to gaze, +like other journeymen, after a young girl who maybe was tripping past; +but to stare up at the sky, which shone so blue between the houses, or +to follow with his eyes the great white clouds away,--who knows whither? +In his free time he did not go like others to the market-place, but +would mount the ramparts at the back of his parents' house and gaze into +the valley below, where the river was bearing its silvery wavelets into +the far distance. What might not be in the far distance? Far, far away +yonder must be the place where the dream of his childhood was realized! +How astonished, then, was his father, when one fine sunny spring morning +his son stood before him, with knapsack and staff, in order to bid him +farewell before setting out on his travels. Who would ever have thought +he would want to travel! The father rejoiced in the belief that the son +would seek work according to the custom of journeymen workmen, and gave +him his blessing, and much good advice besides. But he hardly even heard +the words and advice of his father; there was a singing in his ears and +a mist before his eyes, so that he felt like one intoxicated. Yes, he +was a fool! Nor did he see the tears his mother and Liesel were shedding +at his departure: he only thought of that far-off land, of the dream of +his childhood. What mattered to him their tears! He wanted only to +travel to find his Eden. And he travelled. With each rising sun he arose +and thought, "To-day you will find what you seek;" and when he laid +himself down tired at night, he thought, "To-morrow I shall reach my +goal;" and, happy in this thought, he would fall asleep. No mountain was +too steep for him, no path too stony, no forest too dense; he thought of +his Eden, and minded not the thorns that tore his flesh. Yes, he was a +fool! + +Far behind him, forgotten, lay his home in the dim distance! + +No living creature could tell him where his Paradise lay! The birds of +the forest went on with their song; the deer gazed at him astonished; +the brooks babbled on monotonously and sought the way to the ocean. +People he asked only laughed, and they looked back at the strange lad, +shaking their heads. + +Quickly the time flew by; the spring faded, summer and autumn passed, +and still he wandered on. His path, that once lay before him green and +fair, was now covered with snow. He, however, heeded it not, and +journeyed on. It must come at last, the long-sought goal! At last he +reached a mighty snow-covered mountain range, so mighty that he said to +himself, "Beyond this it must surely lie," and in glad hope passed +forward. A whole day he ascended over snow and ice: his feet were sore +and bruised, and he was shivering from the cold, and yet no hut was to +be seen that might offer him shelter. The sun went down in crimson +behind the ice-armored mountains, leaving behind a bitter coldness, so +great that the stars in the heavens shivered with frost. + +Then it occurred to tired Hans that it was Christmas, and for the first +time on his journey he thought for a long while of home, where the +Christmas-tree was now lighting up the warm room, and the dear ones were +assembling around it. But what mattered the Christmas-tree to him; he +was seeking Paradise! + +Suddenly he saw on the roadside an old man. He was sitting on his +bundle, and leaning his head on his hands. He must have been very old, +for his face was furrowed like the bark of an oak, and his snowy beard +hung nearly to the ground. + +Then tired Hans rejoiced, greeted him, and asked how far it might be to +the nearest habitation of man. + +"To-day you can no longer reach it," replied the old man. "Whither are +you journeying?" + +"I seek Paradise," answered Hans: "nearly a year have I wandered over +the earth, and yet have not found it." + +Thereupon the old man arose, laid his hands upon Hans's shoulder, and +said, "Turn back and go home! I have wandered for more than a thousand +years on earth, and sought Paradise, and have not found it. Know, then, +I am Ahasuerus, doomed to everlasting wandering as a penance. Wherever I +go I am persecuted; where I knock the gate is locked; and nowhere have I +a home. Stones are my bed, and my bundle is my pillow. Go, poor fool! +return to the place of your birth. There, some day, they will dig a +grave for you, wherein you may sleep peacefully. Go back to your home, +where a Christmas-tree is lit up for you, and where you are loved, and +leave to me all wandering and seeking: to me, the poor, old, accursed +man!" + +Then Hans was very sad: he threw down his bundle, sat down in the snow, +and wept bitterly. However, he was so tired from the long journey that +he soon forgot all his misery, and fell into a deep slumber. The old man +spread his cloak over him to protect him from the cold, and then +listened to the deep-drawn breathing of precious sleep, that drowns all +cares. The youth lying there could sleep, and die, and forget! but he +himself must keep awake, and live, and wander! + +Upon the face of Hans a smile was playing; he was dreaming! Did he see +the long-sought Paradise? He saw in his dream a house with snow-covered +gable and little windows; a small house, closely encircled by other +houses, a garden in front. In a room inside sat his parents round a +cheerful fire. The spinning-wheel whizzed, and the cat purred in comfort +in front of the fire. Softly there fell, now and again, a needle from +the Christmas-tree. A resinous, pine-tree odor filled the room. From the +next house a clear, maiden's voice was singing the old, old Christmas +carol,-- + + "A rose has bloomed + From a tender root, + Our fathers have sung: + Out of Jesse it came." + +And the crackling of the fire, the whizzing of the spinning-wheel, and +the maiden's song seemed to the dreamer fairer than a thousand Edens. An +indescribable homesickness overcame him. + +When he awoke, the east was radiant with the blush of morning. He sprang +up and seized his staff. Scales seemed to fall from his eyes. "Home, +home!" a thousand voices seemed to echo within him. + +But up the mountains, outlined by the red of the morn, he saw the old +man wandering on his comfortless path. + + + + +_A Yarn Spun by a Yankee._ + + + "A white-haired, thin-visaged, weather-worn old gentleman in a + blue, Quaker-cut coat." + +_Hawthorne._ + + + + +A TALE OF A TURKEY. + + +I. + +The shutters of a little spur of warehouses which breaks out into +mountainous stores and open valleys of streets around the corner, but +which itself overlooks no fairer view than a narrow, muddy alley of a +thoroughfare scarcely broad enough to admit two drays abreast, and, by +actual measurement,--taken with persistent diligence by the adjacent +office boys,--just two running-jumps from gutter to gutter; the shutters +of this, in its own eyes, important little trade centre, were up, and a +great clattering they had made in getting up on a clear, tingling night +before Christmas, eighteen hundred and--no matter what. + +The porters had come out in their faded greatcoats, bandaged right and +left in woolly mufflers, and more than usually clumsy in padded gloves, +and had been bitten and tossed about by the wind with such unbecoming +violence that even a porter felt it necessary to hurry and bustle. +Taking the shutters by assault from the foe's embraces, they had +thumped, and banged, and hammered, and scolded them into place, and, in +undignified haste, had betaken themselves, steaming warm breath through +their fingers, into their proper and respective places by the +counting-house fire. + +The magic--so it seemed in its effects--tolling of a deep-toned bell in +the neighborhood would not allow them to doze long in their warm nooks, +but, like the jealous monster in the fairy-tale, kept its captives +always going, going, going, for its sixth stroke had not died away +before they began to appear again, this time with the addition of fur +hats and little dinner-baskets, and with no perceptible noses--unless +the existence of watery eyes above their mufflers argued the missing +features to be in their proper places below--and with an accelerated +gait--also an act of enchantment. + +William, of No. 6, bawled as loud as his worsted gag would permit across +the street (so termed by a figure of rhetoric) to James, of No. 7: + +"Hello, Jim! Cold as blazes, ain't it?" + +James, of No. 7, assenting, Thomas, of No. 4, would like to know "How +blazes can be cold, now?" + +William, of No. 6, would say "as thunder," if that would suit him any +better; and as it appeared to do so they, with half a dozen others, +breasted the wind and trudged out into the blustery streets beyond. + +The merchants, too, had locked their doors, and tried their knobs, and +looked up at the faces of their stores as if to say, "Merry Christmas to +you, and I wish you a pleasant day to-morrow!" but in reality to see +that all was fast, and perchance to indulge in a comfortable survey of +their snug little properties--and the complacent tread with which they +followed the porters gives color to the suspicion--and draw from it +momentum for the enjoyment of the morrow's holiday. + +The shutters, then, were up--stop, not all up! One, as you may see by +the shaft of gas-light that has just fallen across the pavement near the +top of the court, is still down. + +The little square window through which the light eddies on the bricks is +supported on either side by a heavy door, and all three, the two doors +and the window, are in turn crowned and anointed on the head, as it +were, by a very bold sign containing very brazen--in every sense of the +word--letters which announced pompously, like some servants of similar +metallic qualities, the name of their master. + +Emanuel Griffin--the tongue uncontrollably adds Esquire--was the name, +and there, if you had looked through the window, in a deep funnel of a +room, at a desk near the fire, head behind the open leaves of a ledger, +and feet beneath the warm recesses of the stove, sat its possessor. + +Outside the railing which formed a barrier between Emanuel Griffin, +Esq., and the business world, and encompassed with a less elaborate +railing, sat, on a high stool in a cold corner, the little, +blackish-green (perhaps the color gas-light imparts to faded black) +clerk of Emanuel Griffin, Esq. Whether David Dubbs, such was he called, +derived the power of writing from his mouth; or whether the gentle +excitation of moving his lips over toothless gums assisted thought; or +whether, as some said, he chewed tobacco, a position which nobody ever +held long, as nobody ever proved him to have expectorated during his +whole life; his mouth--always closed--moved up and down, up and down, +with the motion of his pen. Hair he had none, that is, none to speak of; +there were some few isolated white locks behind his ears and at the back +of his head, but he made no pretensions to have any, and openly +acknowledged himself bald--and very candid of him it was to do so. + +Chroniclers have told us how, after fierce battles that have raged from +dawn till nightfall, the moon has come calmly up from the horizon and +shone peacefully and serenely over the field of strife and death. So +arose a beneficent smile ever and anon over the wrinkled and careworn +face of the old clerk; but still he wrote on, Faithful Dave! and if +pleasant thoughts swept through him they avoided the business that +occupied his hands and did not interrupt it. + +They had long sat in quietness, only broken by the noise of turning +leaves and crackling coals,--but, in truth, if David Dubbs's eye, in its +course to and from the clock, had not, like the world, worked silently +on its axis, there must have been continual creaking--when a noise like +the name of David emanated from the ledger, and following it--for it was +near-sighted--the head of Emanuel Griffin, Esq., lifted itself to an +erect posture and repeated in a less muffled tone, "David!" + +"Yes, sir," answered the old clerk, in a weak little voice, and climbing +down to the floor from his perch. + +"You may lock up, David. Ten thousand and odd. Ten thousand's a good +year, David; a very good year. Very--good--indeed! But go and lock up," +and then Mr. Griffin took a glance at the clock. "Half-past six! Why +it's surprising how time does fly, and Christmas Eve, too. Well, well! +But hurry up with the shutters, David, and we shan't be long----" + +Before Mr. Griffin had fully delivered himself of these remarks the +little person of David Dubbs was out in the cold, was in and out among +the screws on the door, had put up the shutters, and simultaneously with +the last word stood in the half-opened door and, all unseen by his +employer, waved his hand to some one at the corner of the court. He then +walked as quickly as his little, bent legs--parabolic were they in +outline, but, as this is not a geometric treatise, it is of no +particular consequence--would permit him up the long aisle in the centre +of the room, and sent off timid little echoes of his steps to ramble +away among the bales of crockery--for it was crockery that Emanuel +Griffin, Esq., dealt in--and rattle among the piles of plates. + +Having reached again his little cage of an office, he took down from its +accustomed peg an old, threadbare coat, and, with much exertion and +outstretching of arms, finally got it on, turned up the collar, tied +about his ears a not very robust scarf, and laid thereon, as the +copestone of his apparel, a dingy high hat that had undergone, in point +of nap, as many reverses as its wearer in point of fortune. Thus +attired, he tipped his hat to his employer, all ready, like himself, to +depart, and started out. + +Before he reached the door, a cry from Mr. Griffin arrested him, and he +came hastily back; for, although it would have required a thumbscrew to +have made him confess it, yet he had all day long looked forward to the +time of parting, when he half expected Emanuel Griffin, Esq., contrary +to his custom though it was, would offer him some little gift out of the +increased profits of a business he had done no little to advance. But no +such design had Mr. Griffin conceived, or if he had it was very soon +suppressed as entirely unworthy of a man of purely business habits, and +all he had to say was,-- + +"I know, David, there is something I was to have told you to do. Mrs. +Griffin impressed it on me this morning, but,"--here he stood thinking +for a moment,--"no matter," he resumed. "I guess it was nothing very +important, so good-by, David, and a--good-by!" He was going to say "and +a merry Christmas;" but for a man of purely business habits to unbend so +far and become cheerful--why, it's subversive of all business +discipline, and so he thought to himself. + +David, doubly disappointed, turned and passed out, and his old eyes must +have been extremely sensitive to the wind, for they ran with something +very like tears that he wiped away with his glove as he muttered,-- + +"So, no Christmas, after all. Poor girls! Poor girls!" Mr. Griffin was +not long behind his faithful old clerk. He extinguished the lights with +great care, and then, with the key in his hand, felt his way to the +door, banged it after him, and locked it with the satisfaction of a +miser over a casket of treasures. His journey home led him to the +opposite end of the court from that which David had passed through, and +he therefore did not overtake him. + +And if he had, would this hard, business-encrusted heart have been less +cold than the bitter winds that assailed it? Would the sight which made +David Dubbs forget the fierceness of night have penetrated the chilly +place where it rested and warmed it in pitying activity? Would the +tender impulses, which the unsifted morals of barter extinguish, as they +extinguish much of the nobility in man, have enkindled anew and +brightened this misery? Not if dollars would have done it; nay, not if +even a word would have done it, would Emanuel Griffin have relaxed from +the demeanor which purely business habits imposed upon him. He felt it +due to his position in business society to maintain rigidly its maxims, +the chief of which, "Do unto others as they would do unto you, if they +could," he practised to the letter. + + +II. + +Poor David Dubbs! Oh, the long time it seemed since boon companions had +smitten him on the back and cried, "Bravo, Dave Dubbs! Bravo, old +fellow!" to his little songs, or encouraged him by such exclamations as +"Dave Dubbs can't be beat at a ballad!" Oh, the long, long time ago! But +to proceed. As David Dubbs met the ambushed winds that leaped upon him +at the corner of the court, he also met the person to whom he had waved +his hand from the store-door. If you had looked for the stature of a man +you would have been doubly mistaken,--first in sex, next in size. It was +neither a man nor a woman. There, in a blustery doorway, shaking with +cold, but ever on the alert, crouched a little girl. She wore a knitted +hood, and out of it fell overflowing curls; but her poor, attenuated +little body was ill-assorted with plenty of any kind, and the wealth of +curls mocked the poverty of her clothes. A patched shawl affected to +protect her poor little shoulders, and a calico dress flapped coldly +about her legs. As David turned the corner she arose, and, for all her +stiffness and shivering, exclaimed, cheerily, "A merry Christmas, +father!" and reached to kiss him. + +He took her in his arms--she was very, very slight--and lifted her to +his lips, and then, throwing one side of his own scanty coat about her +and holding it there with an affectionate hug, he said, "Come, come, +little daughter, it's too bleak for a little body like you to be out. +It's cruel, cruel, but I dared not tell him it was so late. What does he +know or care for my poor little faithful, Loving Scout?" + +"Your Scout couldn't miss Christmas Eve, father, if it was ever so +cold." + +"And does she ever miss? No, no, she's a dutiful Scout, winter and +summer, rain and shine, morning and night, and what should I ever do +without her!" + +So, talking and fighting the wind by turns, they walked on, the bent and +shuffling old man and his Little Scout, as he had named her and as they +all affectionately called her, through dark streets where, ever and +anon, a car or belated dray shivered by, as if the cold had touched even +its insensibility, and made the tracks resound and the paving blocks +rattle in the clear air; through deep cisterns of streets, between lofty +stone banks--as stern almost as their governing boards, for, although +boards are chiefly wooden, a supplication will quickly petrify them; +through rows of illuminated stores like walls of Arabian Night visions, +with traceries of frost on their windows richer in design than the gems +within them; through clustering crowds that entered or left continually +the swinging doors of saloons and hotels; past waiting carriages; past +swearing men; past laughing ladies, and past beggars, wearier, and +colder, and lonelier than themselves. So they travelled, scarcely +heeding what they saw in their speed until, on the margin of all the +din, by a turn through a dark street, they reached a darker alley, and, +passing down it, at last stopped before their own homely door. + +The building had once been a warehouse,--David liked it the better for +that, he said. "Why, all my life has been spent in trade, and, you see, +I've sort a become attached to anything that smacks of it, though I've +little reason to feel so, the Lord knows!" he would exclaim to his +friends. Up above, over a long door in the top story--you can scarcely +make it out in the uncertain light--jutted a weather-beaten crane, with +a long disused pulley dangling at its point, cracked, and rusted, and +abandoned, and no less cracked and abandoned, shot out from the second +floor a moss-covered platform that had been intended for the reception +of bales of stuffs that had never arrived. The mortar had, here and +there, been wrenched from between the bricks by savage weather and age, +and the doors, too, had shrunk before their united malignity. How such +a house had drifted to such a locality is unaccountable, unless--as is +often the case--some navigator of real estate had thought he descried a +port, where was only a shoal that left his venture high and dry among +newer and costlier craft. + +However, the nearest approach it had made in the last twenty years or +so--so David said--to fulfilling its commercial place in the world was +in opening its doors to a gentleman in the carpentering line. This +gentleman, Mr. Jacob Tripple by name, occupied the ground floor, and all +around it were scattered evidences, in the shape of window-frames, and +wooden-horses, and props, and old lumber, of a thriving business. He, +with all his men, had departed long ago and left the place dark, and +still, and cold. + +It had lain in this stupor of silence for more than an hour, waiting +against hope to be resuscitated by any stray echoes that should drop in +from the neighboring hubbub and waken it up, when it caught among its +bleak angles the cheery voice of David's Little Scout, and revived--as +some old men do under the charm of gentle words--to a more respectable +opinion of itself. So immediately it seemed refreshed, that if it were +possible for such a decrepit--not to say inanimate--old structure as +that even metaphorically to prick up its ears, it metaphorically did as +the sound of Dolly's--her proper name--cheery welcome home echoed round +it. + +"Here we are once more, father," she cried, breaking away from him to +have the door open when he plodded up to it. "Once more, and a welcome +home, and a merry Christmas to you!" + +"Always on duty, Little Scout! Always on duty!" he called after her. +(The wind was keen and drew water to his eyes again, and again he +brushed it away.) "Always on duty," he went on repeating, with a doleful +effort at cheerfulness. + +She was up-stairs by that time, and, opening the door above, had called +in, "Here's father!" then ran back to meet him, which she did at the +door below. + +What these unusual proceedings meant, David Dubbs might have guessed or +might have known traditionally, they being of an annual nature, but +whether he did or not, or whether his ignorance was also traditional, he +gave no sign, and walked feebly up-stairs, guided by the Little Scout, +just as if it were not Christmas Eve at all. + +What the proceedings did mean was that a steaming pot of coffee at the +given signal was lifted from its warm corner and tilted into a cup that +held a conspicuous place at the head of a little white spread table. On +its right hand sat, in the position of an honored and seldom present +guest, a juicy-complexioned, but not corpulent beefsteak; opposite to +it, inviting death by explosion, rested a bowl full of steaming potatoes +in their native jackets, and the centre was fully occupied by a huge +loaf with a large family of slices. + +Around this collation--aroused by the signal, for they had been idly +waiting before--moved two pairs of hands with loving attention. The +cloth was resmoothed, the knives and forks straightened, a brace of +mealy potatoes was emptied on the two plates that awaited them, and at +last a ruddy slice of beefsteak was deposited beside and oozed through +them its savoriness. This last climax was reached just as the door +opened, and the two pairs of hands speedily transferred themselves to +the duty--no very arduous one--of helping David and Dolly out of their +wraps. + +And then, with many caresses and kisses and cries of "Take this side, +father, where the coals are bright!" or "Put your feet here and get them +good and warm, poor Little Scout!" then, when thick flying questions and +travellings to the one end of the room for things that were not wanted, +and excursions to the other end of the room for things that were wanted; +when the chairs were drawn up; when the grateful old man and his little +daughter, with those tender hands over their mouths to stifle the +gratitude they struggled to utter, were duly seated at the table, and +when the kettle was singing its approval in the corner, then, +only,--when all these preliminaries were gone through with,--did the +possessors of the hands that devised them seat themselves on a low +wooden settee opposite the table and enjoy the zest and delight they had +ministered to. + +Good nature and tender hearts, pale faces and cheerful eyes, honest red +hands and neatly bound-up hair have never been faithfully reproduced in +a state of print and paper, much less in imagination, and, indeed, how +can anything so buxom and comely, even if the plainest in dress, be +expected to be? It is, therefore, needless to say that the twin +daughters of David, namely, Molly and Polly Dubbs, being all that is +here set down, should have been seen in all their kindliness to be truly +known, and no other form of introduction would do them full justice. + +Molly was the counterpart of Polly in all respects save height. She was +a very little taller than Polly, and a fortunate thing it had been for +all concerned that she was so. Else, consider the vexation of the +measles and other diseases essential to youth. Why, in their quandary +which to begin on, they almost missed the twins altogether as it was. +Consider the complexity of young lovers who should pour into the ears of +Polly passionate adjectives intended solely to captivate the heart of +Molly; and, most important of all, consider the conflict of choice which +would have disquieted the soul of Mr. Jacob Tripple and at last driven +him to the alternatives of suicide or bigamy. + +But all these dangers had been averted by the provisions of Nature, and +the twins, who had supped, for economic reasons, earlier in the evening, +sat beaming on while David and little Dolly heartily devoured the +supper. + +David, looking up now for the first time, in the interval of a mouthful +swallowed and a mouthful threatened, espied a bowery wreath of holly +that hung around a picture of General Washington in the act of crossing +a dark, green river Delaware in a court dress of red and breeches of +yellow, surrounded on all sides by ice and officers in rainbow uniforms, +and, as this was the only adornment of a rather bare room, it is no +wonder it caught his eye. + +"Why, who's been a-brightening up the gen'ral so Christmas-like?" he +exclaimed. + +"We did, father! Leastwise it was Polly's present," said Molly. + +"And who may be a-sending presents to Polly now?" asked David, with a +twinkle in his eye that had seen better days but none kindlier. "It +wasn't young Cuffy over at the baker's, nor Jake Tripple, now, was it?" + +He looked at Polly for an answer, whereat she stretched her arm along +the back of the settee and let fall her hand on Molly's shoulder with a +punch which was intended as punishment for the giggles her sister +struggled to confine in her mouth with both hands; but which, in spite +of her, bubbled over and attacked David, and then, with a blush, Polly +muttered,-- + +"It wasn't young Cuffy at all, and I hate his loafy, little face, and I +hate----" + +"Not Jacob Tripple! No, no, not good Jake Tripple?" said David, +reprovingly. + +"I didn't say that, father!" she exclaimed. "He's your good old friend, +and how could I hate him? He came in just before leaving for the day, +and asked for you--what, made him think you were home I can't tell, for +it was long before your time--and asked for you, and left the wreath +for--for--me." + +The hem of her long checkered apron then needed close scrutiny and +folding for some unknown purpose, and this duty diverted her thoughts +from the subject, but she turned to Dolly, who enjoyed this banter in +her own quiet little way, which seldom rippled into a loud laugh, for +her own quiet little face was too pale and too pinched to invite such +freebooters. "Come, come, Little Scout," she said. "Is she warm now, and +were the rations good, and did she meet Kriss Kingle on his cold journey +(with a caress of her pale little cheeks) with heaps of warm dresses, +and heaps of pretty dolls, and heaps of sweetmeats too big to carry +himself, so he asked her to carry some home to help him! Did she? (with +another caress.) And would our Little Scout be sorry if he didn't come +himself to look after them and----" + +"Ah, that reminds me!" said David, quite audibly for him, and rising +from the table with knife and fork still in hand. + +"What reminds you, father?" asked the twins, in chorus. + +"Why, coming home!" said David, not very intelligibly. + +"What coming home?" again from the chorus, in expectant attitude. + +"Why, Tom, I told you!" which he hadn't done at all, but as by this time +he was deep in the cupboard, where his overcoat hung, and as his voice +was a little more muffled than usual, it was useless to argue the point, +so the chorus loudly exclaimed,-- + +"Tom?" + +"Yes, yes, yes!" from David, faintly and rather testily, as he had +groped through his old coat, and had successively dropped the knife and +fork, reeking with gravy, into the inside and outside pockets. + +"To be sure! Tom coming home and I clean forgot it, what with the cold +and the surprises," he said again, emerging with the knife and fork in +one hand and a letter in the other. "Here it is. He'll be home +to-morrow, he says, God willin', and eat our turkey with us. Poor Tom, +poor boy! He's been away so long he's forgot Griffin and hard times, or +he wouldn't say that!" + +"Tom! Be home! and to-morrow?"--interruption of chorus as it reaches for +the letter, opens and reads it aloud--Dolly being lifted in the sturdy +arms of Molly to look over. + +David, meanwhile, overcome by the toothsomeness of beefsteak, falls to +again, while the others dance a sort of fandango, and turn up the rag +carpet, and rattle the dishes on the dresser, and lift Dolly high in the +air to the improvised tune of "Tom's coming home! Tom's coming home! +Tom's coming home to-morrow!" + +"It's another mouth to feed, but it's hard to wish the poor boy back to +Californy again," huskily said David; then he exclaimed, as the noise +increased, "Hey dey! Why, you'll spill the coffee next, and cave in the +walls, too, in a minute, and then there'll be no home for Tom to come +to!" + +This was good humoredly added as the final swing was given to the dance, +which brought the twins holding Dolly aloft in their arms laughing and +panting on the settee. + +"But tell us, father, is he coming home for good? He don't say so in the +letter," asked Dolly, and all leaned forward to hear his answer. + +"Coming home for good?" mused David. "Yes, he's coming home for good, I +hope; but I'm fearful he'll find little beside the good in his sisters' +hearts." + +"Poor Tom," said Dolly, with far-away eyes, "he's had a weary life of it +in the mines, I guess, poor fellow." + +"Yes, yes," said David, "and that's what makes it harder that we can't +greet him with a good Christmas to-morrow. Well, well, it'll be a +delight to see my poor boy again, hard times or no hard times, and we'll +be as cheerful as we can be and are now, thanks to my good girls," and +here he arose from the table, and, seating himself at the fire, opened a +morning paper that he had found in the waste-basket in Mr. Griffin's +counting-house (and very worthless it must have been to be found there!) +in which, through the kind offices of a massive old pair of spectacles, +he was soon absorbed. + +And now, while the Little Scout--in fulfilment of her established +character--plays the spy on sundry crumbs that slink from notice under +the table, and while the twins, too busy to talk, wash the dishes and +dispose them in a glistening row along the dresser, and, while David +opens the paper and plods up and down it, column by column, like a +ploughman furrow by furrow up and down a field, and with almost as much +toil; and while the ancient clock on the shelf over the stove and under +the motley General Washington ticks loud enough to be heard above the +clinking dishes and simmering kettle; and while the table, divested of +its cloth and exhibiting a stained and blistered old back, is glad +enough to avoid attention by being stowed away in the corner; while the +pleasant spirits of domesticity that come only at the call of good men, +and good wives, and good sons, and good daughters, but resist the +imperious beckonings of the wealthiest hands, and wing on over their +roofs to lowlier, and scantier, and purer habitations--while the +pleasant spirits of domesticity and kindliness throng invisibly into the +room, and David Dubbs reads stray scraps from his paper to his +daughters, grouped near the fire at his feet, we must softly withdraw +and leave them to the care of coming Christmas dreams. + + +III. + +Christmas morning had opened brightly with David Dubbs. The sun, +preceded down the court by hustling winds that knocked at every +citizen's door and demanded admittance for their oncoming master, had +left at each house a gift of golden cheerfulness. The sky above was so +blithe and blue that it smiled down at even so insignificant a crack as +David Dubbs's court must have appeared to it; and the cold was a jolly +and snappish cold. + +The twins and David's Little Scout were as merry as the Christmas chimes +they lingered and listened to, and not the daintiest dinner that Mr. +Cuffy (and that gentleman held the subject somewhat in mind, too, on +Polly's account) could have delivered at their door would have added one +jot of happiness to their abundance. David's poor old back bent under +the stress of poverty that would permit him no indulgences for them--all +the more dear on that day; but, used to loving self-denial, they never +missed what they so little desired, and so far were they from giving it +a thought, that if David had spoken out what he so wilfully turned over +and over in his mind, that would have given them far more pain and +anxiety. Mr. Tripple was early in his shop, presumptively to attend to +some forgotten duties, but, as he did not pay very active attention to +anything but carefully tying up a square box in white paper, and as he +did pay very active attention to what went on up-stairs, at the same +time exhibiting no hurry to get home to dinner, David, who had, towards +noon, gone around the corner with Polly to make some little purchases of +groceries before the stores closed, dropped in on his way back and +invited Mr. Tripple up-stairs. Mr. Tripple at first firmly refused, and +said, "Very much obliged, Dave, but couldn't think of it. Indeed not. +They'd 'spect me at home, ye know, Dave." Whereupon Miss Polly added her +entreaties, and said he needn't expect anything very much, but if he +would walk up they would be very happy to have him. Mr. Tripple would +have walked up--and, indeed, wanted very much to walk up--at first, but +his extreme awkwardness, aggravated by holiday clothes of a tight cut +and by a paper collar bent above his coat like a scimetar, and almost as +sharp and glistening as that weapon, impelled him to do violence to his +wishes in order to appear calm--under _her_ eyes--and to deceive them +politely as to his real desire. But now, lured on by the siren voice of +Polly, he consented to go up "a little while" (which meant all the +afternoon), and taking the white box under his arm he locked the +shop-door and followed them up the creaking stairs. + +Arrived in the room and relieved of hat and coat, Mr. Tripple bowed +mysteriously to Dolly, and, intrusting her with the box, whispered,--"Go +and hand that to sister Polly, little un." Polly, receiving it from her, +exclaimed in surprise,-- + +"For me, Mr. Tripple?" + +"Yes, miss," he replied, growing red and smiling broadly, "a little +something for Christmas, that's all." + +Polly opened the box and extracted a pasteboard plane with some +artificial shavings pasted upon it, which, when lifted apart, discovered +a heap of sweetmeats. Dolly and Molly, looking on, exclaimed, "Why, Mr. +Tripple, what a surprise!" and Polly blushingly added, "So very +unexpected!" + +Mr. Tripple grew redder and nervously crossed his legs, saying, "I +thought 'twould be kind a appropriate to the trade, you know, and so I +just fetched it up, and----" + +Then Polly, seeing his embarrassment, called on David and the rest to +come and help themselves, and there was good humor and laughing until +the twins darted away to got dinner, which was soon prepared, for there +was little enough to get, and all invited to sit up to the table. + +All were duly in their places, and David had, in accordance with +Christmas custom, offered grace. Mr. Tripple and the girls were slowly +raising their bowed heads, when a loud knock announced a visitor, and +hastened the raising of heads to an unseemly hurry. + +"Tom!" all exclaimed. + +Molly hurried down-stairs, and the rest rushed to the stair-landing, +where, in a moment, they received, not Tom, but a large, square basket +that emitted a very fragrant smell of roasted fowl, in the arms of the +returning Molly. Once in the room, the lid was off in a twinkling, and +out came a sizable plate, enveloped in dainty, clean napkins, which, +being removed in layers, exhibited, in all its brown deliciousness, a +huge turkey, just done to a turn. + +The party gathered around in pleased wonder, and as Molly threw the +napkins into the basket a card fell on the floor. She picked it up and, +astonished, read, "Emanuel Griffin." + +"What!" said David, snatching it and reading it aloud to himself, +"Emanuel Griffin. So it is, and no mistake!" and then he burst out, +"Hurrah! hurrah for Griffin! I knew he couldn't forget us this year!" +His poor old face was almost young again, and his voice,--why, it could +actually be heard as he ran on: "Why, there never was such a year for +the china trade, Tripple, and how could he forget me? Jacob Tripple, +your hand! A kiss, Little Scout! Why, your old father's 'most young +again, and his good girls shall dine like other good girls, after all! +How very thoughtful of Griffin to send it in the nick of time, too. +Come, sit up again before it gets cold, and I wish we had something as +hot to drink Griffin's health in. Why, I believe I could sing a song +again if we had something hot. I do, indeed!" + +So he ran on in his childish delight at the thought of being remembered, +and at the far more grateful thought that his beloved daughters were to +share the gift with him. + +When he had ceased, all turned to Molly and asked in one breath who had +left it. When the clamor slackened, she replied, "Why, young Cuffy from +the baker's, and all he said was, 'David Dubbs,--to be sent--card +inside,' and then kissing his hand, and crying 'Love to her,' meaning I +don't know who," with a smirk at Polly, "he jumped aboard his wagon and +flew away down the court." + +Never was a turkey enjoyed so much, and never had a turkey better +deserved it. + +Mr. Tripple grew bland and talkative under its juicy influence. He even +winked at Polly occasionally, and one time actually chucked her under +the chin. She sat next to him, remarking that if he had his way she +should live forever on turkey and sugar-plums. David ventured to say +that that course of diet would be pretty indigestive, whereupon Mr. +Tripple fondly suggested, as he gazed into her eyes, "How would love do +for a substitute, then?" implying that "his way" would supply that +abstract edible in equally large doses. + +David dryly added "Starvation," and thereupon Polly covered her face +with her hands, but left open a laughing eye at Molly, and Mr. Tripple +looked boldly around the board as a man who had said a very bright thing +indeed, after which survey he broke out into a not very comfortable +laugh. All the rest laughed, too, then, and such good humor prevailed +that nothing seemed amiss, and Mr. Tripple's inexperience was kindly +overlooked. + +But now the turkey was fast becoming skeletonized, and the good company +was fast becoming the reverse. The jollity was increasing and the +serious intentions of Mr. Tripple were impending and ready to fall into +open profession on the slightest encouragement. The Little Scout's +pinched and pale face--sweet and uncomplaining, even through hunger and +want--smiled gently and less sadly as it leaned in Molly's arms, and, +looking up, she said,-- + +"Poor father! How quiet you were last night when we were walking home. +I knew you were thinking about to-day and the poor dinner. How kind it +was of good Mr. Griffin. I'd like to thank him myself, father!" + +"And so you shall, Little Scout," said David, gayly, bending over and +kissing her with boyish contempt of aged bones; "and so you shall, and I +make no doubt he'll be glad to see you, too, Deary." + +The clock in a neighboring steeple, simultaneously with its ancient +kinsman on the shelf, and followed by incoming echoes of a score of +others, struck one; but the company little heeded that, and the +conviviality was far from diminishing when another summons rattled the +street door, and again all exclaimed "There's Tom!" and crowded to the +landing as before. + +Polly this time tripped down and came back in a moment with only a +letter, saying,-- + +"A young man, father, with this letter for Mr. Griffin. It's addressed +to his store, but he said it was important, and, knowing you lived here, +he depended on you to deliver it at once." + +"Has he gone?" said David, grasping it. + +"Yes, father," replied Polly, "right off." + +Here was a pitiable state of affairs indeed. David Dubbs, aroused from +the joyful celebration of his Christmas dinner and from the midst of +this cosey party and sent off across the river to his master's house +with a miserable letter and by a miserable young man (and if delivering +letters when every other well-intentioned man is eating his turkey isn't +miserable, why what is it?). Sent off on a graceless errand for nothing, +perhaps. But his kind employer, who had done so much for his comfort and +joy that very day, must not suffer by his neglect, and off he must post; +that was imperative. Mr. Tripple offered his services when David had +started down-stairs, and when there was no chance of his turning back, +but David said, "No, no, Tripple; you just stay and keep the girls +company till I get back, and that'll be enough for you to attend to. +Good-by, girls. Good-by, Little Scout; if it wasn't so cold, she should +go too." And off he trudged, as patient, and cheerful, and proud of his +master's attention and of his mission, too, now he had fully set out, as +many a younger and better dressed man would have been. + + +IV. + +When Emanuel Griffin, Esq., leaving the dark little street wherein stood +his warehouse and wherein very much of his life and very little of his +money was spent--which latter fact had, however, no merely local +application but was of a general nature--when, to resume, Emanuel +Griffin, Esq., buttoning up his overcoat and, leaving the dark little +street, turned the next corner among the mountainous stores and looked +vexedly around for a car to bear him to his home across the river, and +rattled his keys in his pocket, and nearly hummed a tune in his +impatience, suddenly, as the car appeared like a new planet, and with +the easy-going motions of a planet in its ascent had nearly reached +him--suddenly a thought of something forgotten flashed through his mind, +and the violence of its reaction turned him completely around and sent +him in a precipitous hurry in the opposite direction, namely, in that +which David Dubbs and his little daughter had pursued but a short time +before. + +"Pshaw!" he muttered, and looked as if he would like to add something a +great deal stronger. "That's what I forgot to tell David; but Mrs. G. 'll +never forget it, nor forgive it, either, if I don't attend to it +before I get home." So he turned up his collar, and rubbed his ears, and +hurried on to keep warm. + +His destination proved to be a fancy bakery in the neighborhood of David +Dubbs's house. The pavement in front of it at that hour and season, +owing to holiday orders, was sending up warm steam from the oven +beneath, and a fragrant and appetizing smell of hot bread and browning +cakes pervaded the street. It was a large establishment of the kind, and +besides its legitimate line of bread-baking, took charge of the cooking +and preparing of dinners for ladies of limited domestic conveniences in +fashionable life. Heedless of the delicious scents which had attracted +several men with greedy eyes to linger at the window and devour in +fancy--a process which left them hungrier than ever--the heaps of loaves +and cakes on the counter within; heedless of the supplicating looks the +men turned on him, and of the confidential attempts of one or two at a +begging whisper (but his hurry was in nowise chargeable with that +inattention); heedless of everything but finishing his errand and +getting home, Mr. Griffin pushed through the crowd in the store, and, +reaching the counter, beckoned to a light-haired, light-eyed, and +red-cheeked youth, in a blue tie and black waistcoat that, through +constant friction with loaves and flour-barrels, had become of a light +pepper-and-salt pattern, and hurriedly said,-- + +"I want a turkey, Cuffy, of about fifteen or twenty pounds, cooked and +sent to my house by one o'clock to-morrow." + +"Can't do it, Mr. Griffin," said the young man, who knew him and had +bowed as he came up. + +"Can't do what?" exclaimed Mr. Griffin, with surprise and dismay. + +"Can't send it out," returned the young man, firmly. + +"Oh!" said Mr. Griffin, relieved; "I thought you meant that you couldn't +prepare it!" + +"No, sir," commenced the young man. "You see, sir, Mr. Griffin, it's so +late in the day that all our teams is ordered fur to-morrow at that +time, and so is our boys, but----" + +"Well, I'll soon fix that, Cuffy," said Mr. Griffin, opening his coat +and taking out a card. "There, just pin that on the turkey when it is +ready, and carry it over here to Dubbs's--David Dubbs is my clerk. He +will understand the card, and bring the turkey out to my house. I +shouldn't be so particular about it if Mrs. Griffin had not impressed it +on me this morning. I almost forgot it, too." + +Then asking the price, and answering,-- + +"That is very high, Cuffy;" to which that young man replied,-- + +"I know it is, sir, Mr. Griffin, but then, you see, the demand is werry +great, sir." + +Mr. Griffin paid the bill and hurried out, took a car at the next +corner, and, after a long, cold ride, got home to allay the anxiety of +Mrs. Griffin by assuring her that the turkey was ordered, and would be +sent home promptly to-morrow by David Dubbs. + +Christmas morning was, among the Griffin household, which consisted of +Mr. and Mrs. Griffin and a superannuated servant, a very busy morning +indeed, for the reason that Mrs. Griffin had, according to annual +custom, invited more guests to dine than she could conveniently provide +for. Their house was a cottage in the suburbs, pretty enough in summer +and no thanks to its mistress or the superannuated servant either, but +to the unaided impulse of nature, which climbed, in the form of bowery +vines, wherever a vine could find clinging room; but now, in the midst +of winter, bright though the day was, the skeletons of so much green +gayety looked bare, and inhospitable, and cold. The house was approached +by a long path that started at the iron gate and led up to the porch. It +was far from a large house, and looked inconvenient, and famished for +paint, and it was no less inconvenient than it looked, a fact, indeed, +which necessitated the purchase of a cooked turkey, for the oven was +small, and the stove in the crazy little kitchen needed all the surface +it could afford for the vegetables, oysters, and other viands which then +only, throughout the year, it blazed and glowed under. + +The morning wore on and twelve o'clock arrived. The big table in the +little dining-room was duly dressed and adorned with Mrs. Griffin's +miscellaneous silver; and after a heated debate between that lady and +the Superannuated, it was decided that when the company were all in the +parlor the dining-room door should be left open, and at the bottom of +the table, which now projected against the door, an additional chair for +Mr. Griffin should be inserted. Mrs. Griffin said of course the company +must squeeze in, but they understood all that, and were glad enough to +get in by any means, to which Superannuated readily assented. + +One o'clock, and now the company were all arrived. Mrs. Griffin was duly +excused by Mr. Griffin, who received them, on the plea of domestic +duties. They were mostly in the parlor, which contained, beside them, a +set of red velvet furniture and a shining piano, on legs which emulated +the unsteadiness of Superannuated's own, and which, in huskiness of +voice, also resembled that person; a portrait of Mr. Griffin in rigid +broadcloth, and a companion portrait of Mrs. Griffin in low neck and +volumes of lace; and last, a very pimply-looking carpet, which seemed to +suffer from a severe rash. + +Mr. Griffin had occupied the space between the folding-doors as the +company arrived and suavely--as suavely, by the way, as his wincing at +the cost of it all would admit of--received, introduced, and seated +them. The first arrival was a single gentleman, whom he saluted as Fred. +He was short, and bald, and spasmodic,--so much so that his pantaloons +were never straight, and his collar, through much moistening of its +raspy edges, was soiled. After him, a lady and gentleman drove up to the +gate in a carriage, and, alighting, the lady swept up the path, in a +double sense, while her husband upbraided the driver for the muddy +condition of the carriage, and then, loudly, "At ten, William!" To which +William as loudly replied, "Can't do it, sir. Got another order; but +I'll send you another man." + +The gentleman answered more quietly, with a careful look at the house, +where Mr. Griffin awaited him on the porch,-- + +"Very well, driver;" and also swept in, and was introduced to Fred as +Mr. Abbert. + +Now came a pair who walked, and were addressed and handed around by the +host as "My dear friends, Mr. and Mrs. Dripps;" and then the volume of +new-comers became quite abundant; so much so that a number of gentlemen +with no apparent use for their hands were forced to lean about the hall +and sit on the stairs, which they did up to the very top one. When the +company had simmered down a good deal, and only a few very bold +gentlemen ventured to launch remarks into the unanswering silence, and +when everybody was wondering what everybody else was going to do next, +and all were, as they reported the next day, "enjoying themselves +immensely," there was a stir above stairs, a rustling of dresses, and +then the gentlemen on the stairs, like a row of falling bricks, were +driven down before the gracious smiles and bows of the transformed +hostess. + +Tripping down after them and falling at last into the extended arms of +her husband--rather unsteady under the weight--while the stiffly polite +gentlemen formed a compact crowd out to the door. Mrs. Griffin was led, +with no little difficulty, through the seated guests, bestowing bows, +and smiles, and "Glad to see you, my dear Mr. Dripps," and "How well +you're looking, my dear Mrs. Abbert," and "Welcome, gentlemen," (whereat +a murmur ran through the crowd and all shook their heads and tried to +turn round and bow, but utterly failed,) and "Oh! here's my old Fred," +and sundry other bewitching remarks that led the crowd of gentlemen to +murmur again something like "Charming, be Gad!" and grow uneasy. + +But now the bell was rung by Superannuated, who had duly inserted the +chair, and Mr. Abbert, receiving the hostess from the arm of her +husband and in turn delivering his smiling wife to Mr. Griffin, led off +the throng to dinner. + +When they arrived at the protruding table, by a preconcerted arrangement +Mrs. Griffin handed Mr. Abbert to the one side and squeezed herself +through the other--an action which was imitated by the rest of the +company, who were finally seated close up to the door--all but Mr. +Griffin, who was to occupy the extra chair, and, as he was already +inside, and there was no other means of exit, he was obliged to pass +through the kitchen and around the house. He soon appeared again through +the front door and the dinner began. + +Mrs. Griffin, who had long before left Superannuated to finish while she +perfected her toilet, now rang the bell and, on her appearance, +whispered in her ear. Superannuated whispered in her mistress's ear. +Mrs. Griffin thereupon uttered a little cry and looked at Mr. Griffin. +Mr. Griffin, in consternation, cried, "My dear!" and attempted to +squeeze between the chairs, but failed. Then he looked wildly about him, +and at last ran through the front door. He soon reappeared at the side +of his fainting wife, who revived enough to say,-- + +"I shall never, never forgive you! Oh, the humiliation! the agony!" then +fainted again. + +"What is it?" "What's the matter?" "She's fainted!" and confused screams +of the ladies came from all sides. Mrs. Dripps passed along her salts +bottle. Mrs. Abbert held Mrs. Griffin's head, and Fred applied water. +Under the strong influence of these restoratives she soon revived, and +whispered to her husband something which caused him also to start and +look despairingly at her. + +She then said to him, loud enough for all to hear, "You must tell them +it was your fault. Oh, the humiliation!" Here she burst out again, with +her handkerchief to her eyes, and Mrs. Abbert soothingly said, "Oh, +never mind him, my dear. I wouldn't mind him!" This was growing +invidious, and all the gentlemen at the bottom of the table were looking +scornfully at him. + +He therefore said, in a loud voice,-- + +"The turkey has not arrived,--that is all." + +"That is all," whimpered Mrs. Griffin, mockingly. "That is all, he says; +and isn't it enough, sir, to have all your domestic failings exposed to +the world?" + +Mrs. Griffin alluded to cooking facilities, and grew very bitter, while +"the world" simpered and exchanged looks. + +Mr. Griffin then, in desperation, explained the whole matter,--how he +had left the card for David Dubbs, and paid for the turkey, and come +unsuspectingly home. "As," he added, "I have done year after year, +for----" + +Here Mrs. Griffin checked him with symptoms of another faint, and he +stopped short. + +Mr. Abbert then said it was all that rascally clerk, and he ought to be +discharged at once. + +"I know 'em," he added violently and with deeply implied wisdom, which, +by the way, was the only species of wisdom he ever attained to. "I know +'em, Griffin!" + +Mr. Fred was of a similar opinion, and even more violent in his +denunciation of David, as he had set his heart on turkey, and the +appetite died painfully within him. + +All the ladies and gentlemen were of various opinions, but all +concentrated their rage on the poor, innocent little clerk, and panted +for his clerkly death. In the midst of all this commotion the door-bell +rang, and intensified it twofold, for nobody could get through to the +door but by going around the house. This Superannuated finally did, and +brought back with her the identical little clerk,--the poor, agitated, +and bowing little clerk who had unconsciously aroused all the +indignation and tumult, whom sundry gentlemen at the lower end of the +table had threatened with severe punishment if they ever caught sight of +him, and who, now catching sight of him, were more than usually silent. + +Mr. Griffin looked threateningly at him as, hat in hand, he walked up to +him, presented a letter, and, in his faint voice, said,-- + +"A letter for you, sir, left for me to deliver." + +He took it, and David continued tremulously to say,-- + +"And how can I thank you, sir, and madam," turning to Mrs. Griffin, "for +the bounteous gift----" + +"Gift?" exclaimed both in a breath; "what gift? Where is the turkey you +brought? What gift? What gift?" + +"Why, a splendid turkey, with your card kindly----" + +This was received by the company with a volley of cries and calls, by a +relapse on the part of Mrs. Griffin, and by the descent of Mr. Griffin's +hand upon David's coat-collar, and finally by poor, frightened David's +ejectment from the kitchen-door, harshly reproached by his employer as a +thief and vagabond, and warned never to show his face in his store +again. + +"Be off, now!" he cried after him, "you ungrateful, deceitful old +villain!" and then he slammed the door, and joined the hungry guests, to +whom he declaimed at some length on the thanklessness of the lower +classes. + +Mrs. Griffin was quickly re-restored, this time to a state of injured +perfection, and after the united apologies of herself and husband, and +more abuse of poor, luckless David Dubbs, the company concluded with +pretty bad grace to make the most of what had been prepared in the way +of vegetables and side dishes, long ago cold. Mr. Griffin was mad, +insulted, and hungry, and the contents of the letter he had received +seemed to add very little warmth to the food, but a great deal to his +anger, for he tore it up into very small pieces, as if it were David +himself he was torturing, and, with a look the company did not consider +very sociable, scattered it on the floor. + + +V. + +The sky, as if presaging David Dubbs's misfortune, had grown overcast, +and flung down spiteful little sallies of snow as he crossed the river +on his way to Mr. Griffin's. The creaking of the bridge's huge timbers +and the splitting ice below it made him shiver and pull his threadbare +coat close about him and sacrifice his old hands to the wind to save his +freezing ears. The same scarf bound them as the night before, but an icy +gale like that which swept from the open river would have frozen through +arctic furs. Notwithstanding all this, his spirits were lighter than +usual. The scene he had left at home floated on before his eyes, and +transfused itself with the black, sketchy trees against the sky and +blent with the ragged barbs of smoke that depended from cottage +chimneys. The wind had been boisterous enough, and would have torn it +away on a cantering jaunt not many minutes ago, but, surcharged as it +was now with blinding snow, it had its own liberty to look after, and +paid little heed to anything else. + +The snow came on thicker and thicker, and had begun to whiten the +streets by the time David reached Mr. Griffin's house, and now, as he +stood shocked and bewildered in the garden again, it lay deep and +dreadfully silent as far as the eye could reach. Had he heard truly? Had +he, for the first time in a long, and honest, and reputable life, been +called a thief? And by the man whom his heart had overflowed in +gratitude to but a moment before! David Dubbs a thief! And what of? What +had he stolen? Oh, it was cruel to his poor old heart! "And the girls so +merry, even now," he thought. How; how could he go to them with these +bitter tidings? To be deprived of even the poor means his pen had +faithfully and honestly earned for them; to toil so long, so wearily for +the meed of a thief, for the name of a thief! and he wept in his utter +woe. + +His hat was still on his head, his coat was undone, his scarf had fallen +back on his shoulders; his poor old eyes were wide apart again, now, and +the wind tugged at his scanty hair, and the snow, no whiter than itself, +sifted through it and drifted into the folds of his clothes. But, +stunned, and tortured, and despairing though he was, the old clerk +staggered on insensibly homeward. Back through the dreary trees; back +through the drifted streets; back to the bridge, where he stopped by +some fatal impulse and leaned near a bleak abutment that overlooked the +river--gazing, gazing, gazing in a blank stare at the driving channel +below. The thought, the lurking purpose was shadowed dimly on his +distraught mind. The cold, rolling river once passed, the seething cakes +of ice once passed, and it would soon be over, soon be over. Life had +been a worthless gift to him. His youth had been falsely colored by the +visions of childhood; his age had been falsely colored by the ambitions +of youth. Nothing he had looked to in the distance ever had grown into +reality. Why should he survive his good name! And he clutched the stones +and raised himself up and quivered at the top of the stone wall. + +But now his hand relaxed, and his face, clouded and suffering before, +fell into a calmer look of attention, almost a smile broke over it, and +he gazed out against the sky as if transfixed. + +It was the vision that had, like the pillar of cloud by day and of fire +by night, preceded and gladdened him on his way; the scene of his happy, +unsuspecting girls; of the pale Little Scout--whose simple touch would +then have instantly revived and soothed him, whose tender love was his +comfort, his sanctuary from pursuing evils; the scene of his old home, +far cosier, far more beloved, far more cheerful for all its homeliness, +for all its poverty, than the more pretentious one of Emanuel Griffin; +the scene of lowly pleasures it had cherished; of the bitter trials it +had assuaged; and, finally, of the bright, laughing group he had left +there, oh! so little prepared, so little conscious of the blight he +would bring among them. This vision, these thoughts had flowed in upon +his already disturbed mind, and had driven quite away all consciousness +of where he was or how long he had stood in the bitter cold, when a +policeman--overcoated, and furred, and frozen-bearded,--came by, and, +suspecting things to be not altogether right, caught David by the +sleeve, and adjusted his scarf and hat, saying,-- + +"No loafing on the bridge, old man. Move on; move on, now!" at which +David started, looked all around him, and then moved on as commanded. +His back, always bent, and his gait, always decrepit and shuffling, were +now pitiably so, and he had a long, long journey before him; but, thanks +be to Him whose omnipotent care protects and watches over the poor in +spirit, he had escaped a far longer one. On and on he went, not cold +now, not thinking, not in haste; passing thick-coated travellers who +ran, and clapped their hands, and swung their arms for warmth; passing +gay companies in cabs that rolled over the snow as softly as footsteps +on velvet. But he heeded nothing of all this, and staggered onward to +his own poor home. + +A light was streaming out from the windows of the old warehouse, +crossing the snow piled on the platform above and slanting on the heaps +beneath. It was an inviting glimmer, a herald from within to all cold +travellers without of the blessedness of home, and, as David approached +the corner of the court, his eye was greeted cheerily by its "Welcome +home!" and, indeed, it was the first thing he had distinctly seen since +leaving the house of Mr. Griffin. But his heart failed him. How could he +face his dear girls again and tell them of the destitution of to-morrow? +Of the worse than poverty? Thus he thought, and lingered, and slunk +away by turns, but the ray of home-born light allured him, impassively, +into its midst, and as he stood over against the house, a poor, weak, +old man, rambling in his mind, and heroically deciding rather to leave +them in peace to-night, one more night, and return to them to-morrow, a +window was thrown up, and Jacob Tripple, putting forth his head, looked +up and down the court, and then directly in front of him, where David +stood immovable in the light. + +"Why, there he is, now!" he cried. "What's gone amiss, David? What's +kept you so long? Here he is! Here he is!" he exclaimed again and again, +and, drawing in his head in much less time than the words could be said, +Jacob Tripple, followed by the girls, was down-stairs, was--still +followed by the girls--out in the snow, and had forcibly carried David +up with them. + +They laid him on the settee, moaning and crying aloud against Emanuel +Griffin, and repeating again and again that they were "Beggars, beggars, +beggars!" and exclaiming, "My poor Little Scout! My poor girls! My +poor----" + +"They shall not suffer, father!" said a new voice, the sound of which +raised him up with wide-opened eyes and palsied hands at his head, and a +long stare at the speaker--"It's Tom, father. Don't you know me?" +repeated the voice. + +Know him! How should he know him? tall, and brawny, and whiskered, with +pleasant blue eyes, and ruddy cheeks, and good nature streaming from his +whole face! Him who, so many years ago,--a beardless youth--had run off +to California after gold bubbles, and whom little good had been heard of +when anything at all was heard of him. Know him? Of course he did not; +but, as he sat down beside him on the settee and shook his old hand, +David put his arms about his neck, and hung his head upon his bosom, and +saw, in imagination, the thriftless boy of long ago whom he loved for +all his waywardness. + +Tom's strong arms soon bore him to his old seat near the fire, and, for +the first time, David's wandering eye noticed the bower of green holly +and red-berried mistletoe that decked the room. General Washington was +loaded with it. The old clock, actually striking in a cheerier voice the +hour of nine, had its full share. The dresser hid in festoons of it. +Even David's chair had its sprig. But what was that on the floor? An +opened trunk, like a cloven pomegranate, displaying within rich trinkets +that many a lady might covet? + +"Wha--what's it all mean, girls? Tell me, Little Scout," said David, +catching her hand. "What happened to me? I thought I came home--home to +tell you Griffin threw me out in the snow, and called me a thief, and +how all of them scowled and cried out at me, and I thought----" then, +looking at the tall man, he cried again,-- + +"Tom, is it so? Is it so, my dear boy?" + +"Yes, father," said Tom, slowly, to calm him, "it is, happily, all so." + +Then his little daughter, who had stood by his side through it all, +kissed him, and said,-- + +"Come, father, look at the pretty presents Tom has brought us and you. +See here's a beautiful new coat hanging on your peg for you, and Molly +and Polly are as gay as any ladies," and she led him, tottering and +feeble, to the loaded table--no longer ashamed of its defaced back +beneath the pile of gifts it bore. + +Then Mr. Tripple, hand in hand with the unresisting Polly, and Molly, +and Tom, an unbroken circuit of cheery faces that electrified David +Dubbs into a wrinkled smile in spite of lingering grief, clustered +around the table and exclaimed aloud with admiration at the gifts Tom +had brought. + +But David, still overshadowed by the events of the afternoon, said, in a +quivering voice,-- + +"But to-morrow, children, to-morrow! I am discharged by Griffin; we +shall starve to-morrow!" + +"Not while I'm about," laughed Tom. "Come, come, be calm, and I'll tell +you all about it." + +And he did tell of the long years of hope and distress, of despair when +unconsciously within reach of fortune; of its final realization and of +its golden yield. "So here I am, father, and your old hand shall write +no more for Emanuel Griffin." + +Then said Dolly, "You don't speak, father; you are surely not sorry?" + +Sorry! He was stifled with gratitude; he was transforming into his old +self. The familiar tenderness of her voice opened the floodgates of his +heart, and he burst into a louder "Hurrah" than over Griffin's turkey, +and kissed them all around, Mr. Tripple included, and, indeed, the day +had been so successfully employed on the part of that gentleman that his +early entrance into the family was far from problematical--so of course +David did perfectly right. + +Polly here broke in, "And, father, it was Tom who brought the note, and +Tom who planned the surprise for you. What did it say, Tom? you can tell +us now." + +He laughed quietly, and then said, as if he were reading impressively +from the open sheet to Mr. Griffin himself, and making him writhe under +his coolness,-- + + "Emanuel Griffin, + + "Sir: The connection of my father, David Dubbs, Esq., with your + counting-house, will cease from this day forth. + +"Sir, your obedient servant, +"Thomas Dubbs." + + + + +_Told by an English Tourist._ + + + "He seemed to be a kind of connecting link between the old times + and the new, and to be, withal, a little antiquated in the taste of + his accomplishments." + +_Irving._ + + + + +A STILL CHRISTMAS. + + +It was Christmas eve in the year of our Lord 1653. The snow, which had +fallen fitfully throughout the day, shrouded in white the sloping roofs +and narrow London streets, and lay in little, sparkling heaps on every +jutting cornice or narrow window-ledge where it could find a +resting-place. But in the west the setting sun shone clearly, firing the +steeples into sudden glory and gilding every tiny pane of glass that +faced its dying splendor. The thoroughfares were strangely silent and +deserted. The roving groups that had been wont at this season to fill +them with boisterous merriment, the noise, the bustle, the good cheer of +Christmas--all were lacking. No maskers roamed from street to street, +jingling their bells, beating their mighty drums, and bidding the +delighted crowd to make way for the Lord of Misrule. No shouts of "Noel! +Noel!" rang through the frosty air. No children gathered round their +neighbors' doors, singing quaint carols and forgotten glees, and bearing +off rich guerdon in the shape of apples, nuts, and substantial +Christmas buns. In place of the old-time gayety a dreary silence reigned +through the deserted highways, and down the narrow footwalk, with even +step and half-shut eyes, tramped the Puritan herald, ringing his bell +and proclaiming ever and anon in measured tones, "No Christmas! No +Christmas!" + +In sober and sad-hued garments was the herald arrayed, with leathern +boots that defied the snow and a copious mantle enveloping his sturdy +frame. Now and then he stopped to warn a couple of belated idlers that +they would do well to separate and go quietly to their homes. Now and +then a little child peeped at him timorously from a doorway, and, +overawed by his sombre aspect and heavy frown, retreated rapidly to hide +its fears in the safe shelter of its mother's gown. Men shook their +heads as he went by, and muttered something that was not always +complimentary to his presence; and women shrugged their shoulders and +sighed, and thought, perchance, of other Christmases in the past, with +Yule-logs burning on the hearth and stray kisses snatched beneath the +mistletoe. From a latticed window a girl's face peered at him with such +a light of laughing malice in the brown eyes that the Puritan, catching +sight of their wicked gleam, paused a moment, as though to reprove the +maiden for her forwardness, or to inquire what mischief was afoot under +this humble roof. But the night was growing chill, and he had still far +to go. It might not be worth while to waste words of counsel on one so +evidently godless; and, with a heavier scowl than usual, he tramped on, +swinging his bell with lusty force. "No Christmas! No Christmas!" echoed +through the darkening streets, and, as he passed, the girl contracted +her features into a grimace that would have done credit to the +wide-mouthed gargoyle of a Gothic cathedral. + +"Cicely, Cicely!" cried a voice, at this juncture, from within, "close +the shutters, do, and come and help me." + +Cicely, who had been inclined to stare out a little longer, shot the +heavy oaken bolt into its socket, and, opening a door leading to the +inner room, disclosed a scene whose ruddy cheerfulness shone all the +brighter in contrast to the dreary streets outside. A mighty bunch of +fagots blazed and crackled on the hearth, and above the carved +chimney-place hung branches of holly, their scarlet, berries glowing +deeply in the firelight. In one corner, half-veiled by a tapestry +curtain, a waxen Bambino nestled in its little manger, while before it +burned a small copper lamp. Wreaths of holly and ivy bedecked the +doors, and, standing tip-toed on a tall wooden chair, a young girl was +even now striving to fasten these securely with the aid of a very old +and wrinkled woman, who seemed more competent to admire than to assist +the undertaking. + +"Some bigger berries, pray, Catherine," she said, impatiently; "and, +Cicely, if you feel you have loitered enough, hand me those two long ivy +branches. They should droop gracefully--so! And now stand off a little +way and tell me how it looks." + +The younger sister obeyed, and, stationing herself in the middle of the +room, surveyed the whole effect with much approval. Annis, her fair face +flushed with the exertion, balanced herself on her lofty perch and gazed +complacently upon her handiwork; while even Mistress Vane, who had been +seated quietly on a deep chair by the fireplace, roused herself as from +a reverie, and looked half-wistfully around the cheerful room. "What +bell was that I heard just now?" she asked. + +"The herald's, proclaiming a still Christmas," answered Cicely, +promptly; "and he watched me as sourly as though he knew that we were +plotting treason." + +"Cecil, Cecil!" remonstrated her mother, in alarm. "Surely you did +nothing imprudent." + +"I?" returned Cicely, apparently oblivious as to what she had done. "I +cast up the whites of my eyes, as though repeating psalms for mine own +inward sustainment; and seeing me so piously disposed, he was fain to +pass on to the correction of greater sinners." + +"That were well-nigh impossible," said her sister, laughing; but +Mistress Vane only looked anxious and disturbed. The sense of insecurity +to which Annis was indifferent, and which Cicely at fourteen found +absolutely amusing, weighed heavily on the older woman, who had a better +understanding of the danger, and who had suffered cruelly in the past. +Husband and son had fallen for a lost cause, confiscation had devoured +the larger portion of her once fair inheritance; and now, with her two +young daughters, she found herself beset by perils, harassed by +stringent laws, and at the mercy of any ill-wind fate might blow her. +Cromwell's mighty arm held the fretful country in subjection, making the +name of England great and terrible abroad, and silencing every whisper +of disaffection at home. The Puritans, in their hour of triumph, stamped +upon the land the impress of their strong and bitter individuality; and +a morose asceticism, part real and part affected, crushed out of life +all the innocent pleasure of living. With every man determined to be +better than his neighbor, the competition in saintliness ran high. Under +its vigorous stimulus the May-pole and the Yule-log were alike branded +as heathenish observances, the Christmas-pie became a "pye of +abomination," and all amusements, from the drama to bear-baiting, were +censured with impartial severity. Feast-days were abolished, and even to +display the emblems of the Nativity was held to be sedition. The +Established Church, cowed and shorn of its splendor, was treated with +surly contempt; the Catholics were altogether beyond the pale of +charity. It was not a time calculated to promote festivity; yet, while +the heralds proclaimed through the frosty streets that Christmas at last +was dead, Annis Vane, with holly and ivy, with Yule-dough and +Babie-cake, was making all things ready for its mysterious birth. And as +she worked she sang softly under breath the refrain of a carol she had +learned at her nurse's knee,-- + + "This endris night + I saw a sight, + A star as bright as day; + And ever among + A maiden sung + Lullay, by-by, lullay." + +"Is it not strange, mother," she said, breaking suddenly off, "that men +should deem it a mark of holiness to cast derision on the birth-night +of their Saviour?" + +"Let us be just even to our enemies," replied Mistress Vane, gently. +"They think not to deride the Nativity, so much as to condemn the +riotous fashion in which Christians were wont to keep the feast. There +have been times, Annis, when the Lord of Misrule did more discredit to +this holy season than does the Puritan to-day." + +Annis opened her blue eyes to their very utmost. This view of the matter +was one she was hardly prepared to accept. "Why, dearest mother," she +protested, "when should we venture to be happy, if not on Christmas-day? +And how can we show ourselves too joyful for our salvation? And did not +his most blessed majesty King Charles knight with his own royal hand a +Lord of Misrule who held court in the Middle Temple?" + +Mistress Vane smiled at her daughter's vehemence. She knew more about +these jovial monarchs and their courts than Annis did, and it may even +be that his most blessed majesty's approval carried less weight to her +experienced mind. But in these dark and chilly days a little enthusiasm +was helpful in keeping one's heart warm, and she was far too wise a +mother to disparage it. "Truly they made a brave show then upon +Christmas-day," she admitted, "for the lord mayor and his corporation, a +goodly company of gentlemen, rode in procession to the church of St. +Thomas Acon, and thence to dine together with many pleasant ceremonies. +And stoups of wine and huge venison pasties were despatched to the +Temple for the stay and comfort of the mock-court, who made merry all +day long. And the streets were crowded, far into the night, with maskers +and revellers; and even the poor might for once forget their poverty, +and were welcome to the brawn and plum-broth of their richer neighbors." + +"And now we have nothing of all this!" cried Cicely, with passionate +regret. "Nothing to look at and nothing to hear save the cracked bell of +a dingy herald, who does not even ride a hobby-horse like the merry +heralds of old. In truth, Master Prynne hath made good his own words +when he holds that Christmas should be rather a day of mourning than one +of rejoicing." + +"Not so thought my godfather, kind Master Breton," said Annis, +thoughtfully. "For he hath written that it is the duty of Christians to +rejoice for the remembrance of Christ and for the maintenance of +good-fellowship. 'I hold it,' he hath said, 'a memory of the Heaven's +love and the world's peace, the mirth of the honest and the meeting of +the friendly.'" + +Cicely's eyes danced with glee. "That were well remembered," she said, +mockingly; "if, now, you can but tell us in turn what your godfather's +nephew, Captain Rupert Breton, hath thought upon the matter." + +Annis flushed scarlet, and the quick tears welled into her eyes as she +turned them reproachfully upon her sister. It was not easy for her to +think of her absent lover and maintain the cheerful frame of mind she +deemed appropriate to the season. The shores of France seemed very far +away that night, and the long months that had elapsed since the defeat +at Worcester stretched backward like a lifetime, as she recalled his +last hurried farewell. He had ridden hard and risked much for those few +words, and patiently and bravely she had waited ever since, hoping, +praying, turning her face steadily to the brighter side, and keeping +ever in mind the happy hour which should reunite them to each other. +Now, in silence, she bound together the last green boughs and put all in +order for the night. Old Catherine had long since gone off, yawning and +blinking, to bed, and Cicely, half-asleep, nodded over the dying fire. +Only her mother watched her, with eyes of loving scrutiny, and Annis +smiled brightly as she kissed the careworn face. "I shall not cry +myself to sleep to-night," she said, resolutely. "This is a time for +gladness; for the star of Bethlehem is shining in the sky, and the birth +of the Lord is at hand." + + * * * * * + +Bright glowed the Christmas-logs on the capacious hearth till every +pointed leaf and scarlet holly-berry shone in the generous firelight. + + "Whosoever against holly doth cry, + In a rope shall be hung full high." + +For, when the oak and ash trees babbled to the wind, and betrayed the +Saviour's hiding-place, the holly, the ivy, and the pine kept the secret +hidden in their silent hearts; and for this good deed they stand green +and living under winter's icy breath, while their companions shiver +naked in the blast. Not till the risen sun has danced on Easter morn +shall the oak adorn a Christian household and prove itself forgiven. The +Christmas-pie--the Christ-cradle, as the Saxons used to call it--had +been baked in its oblong dish in memory of the manger at Bethlehem, with +the star of the Magi cut deeply in the swelling crust. The Yule-dough, +cunningly moulded into the likeness of a little babe, had been carefully +laid by as a sovereign protector from the evils of fire, floods, +carnage, and--so say some ancient writers--from the bite of rabid +dogs. Annis Vane, decked out in the bravest array her altered fortunes +would permit, knelt by the blazing hearth. Her ruff was of the finest +lace, and a row of milk-white pearls clasped her slender throat. She +shaded her face from the fire, and piled up shining cones of +bright-brown nuts that seemed to tempt the flames. + +[Illustration: The Cavalier From France] + +"All we lack now is the mistletoe," she said, half-despondently. "It was +no easy task to find the holly and bring it home unnoticed; but we +cannot gather mistletoe near London, and there is none for sale +throughout the city." + +"Of what use is the mistletoe," said the practical Cicely, "when we are +but three women here alone? We can kiss each other as readily under a +sprig of ivy, and we can fire our nuts without the help of man or lad, +provided only we keep one in our minds. Of whom shall I think, Annis?" +she queried, wrinkling up her pretty forehead in anxious perplexity over +so disturbing a doubt. + +"You are far too young to think of men at all," answered Annis, +reprovingly, and with all the conscious superiority of age. "Nor do you +know enough as yet to make such pastime profitable." + +Cicely's brows drew together with a frown which plainly indicated the +nature of the retort upon her lips, but a glance from her mother checked +her. "The word uttered in vexation is better left unspoken," said +Mistress Vane, with gentle authority. "And I am waiting here, not to +listen to disputes, which in these stormy times have grown wearisome, +but to hear the Christmas carol promised me to-night." + +Annis, with flushed cheeks, took down from the wall a little mandolin of +Spanish workmanship, and, striking a few chords, began the carol, in +which Cicely, after sacrificing some moments to ill-temper, concluded +presently to join, her clear flute-notes rising high above her sister's +weaker tones,-- + + "When Christ was born of Mary free, + In Bethlehem, in that fair citie, + Angels sungen with mirth and glee, + In Excelsis Gloria! + + "Herdsmen beheld these angels bright + To them appeared with great light, + And said, God's Son is born this night, + In Excelsis Gloria! + + "The King is comen to save kind, + Even in Scripture as we find; + Therefore this song have we in mind, + In Excelsis Gloria! + + "Then, dear Lord, for thy great grace, + Grant us in bliss to see thy face, + Where we may sing to thee solace, + In Excelsis Gloria!" + +As the sounds died into silence there stood one in the icy streets and +listened. No self-elected saint was he, scenting out treason to the +Commonwealth, but a cavalier from France, with his love-locks shorn for +sweet prudence's sake, and a mighty mantle enveloping him from head to +foot. If Annis Vane had waited, and hoped, and built up her faith in the +cheer of Christmas-night, the joy she coveted was very near at last. +After lingering a few moments, as though on the chance of hearing more, +the stranger advanced and knocked sharply at the heavily-barred door. It +was opened in due season and with great caution by old Catherine, who +evidently thought the hour ill-chosen for a new-comer, and mistrusted +sorely the purpose of his visit. He allowed her scant time, however, to +threaten or expostulate, but, putting her gently on one side, stepped to +the inner room. There, pale with anxiety and terror, Mistress Vane +leaned forward in her chair, while Cicely, half-frightened, +half-defiant, grasped her mother's skirt. Before the fire stood Annis, +her blue eyes shining like stars, a round, red spot burning feverishly +in each cheek, her lace ruff rising and falling distressfully with the +heaving bosom within. The mandolin had fallen from her hands; the ruddy +firelight lit up her slight figure and fair, disordered curls. She stood +thus for a moment, swaying breathless betwixt hope and fear, then, with +a low, joyous cry, sprang forward into her lover's arms. + +Welcome now the good cheer of Christmas-night! Welcome the +Christmas-pie, the pasty of venison, the pudding stuffed with plums, and +the flagon of old wine. Love is a brave appetizer when backed by long +fasting and a ten hours' ride, and Captain Breton brought all the vigor +of youth and happiness and of a noble hunger to bear upon the viands. +The glow of the cheerful room was infinitely comforting to the tired +traveller; the sight of Annis's happy face put fresh hope and courage in +his heart. He had much to tell of the gay court of France, and of the +royal exile, who should one day, God willing, sit on his father's +throne. Nor were there lacking adventures and dangers of his own to give +flavor to the narrative, nor plans for the future, colored with all the +happy confidence of youth. He had come home to win his bride, and to +carry her away to brighter scenes until this soured and gloomy England +should be merrie England once more. "He who would keep a light heart +within London walls," said he, "must needs be very sure of heaven, as +are Master Prynne and Master Philip Stubbes, or very much in love, as am +I. It lacks but a covered cart and a bell in every street to make one +feel the Black Death is upon us. If you can laugh in such an atmosphere +of melancholy, Annis, what will you do in France?" + +"Mayhap if I laugh enough in sober London I shall grow too giddy and +forward in foolish France," returned Annis, gayly; "unless----" + +"Unless what, dear heart?" + +"Unless while I am safe in Paris you are fighting the battles of the +king in England. Then tears will come easier than laughter, as in truth +they have done of late." + +"Wherever I may be, your prayers will prove my bulwark," said Captain +Breton, confidently. "It would take more than a silver bullet to find +its way to my heart while you are besieging heaven's doors in the +tumultuous fashion that only women can attain. I bear a charmed life as +long as you remember your petitions." + +Annis answered with a look, and Cicely, nestling by her mother's chair, +watched her sister with wide, serious eyes. To the child standing on the +threshold of womanhood the presence of love carries with it an +intoxicating flavor of mystery. It is something that fills her alike +with envy and a vague resentment, with wonder and an indefinable desire. +Its commonest expression is a perverse antipathy to one of the lovers, +with an irrational increase of affection for the other; and in this case +Captain Breton came in for his full share of Cicely's smothered anger +and disdain. He, meanwhile, in happy unconsciousness, chancing to meet +the brown eyes lifted dreamily to his own, and noting the upward curve +of the short, sweet lip, thought within himself that this elfish little +Cicely was growing almost as pretty as her sister--a judgment which +proves conclusively the blindness of love; for Annis, though fair and +comely to look upon, came no nearer to her young sister's beauty than +does the pink-tipped daisy to the half-opened rosebud uncurling slowly +in the sun. At present, the girl, seeing that she was watched, turned +away her head pettishly and eyed the leaping flames. + +"Annis said to-night there was but one thing lacking to her Christmas +cheer," she remarked, after a pause, and with the too evident intention +of saying something vexatious. + +"And that was I!" interposed the cavalier, with the ready assurance of a +lover. + +"It was not you at all," returned Cicely, "but the mistletoe. We +gathered the other greens ourselves, but there was no mistletoe to be +found within or without the gates of London." + +"By a happy chance we can proceed as though we had it," said Captain +Breton, contentedly, while Annis crimsoned like a rose. "It is a welcome +little plant, and carries a merry message; but if it be banished in +these saintly days, we obstinate sinners must kiss without its +sanction." + +"But the maid who is not kissed on Christmas-night beneath the mistletoe +will never be a wife during the coming year," persisted Cicely, who had +laid down her line of attack and was not to be driven therefrom. + +"Now, will you wager your ring or your new ear-drop on that, little +sister?" said the captain, laughing at the threat. "Or have you a +trinket that you value less to risk in such a cause?" + +Cicely, deeply affronted, puckered up her brow and drew closer to her +mother; but Annis, far too happy to be vexed, leaned over and kissed the +pouting lips. With her, joy meant thanksgiving, and her heart was +singing--singing the song of the angel of Judea: "In Excelsis Gloria!" + + + + +_A Norseman's Saga._ + + + "As he sat there with a sou'wester down over his ears, in a long + pilot coat, his figure appeared to assume quite supernatural + proportions, and you might almost imagine that you had one of the + old Vikings before you." + +_Asbjoernsen._ + + + + +THROND. + + +There was once a man named Alf, who had raised great expectations among +his fellow-parishioners because he excelled most of them both in the +work he accomplished and in the advice he gave. Now, when this man was +thirty years old, he went to live up the mountain, and cleared a piece +of land for farming, about fourteen miles from any settlement. Many +people wondered how he could endure thus depending on himself for +companionship, but they were still more astonished when, a few years +later, a young girl from the valley, and one, too, who had been the +gayest of the gay at all the social gatherings and dances of the parish, +was willing to share his solitude. + +This couple were called "the people in the wood," and the man was known +by the name of "Alf in the wood." People viewed him with inquisitive +eyes when they met him at church or at work, because they did not +understand him; but neither did he take the trouble to give them any +explanation of his conduct. His wife was only seen in the parish twice, +and on one of these occasions it was to present a child for baptism. + +This child was a son, and he was called Thrond. When he grew larger his +parents often talked about needing help, and, as they could not afford +to take a full-grown servant, they hired what they called "a half:" they +brought into their house a girl of fourteen, who took care of the boy +while the father and mother were busy in the field. + +This girl was not the brightest person in the world, and the boy soon +observed that his mother's words were easy to comprehend, but that it +was hard to get at the meaning of what Ragnhild said. He never talked +much with his father, and he was rather afraid of him, for the house had +to be kept very quiet when he was home. One Christmas Eve--they were +burning two candles on the table, and the father was drinking from a +white flask--the father took the boy up in his arms and set him on his +lap, looked him sternly in the eyes, and exclaimed,-- + +"Ugh, boy!" Then he added more gently,--"Why, you are not so much +afraid. Would you have the courage to listen to a story?" + +The boy made no reply, but he looked full in his father's face. His +father then told him about a man from Vaage, whose name was Blessom. +This man was in Copenhagen for the purpose of getting the king's verdict +in a law-suit he was engaged in, and he was detained so long that +Christmas eve overtook him there. Blessom was greatly annoyed at this, +and, as he was sauntering about the streets fancying himself at home, he +saw a very large man, in a white, short coat, walking in front of him. + +"How fast you are walking!" said Blessom. + +"I have a long distance to go in order to get home this evening," +replied the man. + +"Where are you going?" + +"To Vaage," answered the man, and walked on. + +"Why, that is very nice," said Blessom, "for that is where I am going, +too." + +"Well, then, you may ride with me, if you will stand on the runners of +my sledge," answered the man, and turned into a side street where his +horse was standing. + +He mounted his seat and looked over his shoulder at Blessom, who was +just getting on the runners. + +"You had better hold fast," said the stranger. + +Blessom did as he was told, and it was well he did, for their journey +was evidently not by land. + +"It seems to me that you are driving on the water," cried Blessom. + +"I am," said the man, and the spray whirled about them. + +But after a while it seemed to Blessom their course no longer lay on the +water. + +"It seems to me we are moving through the air," said he. + +"Yes, so we are," replied the stranger. + +But when they had gone still farther, Blessom thought he recognized the +parish they were driving through. + +"Is not this Vaage?" cried he. + +"Yes, now we are there," replied the stranger, and it seemed to Blessom +that they had gone pretty fast. + +"Thank you for the good ride," said he. + +"Thanks to yourself," replied the man, and added, as he whipped up his +horse, "Now you had better not look after me." + +"No, indeed," thought Blessom, and started over the hills for home. + +But just then so loud and terrible a crash was heard behind him that it +seemed as if the whole mountain must be tumbling down, and a bright +light was shed over the surrounding landscape; he looked round and +beheld the stranger in the white coat driving through the crackling +flames into the open mountain, which was yawning wide to receive him, +like some huge gate. Blessom felt somewhat strange in regard to his +travelling companion; and thought he would look in another direction; +but as he had turned his head so it remained, and never more could +Blossom get it straight again. + +The boy had never heard anything to equal this in all his life. He dared +not ask his father for more, but early the next morning he asked his +mother if she knew any stories. Yes, of course she did; but hers were +chiefly about princesses who were in captivity for seven years, until +the right prince came along. The boy believed that everything he heard +or read about took place close around him. + +He was about eight years old when the first stranger entered their door +one winter evening. He had black hair, and this was something Thrond had +never seen before. The stranger saluted them with a short +"Good-evening!" and came forward. Thrond grew frightened and sat down on +a cricket by the hearth. The mother asked the man to take a seat on the +bench along the wall; he did so, and then the mother could examine his +face more closely. + +"Dear me! is not this Knud the fiddler?" cried she. + +"Yes, to be sure it is. It has been a long time since I played at your +wedding." + +"Oh, yes; it is quite a while now. Have you been on a long journey?" + +"I have been playing for Christmas on the other side of the mountain. +But half-way down the slope I began to feel very badly, and I was +obliged to come in here to rest." + +The mother brought forward food for him; he sat down to the table, but +did not say "in the name of Jesus," as the boy had been accustomed to +hear. When he had finished eating, he got up from the table, and said,-- + +"Now I feel very comfortable; let me rest a little while." + +And he was allowed to rest on Thrond's bed. + +For Thrond a bed was made on the floor. As the boy lay there, he felt +cold on the side that was turned away from the fire, and that was the +left side. He discovered that it was because this side was exposed to +the chill night air; for he was lying out in the wood. How came he in +the wood? He got up and looked about him, and saw that there was fire +burning a long distance off, and that he was actually alone in the wood. +He longed to go home to the fire; but could not stir from the spot. Then +a great fear overcame him; for wild beasts might be roaming about, +trolls and ghosts might appear to him; he must get home to the fire; but +he could not stir from the spot. Then his terror grew, he strove with +all his might to gain self-control, and was at last able to cry, +"Mother," and then he awoke. + +"Dear child, you have had bad dreams," said she, and took him up. + +A shudder ran through him, and he glanced round. The stranger was gone, +and he dared not inquire after him. + +His mother appeared in her black dress, and started for the parish. She +came home with two new strangers, who also had black hair and who wore +flat caps. They did not say "in the name of Jesus," when they ate, and +they talked in low tones with the father. Afterwards the latter and they +went into the barn, and came out again with a large box, which the men +carried between them. They placed it on a sled, and said farewell. Then +the mother said,-- + +"Wait a little, and take with you the smaller box he brought here with +him." + +And she went in to get it. But one of the men said,-- + +"_He_ can have that," and he pointed at Thrond. + +"Use it as well as _he_ who is now lying _here_," added the other +stranger, pointing at the large box. + +Then they both laughed and went on. Thrond looked at the little box +which thus came into his possession. + +"What is there in it?" asked he. + +"Carry it in and find out," said the mother. + +He did as he was told, but his mother helped him open it. Then a great +joy lighted up his face, for he saw something very light and fine lying +there. + +"Take it up," said his mother. + +He put just one finger down on it, but quickly drew it back again in +great alarm. + +"It cries," said he. + +"Have courage," said his mother, and he grasped it with his whole hand +and drew it forth from the box. + +He weighed it and turned it round, he laughed and felt of it. + +"Dear me! what is it?" asked he, for it was as light as a toy. + +"It is a fiddle." + +This was the way that Thrond Alfson got his first violin. + +The father could play a little, and he taught the boy how to handle the +instrument; the mother could sing the tunes she remembered from her +dancing days, and these the boy learned, but soon began to make new ones +for himself. He played all the time he was not at his books; he played +until his father once told him he was fading away before his eyes. All +the boy had read and heard until that time was put into the fiddle. The +tender, delicate string was his mother; the one that lay close beside +it, and always accompanied his mother, was Ragnhild. The coarse string, +which he seldom ventured to play on, was his father. But of the last +solemn string he was half afraid, and he gave no name to it. When he +played a wrong note on the E string, it was the cat; but when he took a +wrong note on his father's string, it was the ox. The bow was Blessom, +who drove from Copenhagen to Vaage in one night. And every tune he +played represented something. The one containing the long solemn tones +was his mother in her black dress. The one that jerked and skipped was +like Moses, who stuttered and smote the rock with his staff. The one +that had to be played quietly, with the bow moving lightly over the +strings, was the hulder in yonder fog, calling together her cattle, +where no one but herself could see. + +But the music wafted him onward over the mountains, and a great yearning +took possession of his soul. One day, when his father told about a +little boy who had been playing at the fair and who had earned a great +deal of money, Thrond waited for his mother in the kitchen and asked her +softly if he could not go to the fair and play for people. + +"Whoever heard of such a thing!" said his mother; but she immediately +spoke to his father about it. + +"He will get out into the world soon enough," answered the father; and +he spoke in such a way that the mother did not ask again. + +Shortly after this, the father and mother were talking at table about +some new settlers who had recently moved up on the mountain and were +about to be married. They had no fiddler for the wedding, the father +said. + +"Could not I be the fiddler?" whispered the boy, when he was alone in +the kitchen once more with his mother. + +"What, a little boy like you?" said she; but she went out to the barn +where his father was and told him about it. + +"He has never been in the parish," she added; "he has never seen a +church." + +"I should not think you would ask about such things," said Alf; but +neither did he say anything more, and so the mother thought she had +permission. Consequently she went over to the new settlers and offered +the boy's services. + +"The way he plays," said she, "no little boy has ever played before;" +and the boy was to be allowed to come. + +What joy there was at home! Thrond played from morning until evening and +practised new tunes; at night he dreamed about them: they bore him far +over the hills, away to foreign lands, as though he were afloat on +sailing clouds. His mother made a new suit of clothes for him; but his +father would not take part in what was going on. + +The last night he did not sleep, but thought out a new tune about the +church which he had never seen. He was up early in the morning, and so +was his mother, in order to get him his breakfast, but he could not eat. +He put on his new clothes and took his fiddle in his hand, and it seemed +to him as though a bright light were glowing before his eyes. His mother +accompanied him out on the flag-stone, and stood watching him as he +ascended the slopes; it was the first time he had left home. + +His father got quietly out of bed, and walked to the window; he stood +there, following the boy with his eyes until he heard the mother out on +the flag-stone, then he went back to bed and was lying down when she +came in. + +She kept stirring about him, as if she wanted to relieve her mind of +something. And finally it came out,-- + +"I really think I must walk down to the church and see how things are +going." + +He made no reply, and therefore she considered the matter settled, +dressed herself, and started. + +It was a glorious, sunny day, the boy walked rapidly onward, he listened +to the song of the birds and saw the sun glittering among the foliage, +while he proceeded on his way, with his fiddle under his arm. And when +he reached the bride's house, he was still so occupied with his own +thoughts, that he observed neither the bridal splendor nor the +procession; he merely asked if they were about to start, and learned +that they were. He walked on in advance with his fiddle, and he played +the whole morning into it, and the tones he produced resounded through +the trees. + +"Will we soon see the church?" he asked over his shoulder. + +For a long time he received only "No" for an answer, but at last some +one said,-- + +"As soon as you reach that crag yonder, you will see it." + +He threw his newest tune into the fiddle, the bow danced on the strings, +and he kept his eyes fixed intently before him. There lay the parish +right in front of him! + +The first thing he saw was a little light mist, curling like smoke on +the opposite mountain side. His eyes wandered over the green meadow and +the large houses, with windows which glistened beneath the scorching +rays of the sun, like the glacier on a winter's day. The houses kept +increasing in size, the windows in number, and here on one side of him +lay the enormous red house, in front of which horses were tied; little +children were playing on a hill, dogs were sitting watching them. But +everywhere there penetrated a long, heavy tone, that shook him from head +to foot, and everything he saw seemed to vibrate with that tone. Then +suddenly he saw a large, straight house, with a tall, glittering staff +reaching up to the skies. And below, a hundred windows blazed, so that +the house seemed to be enveloped in flames. This must be the church, the +boy thought, and the music must come from it! Round about stood a vast +multitude of people, and they all looked alike! He put them forthwith +into relations with the church, and thus acquired a respect mingled with +awe for the smallest child he saw. + +"Now I must play," thought Thrond, and tried to do so. + +But what was this? The fiddle had no longer any sound in it. There must +be some defect in the strings; he examined, but could find none. + +"Then it must be because I do not press on hard enough," and he drew his +bow with a firmer hand; but the fiddle seemed as if it were cracked. + +He changed the tune that was meant to represent the church into +another, but with equally bad results; no music was produced, only +squeaking and wailing. He felt the cold sweat start out over his face; +he thought of all these wise people who were standing here and perhaps +laughing him to scorn, this boy who at home could play so beautifully, +but who here failed to bring out a single tone! + +"Thank God that mother is not here to see my shame!" said he softly to +himself, as he played among the people; but lo! there she stood, in her +black dress, and she shrank farther and farther away. + +At that moment he beheld far up on the spire the black-haired man who +had given him the fiddle. "Give it back to me," he now shouted, +laughing, and stretching out his arms, and the spire went up and down +with him, up and down. But the boy took the fiddle under one arm, +screaming, "You shall not have it!" and, turning, ran away from the +people, beyond the houses, onward through meadow and field, until his +strength forsook him, and then sank to the ground. + +There he lay for a long time, with his face toward the earth, and when +finally he looked round he saw and heard only God's infinite blue sky +that floated above him, with its everlasting sough. This was so terrible +to him that he had to turn his face to the ground again. When he raised +his head once more his eyes fell on his fiddle, which lay at his side. + +"This is all your fault!" shouted the boy, and seized the instrument +with the intention of dashing it to pieces, but hesitated as he looked +at it. + +"We have had many a happy hour together," said he, then paused. +Presently he said, "The strings must be severed, for they are +worthless." And he took out a knife and cut. "Oh!" cried the E string, +in a short, pained tone. The boy cut. "Oh!" wailed the next, but the boy +cut. "Oh!" said the third, mournfully; and he paused at the fourth. A +sharp pain seized him; that fourth string, to which he never dared give +a name, he did not cut. Now a feeling came over him that it was not the +fault of the strings that he was unable to play, and just then he saw +his mother walking slowly up the slope toward where he was lying, that +she might take him home with her. A greater fright than ever overcame +him; he held the fiddle by the severed strings, sprang to his feet, and +shouted down to her,-- + +"No, mother! I will not go home again until I can play what I have seen +to-day." + + + + +_Contributed by An Oriental Traveller._ + + "A great, long devil of a Spahi in his red burnous." + +_Daudet._ + + + + +CHRISTMAS IN THE DESERT. + + +I. + +It seemed all too good to be true: the rest from labor, the swift flight +across southern seas, the landing, amid strange, dark faces on a +burnished shore, the slow, delicious journey through tamarisk groves and +palm forests, and the halt in the Desert that came at last. + +I had been doing for the last twelve months what young artists and +authors are constantly doing, to their own ruin and the justifiable +ill-humor of critics, namely, working against the grain. A sweet, +generous, and beautiful Patroness, seeing me on the high road to brain +fever or hopeless mediocrity, stepped forward in time, and sent me to +the Desert. If ever I achieve anything excellent, it will be owing to +that lady, the Vittoria Colonna of her humble Michael Angelo. My little +sister Mary came with me, and, when I tell you that she was a teacher in +a school, you will easily understand what an intoxicating thing it was +for her to see a new world every day, and have nothing to do from +morning, till night. The poor child could hardly believe in an existence +without Czerny's scales being played on three or four pianos at once, +and a barrel organ and brass band in the street. "Oh, Tom!" she would +say to me, a dozen times a day, "I've got C scale and 'Wait for the +Wagon' on my brain, and can't get rid of them;" so that I verily believe +to my beautiful Vittoria Colonna Mary's present well-being is due as +much as my own. + +We halted at a little military station on the borders of the Great +Sahara, about a week before Christmas-day. The weather was perfect, and +not too warm. A delicious, mellow atmosphere enveloped palm, and plain, +and mosque; the air, blown across thousands and thousands of acres of +wild thyme and rosemary, refreshed us like wine: we seemed to have new +souls and new bodies given us, and were as free from care as the +swallows flying overhead. Travellers never came to Teschoun, as this +little oasis is called; but we had placed ourselves under the guidance +of an enterprising Frenchman, who transacted all sorts of business on +the road between Mascara and Fig-gig, the last French post in the +Desert. His name was Dominique, and I shall always look upon him as the +most remarkable man I ever knew. He was as witty as Sydney Smith, as +clever at expediences as Robinson Crusoe, as shrewd a politician as +Machiavelli, as apt at languages as Mezzofanti, and as brave as +Garibaldi. Being a bachelor, Dominique was none the less ready to +receive us, and, with the help of an old Corsican named Napoleon, made +us very comfortable. When Dominique was carrying His Imperial Majesty's +mails to some remote stations southward, or had gone to an Arab fair to +buy cattle, Napoleon catered for us and cooked for us, and did both +admirably. Both master and servant spiced their dishes plentifully with +that mother-wit, never seen in such perfection as in crude colonies +where people without it would fare so ill. + +"What are we to do for society for poor mademoiselle?" asked Dominique, +as he served our first dinner. "Monsieur can amuse himself with the +officers of the garrison, but there are no ladies here." + +"When my brother is out, I shall stay at home and talk to Napoleon," +Mary said, with a mock assumption of dignity. "I don't want to be +amused, Monsieur Dominique." + +"Mon Dieu, mademoiselle! the officers of the garrison will fall in love +with you, and that ought to amuse you better than talking to Napoleon," +Dominique answered. "It's a very dull life they lead here, these poor +officers; and if it weren't for hunting gazelles and hyenas, and +playing the deuce with the Arabs, they'd die of ennui; but a pretty +young lady like you will turn their heads soon enough." + +Mary blushed, and tried to turn the conversation. + +"What do they do with themselves all day long?" she asked. + +"I'll tell you that quickly enough, mademoiselle. M. le Commandant has +to see that the Cadi gets what he can out of the Sheiks, and the Sheiks +get what they can out of the tribes, and that the tribes hold their +tongue. That is what the Commandant has to do, young lady, and he does +it pretty well. M. le Capitaine has an easier time of it, except when +there is an insurrection, and then he makes a raid against the Arabs, +and after keeping his men out of their way very cleverly, sticks up the +French flag somewhere in the Desert and comes home. M. le Lieutenant +does odd jobs for the Commandant and the Capitaine, and plays the flute; +but we have got M. le General down here for a few days, and he is +setting everybody to work. I dare say the end of it will be an +expedition into the Desert. You may look, monsieur. I'm not talking at +random, I assure you; generals love war as umbrella-makers love bad +weather; and it is easier to make people fight than it is to make it +rain." + +"I think French officers must be a wicked set; I hope none of them will +come near us," Mary said. "The poor Arabs! how my heart bleeds for +them." + +"Tiens! mademoiselle, there is no reason for your heart to bleed. Big +flies live on little ones all the world over; and if the French eat up +the Arabs, the Arabs eat up each other. The officers are very nice, +harmless gentlemen, I assure you; and as to the Commandant, though he +thinks fighting the best fun in the world, he wouldn't hurt a fly. To +see him pet his little gazelle would make you cry. She's the only lady +in the place, and I believe, if she died, it would break his heart. But +people must have something to be fond of. My old Napoleon, yonder, has +taken a fancy to a cat, and when the cat dies, Napoleon will be as lost +as his namesake the Emperor was at St. Helena. Listen a moment; that's +the Lieutenant practising on his flute: he has a little lodging next +door." + +The Lieutenant played very prettily, and Mary seemed to like his playing +much better than Dominique's stories. As her room adjoined the +Lieutenant's, she seemed likely to have the full benefit of his musical +capacities; but I do not think she lay awake to be serenaded that night. +We were fairly intoxicated with the sweet air of the Desert we had been +breathing all day, and went to bed at eight o'clock, too tired and happy +to dream. + +Next morning Dominique informed us that he had himself delivered our +letter of introduction to M. le Commandant, who promised to wait upon us +in the course of the day. Not knowing at what hour we might expect him, +we set to work immediately after breakfast to prepare my room for the +reception of so distinguished a visitor. I helped Mary as well as I was +able, and, when nothing remained to do but the dusting, retired into a +recess to trim my beard. + +An Englishwoman is never so well dressed as when she emerges from her +bedroom at early morning; and I must say that Mary looked the daintiest +little housewife possible to conceive as she went about dusting and +polishing in a pink cambric dress and tiny black apron. But, neat as she +was, and neat as my beard and the room were in a fair way of becoming, +we were overwhelmed with surprise and confusion at what followed, for +quite suddenly the door was thrown open; there was a military tramp and +a rattling of a sword outside, and Dominique exclaimed, in a voice of +thunder, "M. le Commandant!" + +Impassible self-possession is a beautiful quality, and while Mary and I +stood blushing and aghast, like school children caught at stealing +cherries, M. le Commandant had made a courteous speech, welcoming us to +Teschoun. Then we all sat down, and M. le Commandant talked to us. He +was a sunburnt, soldierly man about fifty-five, with a rough manner but +a kind smile, and we felt at home with him in a moment. + +"I presume that monsieur wishes to see as much of the country as +possible," he said; "and I shall be enchanted to place at monsieur's +disposal horses, and my servant and a spahi as guides. But what will +mademoiselle do while her brother is away? I must send her my little +gazelle to play with her." + +"My sister will like to go with me where it is practicable," I said. + +The Commandant opened his eyes, and looked at Mary much as one looks +upon a pretty little duckling or a year-old baby. + +"Monsieur is evidently jesting," he answered. "Mademoiselle would be too +fatigued to undertake such journeys." + +"I don't think so," Mary said. "I have no fear, monsieur, and I like to +be with my brother." + +"Ah, what courage you English ladies have! Well, mademoiselle, we will +find you a quiet horse, and make everything as pleasant as possible." +And after inviting us to dine with him one evening, and bidding us to +make use of him in every possible way, he took leave of us. + +"How nice he is!" cried Mary, as soon as the door was closed; "if all +French officers were like this one, Tom, I think we shall not care how +long we stay in the Desert----" + +"Your heart has very quickly ceased to bleed for the poor Arabs, I see." + +"But how can we be sure that Dominique's stories are all true? No, Tom; +I won't believe any harm of this kind-looking Commandant. I only wish he +had not come till the room was tidied and I had got on a muslin frock, +but, as we are sure of having no more visitors, I'll finish your room +and then unpack." + +We were fairly at our work again, when another military step sounded, +and another sword rattled in the passage outside. This time Dominique's +arm swung back the door with less pomposity, and Dominique's voice was a +trifle less emphatic as he ushered in "M. le Capitaine." + +Again Mary and I scuttled about like young rabbits, and then stood +still, staring shyly, and again our embarrassment was met by the calmest +nonchalance. The second figure was a man of much more presence than the +Commandant. He had the polished, graceful ease of a man of the world, +and, though quite as good-natured as the Commandant, his good-nature +pleased us less, because it was less spontaneous. + +"I hope you will stay some time at Teschoun," he said, looking at Mary. +"The ennui of our lives here is terrible. Think of it, mademoiselle; we +have no theatre, no music, no society, and no domestic life. To find a +lady here is like the miraculous advent of an angel." Mary blushed, and +had no courage to make the sprightly answers she had made the +Commandant. + +The fine air and grand compliments of the Capitaine overcame the little +thing, but she looked distractingly pretty as she sat opposite to him, +smiling and blushing when he addressed her, and only saying, "Oui, +monsieur," or "Non, monsieur," or at most, "Vraiment, monsieur." + +"Does mademoiselle ride?" asked the gallant Capitaine. + +"Oui, monsieur." + +"Then mademoiselle shall ride my little barb; there is hardly such a +horse anywhere, mademoiselle, so docile, so sweet-tempered, and so +sure-footed. It is not every lady I would trust with my little horse; +but I know how an Englishwoman can sit in the saddle, and I am proud to +offer it to mademoiselle." + +"Je vous remercie bien, monsieur." + +Then the Capitaine talked of Christmas-day. + +"We will have a little fete-champetre in mademoiselle's honor," he said; +"we will go to the great water-falls of Boisel-Kebir and breakfast there. +I will invite my Commandant and all the officers of the garrison. +Monsieur can make a sketch and mademoiselle can gather flowers." + +We expressed ourselves delighted at the proposal, and, after promising +to send Mary ostrich eggs and jackal skins to take to England, the +Capitaine left us. + +"I don't like the Capitaine as well as the Commandant," Mary said; "but +how kind they all are to us! It is as if we were princes on a journey of +triumph. Oh, Tom! what days to remember are these!" + +"I think your head will be fairly turned, what with the Commandant's +dinners and the Capitaine's fetes-champetres," I said; "and if the +Lieutenant----" + +"M. le Lieutenant!" announced Dominique, opening the door calmly, as if +nothing was the matter. + +We had been twice so shocked and surprised that we had no more +embarrassment to expend on the Lieutenant. Indeed, he was rather shy +himself, which was the very thing to reassure a warm-hearted, +sympathetic little creature like my sister, and they began to talk +together without any effort. + +He was young and handsome, with a very frank, pleasant expression. + +"I am afraid that it is useless for me to offer my poor services," he +said, very modestly, "my superior officers having forestalled me; but it +will make me very happy to do anything for you. If mademoiselle would +like any stuffed birds, or dried flowers and plants, it will give me +pleasure to procure them for her; and perhaps monsieur would like me to +show him some wonderful things to paint. I draw a little myself, and +know where the finest points of view are to be found." + +We thanked him heartily, and accepted all that he offered us. As it was +now time for our second breakfast, or, more properly speaking, lunch, we +pressed him to partake of it with us, which he did. We should not have +ventured upon inviting the Commandant, much less the Capitaine, so +unceremoniously, but the Lieutenant's diffident manner had set us quite +at our ease. + +"I have a very humble apartment," he said; "but if monsieur and +mademoiselle will visit me, I will do the honors of it with pride and +pleasure. I can at least offer them a little music." + +"Yes, I know that you play," Mary said, smiling; "our rooms join, and I +heard you playing before I went to sleep last night." + +"Oh, mademoiselle! I shall never forgive myself if I disturbed you." + +"No, indeed, you did not, monsieur. Much as I liked the music, I was too +tired to listen to it, and went to sleep all the same." + +Then they both laughed gleefully, like children, and the Lieutenant +promised to play to her and send her to sleep every night. + +After breakfast he accompanied us on a tour of inspection. We soon saw +all that there was to see of Teschoun, namely, a little line of bazaars +kept by Jews and negroes, a little boulevard of a year's growth, two +imposing-looking gates,--one looking towards Morocco, one towards the +Sahara,--a straggling camp, and a wall of circumvallation. There were +gardens in embryo here and there, but no trees of any size, and not till +you had got fairly away from Teschoun could you perceive that its aspect +was striking or imposing. Then, looking back from the craggy heights +that surrounded it, the white line of the camp and the belt of verdure +encircling it like a ribbon, struck the eye as a pleasant contrast to +the warm, yellow atmosphere of earth and sky. The warmth and the +yellowness were delicious. A fresh, sweet breeze blew across our faces +from the Desert. We sat down and drew it in with long, devouring +breaths. + +A hundred yards behind us, his bright-brown body sharply outlined +against the pale, amber-colored sky, stood a little Bedouin smiling down +upon us. It was a perfect personification of Eastern life, and I made a +sketch, while the Lieutenant told Mary of his hard campaign southward, +and his joy at catching the first glimpse of Teschoun from the distance. + +When we returned home we found that the Commandant's servant had left a +bunch of roses for Mary, with his master's compliments; that the +Capitaine's servant had been sent round with his master's horse for her +to try, and that the General had sent word by his aide-de-camp that he +would himself have the pleasure of calling upon us that evening. + +Mary and I felt utterly overwhelmed by such goodness and condescension. +A real starred, laced General was about to call on us! We could hardly +believe that we were our identical, insignificant selves, who, but for +you, oh! most sweet and honored Patroness, would have sunk under the +burden of toil imposed upon us. But how all was changed! The poor, +unknown artist was treated as if he had been Sir Peter Paul Rubens; the +humble little school teacher was feted and flattered like the wife of a +conquering commander-in-chief. + +We had invited the young Lieutenant to drink tea with us at eight +o'clock, and were enjoying a little music after a very sociable fashion, +when a noisy excitement seemed to shake the house like a shock of an +earthquake, and M. le General was announced in Dominique's most +impressive manner. + +M. le General was by no means an awful-looking person; and, indeed, we +had so expended our surprise already, that we had no more at command. + +He was an excessively stout, merry person, middle-aged, of a beautiful +complexion, and a capacity to wink that would have vulgarized any one +else but a general. He made himself very pleasant, accepted a cup of +tea, praised Mary's French, said that he intended to dine with us at the +Commandant's to-morrow, and told us some laughable stories about the +Arabs. I noticed that the Lieutenant seemed quite overawed by the +presence of the General, and sat flute in hand, like a statue. Mary +tried to put him at his ease, but to no purpose. It did not mend matters +when the General began first to twit him about his musical +accomplishments, and then to catechise him on military matters. + +"You were in that affair of '59, in Kabylia, weren't you?" he asked, +in that quick, positive, military tone to which we with difficulty get +accustomed. + +[Illustration: My Little Sister Mary] + +"Oui, mon General." + +"It was a badly managed thing, I believe. The Kabyles got the better of +you more than once, didn't they?" + +"I believe so, mon General." + +"Bah!" cried the General, turning to me. "You see what these young +officers know of their trade. I have no doubt that Monsieur le +Lieutenant's musical education is much more advanced, and to serenade +mademoiselle suits him much better than to make war against the enemies +of his country." + +And, at the mention of the enemies of his country, the General indulged +in a wink. When he was ready to go, he sent the Lieutenant to order his +horse, much as if he had been a little boy of ten years old; and on +taking leave added half a dozen commissions in the same peremptory tone. +The poor Lieutenant listened very submissively, but no sooner had the +General dashed down the street, followed by his servant, equally well +mounted, than he grew gay and easy again. + +As soon as we were alone, Mary brought out her slender supply of gala +dresses, and we discussed the important subject of her toilet of the +next evening. + +"It seems to me," I said, "that if you dress for the Lieutenant, you +will displease the Capitaine; if you dress for the Capitaine, you will +displease the Commandant; and if you dress for the Commandant, you will +displease the General." + +Mary gathered up her fineries in alarm. "Don't you think I had better +stay away from the dinner altogether, Tom?" + +"By no means," I said; "settle the matter by dressing to please me." + +Which she accordingly did, and the result was a semi-moresque, dainty, +and glowing bit of costume quite in keeping with the time and place. + + +II. + +Precisely at seven o'clock we presented ourselves at the Commandant's, +Mary looking very pretty in her transparent white dress, brilliant sack +of Tunis silk, and necklets and bracelets of coral and palm-seeds. The +little thing had such loving, dark eyes, such a soft bloom on her +cheeks, and such a sweet mouth, that I could hardly blame the General +for wishing to have her sit beside him at dinner. The Commandant, being +a little shy, would have given up all his privileges as host, but the +General insisted upon the Commandant leading her in, and she sat +between the two. It was very mortifying for the Capitaine and the +Lieutenant; the former made an effort to be complimentary and +entertaining across the table, but the latter looked quite crestfallen, +and hardly raised his eyes from his plate. When we retired to the +drawing-room, matters went a little better. The tame gazelle was brought +in for Mademoiselle Marie to see; and while the General and the +Commandant had a long discussion on military affairs, the rest of us +sported with the pretty creature and made pleasant plans for the morrow. +Then an amusing game of cards was set on foot, over which we were +growing very merry, when up came the General and the Commandant. + +"Eh, bien!" said the General, slyly nudging the Capitaine. "We have not +been so engrossed, but we heard one or two pleasant things talked of. +Upon my word, Capitaine, I am half disposed not to go to Mascara till +after your picnic to the water-falls." + +"You will do my poor little fete great honor, mon General," answered the +Capitaine, adding, naively, "but I think that the wild geese flying +northwards means rain." + +"Not a bit of it. We shall have no rain until a fortnight after +Christmas. Mademoiselle Marie, I shall do myself the honor of offering +you one of my horses to ride." + +"Mademoiselle has already condescended to accept mine," the Capitaine +put in, with stiffness. + +"Mademoiselle Marie, this gentleman has no horse fit to carry a lady. +The brute he offers you has no more mouth than an elephant. Keep on the +safe side and ride mine, which is a lamb, I assure you, mademoiselle,--a +lamb." + +The General spoke in jest, but the Capitaine was very near losing his +temper. Mary being thus appealed to, thought to extricate herself from +the difficulty by declaring herself half afraid to ride either horse, +being an inexperienced horsewoman. But both the gentlemen had mules, and +both the gentlemen's mules were the best. Poor Mary colored, and looked +at me in despair. + +"I think," I said, "the safest plan will be for my sister to try the +horses, and see which suits her the best." + +Then the different routes to the water-falls were discussed, and the +different Douars or Arab villages where it would be best to have a +Diffa, or feast, provided,--Mary's judgment being asked in every +instance. All this time the Lieutenant had turned over the leaves of a +newspaper very meekly, and the Commandant had caressed his tame +gazelle. As soon as she could politely free herself, Mary went up to +him. + +"How pretty, and playful, and fond it is!" she said, stooping down to +stroke the little creature. The grave face of the Commandant brightened. + +"Yes; it would be very _triste_ here without the little thing." + +"Do you never go to France, monsieur?" + +"I shall perhaps go in two years' time; but you see, mademoiselle, that +is a long time to look forward to; and if my mother should not be +living, I might as well stay here." + +"Do you like fighting the Arabs in the Desert, then, monsieur?" + +"Mademoiselle, when one takes up the profession of arms, fighting and +exile are _choses entendues_. I often sigh for a settled, domestic life; +but I might have been worse off. I might have gone to Mexico, for +instance." + +The Commandant's manner was so simple, so manly, and so tinged with +sadness, that I think any woman would have sympathized with him as much +as my little sister Mary did. She, poor child, having lived all her life +in a school-room, was quite ready to make a hero of any man that smiled +kindly upon her; and here were four heroes, in handsome uniforms, all +smiling upon her at once! There was the sweet sense of youth drawing +her to the Lieutenant; but I think the Commandant stood next in her +favor, and she could not for a moment forget the courteous kindness of +the other two. + +"It must all be a dream, Tom," she said, as she gave me her good-night +kiss; "but, oh! if it is a dream, don't let me wake yet." + +We dreamed some wonderful things in the next few days. Dominique made us +get up, one morning, very early, and drove us in his little wooden gig +to an Arab encampment miles away in the Desert. It was dawn when we +started, and large, pale stars were shining in a violet sky; then, like +a gorgeous butterfly emerging from a dusky chrysalis, came the Eastern +day, and we felt as if living in a world warmed by a hundred suns. The +warm, intoxicating light took possession of our senses, and so sweet, so +rarefied, so indescribably delicious was the air, that it seemed to give +wings to our dull bodies. Every now and then we were overtaken by clouds +of locusts, their little wings glistening like diamonds against the soft +sky, or flocks of starlings darkened the air, or a serried line of wild +geese passed majestically overhead. Then we came to the tents, and at +our approach a dozen dogs rushed out to snap and snarl, and a hundred +little naked children scampered and scuttled across the way. A stately +Bedouin made us welcome, and, while Dominique transacted business with +him, his women gathered around us, chattering and grinning like +children. Then we were feasted upon cous-cous-sou and figs, and took +leave, after many "salamaleks." + +Another day we went out hunting gazelles, bivouacking along a riverside, +and feasting, Arab fashion, off a sheep roasted whole. Dominique had +found a pretty little French girl, daughter of a travelling farrier, to +act as Mary's handmaid; and she now felt less isolated among so many +men, and less shy, too. The poor child stood a fair chance of being +spoiled, what with suddenly finding herself transformed from a +school-room Cinderella to a fairy-tale princess, and having four lovers, +all heroes, at once. For it was impossible to deny that the General, the +Commandant, the Capitaine, and the Lieutenant all behaved like lovers, +presenting her with jackal skins, ostrich plumes and eggs, rare birds, +and other treasures of the Sahara. The General went so far as to give +her a little negro boy about ten years old, though this gift we had +accepted only temporarily, not quite knowing what to do with him when we +left Teschoun. + +Christmas-day came at last. Mary had artfully evaded the delicate point +about horses by declaring herself afraid of every one's beast but +Dominique's; accordingly, mounted on Dominique's ugly hack, she led the +way with the General, her long, bright hair flowing in curls over her +shoulders, her cheeks glowing with excitement. The pleasure and +picturesqueness of the last few days--for Mary had an artistic +perception of beauty--had brought out a new side to her character; and +she quite surprised me, from time to time, with her saucy humor and +quick repartee. + +We made a brilliant cavalcade, what with the uniforms of the officers, +and the richly embroidered saddles and bright-red burnouses of our +attendant spahis. After riding some miles across a monotonous tract of +stony desert, we came to a majestic sierra of crag, down which fell a +dozen water-falls, narrow and bright as sword-blades. A thin little +stream threaded the ravine, and on its banks grew clumps of the +tamarisk, the oleander, and the thuya, making an oasis grateful to the +eyes. Here we sat down and ate our Christmas breakfast, with stray +thoughts of village bells chiming at home, and school children lustily +singing their Christmas hymns. + +Our host, the Capitaine, had provided a sumptuous feast of Desert +fare,--roast quails and plovers, cous-cous-sou, figs, dates, and +bananas, with the addition of champagne; and we were very merry. + +"Mademoiselle," said the Capitaine, "think what our next Christmas will +be if you are not here. Persuade monsieur, your brother, to purchase +some land between Mascara and Teschoun, so that we shall not lose you +altogether." + +The General nudged the Commandant. + +"You see what our friend the Capitaine is dreaming of! Mon Capitaine, +your escadron is sure to be sent into the interior this spring; put all +romances out of your head, my dear fellow, and do not entice monsieur +into the committal of follies." + +"I am not the only one to entertain romances," said the Capitaine, +coolly. "You, mon General, did us all the honor to spend Christmas at +Teschoun. We can but attribute such a condescension to the gracious +influence of mademoiselle." + +"Look well after the Commandant when I am gone, gentlemen," continued +the General, looking round with a smile. "Matters are gone so far +already that he loses his temper if a fellow-officer but jests with him. +What a terrible slur it would be upon the glorious annals of +French-African conquest, if such a brave officer should show himself +fonder of stuffing birds for an English demoiselle than running swords +through ungrateful Arabs!" and the General looked round with a very +comical expression of mock horror. + +"Mademoiselle has indiscriminately accepted our tokens of homage," the +Commandant said, maliciously. + +"But it yet remains to be seen whose offering has been most acceptable +to her," went on the General, adding, _au grand serieux_, "we won't +resort to duels unless absolutely necessary." + +This sort of banter lasted so long that poor Mary's cheeks burned with +mixed vanity and mortification, and she made an excuse to leave us. + +"And what does our Lieutenant advise monsieur to do?" asked the +General,--"to settle here, or to follow his escadron to the Desert?" +Whereupon the poor Lieutenant colored, and said nothing. + +What an experience it was, that Christmas-day in the Desert! The noonday +sun seemed to dissolve in the warm atmosphere, and, instead of a single +orb shining overhead, large and golden, we had melted suns innumerable +about us, and almost lost the sense of corporeity in their charmed +medium. + +When the short bright day waned, and the large stars were coming out one +by one, we found ourselves near home; and when the heavens had turned to +bluish-black, and the stars to splendid silvery moons, we passed under +the gate of Teschoun, and saw our shadows, darker and deeper than real +things, fall across the white walls of mosque and fortress. For shadow +and substance lost their identity in the Desert and one is always on the +point of mistaking the one for the other: if anything, shadow is the +more real of the two. + +So absorbed was I in the suggestions of this mysterious beauty, that I +had forgotten all about my sister's lovers till we were fairly in our +little sitting-room. Then Mary began to sigh and blush, and to hint that +she thought we had better leave Teschoun very soon. + +"You see, Tom, dear," she said, with tears in her eyes, "the General +says he adores me, and the Commandant says he never loved any one in the +world until he saw me, and the Capitaine says that if I go away he will +blow his brains out, and what am I to do?" + +"And the Lieutenant,--what did he say?" + +"He says nothing," said Mary, looking down; "and,"--here came a +sob,--"and I like him best of all!" + +"But, if he does not declare the same liking for you, we must leave him +out of the question, and choose between the other three, I suppose." + +"He does not speak because he is too modest: I'm sure he likes me," Mary +added, still ready to cry. + +"His state of feeling does not help us much, unless expressed," I +replied. "Meantime, what am I to say to the General, the Commandant, +and the Capitaine, if they ask to marry you?" + +The little thing plucked at the folds of her riding-skirt in the +greatest perplexity. + +"I like the General and I like the Commandant, and I ought not to +dislike the Capitaine; but I cannot marry one without offending the +others; and, if I were to marry out here in the Desert, Tom, would you +stay, too?" + +We had been living in such utter fairy-land lately, that I felt as if it +were quite possible for me to marry some brown-skinned, soft-eyed +Rebecca, and turn Mahometan. But, in any case, could I desire for my +sister a happier fate than to marry one of these brave gentlemen, and +live in the sunny South all the rest of her days? She would be rescued +from a life of toil and friendlessness, and have another protector +besides her Bohemian of a brother. + +"My dear child," I said, "it would be impossible for me to say that our +lives should be spent together; but you may be quite sure that nothing +would utterly divide them. The chief point is, of all your lovers, whom +do you love?" + +To this question I could elicit no positive reply. Mary, in fact, was +half in love with the General and the Commandant, and wholly in love +with the Lieutenant, and was quite incapable of deciding her own fate. + +"You must not laugh at me," she said, simply, as we bade each other +good-night; "it is so new to me to have lovers, and so delightful, that +I wish I could go on forever being happy, and making them happy, without +marrying either." Then she blushed and ran off to bed. + +The next morning we were taking our early coffee, when we heard the +clatter of horses' feet, and, looking out, saw one of the General's +splendid, brown-skinned, red-cloaked spahis dashing into the town at a +furious rate. He pulled up at Dominique's door, and, letting his little +barb prance and rear at will, looked towards us, showing his white teeth +and waving a letter in one hand. + +I left my breakfast and ran down to him. We exchanged "salamaleks," and +then he put the letter in my hand, adding, in broken French, "Le +General,--envoyer cela,--va faire le guerre,--la-bas." Then he put spurs +to his horse's flanks, and dashed away as fast as he had come. + +I broke the seal of the General's letter, which ran as follows: + + "Monsieur,--This morning at daybreak I received telegraphic + information that a serious rising has taken place among the tribes + southward of Fig-gig, and I have resolved to march upon them + without delay. Judge, monsieur, how more than sorry I am to be + forced to quit the society of your charming sister and yourself + without making my adieux; but a soldier's duty forces him from the + consummation of his fondest desires, when such a consummation seems + close at hand, and I go, if not with joy, at least without + soldierly reluctance. I shall never forget, monsieur, this episode, + an oasis in the desert of my military life; and, while wishing for + mademoiselle and yourself all possible prosperity, I hope you will + remember Teschoun and the poor exiled officers there, who will + never think of you both without regret. + + "I feel it right, under the grave circumstances of the revolt, to + advise your speedy return to Mascara, and will order a trusty + escort to be in readiness for you when you shall require it. + + "Meantime, receive, monsieur, the expression of my utmost esteem. + +"De Marion." + +We were both of us talking over the astounding contents of the General's +letter, when Napoleon came in, full of news. The insurgents numbered +thousands, and there were skirmishing parties close to Teschoun. +Teschoun would be most likely besieged, as it had been more than once, +etc., etc. As the day wore on, the excitement increased. Little groups +of French or Jewish shopkeepers collected together and talked gravely, +Arabs walked about in stately fashion, smiling superciliously. In the +French camp it was the old story on a lesser scale: + + "And there was mounting in hot haste; the steed, + The mustering squadron, and the clattering car + Went pouring forward with impetuous speed." + +And so great was the need for hurry that we doubted whether we should +see either of our gallant hosts again. Late in the afternoon, however, +the Capitaine paid us a formal, sentimental visit, and after him came +the Commandant, who stood up before us, square and stiff, and stammered +out a word or two with tears in his kind eyes. Mary held out her little +hand; but he seemed overcome with shyness or sadness, or both, and +rushed away without having taken it. + +Last of all, when we had quite given him up, came the poor Lieutenant: +he had been busy on a hundred errands for his superior officers, and had +only five minutes to spare. We can never do anything with a few last +moments, and Mary and the Lieutenant had not a word to say to each +other, though I could see well enough what both would fain have said. + +So I quietly left them under the pretext of fetching a cigar, and when I +returned, at the close of the fifth minute, all that was necessary had +been said. We then embraced each other after the hearty French fashion. +Mary and the Lieutenant exchanged rings, and he went off to fight the +disaffected Arabs as happy as a king! + +It was a fine sight to see the troops march out of Teschoun. Color is +really color in the South, and the lines of blue zouaves and crimson +spahis against the mellow afternoon sky were vivid and picturesque +beyond description. + +On they went, arms flashing, drums beating, colors flying, till the last +column had turned the hill, and then evening came on all at once, and we +felt a dreary sense of disenchantment creeping over us. It was as if we +had been dreaming during the last few weeks, and now we were waked, +indeed! Dominique recalled us to ourselves with a cynical smile. + +"Bah!" he cries, "it's all play; let 'em pretend to put down +insurrection as often as they please. It is good for trade and +promotion, and the Arabs know how to defend themselves." + +But events falsified this sarcasm of Monsieur Dominique's, for the +insurrection proved serious, and it was months before we heard of our +Lieutenant. When we did hear, the news was good; and the news of him and +of his English wife--dowered by our Vittoria Colonna--has been good ever +since. + + +END OF BOOK I. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Yule-Log Glow, Book I, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE YULE-LOG GLOW, BOOK I *** + +***** This file should be named 18720.txt or 18720.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/7/2/18720/ + +Produced by Paul Ereaut, Jason Isbell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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