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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/6588-8.txt b/6588-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e28d1e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/6588-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21671 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Types of Children's Literature +by Edited by Walter Barnes + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Types of Children's Literature + +Author: Edited by Walter Barnes + +Release Date: September, 2004 [EBook #6588] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on December 29, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TYPES OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE *** + + + + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + +TYPES OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE + +A COLLECTION OF +THE WORLD'S BEST LITERATURE +FOR CHILDREN + +FOR USE IN COLLEGES, NORMAL SCHOOLS +AND LIBRARY SCHOOLS + + + +COLLECTED AND EDITED + +BY + +WALTER BARNES, A.M. + + + + +Application of the world's knowledge to the world's needs is the +guiding aim of this publishing house, and it is in conformity to this +aim that _Types of Children's Literature_ is published. There is +need of helpful direction for parents and teachers who wish to place +within reach of every child the beauty, wisdom, and knowledge stored +up in the world's best literature for children. The domain is so +vast, so rich, and so varied that a single volume which presents +specimens of all the different types for study and analysis by older +readers and for reading by the children themselves, may hope to make +easy and natural for children the entrance to the pleasant land of +books + + + + +PREFACE + + + +This collection of specimens of children's literature has evolved +itself naturally and, as it were, inevitably out of the editor's +experience in teaching classes in children's literature in normal +school and college, and it is published in the belief that other +teachers of this subject find the same need of such a book that the +editor has experienced. For it is obvious that if we are to conduct +classes in children's literature either for general culture or for +specific training of teachers, we must have specimens of children's +literature readily accessible to the students. We must bring students +to a knowledge and appreciation of any author, period, or type by +having them study representative selections, and this principle +applies as logically to courses in children's literature as to +courses in other kinds of literature. + +_Types of Children's Literature_ is intended to provide students +of the subject with a single-volume anthology of prose and poetry +illustrative of the different types, styles, interests, periods, +authors, etc., of writings for children. There are, of course, many +collections of specimens of children's literature; but they are all +made as reading books for children and, consequently, are +unsatisfactory, in some important respect or other, as source books. +Moreover, these collections are published in several volumes and +contain much that is mediocre and trivial. As far as the editor has +been able to discover, there is but a single one-volume collection, +and that collection, having been compiled solely for juvenile +readers, is impracticable as a text for college and normal school +classes. In teaching classes in children's literature the present +editor has had to use, as the only possible text, such sets of +literary readers as the _Heart of Oak_ series or such miniature +libraries as the ten-volume _The Children's Hour_ or the eight- +volume _Children's Classics_. This procedure has been both +expensive and inconvenient for teacher and students, besides not +supplying some of the material desirable in any symmetrical outline +of study. + +In compiling the book the editor kept in mind several guiding aims. +Foremost was the wish to include in the collection at least one +selection--and that a masterpiece--of each type and kind of +children's literature in the English language. The different species +of prose and poetry; the various kinds of stories, such as fables, +myths, and fairy stories; the fundamental forms of discourse, such as +narration, description, the sketch, the essay, the oration, letters-- +nearly all the molds, so to speak, into which the molten literary +stream has flowed all these types are represented by the choicest +specimens in the range of children's literature. + +A careful inspection of the selections in this volume will reveal the +rich variety of the material. Specimens are to be found of folk +literature and modern literature, of the romantic, of the realistic, +of the crude and naive, of the artistic and sophisticated, of the +humorous and the pathetic. The editor has tried to find specimens +presenting as many themes, as many interests, as many emotions as +possible, characteristic specimens of the most important authors for +children, of all the civilizations that have produced literatures +which have become a part of the English-speaking child's heritage. +The collection contains literature for the little child and +literature for the boy or girl in the early 'teens, and it ranges +from primitive times down to this present decade. Moreover, since a +considerable part of the body of children's literature is made up of +original selections made over for children, a few masterpieces of +translations, re-tellings, abridgments, and reproductions have been +included. + +The editor hopes that he has allotted a proportionate and equitable +amount of space and emphasis to each type, department, and section of +the collection. He had it in mind, at least, to give as many pages +over to poetry, for example, in proportion to prose, as many pages to +fairy stories, for example, in proportion to myths, as would indicate +roughly the average child's interests. If this proportion is not due +and just, as the editor sometimes fears, it is to be hoped that +critics will realize the web of difficulties in which such a task as +this is entangled. + +A word as to the classification and nomenclature. The editor realizes +that this is neither original nor accurate. It is certainly not +scientific, as the types overlap here and there, and the names are +based partly on form and partly on content. But classification and +class names were indispensable in a book of this nature, and it +seemed a better policy to employ the classification and the names +already firmly established in common use than to attempt to subject +to a new system of scientific terms that which is by nature not +amenable to scientific laws and scientific precision. The +classification appears only in the Contents; it does not stand forth +in the book itself. + +It should be said, further, that the order in which the different +types are placed in the book is more or less arbitrary, having been +determined largely by the succession in which children take them up +from year to year, beginning with the simpler forms and more childish +themes, and somewhat by the principle of similarity and contrast in +the types themselves. Needless to say, teachers will change the order +in which the species and specimens are studied in accordance with any +well-defined plan of their own. + +A distinct service has been rendered, the editor hopes, by presenting +the definitive and authoritative versions of all the selections +given. This has meant a painstaking reading of every line in every +selection and the collation with editions that are trustworthy. Every +student of children's literature knows that it has been almost +impossible to find exact readings, and that most selections have been +distorted and garbled to suit the purposes of editors. No changes +from the originals have here been made except to abridge in a few +instances where it seemed imperative in a book intended for reading +and discussion in classes of both sexes. The editions used and the +changes made are given in the Notes. + +The problems involved in selecting the best versions of certain +stories and the best translations from other languages have been +difficult. In general, the editor endeavored to choose the form which +seemed to have the highest literary value. In cases where two +translations seemed to possess equal merit, both are represented. + +Every specimen of literature in this collection is a complete unit or +is at least a section easily detached--like an Uncle Remus or an +Arabian Nights story--from its original setting. This principle +precluded the inclusion of extracts from such children's classics as +_Gulliver's Travels_, _Robinson Crusoe_, and _Treasure +Island_. No survey of children's literature is complete without an +examination of such books as these; but they can easily be supplied +in inexpensive editions and used as supplementary to this collection. + +It is evident that not every masterpiece of writing for children +could be included in this volume; but it is believed that no +selection has been included that is not a masterpiece. This belief is +based primarily on the fact that most of the specimens have been +chosen and approved by generation after generation of children, +culled out from the light and worthless as by an unerring hand, +through the most pragmatic of tests. + +The only distinct type of children's literature not represented in +this collection is the drama, which is omitted because the editor was +not able to find a dramatic unit that would satisfy the ideal he had +in mind: that it be dramatic, that it be literary, that it be brief, +yet complete within itself, and that it be an original selection, not +a dramatization of some classic. For a similar reason no story of +American Indian life was put into the collection, though this +exclusion does not mean the omission of a type of literature. A large +number of Indian stories, both of Indian folklore and myth, and of +adventures with Indians, were carefully read; but not one of them, in +the editor's opinion, came up to the standard of a masterpiece and +was, at the same time, brief enough to be practicable for this book. +Some undoubted masterpieces from literatures lying outside the +recognized circle of the American child's "culture"--such, for +example, as the Japanese folk stories--also have been omitted. Other +splendid specimens of juvenile literature, as stories from Kipling's +_Jungle Books_ and essays from Burroughs, have been omitted +because of copyright restrictions. + +No one realizes more clearly than does the editor of this collection +that no single book can include all the material that a class +studying children's literature should have before it. There are +dozens of children's books, for example, that a class should know or +know about. An appendix has therefore been placed at the end of this +collection, which lists the reading indispensable to a student of +children's literature. These books should be in the school library, +easily accessible to the students, and they should be considered as +an integral part of the body of children's literature. + +As a compendium of good literature for children it is hoped that this +book may interest parents and teachers, quite independently of the +fact that it was prepared for classes of young men and women studying +children's literature, and that it may be put into the hands of +children. + +There remains but the pleasant duty of acknowledging the advice and +encouragement received from many persons interested in this subject. +To the publishing houses who have granted permission to use +copyrighted material and to the Librarian of Congress thanks are due +for courtesies extended. To Mr. David Dale Johnson of West Virginia +University for collating; to Mr. Hunter Whiting for a great deal of +copying and collating; and especially to Professor Franklin T. Baker +of Teachers College, Columbia University, Professor James F. Hosic of +the Chicago Normal College, and Mr. John Cotton Dana of the Newark, +New Jersey, Free Public Library, for advice and criticism on the +manuscript,--to all of these the editor hereby expresses his +gratitude. + +W. B. +FAIRMONT, WEST VIRGINIA + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + + +BOOK ONE--POETRY + + +NURSERY JINGLES + +CHARACTER SKETCHES +Little Miss Muffet +Diddle, diddle, dumpling +Let's go to bed +Jack Sprat +There was a little girl + +SCENES AND INCIDENTS +Jack and Jill +Hickory, dickory, dock +There was an old woman +Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater +Little Jack Horner + +TALES +Old Mother Hubbard +Little Bo-peep +The Babes in the Woods + +NONSENSE AND HUMOROUS RHYMES +Old Dan Tucker +Old Man John +We're all in the dumps +I had a little horse + +SATIRES AND TAUNTS +Georgy-porgy +April fool +Johnny's mad +Cry, baby, cry +Tell-tale-tit + +TONGUE TWISTERS +Peter Piper +Swan swam over the sea + +COUNTING-OUT JINGLES +Ickity, pickity +One-ery, two-ery +Inty, minty +Intery, mintery + +GESTURE AND ACTION SONGS +Trit-trot +Hippity-hop +This little mouse +Here we go up, up, up + +RIDDLES +A Cherry +A Fodder Field, a Hog, and a Dog +Hens +A Churn +An Egg +A Star + +CATCHES +There, was a man who had no eyes +I am a gold lock +As I was going to St. Ives + +CHARMS AND SUPERSTITIONS +Star of light +Marble, marble, roll away +Honest and true +Come, butter, come +Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John +Mole on the neck + +WEATHER WISDOM +Rain before seven +Evening red +When the fog goes up the hill +When the bees all homeward fly + +AIDS TO MEMORY +One, two, three, four +Naught, one +In fourteen hundred and ninety-two +Thirty days hath September + +PROVERBS +Birds of a feather +He that would thrive +Little strokes +See a pin and pick it up +For every evil under the sun + +PEDDLER'S CRIES +Pease porridge hot +Hot-cross buns + + +SOME CHILDREN'S POETS + +WILLIAM BLAKE +Piping down the valleys wild +The Lamb +Laughing Song + +CHRISTINA ROSSETTI +The Wind +The City Mouse and the Garden Mouse +Lullaby +A Flint +The Sisters + +ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON +The Wind +Windy Nights +The Whole Duty of Children +My Bed Is a Boat +The Land of Counterpane +The Land of Storybooks + +LUCY LARCOM +If I Were a Sunbeam +The Rivulet +The Brown Thrush + +ANN AND JANE TAYLOR +Meddlesome Matty +The Violet +The Star +The Way to be Happy + +ISAAC WATTS +Against Idleness and Mischief +A Morning Song +A Cradle Hymn + +LEWIS CARROLL +Jabberwocky +You Are Old, Father William +The Walrus and the Carpenter + +EDWARD LEAR +There was an Old Man of the West +There was an Old Man with a beard +There was an Old Person of Dean +There was a Young Lady whose chin +There is a Young Lady whose nose +The Owl and the Pussy-Cat +The Jumblies + + +BALLADS + +POPULAR +Bonny Barbara Allan +Sir Patrick Spence +Robin Hood and Allin a Dale +Kinmont Willie + +MODERN +The Wreck of the Hesperus, _Longfellow_ +La Belle Dame sans Merci, _Keats_ +Lord Ullin's Daughter, _Campbell_ +Young Lochinvar, _Scott_ +How They Brought the Good News, _Browning_ +The Revenge, _Tennyson_ + + +LYRICS + +OUR COUNTRY +America, _Smith_ +My Native Land, _Scott_ +Columbus, _Miller_ +Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, _Hemans_ +Concord Hymn, _Emerson_ +Old Ironsides, _Holmes_ +O Captain! My Captain!, _Whitman_ + +LOVE LYRICS +To Lucasta, _Lovelace_ +She Walks in Beauty, _Byron_ +A Red, Red Rose, _Burns_ + +POEMS OF NATURE +The Greenwood Tree, _Shakespeare_ +A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea, _Cunningham_ +I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, _Wordsworth_ +The Rhodora, _Emerson_ +To the Fringed Genlian, _Bryant_ +The Eagle, _Tennyson_ +On the Grasshopper and Cricket, _Keats_ + +LESSONS FROM NATURE +To a Waterfowl, _Bryant_ +The Chambered Nautilus, _Holmes_ +The Bugle Song, _Tennyson_ + +SONGS OF LIFE +The Noble Nature, _Jonson_ +The Character of a Happy Life, _Wotton_ +Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth, _Clough_ +For A' That and A' That, _Burns_ +Invictus, _Henley_ +Opportunity, _Sill_ +A Psalm of Life, _Longfellow_ + + + +BOOK TWO + +PROSE + + +STORIES + +FABLES +The Dog and the Shadow, _Æsop_ +The Fox and the Grapes, _Æsop_ +The Hare and the Tortoise, _Æsop_ +The Shepherd's Boy, _Æsop_ +The Husbandman and the Stork, _Æsop_ +The Wind and the Sun, _Æsop_ +The Tortoise and the Geese, _Bidpai_ +The Partridge and the Crow, _Bidpai_ +The Fox and the Grapes, _La Fontaine_ +The Wolf and the Stork, _La Fontaine_ + + +FAIRY STORIES AND NURSERY TALES + +TRADITIONAL + +THE ACCUMULATIVE TALE +The Old Woman and Her Pig, _Jacobs_ + +THE ANIMAL STORY +The Three Little Pigs, _Jacobs_ + +THE NOODLE STORY +Hans in Luck, _Grimm_ + +THE HUMBLE HERO STORY +The Valiant Little Tailor, _Grimm_ +Cinderella, _Perrault_ +Whittington and His Cat, _Old Chapbook_ + +THE SYMBOLISTIC STORY +The Ugly Duckling, _Andersen_ +The Flax, _Andersen_ + +THE STORY OF HORROR +Blue Beard, _Perrault_ + +THE GIANT STORY +Jack and the Beanstalk, _Jacobs_ + +MISCELLANEOUS STORIES +The Elves, _Grimm_ +Te Frog-Prince, _Grimm_ +The Quern at the Bottom of the Sea, _Asbjørnsen_ + +THE NEGRO FOLK TALE +Brother Rabbit and Brother Bull-Frog, _Harris_ + + +MODERN +Brownie and the Cook, _Craik_ +The King of the Golden River, _Ruskin_ + +THE ORIENTAL WONDER STORY +The Story of Aladdin, Arabian Nights + + +MYTHS AND LEGENDS + +CLASSIC +The Gorgon's Head, _Hawthorne_ +Theseus, _Kingsley_ + +GERMANIC +Thor Goes a-Fishing, _Mabie_ +Baldur, _Keary-Morss_ + +THE HERO STORY +Sir William Wallace, _Scott_ + +THE REPRODUCTION +The Tempest, _Shakespeare-Lamb_ + +DIDACTIC STORIES +The Purple Jar, _Edgeworth_ +Difference and Agreement, _Aiken and Barbauld_ +Eyes and No Eyes, _Aiken and Barbauld_ + +ANIMAL SKETCHES AND STORIES +Rab and His Friends, _Brown_ +The Busy Blue Jay, _Miller_ +A Cry in the Night, _Long_ + +SELECTIONS FROM THE BIBLE +The Story of Joseph +The Story of Samson +David's Psalms: First, Nineteenth, Twenty-third +Christ's Sermon on the Mount +Paul's Discourse on Charity + + +OTHER PROSE FORMS + +LETTERS +Lewis Carroll to Miss Standen +Thomas Hood to Miss Elliot +Charles Dickens to Master Hughes + +ESSAYS +Traits of Indian Character, _Irving_ +Of Studies, _Bacon_ +The American Boy, _Roosevelt_ + +ORATIONS +Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, _Henry_ +Supposed Speech of John Adams, _Webster_ +Gettysburg Address, _Lincoln_ + + +APPENDIX + +NOTES + +INDEX TO AUTHORS, TITLES, AND THE FIRST LINES OF POEMS + + + + +TYPES OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE + + + +NURSERY JINGLES + + +Little Miss Muffet +Sat on a tuffet, + Eating of curds and whey; +Along came a spider +And sat down beside her, + Which frightened Miss Muffet away. + + * * * * * + +Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John +Went to bed with his stockings on; +One shoe off, the other shoe on, +Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John. + + * * * * * + +"Let's go to bed," +Says Sleepy-head; + "Let's stay awhile," says Slow; +"Put on the pot," +Says Greedy-sot, + "We'll sup before we go." + + * * * * * + +Jack Sprat could eat no fat, + His wife could eat no lean: +And so betwixt them both, you see, + They licked the platter clean. + + * * * * * + +There was a little girl, +And she had a little curl + Right in the middle of her forehead; +When she was good, +She was very, very good; + But when she was bad--she was horrid. + +[Footnote: Attributed to Longfellow.] + + * * * * * + +Jack and Jill went up the hill + To fetch a pail of water; +Jack fell down and broke his crown, + And Jill came tumbling after. + + * * * * * + +Hickory, dickory, dock, +The mouse ran up the clock. + The clock struck one, + And down he run, +Hickory, dickory, dock + + * * * * * + +There was an old woman who lived in a shoe; +She had so many children she didn't know what to do. +She gave them some broth without any bread, +And whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. + + * * * * * + +Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, +Had a wife and couldn't keep her. +He put her in a pumpkin shell, +And there he kept her very well. + + * * * * * + + Little Jack Horner + Sat in a corner, +Eating a Christmas pie: + He put in his thumb + And pulled out a plum +And said, "What a good boy am I!" + + * * * * * + +Old Mother Hubbard +Went to the cupboard + To get her poor dog a bone; +But when she got there, +The cupboard was bare, + And so the poor dog had none. + +She went to the baker's + To buy him some bread; +And when she came back, + The poor dog was dead. + +She went to the joiner's + To buy him a coffin; +And when she came back, + The doggy was laughin'. + +She went to the butcher's + To buy him some tripe; +And when she came back, + He was smoking his pipe. + +She went to the hatter's + To buy him a hat; +And when she came back, + He was feeding the cat. + +She went to the barber's + To buy him a wig; +And when she came back, + He was dancing a jig. + +She went to the tailor's + To buy him a coat; +And when she came back, + He was riding a goat. + +She went to the cobbler's + To buy him some shoes; +And when she came back, + He was reading the news. + + * * * * * + +Little Bo-peep +She lost her sheep, + And couldn't tell where to find them. +"Let them alone +And they'll come home, + Wagging their tails behind them." + +Little Bo-peep +Fell fast asleep + And dreamt she heard them bleating, +But when she awoke, +She found it a joke, + For still they all were fleeting. + +Then up she took +Her little crook, + Determined for to find them. + +She found them indeed, +But it made her heart bleed,-- + For they'd left their tails behind them. + + * * * * * + +My dear, do you know +A long time ago + Two poor little children, +Whose names I don't know, +Were taken away on a bright summer day +And left in the woods, as I've heard people say. + +And when it was night, +How sad was their plight! + The sun it went down +And the stars hid their light. +They sobbed and they sighed and sadly they cried, +Till the poor little things at last lay down and died. + +And when they were dead, +The robins so red + Brought beech and oak leaves +And over them spread. +And all the day long, the branches among, +They sang to them softly, and this was their song: +"Poor babes in the woods, poor babes in the woods, +Oh, who will come find the poor babes in the woods?" + + * * * * * + +Old Dan Tucker was a fine old man; +He washed his face in a frying pan, +He combed his hair with a wagon wheel, +And died with the toothache in his heel. + + * * * * * + +Old Man John sitting down by the spring; +He's a Jew, he's a ring, +He's a many pretty thing. +He's a hammer with nine nails, +He's a cat with nine tails. +Whip jack, spur Tom, +Blow the bellows for Old Man John. + + * * * * * + +We're all in the dumps, +For diamonds are trumps; +The kittens are gone to St. Paul's; +The babies are bit, +The moon's in a fit, +And the houses are built without walls. + + * * * * * + +I had a little horse, his name was Dapple Gray; +His legs were made of cornstalks, his body made of hay. +I saddled him and bridled him and rode him off to town; +Up came a puff of wind, and blew him up and down. +The saddle flew off, and I let go,-- +Now didn't my horse make a pretty little show? + + * * * * * + +Georgy-porgy, pudding and pie, +Kissed the girls and made them cry. +When the boys came out to play, +Georgy-porgy ran away. + + * * * * * + +April fool, go to school, +Sit on a two-legged stool. +Too wise you are, too wise you be; +You are not too wise for me. + + * * * * * + +Johnny's mad, and I am glad, + And I know what will please him: +A bottle of wine to make him shine, + And Mary Jones to squeeze him. + + * * * * * + +Cry, baby, cry, +Stick your finger in your eye +And tell your mother 'twasn't I. + + * * * * * + +Tell-tale-tit, +Your tongue shall be slit, +And all the dogs about the town +Shall have a little bit. + +Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, +A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. +If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, +Where is the peck of peppers Peter Piper picked? + + * * * * * + +Swan swam over the sea, + Swim, swan, swim; +Swan swam back again, + Well swum, swan. + + * * * * * + +Ickity, pickity, ally gadaw, +Dicks, do, ally gamaw, +Okus, pokus, pelly gaw, +Franz. + + * * * * * + +One-ery, two-ery, three-ery, thum, +Backsley, Billy, Nicholas, Bum, +One-a-tirry, Dick and Sirry, +Pot ban, riddle man, +Link, Pink, Sink. + + * * * * * + +Inly, minly, dibbity fig, +Delia, Dolia, dominig, +Otcha, potcha, dominotcha, +Ella Bella boo, + Out goes you. + + * * * * * + +Intery, mintery, cutery corn, +Apple seed and apple thorn, +Wire, brier, limber lock, +Three geese in a flock; +Along came Tod, +With his long rod, +And scared them all to Migly-wod. +One flew east, one flew west, +One flew over the cuckoo's nest.-- +Make your way home, Jack. + + * * * * * + +Trit-trot, trit-trot, + To buy a penny cake; +Home again, home again, + I met a black-snake. +Pick up a stone +And breaky backy-bone + Trit-trot, trit-trot +All the way home. + + * * * * * + +Hippity--hop to the barber shop, + To buy a stick of candy; +One for you, and one for me, + And one for Brother Andy. + + * * * * * + +This little mouse got caught in a trap, +And this little mouse she heard it snap, +This little mouse did loudly squeak out, +And this little mouse did run all about, +This little mouse said, "Do not bewail +And let us take hold and pull him out by the tail." + +[Footnote: Recited on the baby's fingers or toes.] + + * * * * * + +Here we go up, up, up, + Here we go down, down, down-y; +Here we go up, and here we go down, + And here we go round, round, round-y. + + * * * * * + +As I went through the garden gap, +Whom should I meet but Dick Red-cap,-- +A stick in his hand, +A stone in his throat,-- +If you'll tell me this riddle, +I'll give you a gold fiddle. + (A cherry) + + * * * * * + +One day I went to my whirly-whicker-whacker, (Fodder field) +I met bow-backer, (A hog) +I called Tom-tacker (A dog) +To drive bow-backer +Out of my whirly-whicker-whacker. + + * * * * * + +One day I went to Body-tot, +I met three ladies in a trot, +With green heads and yellow toes,-- +If you don't tell me this riddle I'll burn your nose. + (Hens) + + * * * * * + +Big at the bottom and little at the top, +A thing in the middle goes flippety-flop. + (A churn) + + * * * * * + +Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, +Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; +All the king's horses and all the king's men +Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. + (An egg) + + * * * * * + +I have a little sister, she's called Peep-peep; +She wades the waters deep, deep, deep; +She climbs the mountains high, high, high,-- +Poor little thing, she has but one eye. + (A star) + + * * * * * + +There was a man who had no eyes, +He went abroad to view the skies; +He saw a tree with apples on it, +He took no apples off, yet left no apples on it. + +(The man had _one_ eye, and the tree had _two_ apples on it.) + + * * * * * + +(The following catch depends upon the second child repeating the exact +words of the first, except that he changes "lock" to "key.") + +1. I am a gold lock. +2. I am a gold key. +1. I am a silver lock, +2. I am a silver key. +1. I am a brass lock, +2. I am a brass key. +1. I am a monk lock. +2. I am a monk-key. + + * * * * * + +As I was _going_ to St. Ives, +I _met_ a man with seven wives; +Each wife had seven sacks, +Each sack had seven cats, +Each sack had seven kits,-- +Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, +How many were _going_ to St. Ives? + + * * * * * + +Star of light, so bright, so bright, +'Tis the first star I've seen tonight; +I wish I may, I wish I might +Have the wish I wish tonight. + + * * * * * + +Marble, marble, roll away, + Go find your brother; +Marble, marble, come back home, + Bring me another. + +[Footnote: If you have lost a marble, take another marble and roll it +toward the place you lost the first one, repeating this charm. You +will find the lost one near the second marble.] + + * * * * * + +Honest and true, black and blue, +You may take your knife and cut me in two. + (An oath) + + * * * * * + +Come, butter, come, +Come, butter, come; +Johnny stands at the gate, +Waiting for a butter cake,-- +Come, butter, come. + + * * * * * + +Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John +Guard the bed that I lie on; +One to watch and one to pray, +And two to bear my soul away. + + * * * * * + +Mole on the neck, +Money by the peck. + + * * * * * + +Rain before seven, +Quit before eleven. + + * * * * * + +Evening red and morning gray +Sets the traveler on his way; +Evening gray and morning red, +Brings down rain upon his head. + + * * * * * + +When the fog goes up the hill, +Then the rain comes down by the mill. + + * * * * * + +When the bees all homeward fly, +Flowers will not long be dry. + + * * * * * + +1, 2, 3, 4, +Mary at the cottage door; +5, 6, 7, 8, +Eating cherries off a plate. + + * * * * * + +Naught, one, +Work is done; +Two, three, +Jubilee; +Four, five, +Ducks are alive; +Six, seven, +Stars shine up in heaven; +Eight, nine, +Queen, Queen Caroline, +Wash your face in turpentine, +Monkey-shine, monkey-shine, +Queen, Queen Caroline. + + * * * * * + +In fourteen hundred and ninety-two +Columbus sailed the ocean blue. + + * * * * * + +Thirty days hath September, +April, June, and November; +All the rest have thirty-one, +Excepting February alone, +Which has twenty-eight in line, +Till leap-year gives it twenty-nine. + + * * * * * + +Birds of a feather +Flock together. + + * * * * * + +He that would thrive +Must rise at five; +He that has thriven +May rise at seven. + + * * * * * + +Little strokes +Fell great oaks. + + * * * * * + +See a pin and pick it up, +All the day you'll have good luck. +See a pin and let it lay, +You'll have bad luck all the day. + + * * * * * + +For every evil under the sun, +There is a remedy, or there is none; +If there be one, try and find it, +If there be none, never mind it. + + * * * * * + +Pease porridge hot, + Pease porridge cold, +Pease porridge in the pot, + Nine days old. + +Some like it hot, + Some like it cold, +Some like it in the pot, + Nine days old. + + * * * * * + + Hot-cross buns, + Hot-cross buns, +One a penny, two a penny, + Hot-cross buns. + + Hot-cross buns, + Hot-cross buns, +If you have no daughters, + Give them to your sons. + + + + +SOME CHILDREN'S POETS + + + + +William Blake + + + +PIPING DOWN THE VALLEYS WILD + + +Piping down the valleys wild, + Piping songs of pleasant glee, +On a cloud I saw a child, + And he laughing said to me:-- + +"Pipe a song about a lamb:" + So I piped with merry cheer. +"Piper, pipe that song again:" + So I piped: he wept to hear. + +"Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe, + Sing thy songs of happy cheer!" +So I sang the same again, + While he wept with joy to hear. + +"Piper, sit thee down and write + In a book, that all may read--" +So he vanished from my sight; + And I plucked a hollow reed, + +And I made a rural pen, + And I stained the water clear, +And I wrote my happy songs + Every child may joy to hear. + + + +THE LAMB + + + Little lamb, who made thee? + Dost thou know who made thee, +Gave thee life and bade thee feed +By the stream and o'er the mead; +Gave thee clothing of delight, +Softest clothing, woolly, bright, +Gave thee such a tender voice, +Making all the vales rejoice? + Little lamb, who made thee? + Dost thou know who made thee? + + Little lamb, I'll tell thee; + Little lamb, I'll tell thee. +He is called by thy name, +For He calls himself a Lamb. +He is meek, and He is mild; +He became a little child. +I a child, and thou a lamb, +We are called by His name. + Little lamb, God bless thee! + Little lamb, God bless thee! + + + +LAUGHING SONG + + +When the green wood laughs with the voice of joy, +And the dimpling stream runs laughing by; +When the air does laugh with our merry wit, +And the green hill laughs with the noise of it; + +When the meadows laugh with lively green, +And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene; +When Mary, and Susan, and Emily +With their sweet round mouths sing, "Ha ha he!" + +When the painted birds laugh in the shade, +When our table with cherries and nuts is spread; +Come live, and be merry, and join with me, +To sing the sweet chorus of "Ha ha he!" + + + + +CHRISTINA ROSSETTI + + + +THE WIND + + +Who has seen the wind? + Neither you nor I +But when the leaves hang trembling + The wind is passing by. + +Who has seen the wind? + Neither you nor I +But when the trees bow down their heads + The wind is passing by. + + + +THE CITY MOUSE AND THE GARDEN MOUSE + + +The city mouse lives in a house;-- + The garden mouse lives in a bower, +He's friendly with the frogs and toads, + And sees the pretty plants in flower. +The city mouse eats bread and cheese;-- + The garden mouse eats what he can; +We will not grudge him seeds and stalks, + Poor little timid furry man. + + + +LULLABY + + + Lullaby, oh, lullaby! +Flowers are closed and lambs are sleeping; + Lullaby, oh, lullaby! +Stars are up, the moon is peeping; + Lullaby, oh, lullaby! +While the birds are silence keeping, + Lullaby, oh, lullaby! +Sleep, my baby, fall a-sleeping, + Lullaby, oh, lullaby! + + + +THE SISTERS + + +Sing me a song-- + What shall I sing?-- +Three merry sisters + Dancing in a ring, +Light and fleet upon their feet + As birds upon the wing. + +Tell me a tale-- + What shall I tell?-- +Two mournful sisters, + And a tolling knell, +Tolling ding and tolling dong, + Ding dong bell. + + + + +ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON + + + +THE WIND + + +I saw you toss the kites on high +And blow the birds about the sky; +And all around I heard you pass, +Like ladies' skirts across the grass-- + O wind, a-blowing all day long, + O wind, that sings so loud a song! + +I saw the different things you did, +But always you yourself you hid. +I felt you push, I heard you call, +I could not see yourself at all-- + O wind, a-blowing all day long, + O wind, that sings so loud a song! + +O you that are so strong and cold! +O blower, are you young or old? +Are you a beast of field and tree, +Or just a stronger child than me? + O wind, a-blowing all day long, + O wind, that sings so loud a song! + + + +WINDY NIGHTS + + +Whenever the moon and stars are set, + Whenever the wind is high, +All night long in the dark and wet, + A man goes riding by. +Late in the night when the fires are out, +Why does he gallop and gallop about? + +Whenever the trees are crying aloud, + And ships are tossed at sea, +By, on the highway, low and loud, + By at the gallop goes he; +By at the gallop he goes, and then +By he comes back at the gallop again. + + + +THE WHOLE DUTY OF CHILDREN + + +A child should always say what's true +And speak when he is spoken to, +And behave mannerly at table; +At least as far as he is able. + + + +MY BED IS A BOAT + + +My bed is like a little boat; + Nurse helps me in when I embark; +She girds me in my sailor's coat + And starts me in the dark. + +At night, I go on board and say + Good night to all my friends on shore; +I shut my eyes and sail away, + And see and hear no more. + +And sometimes things to bed I take, + As prudent sailors have to do; +Perhaps a slice of wedding cake, + Perhaps a toy or two. + +All night across the dark we steer; + But when the day returns at last, +Safe in my room, beside the pier, + I find my vessel fast. + + + +THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE + + +When I was sick and lay abed, +I had two pillows at my head, +And all my toys beside me lay +To keep me happy all the day. + +And sometimes for an hour or so +I watched my leaden soldiers go, +With different uniforms and drills, +Among the bedclothes, through the hills; + +And sometimes sent my ships in fleets +All up and down among the sheets; +Or brought my trees and houses out, +And planted cities all about. + +I was the giant great and still +That sits upon the pillow hill, +And sees before him, dale and plain, +The pleasant land of counterpane. + + + +THE LAND OF STORYBOOKS + + +At evening when the lamp is lit, +Around the fire my parents sit; +They sit at home and talk and sing, +And do not play at anything. + +Now, with my little gun, I crawl +All in the dark along the wall, +And follow round the forest track +Away behind the sofa back. + +There, in the night, where none can spy, +All in my hunter's camp I lie, +And play at books that I have read +Till it is time to go to bed. + +These are the hills, these are the woods, +These are my starry solitudes; +And there the river by whose brink +The roaring lions come to drink. + +I see the others far away +As if in firelit camp they lay, +And I, like to an Indian scout, +Around their party prowled about. + +So, when my nurse comes in for me, +Home I return across the sea, +And go to bed with backward looks +At my dear Land of Storybooks. + + + + +LUCY LARCOM + + + +IF I WERE A SUNBEAM + + +"If I were a sunbeam, + I know what I'd do; +I would seek white lilies, + Rainy woodlands through. +I would steal among them, + Softest light I'd shed, +Until every lily + Raised its drooping head. + +"If I were a sunbeam, + I know where I'd go; +Into lowliest hovels, + Dark with want and woe: +Till sad hearts looked upward, + I would shine and shine; +Then they'd think of heaven, + Their sweet home and mine." + +Art thou not a sunbeam, + Child, whose life is glad +With an inner radiance + Sunshine never had? +O, as God hath blessed thee, + Scatter rays divine! +For there is no sunbeam + But must die or shine. + + + +THE RIVULET + + + Run, little rivulet, run! + Summer is fairly begun. +Bear to the meadow the hymn of the pines, +And the echo that rings where the waterfall shines; + Run, little rivulet, run! + + Run, little rivulet, run! + Sing to the fields of the sun +That wavers in emerald, shimmers in gold, +Where you glide from your rocky ravine, crystal cold; + Run, little rivulet, run! + + Run, little rivulet, run! + Sing of the flowers, every one,-- +Of the delicate harebell and violet blue; +Of the red mountain rosebud, all dripping with dew; + Run, little rivulet, run! + + Run, little rivulet, run! + Carry the perfume you won +From the lily, that woke when the morning was gray, +To the white waiting moonbeam adrift on the bay; + Run, little rivulet, run! + + Run, little rivulet, run! + Stay not till summer is done! +Carry the city the mountain birds' glee; +Carry the joy of the hills to the sea; + Run, little rivulet, run! + + + +THE BROWN THRUSH + + +There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in the tree. +He's singing to me! He's singing to me! +And what does he say, little girl, little boy? +"Oh, the world's running over with joy! + Don't you hear? Don't you see? + Hush! Look! In my tree + I'm as happy as happy can be!" + +And the brown thrush keeps singing, "A nest do you see, +And five eggs, hid by me in the juniper tree? +Don't meddle! Don't touch! little girl, little boy, +Or the world will lose some of its joy! + Now I'm glad! now I'm free! + And I always shall be, + If you never bring sorrow to me." + +So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree, +To you and to me, to you and to me; +And he sings all the day, little girl, little boy, +"Oh, the world's running over with joy! + But long it won't be, + Don't you know? don't you see? + Unless we are as good as can be!" + + + + +ANN AND JANE TAYLOR + + + +MEDDLESOME MATTY + + +One ugly trick has often spoiled + The sweetest and the best: +Matilda, though a pleasant child, + One grievous fault possessed, +Which, like a cloud before the skies, +Hid all her better qualities. + +Sometimes she'd lift the teapot lid + To peep at what was in it; +Or tilt the kettle, if you did + But turn your back a minute. +In vain you told her not to touch, +Her trick of meddling grew so much. + +Her grandmamma went out one day + And by mistake she laid +Her spectacles and snuffbox gay + Too near the little maid. +"Ah! well," thought she, "I'll try them on +As soon as grandmamma is gone." + +Forthwith she placed upon her nose + The glasses large and wide; +And looking round, as I suppose, + The snuffbox too she spied: +"Oh! what a pretty box is that; +I'll open it," said little Matt. + +"I know that grandmamma would say, + 'Don't meddle with it, dear'; +But then, she's far enough away, + And no one else is near. +Besides, what can there be amiss +In opening such a box as this?" + +So thumb and finger went to work + To move the stubborn lid, +And presently a mighty jerk + The mighty mischief did; +For all at once, ah! woeful case. +The snuff came puffing in her face. + +Poor eyes and nose and mouth, beside, + A dismal sight presented; +In vain, as bitterly she cried, + Her folly she repented; +In vain she ran about for ease, +She could do nothing now but sneeze. + +She dashed the spectacles away + To wipe her tingling eyes, +And as in twenty bits they lay, + Her grandmamma she spies. +"Heyday! and what's the matter now?" +Says grandmamma with lifted brow. + +Matilda, smarting with the pain, + And tingling still, and sore, +Made many a promise to refrain + From meddling evermore. +And 'tis a fact, as I have heard, +She ever since has kept her word. + + + +THE VIOLET + + +Down in a green and shady bed + A modest violet grew, +Its stalk was bent, it hung its head, + As if to hide from view. + +And yet it was a lovely flower, + Its color bright and fair; +It might have graced a rosy bower + Instead of hiding there. + +Yet there it was content to bloom, + In modest tints arrayed; +And there diffused a sweet perfume + Within the silent shade.-- + +Then let me to the valley go + This pretty flower to see, +That I may also learn to grow + In sweet humility. + + + +THE STAR + + +Twinkle, twinkle, little star, +How I wonder what you are! +Up above the world so high, +Like a diamond in the sky. + +When the blazing sun is gone, +When he nothing shines upon, +Then you show your little light, +Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. + +Then the traveler in the dark, +Thanks you for your tiny spark! +He could not see which way to go, +If you did not twinkle so. + +In the dark blue sky you keep, +And often through my curtains peep, +For you never shut your eye +Till the sun is in the sky. + +As your bright and tiny spark +Lights the traveler in the dark, +Though I know not what you are, +Twinkle, twinkle, little star. + + + +THE WAY TO BE HAPPY + + +How pleasant it is at the end of the day, +No follies to have to repent, + +But reflect on the past and be able to say, +My time has been properly spent! + +When I've done all my business with patience and care, +And been good, and obliging, and kind, +I lie on my pillow and sleep away there, +With a happy and peaceable mind. + +Instead of all this, if it must be confest, +That I careless and idle have been, +I lie down as usual, and go to my rest, +But feel discontented within. + +Then as I dislike all the trouble I've had, +In future I'll try to prevent it, +For I never am naughty without being sad, +Or good--without being contented. + + + + +ISAAC WATTS + + + +AGAINST IDLENESS AND MISCHIEF + + +How doth the little busy bee + Improve each shining hour, +And gather honey all the day + From every opening flower! + +How skillfully she builds her cell! + How neat she spreads her wax! +And labors hard to store it well + With the sweet food she makes. + +In works of labor or of skill, + I would be busy too; +For Satan finds some mischief still + For idle hands to do. + +In books, or work, or healthful play, + Let my first years be past, +That I may give for every day + Some good account at last. + + + +A MORNING SONG + + +My God, who makes the sun to know + His proper hour to rise, +And to give light to all below, + Doth send him round the skies. + +When from the chambers of the east + His morning race begins, +He never tires, nor stops to rest, + But round the world he shines. + +So, like the sun, would I fulfill + The business of the day: +Begin my work betimes, and still + March on my heavenly way. + +Give me, O Lord, thy early grace, + Nor let my soul complain +That the young morning of my days + Has all been spent in vain. + + + + +A CRADLE HYMN + + +Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber! + Holy angels guard thybed! +Heavenly blessings without number + Gently falling on thy head. + +Sleep, my babe; thy food and raiment, + House and home, thy friends provide; +All without thy care or payment, + All thy wants are well supplied. + +How much better thou'rt attended + Than the Son of God could be, +When from heaven He descended, + And became a child like thee! + +Soft and easy is thy cradle; + Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay, +When His birthplace was a stable, + And His softest bed was hay. + +Lo, He slumbers in His manger, + Where the horned oxen fed; +Peace, my darling, here's no danger, + Here's no ox a-near thy bed. + +Mayst thou live to know and fear Him, + Trust and love Him all thy days; +Then go dwell forever near Him, + See His face, and sing His praise! + + + + +LEWIS CARROLL + + + +JABBERWOCKY + + +'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves + Did gyre and gimbel in the wabe: +All mimsy were the borogoves, + And the mome raths outgrabe. + +"Beware the Jabberwock, my son! + The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! +Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun + The frumious Bandersnatch!" + +He took his vorpal sword in hand: + Long time the manxome foe he sought-- +So rested he by the Tumtum tree, + And stood awhile in thought. + +And as in uffish thought he stood, + The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, +Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, + And burbled as it came! + +One, two! One, two! And through and through + The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! +He left it dead, and with its head + He went galumphing back. + +"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? + Come to my arms, my beamish boy! +O Frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" + He chortled in his joy. + +'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves + Did gyre and gimbel in the wabe: +All mimsy were the borogoves, + And the mome raths outgrabe. + + + +YOU ARE OLD, FATHER WILLIAM + + +"You are old, father William," the young man said + "And your hair has become very white; +And yet you incessantly stand on your head-- + Do you think, at your age, it is right?" + +"In my youth," father William replied to his son, + "I feared it might injure the brain; +But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, + Why, I do it again and again." + +"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, + And have grown most uncommonly fat; +Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door-- + Pray, what is the reason of that?" + +"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his gray locks, + "I kept all my limbs very supple +By the use of this ointment--one shilling the box-- + Allow me to sell you a couple?" + +"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak + For anything tougher than suet; +Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak-- + Pray, how did you manage to do it?" + +"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, + And argued each case with my wife; +And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw + Has lasted the rest of my life." + +"You are old," said the youth; "one would hardly suppose + That your eye was as steady as ever; +Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose-- + What made you so awfully clever?" + +"I have answered three questions, and that is enough," + Said his father; "don't give yourself airs! +Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? + Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!" + + + +THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER + + +The sun was shining on the sea, + Shining with all his might; +He did his very best to make + The billows smooth and bright-- +And this was odd, because it was + The middle of the night. + +The moon was shining sulkily, + Because she thought the sun +Had got no business to be there + After the day was done-- +"It's very rude of him," she said, + "To come and spoil the fun!" + +The sea was wet as wet could be, + The sands were dry as dry. +You could not see a cloud, because + No cloud was in the sky; +No birds were flying overhead-- + There were no birds to fly. + +The Walrus and the Carpenter + Were walking close at hand; +They wept like anything to see + Such quantities of sand-- +"If this were only cleared away," + They said, "it would be grand!" + +"If seven maids with seven mops + Swept it for half a year, +Do you suppose," the Walrus said, + "That they could get it clear?" +"I doubt it," said the Carpenter, + And shed a bitter tear. + +"O Oysters, come and walk with us!" + The Walrus did beseech. +"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, + Along the briny beach; +We cannot do with more than four, + To give a hand to each." + +The eldest Oyster looked at him, + But never a word he said; +The eldest Oyster winked his eye, + And shook his heavy head-- +Meaning to say he did not choose + To leave the Oyster bed. + +But four young Oysters hurried up, + All eager for the treat; +Their coats were brushed, their faces washed, + Their shoes were clean and neat-- +And this was odd, because, you know, + They hadn't any feet. + +Four other Oysters followed them, + And yet another four; +And thick and fast they came at last, + And more, and more, and more-- +All hopping through the frothy waves, + And scrambling to the shore. + +The Walrus and the Carpenter + Walked on a mile or so, +And then they rested on a rock + Conveniently low-- +And all the little Oysters stood + And waited in a row. + +"The time has come," the Walrus said, + "To talk of many things: +Of shoes--and ships--and sealing wax-- + Of cabbages--and kings-- +And why the sea is boiling hot-- + And whether pigs have wings." + +"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried, + "Before we have our chat; +For some of us are out of breath, + And all of us are fat!" +"No hurry!" said the Carpenter. + They thanked him much for that. + +"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said, + "Is what we chiefly need; +Pepper and vinegar besides + Are very good indeed-- +Now if you're ready, Oysters dear, + We can begin to feed." + +"But not on us!" the Oysters cried, + Turning a little blue. +"After such kindness, that would be + A dismal thing to do!" +"The night is fine!" the Walrus said. + "Do you admire the view? + +"It was so kind of you to come! + And you are very nice!" +The Carpenter said nothing but, + "Cut us another slice. +I wish you were not quite so deaf-- + I've had to ask you twice!" + +"It seems a shame," the Walrus said. + "To play them such a trick, +After we've brought them out so far, + And made them trot so quick!" +The Carpenter said nothing but, + "The butter's spread too thick!" + +"I weep for you," the Walrus said; + "I deeply sympathize." +With sobs and tears he sorted out + Those of the largest size, +Holding his pocket handkerchief + Before his streaming eyes. + +"O Oysters", said the Carpenter, + "You've had a pleasant run! +Shall we be trotting home again?" + But answer came there none-- +And this was scarcely odd, because + They'd eaten every one. + + + + +EDWARD LEAR + + +There was an Old Man of the West, +Who never could get any rest; +So they set him to spin on his nose and his chin. +Which cured that Old Man of the West. + + * * * * * + +There was an Old Man with a beard, +Who said, "It is just as I feared!-- +Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren, +Have all built their nests in my beard!" + + * * * * * + +There was an Old Person of Dean, +Who dined on one pea and one bean; +For he said, "More than that would make me too fat," +That cautious Old Person of Dean. + + * * * * * + +There was a Young Lady whose chin +Resembled the point of a pin; +So she had it made sharp, and purchased a harp, +And played several tunes with her chin. + + * * * * * + +There is a Young Lady whose nose +Continually prospers and grows; +When it grew out of sight, she exclaimed in a fright, +"Oh! Farewell to the end of my nose!" + + + +THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT + + +The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea + In a beautiful pea-green boat: +They took some honey, and plenty of money + Wrapped up in a five-pound note. +The Owl looked up to the stars above, + And sang to a small guitar, +"O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love, +What a beautiful Pussy you are, + You are, + You are! +What a beautiful Pussy you are!" + +Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl, + How charmingly sweet you sing! +Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried: + But what shall we do for a ring?" +They sailed away, for a year and a day, + To the land where the bong-tree grows; +And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood, + With a ring at the end of his nose, + His nose, + His nose, +With a ring at the end of his nose. + +"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling + Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will." +So they took it away, and were married next day + By the turkey who lives on the hill. +They dined on mince and slices of quince, + Which they ate with a runcible spoon; +And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, + They danced by the light of the moon, + The moon, + The moon, +They danced by the light of the moon. + + + +THE JUMBLIES + + +They went to sea in a sieve, they did; + In a sieve they went to sea: +In spite of all their friends could say, +On a winter's morn, on a stormy day, + In a sieve they went to sea. +And when the sieve turned round and round, +And every one cried, "You'll all be drowned!" +They called aloud, "Our sieve ain't big; +But we don't care a button, we don't care a fig: + In a sieve we'll go to sea!" + + Far and few, far and few, + Are the lands where the Jumblies live: + Their heads are green, and their hands are blue; + And they went to sea in a sieve. + +They sailed away in a sieve, they did, + In a sieve they sailed so fast, +With only a beautiful pea-green veil +Tied with a ribbon, by way of a sail, + To a small tobacco-pipe mast. +And every one said who saw them go, + "Oh! won't they be soon upset, you know? +For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long; +And happen what may, it's extremely wrong + In a sieve to sail so fast." + + Far and few, far and few, + Are the lands where the Jumblies live: + Their heads are green, and their hands are blue; + And they went to sea in a sieve. + +The water it soon came in, it did; + The water it soon came in: +So, to keep them dry, they wrapped their feet +In a pinky paper all folded neat; + And they fastened it down with a pin. +And they passed the night in a crockery-jar; +And each of them said, "How wise we are! +Though the night be dark, and the voyage be long, +Yet we never can think we were rash or wrong, + While round in our sieve we spin." + + Far and few, far and few, + Are the lands where the Jumblies live: + Their heads are green, and their hands are blue; + And they went to sea in a sieve. + +And all night long they sailed away; + And when the sun went down, +They whistled and warbled a moony song +To the echoing sound of a coppery gong, + In the shade of the mountains brown. +"O Timballo! How happy we are +When we live in a sieve and a crockery jar! +And all night long, in the moonlight pale, +We sail away with a pea-green sail + In the shade of the mountains brown." + + Far and few, far and few, + Are the lands where the Jumblies live: + Their heads are green, and their hands are blue; + And they went to sea in a sieve. + +They sailed to the Western Sea, they did,-- + To a land all covered with trees: +And they bought an owl, and a useful cart, +And a pound of rice, and a cranberry tart, + And a hive of silvery bees; +And they bought a pig, and some green jackdaws, +And a lovely monkey with lollipop paws, +And forty bottles of ring-bo-ree, + And no end of Stilton cheese. + + Far and few, far and few, + Are the lands where the Jumblies live: + Their heads are green, and their hands are blue; + And they went to sea in a sieve. + +And in twenty years they all came back,-- + In twenty years or more; +And every one said, "How tall they've grown! +For they've been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone, + And the hills of the Chankly Bore." +And they drank their health, and gave them a feast +Of dumplings made of beautiful yeast; +And every one said, "If we only live, +We, too, will go to sea in a sieve, + To the hills of the Chankly Bore." + + Far and few, far and few, + Are the lands where the Jumblies live: + Their heads are green, and their hands are blue; + And they went to sea in a sieve. + + + + + +BALLADS + + + + +POPULAR + + + +BONNY BARBARA ALLAN + + +It was in and about the Martinmas time, + When the green leaves were a-falling, +That Sir John Graeme, in the West Country, + Fell in love with Barbara Allan. + +He sent his man down through the town, + To the place where she was dwelling: +"O haste and come to my master dear, + Gin ye be Barbara Allan." + +O hooly, hooly rose she up, + To the place where he was lying, +And when she drew the curtain by: + "Young man, I think you're dying." + +"O it's I'm sick, and very, very sick, + And 'tis a' for Barabara Allan"; +"O the better for me ye's never be, + Tho your heart's blood were a-spilling. + +"Do you remember the other day, + When we were at the tavern drinking, +You drank a health to the ladies all, + And you slighted Barbara Allan?" + +"Yes, I remember the other day, + When we were at the tavern drinking, +I drank a health to the ladies all, + And three to Barbara Allan." + +"Do you remember the other night, + When we were at the ballroom dancing, +You gave your hand to the ladies all, + And slighted Barbara Allan?" + +"Yes, I remember the other night, + When we were at the ballroom dancing, +I gave my hand to the ladies all, + And my heart to Barbara Allan." + +He turned his face unto the wall, + And death was with him dealing: +"Adieu, adieu, my dear friends all. + And be kind to Barbara Allan." + +And slowly, slowly raise she up, + And slowly, slowly left him, +And, sighing, said she could not stay, + Since death of life had reft him. + +She had not gane a mile but twa, + When she heard the dead-bell ringing, +And every jow that the dead-bell geid, + It cry'd, "Woe to Barbara Allan." + +"O mother, mother, make my bed! + O make it saft and narrow! +Since my love died for me today, + I'll die for him tomorrow." + + + +SIR PATRICK SPENCE + + +The king sits in Dunferling toune, + Drinking the blude-reid wine; +"O whar will I get a guid sailór + To sail this schip of mine?" + +Up and spak an eldern knicht, + Sat at the king's richt kne: +"Sir Patrick Spence is the best sailór, + That sails upon the se." + +The king has written a braid letter, + And signd it wi' his hand; +And sent it to Sir Patrick Spence, + Was walking on the sand. + +The first line that Sir Patrick red, + A loud lauch lauchéd he; +The next line that Sir Patrick red. + The teir blinded his ee. + +"O wha is this has don this deid, + This ill deid don to me, +To send me out this time o' the yeir, + To sail upon the se! + +"Mak haste, mak haste, my mirry men all, + Our guid schip sails the morne." +"O say na sae, my master deir, + For I feir a deadlie storme. + +"Late late yestreen I saw the new moone, + Wi' the auld moone in his arme, +And I feir, I feir, my deir mastèr, + That we will com to harme." + +O our Scots nobles wer richt laith + To weet their cork-heild schoone; +Bot lang owre a' the play wer playd, + Thair hats they swam aboone. + +O lang, lang may their ladies sit, + Wi' thair fans into their hand, +Or eir they se Sir Patrick Spence + Cum sailing to the land. + +O lang, lang may the ladies stand, + Wi' thair gold kerns in their hair, +Waiting for thair ain deir lords, + For they'll se thame na mair. + +Half owre, half owre to Aberdour, + It's fiftie fadom deip, +And thair lies guid Sir Patrick Spence, + Wi' the Scots lords at his feit. + + + +ROBIN HOOD AND ALLIN A DALE + + +Come listen to me, you gallants so free, + All you that loves mirth for to hear, +And I will tell you of a bold outlaw, + That lived in Nottinghamshire. + +As Robin Hood in the forest stood, + All under the greenwood tree, +There was he ware of a brave young man, + As fine as fine might be. + +The youngster was clothed in scarlet red, + In scarlet fine and gay; +And he did frisk it over the plain, + And chanted a roundelay. + +As Robin Hood next morning stood, + Amongst the leaves so gay, +There did he espy the same young man + Come drooping along the way. + +The scarlet he wore the day before, + It was clean cast away; +And at every step he fetcht a sigh, + "Alack and a well a day!" + +Then stepped forth brave Little John, + And Nick the miller's son, +Which made the young man bend his bow, + When as he see them come. + +"Stand off, stand off," the young man said, + "What is your will with me?" +"You must come before our master straight, + Under yon greenwood tree." + +And when he came bold Robin before, + Robin askt him courteously, +"O hast thou any money to spare + For my merry men and me?" + +"I have no money," the young man said, + "But five shillings and a ring; +And that I have kept this seven long years, + To have it at my wedding. + +"Yesterday I should have married a maid, + But she is now from me tane, +And chosen to be an old knight's delight, + Whereby my poor heart is slain." + +"What is thy name?" then said Robin Hood, + "Come tell me, without any fail": +"By the faith of my body," then said the young man, + "My name it is Allin a Dale." + +"What wilt thou give me," said Robin Hood, + "In ready gold or fee, +To help thee to thy true-love again, + And deliver her unto thee?" + +"I have no money," then quoth the young man, + "No ready gold nor fee, +But I will swear upon a book + Thy true servant for to be." + +"How many miles is it to thy true-love? + Come tell me without any guile": +"By the faith of my body," then said the young man, + "It is but five little mile." + +Then Robin he hasted over the plain, + He did neither stint nor lin, +Until he came unto the church, + Where Allin should keep his wedding. + +"What dost thou do here?" the bishop he said, + "I prithee now tell to me": +"I am a bold harper," quoth Robin Hood, + "And the best in the north countrey." + +"O welcome, O welcome," the bishop he said, + "That musick best pleaseth me": +"You shall have no musick," quoth Robin Hood, + "Till the bride and the bridegroom I see." + +With that came in a wealthy knight, + Which was both grave and old, +And after him a finikin lass + Did shine like glistering gold. + +"This is no fit match," quoth bold Robin Hood, + "That you do seem to make here; +For since we are come unto the church, + The bride she shall chuse her own dear." + +Then Robin Hood put his horn to his mouth, + And blew blasts two or three; +When four and twenty bowmen bold + Came leaping over the lee. + +And when they came into the church-yard, + Marching all on a row, +The first man was Allin a Dale, + To give bold Robin his bow. + +"This is thy true-love," Robin he said, + "Young Allin, as I hear say: +And you shall be married at this same time, + Before we depart away." + +"That shall not be," the bishop he said, + "For thy word shall not stand; +They shall be three times askt in the church, + As the law is of our land." + +Robin Hood pulld off the bishop's coat, + And put it upon Little John; +"By the faith of my body," then Robin said, + "This cloath doth make thee a man." + +When Little John went into the quire, + The people began for to laugh; +He askt them seven times in the church, + Lest three times should not be enough. + +"Who gives me this maid?" then said Little John; + Quoth Robin, "That do I, +And he that doth take her from Allin a Dale + Full dearly he shall her buy." + +And thus having ended this merry wedding, + The bride lookt as fresh as a queen, +And so they returned to the merry greenwood, + Amongst the leaves so green. + + + +KINMONT WILLIE + + +O! have ye na heard o' the fause Sakelde? + O! have ye na heard o' the keen Lord Scroope? +How they hae taen bauld Kinmont Willie + On Haribee to hang him up? + +Had Willie had but twenty men, + But twenty men as stout as he, +Fause Sakelde had never the Kinmont ta'en, + Wi' eight score in his companie. + +They band his legs beneath the steed, + They tied his hands behind his back; +They guarded him, fivesome on each side, + And they brought him ower the Liddel-rack. + +They led him thro' the Liddel-rack, + And also thro' the Carlisle sands; +They brought him to Carlisle castell, + To be at my Lord Scroope's commands. + +"My hands are tied, but my tongue is free, + And whae will dare this deed avow? +Or answer by the border law? + Or answer to the bauld Buccleuch?" + +"Now baud thy tongue, thou rank reiver! + There's never a Scot shall set thee free; +Before ye cross my castle yate, + I trow ye shall take farewell o' me." + +"Fear na ye that, my lord," quo' Willie; + "By the faith o' my bodie, Lord Scroope," he said, +"I never yet lodged in a hostelrie + But I paid my lawing before I gaed." + +Now word is gane to the bauld Keeper, + In Branksome Ha', where that he lay, +That Lord Scroope has ta'en the Kinmont Willie, + Between the hours of night and day. + +He has ta'en the table wi' his hand, + He garr'd the red wine spring on hie-- +"Now Christ's curse on my head," he said, + "But avenged of Lord Scroope I'll be! + +"Oh is my basnet a widow's curch? + Or my lance a wand of the willow-tree? +Or my arm a ladye's lilye hand, + That an English lord should lightly me? + +"And have they ta'en him, Kinmont Willie, + Against the truce of the Bordertide? +And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch + Is keeper here on the Scottish side? + +"And have they e'en ta'en him, Kinmont Willie, + Withouten either dread or fear? +And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch + Can back a steed, or shake a spear? + +"O were there war between the lands, + As well I wot that there is none, +I would slight Carlisle castell high, + Tho it were builded of marble stone. + +"I would set that castell in a low, + And sloken it with English blood! +There's never a man in Cumberland + Should ken where Carlisle castell stood. + +"But since nae war's between the lands, + And there is peace, and peace should be; +I'll neither harm English lad or lass, + And yet the Kinmont freed shall be!" + +He has call'd him forty Marchmen bauld. + I trow they were of his ain name, +Except Sir Gilbert Elliot, call'd + The Laird of Stobs, I mean the same. + +He has call'd him forty Marchmen bauld, + Were kinsmen to the bauld Buccleuch; +With spur on heel, and splent on spauld; + And gleuves of green, and feathers blue. + +There were five and five before them a', + Wi' hunting-horns and bugles bright, +And five and five came wi' Buccleuch + Like warden's men, array'd for fight; + +And five and five, like a mason gang, + That carried the ladders lang and hie; +And five and five, like broken men, + And so they reach'd the Woodhouselee. + +And as we cross'd the Bateable Land, + When to the English side we held, +The first o' men that we met wi', + Whae sould it be but fause Sakelde? + +"Where be ye gaun, ye hunters keen?" + Quo' fause Sakelde; "come tell to me!"-- +"We go to hunt an English stag, + Has trespass'd on the Scots countrie." + +"Where be ye gaun, ye marshal men?" + Quo' fause Sakelde; "come tell me true!"-- +"We go to catch a rank reiver, + Has broken faith wi' the bauld Buccleuch." + +"Where are ye gaun, ye mason lads, + Wi' a' your ladders, lang and hie?"-- +"We gang to herry a corbie's nest, + That wons not far frae Woodhouselee."-- + +"Where be ye gaun, ye broken men?" + Quo' fause Sakelde; "come tell to me!"-- +Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band, + And the nevir a word of lear had he. + +"Why trespass ye on the English side? + Row-footed outlaws, stand!" quo' he; +The nevir a word had Dickie to say, + Sae he thrust the lance through his fause bodie. + +Then on we held for Carlisle toun. + And at Staneshaw-bank the Eden we cross'd; +The water was great and meikle of spait, + But the nevir a horse nor man we lost. + +And when we reach'd the Staneshaw-bank, + The wind was rising loud and hie; +And there the laird garr'd leave our steeds, + For fear that they should stamp and nie. + +And when we left the Staneshaw-bank, + The wind began full loud to blaw, +But 'twas wind and weet, and fire and sleet, + When we came beneath the castel wa'. + +We crept on knees, and held our breath, + Till we placed the ladders against the wa'; +And sae ready was Buccleuch himsell + To mount the first before us a'. + +He has ta'en the watchman by the throat, + He flung him down upon the lead-- +"Had there not been peace between our lands, + Upon the other side thou hadst gaed!-- + +"Now sound out, trumpets!" quo' Buccleuch; + "Let's waken Lord Scroope right merrilie!" +Then loud the warden's trumpet blew-- + "_O wha dare meddle wi' me?_" + +Then speedilie to wark we gaed, + And raised the slogan ane and a', +And cut a hole through a sheet of lead, + And so we wan to the castle ha'. + +They thought King James and a' his men + Had won the house wi' bow and spear; +It was but twenty Scots and ten, + That put a thousand in sic a stear! + +Wi' coulters, and wi' forehammers, + We garr'd the bars bang merrilie, +Until we came to the inner prison, + Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie. + +And when we cam to the lower prison, + Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie-- +"O, sleep ye, wake ye, Kinmont Willie, + Upon the morn that thou's to die?"-- + +"O, I sleep saft, and I wake aft,' + It's lang since sleeping was fley'd frae me; +Gie my service back to my wife and bairns, + And a' gude fellows that spier for me."-- + +Then Red Rowan has hente him up, + The starkest man in Teviotdale-- +"Abide, abide now, Red Rowan, + Till of my Lord Scroope I take farewell. + +"Farewell, farewell, my gude Lord Scroope! + My gude Lord Scroope, farewell!" he cried; +"I'll pay you for my lodging maill + When first we meet on the Border side." + +Then shoulder high, with shout and cry, + We bore him down the ladder lang; +At every stride Red Rowan made, + I wot the Kinmont's airns play'd clang. + +"O mony a time," quo' Kinmont Willie, + "I have ridden horse baith wild and wood; +"But a rougher beast than Red Rowan + I ween my legs have ne'er bestrode. + +"And mony a time," quo' Kinmont Willie, + "I've prick'd a horse out oure the furs; +But since the day I back'd a steed + I never wore sic cumbrous spurs!"-- + +We scarce had won the Staneshaw-bank, + When a' the Carlisle bells were rung, +And a thousand men, on horse and foot, + Cam wi' the keen Lord Scroope along. + +Buccleuch has turn'd to Eden Water, + Even where it flow'd frae bank to brim, +And he has plunged in wi' a' his band, + And safely swam them through the stream. + +He turn'd him on the other side, + And at Lord Scroope his glove flung he-- +"If ye like na my visit in merry England, + In fair Scotland come visit me!" + +All sore astonish'd stood Lord Scroope, + He stood as still as rock of stane; +He scarcely dared to trew his eyes, + When through the water they had gane. + +"He is either himsell a devil frae hell, + Or else his mother a witch maun be; +I wadna have ridden that wan water, + For a' the gowd in Christentie." + + + + + +MODERN + + + + +THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS + +Henry Wadsworth Longfellow + + + +It was the schooner _Hesperus_, + That sailed the wintry sea; +And the skipper had taken his little daughter, + To bear him company. + +Blue were her eyes as the fairy-flax, + Her cheeks like the dawn of day, +And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds, + That ope in the month of May. + +The skipper he stood beside the helm, + His pipe was in his mouth, +And he watched how the veering flaw did blow + The smoke now West, now South. + +Then up and spake an old sailor, + Had sailed to the Spanish Main, +"I pray thee, put into yonder port, + For I fear a hurricane. + +"Last night the moon had a golden ring, + And tonight no moon we see!" +The skipper, he blew a whiff from his pipe, + And a scornful laugh laughed he. + +Colder and louder blew the wind, + A gale from the Northeast, +The snow fell hissing in the brine, + And the billows frothed like yeast. + +Down came the storm, and smote amain + The vessel in its strength; +She shuddered and paused, like a frighted steed, + Then leaped her cable's length. + +"Come hither! come hither! my little daughter, + And do not tremble so; +For I can weather the roughest gale + That ever wind did blow." + +He wrapped her warm in his seaman's coat + Against the stinging blast; +He cut a rope from a broken spar. + And bound her to the mast. + +"O father! I hear the church-bells ring, + O say, what may it be?" +"'Tis a fog-bell on a rock-bound coast"-- + And he steered for the open sea. + +"O father! I hear the sound of guns, + O say, what may it be?" +"Some ship in distress, that cannot live + In such an angry sea!" + +"O father! I see a gleaming light, + O say, what may it be?" +But the father answered never a word, + A frozen corpse was he. + +Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark, + With his face turned to the skies, +The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snow + On his fixed and glassy eyes. + +Then the maiden clasped her hands and prayed + That saved she might be; +And she thought of Christ, who stilled the wave + On the Lake of Galilee. + +And fast through the midnight dark and drear, + Through the whistling sleet and snow, +Like a sheeted ghost, the vessel swept + Tow'rds the reef of Norman's Woe. + +And ever the fitful gusts between + A sound came from the land; +It was the sound of the trampling surf + On the rocks and the hard sea-sand. + +The breakers were right beneath her bows, + She drifted a dreary wreck, +And a whooping billow swept the crew + Like icicles from her deck. + +She struck where the white and fleecy waves + Looked soft as carded wool. +But the cruel rocks, they gored her side + Like the horns of an angry bull. + +Her rattling shrouds, all sheathed in ice, + With the masts went by the board; +Like a vessel of glass, she stove and sank, + "Ho! ho!" the breakers roared! + +At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach, + A fisherman stood aghast, +To see the form of a maiden fair, + Lashed close to a drifting mast. + +The salt sea was frozen on her breast, + The salt tears in her eyes; +And he saw her hair, like the brown seaweed, + On the billows fall and rise. + +Such was the wreck of the Hesperus, + In the midnight and the snow! +Christ save us all from a death like this, + On the reef of Norman's Woe! + + + +LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI + +John Keats + + +Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight, + Alone and palely loitering? +The sedge is wither'd from the lake, + And no birds sing. + +Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight, + So haggard and so woe-begone? +The squirrel's granary is full, + And the harvest's done. + +I see a lily on thy brow, + With anguish moist and fever dew; +And on thy cheek a fading rose + Fast withereth too. + +I met a lady in the meads + Full beautiful--a faery's child; +Her hair was long, her foot was light, + And her eyes were wild. + +I set her on my pacing steed, + And nothing else saw all day long; +For sideways would she lean, and sing + A faery's song. + +I made a garland for her head, + And bracelets too, and fragrant zone; +She look'd at me as she did love, + And made sweet moan. + +She found me roots of relish sweet, + And honey wild, and manna dew; +And sure in language strange she said-- + "I love thee true." + +She took me to her elfin grot, + And there she gazed, and sighed deep, +And there I shut her wild wild eyes + So kiss'd to sleep. + +And there we slumber'd on the moss, + And there I dream'd--Ah! woe betide! +The latest dream I ever dream'd + On the cold hill side. + +I saw pale kings, and princes too, + Pale warriors, death-pale were they all +They cried--"La Belle Dame sans Merci, + Hath thee in thrall!" + +I saw their starved lips in the gloam, + With horrid warning gaped wide, +And I awoke, and found me here + On the cold hill side. + +And this is why I sojourn here, + Alone and palely loitering, +Though the sedge is wither'd from the lake, + And no birds sing. + + + +LORD ULLIN'S DAUGHTER + +Thomas Campbell + + +A chieftain to the Highlands bound, + Cries, "Boatman, do not tarry! +And I'll give thee a silver pound + To row us o'er the ferry."-- + +"Now who be ye, would cross Lochgyle, + This dark and stormy water?" +"O, I'm the chief of Ulva's isle, + And this Lord Ullin's daughter. + +"And fast before her father's men + Three days we've fled together, +For should he find us in the glen, + My blood would stain the heather. + +"His horsemen hard behind us ride; + Should they our steps discover, +Then who will cheer my bonny bride + When they have slain her lover?"-- + +Out spoke the hardy Highland wight, + "I'll go, my chief--I'm ready:-- +It is not for your silver bright; + But for your winsome lady: + +"And by my word! the bonny bird + In danger shall not tarry: +So, though the waves are raging white, + I'll row you o'er the ferry."-- + +By this the storm grew loud apace, + The water-wraith was shrieking; +And in the scowl of heaven each face + Grew dark as they were speaking. + +But still as wilder blew the wind, + And as the night grew drearer, +Adown the glen rode armed men, + Their trampling sounded nearer.-- + +"O haste thee, haste!" the lady cries, + "Though tempests round us gather; +I'll meet the raging of the skies, + But not an angry father."-- + +The boat has left a stormy land, + A stormy sea before her,-- +When, oh! too strong for human hand, + The tempest gathered o'er her.-- + +And still they rowed amidst the roar + Of waters fast prevailing: +Lord Ullin reached that fatal shore,-- + His wrath was changed to wailing.-- + +For sore dismayed, through storm and shade, + His child he did discover:-- +One lovely hand she stretched for aid, + And one was round her lover. + +"Come back! come back!" he cried, in grief, + "Across this stormy water: +And I'll forgive your Highland chief, + My daughter! oh, my daughter!"-- + +'Twas vain:--the loud waves lashed the shore. + Return or aid preventing:-- +The waters wild went o'er his child, + And he was left lamenting. + + + +YOUNG LOCHINVAR + +Sir Walter Scott + + +Oh young Lochinvar is come out of the west, +Through all the wide Border his steed was the best; +And save his good broadsword he weapon had none; +He rode all unarm'd, and he rode all alone. +So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, +There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. + +He staid not for brake, and he stopp'd not for stone, +He swam the Esk river where ford there was none; +But ere he alighted at Netherby gate, +The bride had consented, the gallant came late: +For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war, +Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar. + +So boldly he enter'd the Netherby Hall, +Among brid'smen, and kinsmen, and brothers, and all; +Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on his sword, +(For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word,) +"O come ye in peace here, or come ye in war, +Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar?"-- + +"I long woo'd your daughter, my suit you denied;-- +Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide-- +And now am I come, with this lost love of mine, +To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine. +There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far, +That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar." + +The bride kiss'd the goblet; the knight took it up, +He quaff'd off the wine, and he threw down the cup. +She look'd down to blush, and she look'd up to sigh, +With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her eye. +He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar,-- +"Now tread we a measure!" said young Lochinvar. + +So stately his form, and so lovely her face, +That never a hall such a galliard did grace; +While her mother did fret, and her father did fume, +And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume; +And the bride-maidens whispered, "'Twere better by far, +To have match'd our fair cousin with young Lochinvar." + +One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear, +When they reach'd the hall-door, and the charger stood near; +So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung, +So light to the saddle before her he sprung! +"She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur; +They'll have fleet steeds that follow," quoth young Lochinvar. + +There was mounting 'mong Græmes of the Netherby clan; +Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran: +There was racing and chasing on Cannobie Lea, +But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did they see. +So daring in love, and so dauntless in war, +Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar? + + + + +HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX + +16-- + +Robert Browning + + +I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he; +I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three; +"Good speed!" cried the watch, as the gate-bolts undrew; +"Speed!" echoed the wall to us galloping through; +Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest +And into the midnight we galloped abreast. + +Not a word to each other; we kept the great pace +Neck by neck, stride by stride, never changing our place; +I turned in my saddle and made its girths tight, +Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique right, +Rebuckled the cheek-strap, chained slacker the bit, +Nor galloped less steadily Roland a whit. + +'Twas moonset at starting; but while we drew near +Lokeren, the cocks crew and twilight dawned clear; +At Boom, a great yellow star came out to see; +At Duffeld, 'twas morning as plain as could be; +And from Mecheln church-steeple we heard the half-chime, +So Joris broke silence with, "Yet there is time!" + +At Aershot, up leaped of a sudden the sun, +And against him the cattle stood black every one, +To stare through the mist at us galloping past, +And I saw my stout galloper Roland at last, +With resolute shoulders, each butting away +The haze, as some bluff river headland its spray; + +And his low head and crest, just one sharp ear bent back +For my voice, and the other pricked out on his track; +And one eye's black intelligence,--ever that glance +O'er its white edge at me, his own master, askance! +And the thick heavy spume-flakes which aye and anon +His fierce lips shook upwards in galloping on. + +By Hasselt, Direk groaned; and cried Joris, "Stay spur! +Your Roos galloped bravely, the fault's not in her, +We'll remember at Aix"--for one heard the quick wheeze +Of her chest, saw the stretched neck and staggering knees, +And sunk tail, and horrible heave of the flank, +As down on her haunches she shuddered and sank. + +So, we were left galloping, Joris and I, +Past Looz and past Tongres, no cloud in the sky; +The broad sun above laughed a pitiless laugh, +'Neath our feet broke the brittle bright stubble like chaff; +Till over by Dalhem a dome-spire sprang white, +And "Gallop," gasped Joris, "for Aix is in sight!" + +"How they'll greet us!"--and all in a moment his roan +Rolled neck and croup over, lay dead as a stone; +And there was my Roland to bear the whole weight +Of the news which alone could save Aix from her fate. +With his nostrils like pits full of blood to the brim, +And with circles of red for his eye-sockets' rim. + +Then I cast loose my buff-coat, each holster let fall, +Shook off both my jack-boots, let go belt and all, +Stood up in the stirrup, leaned, patted his ear, +Called my Roland his pet-name, my horse without peer; +Clapped my hands, laughed and sang, any noise, bad or good, +Till at length into Aix Roland galloped and stood. + +And all I remember is--friends flocking round +As I sat with his head 'twixt my knees on the ground; +And no voice but was praising this Roland of mine, +As I poured down his throat our last measure of wine, +Which (the burgesses voted by common consent) +Was no more than his due who brought good news from Ghent. + + + + +THE REVENGE + +A BALLAD OF THE FLEET + +Alfred Tennyson + + +I + +At Flores in the Azores Sir Richard Grenville lay, +And a pinnace, like a flutter'd bird, came flying from far away: +"Spanish ships of war at sea! we have sighted fifty-three!" +Then sware Lord Thomas Howard: "'Fore God I am no coward; +But I cannot meet them here, for my ships are out of gear, +And the half my men are sick. I must fly, but follow quick. +We are six ships of the line; can we fight with fifty-three?" + +II + +Then spake Sir Richard Grenville: "I know you are no coward; +You fly them for a moment to fight with them again. +But I've ninety men and more that are lying sick ashore. +I should count myself the coward if I left them, my Lord Howard, +To these Inquisition dogs and the devildoms of Spain." + +III + +So Lord Howard past away with five ships of war that day, +Till he melted like a cloud in the silent summer heaven; +But Sir Richard bore in hand all his sick men from the land +Very carefully and slow, +Men of Bideford in Devon, +And we laid them on the ballast down below; +For we brought them all aboard, +And they blest him in their pain, that they were not left to Spain, +To the thumb-screw and the stake, for the glory of the Lord. + +IV + +He had only a hundred seamen to work the ship and to fight, +And he sailed away from Flores till the Spaniard came in sight, +With his huge sea-castles heaving upon the weatherbow. +"Shall we fight or shall we fly? +Good Sir Richard, tell us now, +For to fight is but to die! +There'll be little of us left by the time this sun be set." +And Sir Richard said again: "We be all good Englishmen. +Let us bang these dogs of Seville, the children of the devil, +For I never turn'd my back upon Don or devil yet." + +V + +Sir Richard spoke and he laugh'd, and we roar'd a hurrah, and so +The little Revenge ran on sheer into the heart of the foe, +With her hundred fighters on deck, and her ninety sick below; +For half of their fleet to the right and half to the left were seen, +And the little Revenge ran on thro' the long sea-lane between. + +VI + +Thousands of their soldiers look'd down from their decks and laugh'd, +Thousands of their seamen made mock at the mad little craft +Running on and on, till delay'd +By their mountain-like San Philip that, of fifteen hundred tons, +And up-shadowing high above us with her yawning tiers of guns, +Took the breath from our sails, and we stay'd. + +VII + +And while now the great San Philip hung above us like a cloud +Whence the thunderbolt will fall +Long and loud, +Four galleons drew away +From the Spanish fleet that day, +And two upon the larboard and two upon the starboard lay, +And the battle-thunder broke from them all. + +VIII + +But anon the great San Philip, she bethought herself and went, +Having that within her womb that had left her ill content; +And the rest they came aboard us, and they fought us hand to hand. +For a dozen times they came with their pikes and musqueteers, +And a dozen times we shook 'em off as a dog that shakes his ears, +When he leaps from the water to the land. + +IX + +And the sun went down, and the stars came out far over the summer sea, +But never a moment ceased the fight of the one and the fifty-three. +Ship after ship, the whole night long, their high-built galleons came, +Ship after ship, the whole night long, with her battle-thunder and flame; +Ship after ship, the whole night long, drew back with her dead and her shame. +For some were sunk and many were shatter'd, and so could fight us no more-- +God of battles, was ever a battle like this in the world before? + +X + +For he said, "Fight on! fight on!" +Tho' his vessel was all but a wreck; +And it chanced that, when half of the short summer night was gone, +With a grisly wound to be drest he had left the deck, +But a bullet struck him that was dressing it suddenly dead, +And himself he was wounded again in the side and the head, +And he said, "Fight on! fight on!" + +XI + +And the night went down, and the sun smiled out far over the summer sea, +And the Spanish fleet with broken sides lay round us all in a ring; +But they dared not touch us again, for they fear'd that we still could sting, +So they watch'd what the end would be. +And we had not fought them in vain, +But in perilous plight were we, +Seeing forty of our poor hundred were slain, +And half of the rest of us maim'd for life +In the crash of the cannonades and the desperate strife; +And the sick men down in the hold were most of them stark and cold, +And the pikes were all broken or bent, and the powder was all of it spent; +And the masts and the rigging were lying over the side; +But Sir Richard cried in his English pride: +"We have fought such a fight for a day and a night +As may never be fought again! +We have won great glory, my men! +And a day less or more +At sea or ashore, +We die--does it matter when? +Sink me the ship, Master Gunner--sink her, split her in twain! +Fall into the hands of God, not into the hands of Spain!" + + +XII + +And the gunner said, "Ay, ay," but the seamen made reply: +"We have children, we have wives, +And the Lord hath spared our lives. +We will make the Spaniard promise, if we yield, to let us go; +We shall live to fight again and to strike another blow." +And the lion there lay dying, and they yielded to the foe. + + +XIII + +And the stately Spanish men to their flagship bore him then, +Where they laid him by the mast, old Sir Richard caught at last, +And they praised him to his face with their courtly foreign grace; +But he rose upon their decks, and he cried: +"I have fought for Queen and Faith like a valiant man and true; +I have only done my duty as a man is bound to do. +With a joyful spirit I Sir Richard Grenville die!" +And he fell upon their decks, and he died. + +XIV + +And they stared at the dead that had been so valiant and true, +And had holden the power and glory of Spain so cheap +That he dared her with one little ship and his English few; +Was he devil or man? He was devil for aught they knew, +But they sank his body with honor down into the deep, +And they mann'd the Revenge with a swarthier alien crew, +And away she sail'd with her loss and long'd for her own; +When a wind from the lands they had ruin'd awoke from sleep, +And the water began to heave and the weather to moan, +And or ever that evening ended a great gale blew, +And a wave like the wave that is raised by an earthquake grew, +Till it smote on their hulls and their sails and their masts and their flags, +And the whole sea plunged and fell on the shot-shatter'd navy of Spain, +And the little Revenge herself went down by the island crags +To be lost evermore in the main. + + + + + +LYRICS + + + + +OUR COUNTRY + + + +AMERICA + +Samuel Francis Smith + + +My country, 'tis of thee, +Sweet land of liberty; + Of thee I sing; +Land where my fathers died, +Land of the pilgrims' pride,-- +From every mountain side + Let freedom ring. + +My native country, thee, +Land of the noble free,-- + Thy name I love; +I love thy rocks and rills, +Thy woods and templed hills; +My heart with rapture thrills + Like that above. + +Let music swell the breeze, +And ring from all the trees + Sweet freedom's song; +Let mortal tongues awake, +Let all that breathe partake! +Let rocks their silence break,-- +The sound prolong. + +Our fathers' God,--to Thee, +Author of liberty, + To Thee we sing; +Long may our land be bright +With freedom's holy light; +Protect us by thy might, + Great God, our King. + + + +MY NATIVE LAND + +Sir Walter Scott + + +Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, +Who never to himself hath said, +"This is my own, my native land!" +Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd, +As home his footsteps he hath turn'd +From wandering on a foreign strand! +If such there breathe, go mark him well; +For him no Minstrel raptures swell; +High though his titles, proud his name, +Boundless his wealth as wish can claim; +Despite those titles, power, and pelf, +The wretch, concent'red all in self. +Living, shall forfeit fair renown, +And, doubly dying, shall go down +To the vile dust from whence he sprung, +Unwept, unhonor'd, and unsung. + + + +COLUMBUS + +Joaquin Miller + + +Behind him lay the gray Azores, + Behind the Gates of Hercules; +Before him not the ghost of shores, + Before him only shoreless seas. +The good mate said: "Now must we pray, + For lo! the very stars are gone, +Brave Adm'r'l, speak; what shall I say?" + "Why, say: 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'" + +"My men grow mutinous day by day; + My men grow ghastly, wan and weak." +The stout mate thought of home; a spray + Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. +"What shall I say, brave Adm'r'l, say, + If we sight naught but seas at dawn?" +"Why, you shall say at break of day: + 'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'" + +They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, + Until at last the blanched mate said: +"Why, now not even God would know + Should I and all my men fall dead. +These very winds forget their way, + For God from these dread seas is gone. +Now speak, brave Adm'r'l; speak and say--" + He said: "Sail on! sail on! and on!" + +They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate: + "This mad sea shows his teeth tonight. +He curls his lip, he lies in wait, + He lifts his teeth, as if to bite! +Brave Adm'r'l, say but one good word: + What shall we do when hope is gone?" +The words leapt like a leaping sword: + "Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!" + +Then, pale and worn, he paced his deck, + And peered through darkness. Ah, that night. +Of all dark nights! And then a speck-- + A light! A light! At last a light! +It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! + It grew to be Time's burst of dawn. +He gained a world; he gave that world + Its grandest lesson: "On! sail on!" + + + +THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS IN NEW ENGLAND + +Felicia Browne Hemans + + +Look now abroad! Another race has fill'd + Those populous borders--wide the wood recedes, +And towns shoot up, and fertile realms are till'd; + The land is full of harvests and green meads. + --_Bryant_ + +The breaking waves dash'd high + On a stern and rockbound coast, +And the woods against a stormy sky + Their giant branches toss'd. + +And the heavy night hung dark + The hills and waters o'er, +When a band of exiles moor'd their bark + On the wild New England shore. + +Not as the conqueror comes, + They, the true-hearted, came; +Not with the roll of the stirring drums, + And the trumpet that sings of fame; + +Not as the flying come, + In silence and in fear;-- +They shook the depths of the desert gloom + With their hymns of lofty cheer. + +Amidst the storm they sang, + And the stars heard and the sea; +And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang + To the anthem of the free! + +The ocean eagle soar'd + From his nest by the white wave's foam; +And the rocking pines of the forest roar'd,-- + This was their welcome home! + +There were men with hoary hair + Amidst that pilgrim band;-- +Why had _they_ come to wither here, + Away from their childhood's land? + +There was woman's fearless eye, + Lit by her deep love's truth; +There was manhood's brow serenely high, + And the fiery heart of youth. + +What sought they thus afar? + Bright jewels of the mine? +The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?-- + They sought a faith's pure shrine! + +Ay, call it holy ground, + The soil where first they trod. +They have left unstained, what there they found-- + Freedom to worship God. + + + +CONCORD HYMN + +SUNG AT THE COMPLETION OF THE BATTLE MONUMENT, APRIL 19, 1836 + +Ralph Waldo Emerson + + +By the rude bridge that arched the flood, + Their flag to April's breeze unfurled. +Here once the embattled farmers stood, + And fired the shot heard round the world. + +The foe long since in silence slept; + Alike the conqueror silent sleeps; +And Time the ruined bridge has swept + Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. + +On this green bank, by this soft stream, + We set today a votive stone; +That memory may their deed redeem, + When, like our sires, our sons are gone. + +Spirit, that made those heroes dare + To die, and leave their children free, +Bid Time and Nature gently spare + The shaft we raise to them and thee. + + + +OLD IRONSIDES + +Oliver Wendell Holmes + + +Ay, tear her tattered ensign down! + Long has it waved on high, +And many an eye has danced to see + That banner in the sky; +Beneath it rung the battle shout, + And burst the cannon's roar;-- +The meteor of the ocean air + Shall sweep the clouds no more! + +Her deck, once red with heroes' blood, + Where knelt the vanquished foe, +When winds were hurrying o'er the nood, + And waves were white below, +No more shall feel the victor's tread, + Or know the conquered knee;-- +The harpies of the shore shall pluck + The eagle of the sea! + +O better that her shattered hulk + Should sink beneath the wave; +Her thunders shook the mighty deep, + And there should be her grave; +Nail to the mast her holy flag, + Set every threadbare sail, +And give her to the god of storms, + The lightning and the gale! + + + +O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! + +Walt Whitman + + +O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, +The ship has wether'd every rack, the prize we sought is won, +The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, +While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; + But O heart! heart! heart! + O the bleeding drops of red, + Where on the deck my Captain lies, + Fallen cold and dead. + +O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; +Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills, +For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding, +For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; + Here Captain! dear father! + This arm beneath your head! + It is some dream that on the deck + You've fallen cold and dead. + +My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, +My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, +The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, +From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; + Exult, O Shores, and ring, O Bells! + But I, with mournful tread, + Walk the deck my Captain lies, + Fallen cold and dead. + + + + +LOVE LYRICS + + + +TO LUCASTA, ON GOING TO THE WARS + +Richard Lovelace + + +Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind, + That from the nunnery +Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind, + To war and arms I fly. + +True, a new mistress now I chase, + The first foe in the field; +And with a stronger faith embrace + A sword, a horse, a shield. + +Yet this inconstancy is such, + As you, too, shall adore; +I could not love thee, Dear, so much, + Loved I not Honor more. + + + +SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY + +George Gordon Byron + + +She walks in beauty, like the night + Of cloudless climes and starry skies; +And all that's best of dark and bright + Meet in her aspect and her eyes: +Thus mellow'd to that tender light + Which heaven to gaudy day denies. + +One shade the more, one ray the less, + Had half impair'd the nameless grace +Which waves in every raven tress, + Or softly lightens o'er her face; +Where thoughts serenely sweet express + How pure, how dear their dwelling place. + +And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, + So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, +The smiles that win, the tints that glow, + But tell of days in goodness spent, +A mind at peace with all below, + A heart whose love is innocent! + + + +A RED, RED ROSE + +Robert Burns + + +O, my luve is like a red, red rose, + That's newly sprung in June. +O, my luve is like the melodie + That's sweetly play'd in tune. + +As fair art thou, my bonie lass, + So deep in luve am I, +And I will luve thee still, my dear, + Till a' the seas gang dry. + +Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, + And the rocks melt wi' the sun! +And I will luve thee still, my dear, + While the sands o' life shall run. + +And fare thee weel, my only luve, + And fare thee weel a while! +And I will come again, my luve, + Tho' it were ten thousand mile! + + + + +POEMS OF NATURE + + + +THE GREENWOOD TREE + +William Shakespeare + + +Under the greenwood tree +Who loves to lie with me, +And turn his merry note +Unto the sweet bird's throat-- +Come hither, come hither, come hither! +Here shall he see +No enemy +But winter and rough weather. + +Who doth ambition shun +And loves to live i' the sun, +Seeking the food he eats, +And pleased with what he gets-- +Come hither, come hither, come hither! +Here shall he see +No enemy +But winter and rough weather. + + + +A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA + +Allan Cunningham + + +A wet sheet and a flowing sea, +A wind that follows fast +And fills the white and rustling sail, +And bends the gallant mast! +And bends the gallant mast, my boys, +While, like the eagle free, +Away the good ship flies, and leaves +Old England on the lee. + +"O for a soft and gentle wind!" +I heard a fair one cry; +But give to me the swelling breeze, +And white waves heaving high: +The white waves heaving high, my lads, +The good ship tight and free; + + + + +LYRICS + + +The world of waters is our home. +And merry men are we. + +There's tempest in yon horned moon, +And lightning in yon cloud; +And hark the music, mariners! +The wind is wakening loud. +The wind is wakening loud, my boys, +The lightning flashes free-- +The hollow oak our palace is, +Our heritage the sea. + + + +I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD + +William Wordsworth + + +I wandered lonely as a cloud +That floats on high o'er vales and hills, +When all at once I saw a crowd, +A host, of golden daffodils; +Beside the lake, beneath the trees, +Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. + +Continuous as the stars that shine +And twinkle on the milky way, +They stretched in never ending line +Along the margin of a bay: +Ten thousand saw I at a glance, +Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. + +The waves beside them danced; but they +Outdid the sparkling waves in glee: +A poet could not but be gay +In such a jocund company: +I gazed--and gazed--but little thought +What wealth the show to me had brought: + +For oft, when on my couch I lie +In vacant or in pensive mood, +They flash upon that inward eye +Which is the bliss of solitude; +And then my heart with pleasure fills, +And dances with the daffodils. + + + +THE RHODORA ON BEING ASKED, WHENCE IS THE FLOWER? + +Ralph Waldo Emerson + + +In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes, +I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, +Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook, +To please the desert and the sluggish brook. +The purple petals, fallen in the pool, + Made the black water with their beauty gay; +Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool, + And court the flower that cheapens his array. +Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why +This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, +Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing, +Then Beauty is its own excuse for being: +Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose! + I never thought to ask, I never knew; +But, in my simple ignorance, suppose + The selfsame Power that brought me there brought you. + + + +TO THE FRINGED GENTIAN + +William Cullen Bryant + + +Thou blossom bright with autumn dew, +And colored with the heaven's own blue, +That openest when the quiet light +Succeeds the keen and frosty night. + +Thou comest not when violets lean +O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen, +Or columbines, in purple drest, +Nod o'er the ground-bird's hidden nest. + +Thou waitest late, and com'st alone, +When woods are bare and birds are flown, +And frosts and shortening days portend +The aged year is near his end. + +Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye +Look through its fringes to the sky, +Blue--blue--as if that sky let fall +A flower from its cerulean wall. + +I would that thus, when I shall see +The hour of death draw near to me, +Hope, blossoming within my heart, +May look to heaven as I depart. + + + +THE EAGLE + +Alfred Tennyson + + +He clasps the crag with crooked hands; +Close to the sun in lonely lands, +Ringed with the azure world, he stands. + +The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; +He watches from his mountain walls, +And like a thunderbolt he falls. + + + +ON THE GRASSHOPPER AND CRICKET + +John Keats + + +The poetry of earth is never dead: + When all the birds are faint with the hot sun, + And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run +From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead; +That is the grasshopper's--he takes the lead + In summer luxury,--he has never done + With his delights; for, when tired out with fun, +He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed. +The poetry of earth is ceasing never. + On a lone winter evening, when the frost +Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills +The cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever, + And seems to one, in drowsiness half lost, +The grasshopper's among some grassy hills. + + + + +LESSONS FROM NATURE + + + +TO A WATERFOWL + +William Cullen Bryant + + + Whither, midst falling dew, +While glow the heavens with the last steps of days, +Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue + Thy solitary way? + + Vainly the fowler's eye +Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, +As, darkly seen against the crimson sky, + Thy figure floats along. + + Seek'st thou the plashy brink +Of weedy lake or marge of river wide, +Or where the rocking billows rise and sink + On the chafed ocean-side? + + There is a Power whose care +Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,-- +The desert and illimitable air,-- + Lone wandering, but not lost. + + All day thy wings have fanned, +At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, +Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, + Though the dark night is near. + + And soon that toil shall end; +Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest, +And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend, + Soon, o'er thy sheltered nest. + + Thou'rt gone! the abyss of heaven +Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart +Deeply has sunk the lesson thou hast given, + And shall not soon depart. + + He who, from zone to zone, +Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, +In the long way that I must tread alone, + Will lead my steps aright. + + + +THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS + +Oliver Wendell Holmes + + +This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign, + Sails the unshadowed main,-- + The venturous bark that flings +On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings +In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings, + And coral reefs lie bare, +Where the cold sea maids rise to sun their streaming hair. + +Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; + Wrecked is the ship of pearl! + And every chambered cell, +Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell, +As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell, + Before thee lies revealed,-- +Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed! + +Year after year beheld the silent toil + That spread his lustrous coil; + Still, as the spiral grew, +He left the past year's dwelling for the new, +Stole with soft step its shining archway through, + Built up its idle door, +Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more. + +Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee, + Child of the wandering sea, + Cast from her lap, forlorn! +From thy dead lips a clearer note is born +Than ever Triton blew from wreathèd horn! + While on mine ear it rings, +Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:-- + +Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, + As the swift seasons roll! + Leave thy low-vaulted past! +Let each new temple, nobler than the last, +Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, + Till thou at length art free, +Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea! + + + +THE BUGLE SONG + +Alfred Tennyson + + + The splendor falls on castle walls + And snowy summits old in story; + The long light shakes across the lakes, + And the wild cataract leaps in glory. +Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, +Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying. + + O, hark, O, hear! how thin and clear, + And thinner, clearer, farther going! + O, sweet and far from cliff and scar + The horns of Elfland faintly blowing! +Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying: +Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying. + + O love, they die in yon rich sky, + They faint on hill or field or river; + Our echoes roll from soul to soul, + And grow forever and forever. +Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, +And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying. + + + + +SONGS OF LIFE + + + +THE NOBLE NATURE + +Ben Jonson + + +It is not growing like a tree +In bulk, doth make men better be, +Or standing long an oak, three hundred year, +To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere: + A lily of a day, + Is fairer far, in May, +Although it fall and die that night; +It was the plant and flower of light. +In small proportions we just beauty see; +And in short measures, life may perfect be. + + + +THE CHARACTER OF A HAPPY LIFE + +Sir Henry Wotton + + +How happy is he born and taught, + That serveth not another's will; +Whose armor is his honest thought, + And simple truth, his utmost skill; + +Whose passions not his masters are, + Whose soul is still prepared for death, +Untied unto the world by care + Of public fame or private breath; + +Who envies none that chance doth raise, + Nor vice; who never understood +How deepest wounds are given by praise, + Nor rules of state, but rules of good; + +Who hath his life from rumors freed, + Whose conscience is his strong retreat; +Whose state can neither flatterers feed, + Nor ruin make oppressors great; + +Who God doth late and early pray, + More of his grace than gifts to lend, +And entertains the harmless day + With a religious book, or friend. + +This man is freed from servile bands + Of hope to rise, or fear to fall; +Lord of himself, though not of lands, + And having nothing, yet hath all. + + + +SAY NOT, THE STRUGGLE NOUGHT AVAILETH + +Arthur Hugh Clough + + +Say not, the struggle nought availeth, + The labor and the wounds are vain, +The enemy faints not, nor faileth, + And as things have been they remain. + +If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars; + It may be, in yon smoke concealed, +Your comrades chase e'en now the fliers, + And, but for you, possess the field. + +For while the tired waves, vainly breaking, + Seem here no painful inch to gain, +Far back, through creeks and inlets making, + Comes silent, flooding in, the main. + +And not by eastern windows only, + When daylight comes, comes in the light, +In front, the sun climbs slow, how slowly, + But westward, look, the land is bright. + + + +FOR A' THAT AN' A' THAT + +Robert Burns + + +Is there for honest poverty + That hings his head, an' a' that? +The coward slave, we pass him by,-- + We dare be poor for a' that! + + For a' that, an' a' that, + Our toils obscure, an' a' that, +The rank is but the guinea's stamp, + The man's the gowd for a' that. + +What though on hamely fare we dine, + Wear hodden gray, an' a' that? +Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine-- + A man's a man for a' that. + For a' that, an' a' that, + Their tinsel show, an' a 'that: +The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor, + Is king o' men for a' that. + +Ye see yon birkie ca'd "a lord," + Wha' struts an' stares, an' a 'that? +Tho' hundreds worship at his word, + He's but a cuif for a' that. + For a' that, an' a' that, + His riband, star, an' a' that, +The man o' independent mind + He looks an' laughs at a' that. + +A prince can mak' a belted knight, + A marquis, duke, an' a' that! +But an honest man's aboon his might,-- + Guid faith, he mauna fa' that! +For a' that, an' a' that, + Their dignities an' a' that, +The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth, + Are higher rank than a' that. + +Then let us pray that come it may, + (As come it will for a' that) +That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth, + Shall bear the gree, an' a' that. +For a' that, an' a' that, + It's comin' yet, for a' that, +That man to man, the world o'er, + Shall brithers be for a' that. + + + +INVICTUS + +William Ernest Henly + + +Out of the night that covers me, + Black as the Pit from pole to pole, +I thank whatever gods may be + For my unconquerable soul. + +In the fell clutch of circumstance + I have not winced nor cried aloud. +Under the bludgeonings of chance + My head is bloody, but unbowed. + +Beyond this place of wrath and tears + Looms but the Horror of the shade, +And yet the menace of the years + Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. + +It matters not how strait the gate, + How charged with punishments the scroll, +I am the master of my fate: + I am the captain of my soul. + + + +OPPORTUNITY + +Edward Rowland Sill + + +This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:-- +There spread a cloud of dust along a plain; +And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged +A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords +Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's banner +Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes. +A craven hung along the battle's edge, +And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel-- +That blue blade that the king's son bears,--but this +Blunt thing--!" he snapt and flung it from his hand, +And lowering crept away and left the field. +Then came the king's son, wounded, sore bestead, +And weaponless, and saw the broken sword, +Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand, +And ran and snatched it, and with battle-shout +Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down, +And saved a great cause that heroic day. + + + +A PSALM OF LIFE + +Henry Wadsworth Longfellow + + +Tell me not, in mournful numbers, + Life is but an empty dream!-- +For the soul is dead that slumbers, + And things are not what they seem. + +Life is real! Life is earnest! + And the grave is not its goal; +Dust thou art, to dust returnest, + Was not spoken of the soul. + +Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, + Is our destined end or way; +But to act, that each tomorrow + Finds us farther than today. + +Art is long, and Time is fleeting, + And our hearts, though stout and brave, +Still, like muffled drums, are beating + Funeral marches to the grave. + +In the world's broad field of battle, + In the bivouac of Life, +Be not like dumb, driven cattle! + Be a hero in the strife! + +Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! + Let the dead Past bury its dead! +Act,--act in the living Present, + Heart within, and God o'erhead! + +Lives of great men all remind us + We can make our lives sublime, +And, departing, leave behind us + Footprints on the sands of time;-- + +Footprints, that perhaps another, + Sailing o'er life's solemn main, +A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, + Seeing, shall take heart again. + +Let us, then, be up and doing, + With a heart for any fate; +Still achieving, still pursuing, + Learn to labor and to wait. + + + + +AESOP + + + +THE DOG AND THE SHADOW + + +A Dog, crossing a little rivulet with a piece of meat in his mouth, +saw his own shadow represented in the clear mirror of the limpid +stream; and, believing it to be another dog, who was carrying a +larger piece of meat, he could not forbear catching at it; but was +so far from getting anything by his greedy design, that he dropped +the piece he had in his mouth, which immediately sank to the bottom, +and was irrecoverably lost. + + + +THE FOX AND THE GRAPES + + +A Fox, very hungry, chanced to come into a vineyard, where there +hung branches of charming ripe grapes; but nailed up to a trellis so +high that he leaped till he quite tired himself without being able +to reach one of them. At last, "Let who will take them!" says he; +"they are but green and sour; so I will even let them alone." + + + +THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE + + +A Hare laughed at a Tortoise upon account of his slowness, and +vainly boasted her own great speed in running. "Let us make a +match," replied the Tortoise; "I will run with you five miles for a +wager, and the fox yonder shall be the umpire of the race." The +Hare agreed; and away they both started together. But the Hare, +by reason of her exceeding swiftness, outran the Tortoise to such a +degree, that she made a jest of the matter; and thinking herself sure +of the race, squatted in a tuft of fern that grew by the way, and +took a nap, thinking that, if the Tortoise went by, she could at +any time overtake him with all the ease imaginable. In the meanwhile +the Tortoise came jogging on with slow but continued motion; +and the Hare out of a too great security and confidence of victory, +oversleeping herself, the Tortoise arrived at the end of the race +first. + + + +THE SHEPHERD'S BOY + + +A certain Shepherd's Boy kept his sheep upon a common, and in +sport and wantonness would often cry out, "The wolf! the wolf!" +By this means he several times drew the husbandmen in an adjoining +field from their work; who, finding themselves deluded, resolved +for the future to take no notice of his alarm. Soon after, the +wolf came indeed. The Boy cried out in earnest; but no heed being +given to his cries, the sheep were devoured by the wolf. + + + +THE HUSBANDMAN AND THE STORK + + +The Husbandman set a net in his fields to take the cranes and geese +which came to feed upon the new-sown barley. He succeeded in +taking several, both cranes and geese, and among them a Stork, +who pleaded hard for his life, and, among other apologies which +he made, alleged that he was neither goose nor crane, but a poor +harmless Stork, who performed his duty to his parents to all intents +and purposes, feeding them when they were old, and, as occasion +required, carrying them from place to place upon his back. "All +this may be true," replied the Husbandman; "but, as I have taken +you in bad company, and in the same crime, you must expect to +suffer the same punishment." + + + +THE WIND AND THE SUN + + +A dispute once arose betwixt the North Wind and the Sun about +the superiority of their power; and they agreed to try their strength +upon a traveler, which should be able to get his cloak off first. The +North Wind began, and blew a very cold blast, accompanied with +a sharp, driving shower. But this, and whatever else he could do, +instead of making the man quit his cloak, obliged him to gird it +about his body as close as possible. Next came the Sun; who, breaking +out from a thick watery cloud, drove away the cold vapors from +the sky, and darted his warm, sultry beams upon the head of the +poor weather-beaten traveler. The man growing faint with the +heat, and unable to endure it any longer, first throws off his heavy +cloak, and then flies for protection to the shade of a neighboring +grove. + + + +THE TORTOISE AND THE GEESE + + +[Footnote: This and the following fable are from _The Tortoise and +the Geese, and Other Fables of Bidpai,_ retold by Maude Barrows +Button.] + +A Tortoise and two Geese lived together in a pond for many years. +At last there came a drought and dried up the pond. Then the +Geese said to one another,-- + +"We must seek a new home quickly, for we cannot live without +water. Let us say farewell to the Tortoise and start at once." + +When the Tortoise heard that they were going, he trembled with +fear, and besought them by their friendship not to desert him. + +"Alas," the Geese replied, "there is no help for it. If we stay +here, we shall all three die, and we cannot take you with us, for you +cannot fly." + +Still the Tortoise begged so hard not to be left behind that the +Geese finally said,-- + +"Dear Friend, if you will promise not to speak a word on +the journey, we will take you with us. But know beforehand, that +if you open your mouth to say one single word, you will be in instant +danger of losing your life." + +"Have no fear," replied the Tortoise, "but that I shall be silent +until you give me leave to speak again. I would rather never open +my mouth again than be left to die alone here in the dried-up pond." + +So the Geese brought a stout stick and bade the Tortoise grasp it +firmly in the middle by his mouth. Then they took hold of either +end and flew off with him. They had gone several miles in safety, +when their course lay over a village. As the country people saw this +curious sight of a Tortoise being carried by two Geese, they began +to laugh and cry out,-- + +"Oh, did you ever see such a funny sight in all your life!" And +they laughed loud and long. + +The Tortoise grew more and more indignant. At last he could +stand their jeering no longer. "You stupid..." he snapped, but +before he could say more he had fallen to the ground and was +dashed to pieces. + + + +THE PARTRIDGE AND THE CROW + + +A Crow flying across a road saw a Partridge strutting along the +ground. + +"What a beautiful gait that Partridge has!" said the Crow. "I +must try to see if I can walk like him." + +She alighted behind the Partridge and tried for a long time to +learn to strut. At last the Partridge turned around and asked the +Crow what she was about. + +"Do not be angry with me," replied the Crow. "I have never +before seen a bird who walks as beautifully as you can, and I am +trying to learn to walk like you." + +"Foolish bird!" responded the Partridge. "You are a Crow, and +should walk like a Crow. You would look silly indeed if you were +to strut like a Partridge." + +But the Crow went on trying to learn to strut, until finally she +had forgotten her own gait, and she never learned that of the Partridge. + + + + +JEAN DE LA FONTAINE + + + +THE FOX AND THE GRAPES + + +A fox, almost with hunger dying, +Some grapes upon a trellis spying, +To all appearance ripe, clad in + Their tempting russet skin, +Most gladly would have eat them; +But since he could not get them, + So far above his reach the vine,-- +"They're sour." he said; "such grapes as these +The dogs may eat them if they please." + --Did he not better than to whine? + + + +THE WOLF AND THE STORK + + +The wolves are prone to play the glutton. + One, at a certain feast, 'tis said, +So stuffed himself with lamb and mutton, + He seemed but little short of dead. +Deep in his throat a bone stuck fast. + Well for this wolf, who could not speak, +That soon a stork quite near him passed. + By signs invited, with her beak + The bone she drew + With slight ado, + And for this skillful surgery + Demanded, modestly, her fee. + "Your fee!" replied the wolf, + In accents rather gruff; + "And is it not enough + Your neck is safe from such a gulf? + Go, for a wretch ingrate, + Nor tempt again your fate!" + + + + + +TRADITIONAL + + + + +THE OLD WOMAN AND HER PIG + +Joseph Jacobs + + +An old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a little +crooked sixpence. "What," said she, "shall I do with this little +sixpence? I will go to market, and buy a little pig." + +As she was coming home, she came to a stile: but the piggy +wouldn't go over the stile. + +She went a little further, and she met a dog. So she said to him: +"Dog! dog! bite pig; piggy won't go over the stile; and I shan't +get home tonight." But the dog wouldn't. + +She went a little further, and she met a stick. So she said: +"Stick! stick! beat dog! dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get +over the stile; and I shan't get home tonight." But the stick +wouldn't. + +She went a little further, and she met a fire. So she said: +"Fire! fire! burn stick; stick won't beat dog; dog won't bite pig; +piggy won't get over the stile; and I shan't get home tonight." But +the fire wouldn't. + +She went a little further, and she met some water. So she said: +"Water! water! quench fire; fire won't burn stick; stick won't +beat dog; dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over the stile; and +I shan't get home tonight." But the water wouldn't. + +She went a little further, and she met an ox. So she said: "Ox! +ox! drink water; water won't quench fire; fire won't burn stick; +stick won't beat dog; dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over the +stile; and I shan't get home tonight." But the ox wouldn't. + +She went a little further, and she met a butcher. So she said: +"Butcher! butcher! kill ox; ox won't drink water; water won't +quench fire; fire won't burn stick; stick won't beat dog; dog won't +bite pig; piggy won't get over the stile; and I shan't get home +tonight." But the butcher wouldn't. + +She went a little further, and she met a rope. So she said: +"Rope! rope! hang butcher; butcher won't kill ox; ox won't drink +water; water won't quench fire; fire won't burn stick; stick won't +beat dog; dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over the stile; and I +shan't get home tonight." But the rope wouldn't. + +She went a little further, and she met a rat. So she said: "Rat! +rat! gnaw rope; rope won't hang butcher; butcher won't kill ox; +ox won't drink water; water won't quench fire; fire won't burn +stick; stick won't beat dog; dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over +the stile; and I shan't get home tonight." But the rat wouldn't. + +She went a little further, and she met a cat. So she said: +"Cat! cat! kill rat; rat won't gnaw rope; rope won't hang butcher; +butcher won't kill ox; ox won't drink water; water won't quench +fire; fire won't burn stick; stick won't beat dog; dog won't bite +pig; piggy won't get over the stile; and I shan't get home tonight." +But the cat said to her, "If you will go to yonder cow and +fetch me a saucer of milk, I will kill the rat." So away went the +old woman to the cow. + +But the cow said to her: "If you will go to yonder haystack +and fetch me a handful of hay, I'll give you the milk." So away +went the old woman to the haystack; and she brought the hay to the +cow. + +As soon as the cow had eaten the hay, she gave the old woman +the milk; and away she went with it in a saucer to the cat. + +As soon as the cat had lapped up the milk, the cat began to kill +the rat; the rat began to gnaw the rope; the rope began to hang +the butcher; the butcher began to kill the ox; the ox began to drink +the water; the water began to quench the fire; the fire began to burn +the stick; the stick began to beat the dog; the dog began to bite the +pig; the little pig in fright jumped over the stile; and so the old +woman got home that night. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS + +Joseph Jacobs + + +There was once an old sow with three little pigs, and as she +had not enough to keep them, she sent them out to seek their +fortune. The first that went off met a man with a bundle of straw, +and said to him: + +"Please, man, give me that straw to build me a house." + +Which the man did, and the little pig built a house with it. +Presently came along a wolf, and knocked at the door, and said: + +"Little pig, little pig, let me come in." + +To which the pig answered: + +"No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin." + +The wolf then answered to that: + +"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in." + +So he huffed, and he puffed, and he blew his house in, and ate up +the little pig. + +The second little pig met a man with a bundle of furze, and said: + +"Please, man, give me that furze to build a house." + +Which the man did, and the pig built his house. Then along came +the wolf, and said: + +"Little pig, little pig, let me come in." + +"No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin." + +"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in." + +So he huffed, and he puffed, and he puffed, and he huffed, and at +last he blew the house in, and he ate up the little pig. + +The third little pig met a man with a load of bricks, and said: + +"Please, man, give me those bricks to build a house with." + +So the man gave him the bricks, and he built his house with +them. So the wolf came, as he did to the other little pigs, and said: + +"Little pig, little pig, let me come in." + +"No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin." + +"Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in." + +Well, he huffed, and he puffed, and he huffed, and he puffed, +and he puffed and huffed; but he could _not_ get the house down. +When he found that he could not, with all his huffing and puffing, +blow the house down, he said: + +"Little pig, I know where there is a nice field of turnips." + +"Where?" said the little pig. + +"Oh, in Mr. Smith's Home-field, and if you will be ready tomorrow +morning, I will call for you, and we will go together and +get some for dinner." + +"Very well," said the little pig, "I will be ready. What time +do you mean to go?" + +"Oh, at six o'clock." + +Well, the little pig got up at five, and got the turnips before the +wolf came (which he did about six), who said: + +"Little pig, are you ready?" + +The little pig said: "Ready? I have been and come back again, +and got a nice potful for dinner." + +The wolf felt very angry at this, but thought that he would be +up to the little pig somehow or other, so he said: + +"Little pig, I know where there is a nice apple tree." + +"Where?" said the pig. + +"Down at Merry-garden," replied the wolf, "and if you will +not deceive me, I will come for you at five o'clock tomorrow and +get some apples." + +Well, the little pig bustled up the next morning at four o'clock, +and went for the apples, hoping to get back before the wolf came; +but he had further to go, and had to climb the tree, so that just as +he was coming down from it, he saw the wolf coming, which, as you +may suppose, frightened him very much. When the wolf came up, +he said: + +"Little pig, what! are you here before me? Are they nice +apples?" + +"Yes, very," said the little pig. "I will throw you down +one." + +And he threw it so far, that, while the wolf was gone to pick it +up, the little pig jumped down and ran home. The next day the +wolf came again, and said to the little pig: + +"Little pig, there is a fair at Shanklin this afternoon. Will you +go? + +"Oh, yes," said the pig, "I will go; what time shall you be +ready?" + +"At three," said the wolf. So the little pig went off before the +time as usual, and got to the fair, and bought a butter churn, which +he was going home with when he saw the wolf coming. Then he +could not tell what to do. So he got into the churn to hide, and by +so doing turned it round, and it rolled down the hill with the pig in +it, which frightened the wolf so much that he ran home without +going to the fair. He went to the little pig's house, and told him +how frightened he had been by a great round thing which came down +the hill past him. Then the little pig said: + +"Hah, I frightened you, then. I had been to the fair and bought +a butter churn, and when I saw you, I got into it and rolled down +the hill." + +Then the wolf was very angry indeed, and declared he would eat +up the little pig, and that he would get down the chimney after +him. When the little pig saw what he was about, he hung on the +pot full of water and made up a blazing fire, and, just as the wolf +was coming down, took off the cover, and in fell the wolf; so the +little pig put on the cover again in an instant, boiled him up, and +ate him for supper, and lived happy ever afterwards. + + + + +HANS IN LUCK + +Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm + + +Hans had served his master seven years, and at last said to him, +"Master, my time is up; I should like to go home and see my +mother; so give me my wages." And the master said, "You have +been a faithful and good servant, so your pay shall be handsome." +Then he gave him a piece of silver that was as big as his head. + +Hans took out his pocket handkerchief, put the piece of silver +into it, threw it over his shoulder, and jogged off homewards. As +he went lazily on, dragging one foot after the other, a man came in +sight, trotting along gayly on a capital horse. "Ah!" cried Hans +aloud, "what a fine thing it is to ride on horseback! he trips +against no stones, spares his shoes, and yet gets on he hardly knows +how." The horseman heard this, and said, "Well, Hans, why do +you go on foot, then?" "Ah!" said he, "I have this load to carry; +to be sure it is silver, but it is so heavy that I can't hold up my +head, and it hurts my shoulders sadly." "What do you say to +changing?" said the horseman; "I will give you my horse, and you +shall give me the silver." "With all my heart," said Hans; "but +I tell you one thing,--you'll have a weary task to drag it along." +The horseman got off, took the silver, helped Hans up, gave him the +bridle into his hand, and said, "When you want to go very fast, +you must smack your lips loud, and cry 'Jip.'" + +Hans was delighted as he sat on the horse, and rode merrily on. +After a time he thought he should like to go a little faster, so he +smacked his lips and cried, "Jip." Away went the horse full gallop; +and before Hans knew what he was about, he was thrown off, +and lay in a ditch by the roadside; and his horse would have run +off, if a shepherd who was coming by, driving a cow, had not stopped +it. Hans soon came to himself, and got upon his legs again. He +was sadly vexed, and said to the shepherd, "This riding is no joke +when a man gets on a beast like this, that stumbles and flings him +off as if he would break his neck. However, I am off now once for +all; I like your cow a great deal better; one can walk along at one's +leisure behind her, and have milk, butter, and cheese every day into +the bargain. What would I give to have such a cow!" "Well," +said the shepherd, "if you are so fond of her, I will change my +cow for your horse." "Done!" said Hans merrily. The shepherd +jumped upon the horse, and away he rode. + +Hans drove off his cow quietly, and thought his bargain a very +lucky one. "If I have only a piece of bread, I can, whenever I +like, eat my butter and cheese with it; and when I am thirsty, I can +milk my cow and drink the milk: what can I wish for more?" +When he came to an inn, he halted, ate up all his bread, and gave his +last penny for a glass of beer: then he drove his cow towards his +mother's village; and the heat grew greater as noon came on, till +he began to be so hot and parched that his tongue clave to the roof +of his mouth. "I can find a cure for this," thought he; "now will +I milk my cow and quench my thirst;" so he tied her to the stump +of a tree, and held his leather cap to milk into; but not a drop was +to be had. + +While he was trying his luck and managing the matter very clumsily, +the uneasy beast gave him a kick on the head that knocked him +down, and there he lay a long while senseless. Luckily a butcher +soon came by, wheeling a pig in a wheelbarrow. "What is the matter +with you?" said the butcher, as he helped him up. Hans told +him what had happened, and the butcher gave him a flask, saying, +"There, drink and refresh yourself; your cow will give you no +milk, she is an old beast good for nothing but the slaughterhouse." +"Alas, alas!" said Hans, "who would have thought it? If I kill +her, what would she be good for? I hate cow beef, it is not tender +enough for me. If it were a pig now, one could do something +with it; it would, at any rate, make some sausages." "Well," said +the butcher, "to please you I'll change, and give you the pig for +the cow." "Heaven reward you for your kindness!" said Hans. as +he gave the butcher the cow, and took the pig off the wheelbarrow, +and drove it off, holding it by the string that was tied to its leg. + +So on he jogged, and all seemed now to go right with him. The +next person he met was a countryman, carrying a fine white goose +under his arm. The countryman stopped to ask what o'clock it was; +and Hans told him all his luck, and how he had made so many +good bargains. The countryman said he was going to take the +goose to a christening. "Feel," said he, "how heavy it is, and yet +it is only eight weeks old. Whoever roasts and eats it, may cut +plenty of fat off it, it has lived so well!" "You're right," said +Hans, as he weighed it in his hand; "but my pig is no trifle." Meantime +the countryman began to look grave, and shook his head. + +"Hark ye," said he, "my good friend; your pig may get you into a +scrape; in the village I have just come from, the squire has had a +pig stolen out of his sty. I was dreadfully afraid, when I saw you, +that you had got the squire's pig; it will be a bad job if they +catch you; the least they'll do will be to throw you into the horse +pond." + +Poor Hans was sadly frightened. "Good man," cried he, "pray +get me out of this scrape; you know this country better than I; take +my pig and give me the goose." "I ought to have something into +the bargain," said the countryman; "however, I will not bear hard +upon you, as you are in trouble." Then he took the string in his +hand, and drove off the pig by a side path; while Hans went on +the way homewards free from care. + +As he came to the last village, he saw a scissors grinder, with +his wheel, working away, and singing. Hans stood looking for a +while, and at last said, "You must be well off, master grinder, you +seem so happy at your work." "Yes," said the other, "mine is a +golden trade; a good grinder never puts his hand in his pocket +without finding money in it:--but where did you get that beautiful +goose?" "I did not buy it, but changed a pig for it." "And +where did you get the pig?" "I gave a cow for it." "And the +cow?" "I gave a horse for it." "And the horse?" "I gave a +piece of silver as big as my head for that." "And the silver?" +"Oh, I worked hard for that seven long years." "You have thriven +well in the world hitherto," said the grinder; "now if you could find +money in your pocket whenever you put your hand into it, your +fortune would be made." "Very true: but how is that to be managed?" +"You must turn grinder like me," said the other: "you only want a +grindstone; the rest will come of itself. Here is one that is a +little the worse for wear: I would not ask more than the value of +your goose for it;--will you buy?" "How can you ask such a question?" +replied Hans; "I should be the happiest man in the world if I could +have money whenever I put my hand in my pocket; what could I want +more? there's the goose!" "Now," said the grinder, as he gave him +a rough stone that lay by his side, "this is a most capital stone; +do but manage it cleverly, and you can make an old nail cut with +it." + +Hans took the stone and went off with a light heart; his eyes +sparkled for joy, and he said to himself, "I must have been born in +a lucky hour; everything that I want or wish for comes to me of +itself." + +Meantime he began to be tired, for he had been traveling ever +since daybreak; he was hungry, too, for he had given away his +last penny in his joy at getting the cow. At last he could go no +further, and the stone tired him terribly; he dragged himself to the +side of a pond, that he might drink some water and rest awhile; so he +laid the stone carefully by his side on the bank: but as he stooped +down to drink, he forgot it, pushed it a little, and down it went +plump into the pond. For a while he watched it sinking in the deep, +clear water, then sprang up for joy, and again fell upon his knees, +and thanked heaven with tears in his eyes for its kindness in taking +away his only plague, the ugly heavy stone. "How happy am I," +cried he: "no mortal was ever so lucky as I am." Then up he got +with a light and merry heart, and walked on free from all his +troubles, till he reached his mother's house. + + + + +THE VALIANT LITTLE TAILOR + +Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm + + +One summer's morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by +the window; he was in good spirits, and sewed with all his might. +Then came a peasant woman down the street, crying, "Good jams, +cheap! Good jams, cheap!" This rang pleasantly in the tailor's +ears; he stretched his delicate head out of the window, and called, +"Come up here, dear woman; here you will get rid of your goods." +The woman came up the three steps to the tailor with her heavy +basket, and he made her unpack the whole of the pots for him. He +inspected all of them, lifted them up, put his nose to them, and at +length said, "The jam seems to me to be good, so weigh me out +four ounces, dear woman, and if it is a quarter of a pound that is +of no consequence." The woman, who had hoped to find a good +sale, gave him what he desired, but went away quite angry and +grumbling. "Now God bless the jam to my use," cried the little +tailor, "and give me health and strength;" so he brought the bread +out of the cupboard, cut himself a piece right across the loaf and +spread the jam over it. "That won't taste bitter," said he, "but I +will just finish the jacket before I take a bite." He laid the bread +near him, sewed on, and, in his joy, made bigger and bigger stitches. + +In the meantime the smell of the sweet jam ascended so to the +wall, where the flies were sitting in great numbers, that they were +attracted and descended on it in hosts. "Hola! who invited you?" +said the little tailor, and drove the unbidden guests away. The +flies, however, who understood no German, would not be turned +away, but came back again in ever increasing companies. + +Then the little tailor lost all patience, and got a bit of cloth from +the hole under his work table, and saying, "Wait, and I will give it +to you," struck it mercilessly on them. When he drew it away +and counted, there lay before him no fewer than seven, dead and +with legs stretched out. + +"Art thou a fellow of that sort?" said he, and could not help +admiring his own bravery. "The whole town shall know of this!" +And the little tailor hastened to cut himself a girdle, stitched it, and +embroidered on it in large letters, "Seven at one stroke!" "What, +the town!" he continued, "the whole world shall hear of it!" and +his heart wagged with joy like a lamb's tail. The tailor put on +the girdle, and resolved to go forth into the world, because he +thought his workshop was too small for his valor. + +Before he went away, he sought about in the house to see if there +was anything which he could take with him; however, he found +nothing but an old cheese, and that he put in his pocket. In front +of the door he observed a bird which had caught itself in the thicket. +It had to go into his pocket with the cheese. + +Now he took to the road boldly, and as he was light and nimble, +he felt no fatigue. The road led him up a mountain, and when he +had reached the highest point of it, there sat a powerful giant looking +about him quite comfortably. + +The little tailor went bravely up, spoke to him, and said, "Good +day, comrade, so thou art sitting there overlooking the wide-spread +world! I am just on my way thither, and want to try my luck. Hast +thou any inclination to go with me?" The giant looked contemptuously +at the tailor, and said, "Thou ragamuffin! Thou miserable creature!" + +"Oh, indeed?" answered the little tailor, and unbuttoned his coat +and showed the giant the girdle. "There mayst thou read what +kind of a man I am!" The giant read, "Seven at one stroke!" and +thought that they had been men whom the tailor had killed, and +began to feel a little respect for the tiny fellow. Nevertheless he +wished to try him first, and took a stone in his hand and squeezed +it together so that the water dropped out of it. "Do that likewise," +said the giant, "if thou hast strength." "Is that all?" +said the tailor, "that is child's play with us!" and put his hand into +his pocket, brought out the soft cheese, and pressed it until the +liquid ran out of it. "Faith," said he, "that was a little better, +wasn't it?" + +The giant did not know what to say and could not believe it of the +little man. Then the giant picked up a stone and threw it so high +that the eye could scarcely follow it. "Now, little mite of a man, +do that likewise." "Well thrown," said the tailor, "but after all +the stone came down to earth again; I will throw you one which shall +never come back at all," and he put his hand into his pocket, took +out the bird, and threw it into the air. The bird, delighted with its +liberty, rose, flew away, and did not come back. "How does that +shot please you, comrade?" asked the tailor. + +"Thou canst certainly throw," said the giant, "but now we will +see if thou art able to carry anything properly." He took the little +tailor to a mighty oak tree which lay there felled to the ground, +and said, "If thou art strong enough, help me to carry the tree +out of the forest." "Readily," answered the little man; "take thou +the trunk on thy shoulders, and I will raise up the branches and +twigs; after all, they are the heaviest." The giant took the trunk on +his shoulder, but the tailor seated himself on a branch, and the +giant, who could not look round, had to carry away the whole tree +and the little tailor into the bargain. He, behind, was quite merry +and happy and whistled the song, "Three tailors rode forth from the +gate," as if carrying the tree were child's play. The giant, after +he had dragged the heavy burden part of the way, could go no +further, and cried, "Hark you, I shall have to let the tree fall!" +The tailor sprang nimbly down, seized the tree with both arms as if +he had been carrying it, and said to the giant, "Thou art such a +great fellow, and yet thou canst not even carry the tree!" + +They went on together; and as they passed a cherry tree, the +giant laid hold of the top of the tree where the ripest fruit was +hanging, bent it down, gave it into the tailor's hand, and bade him +eat. But the little tailor was much too weak to hold the tree; +and when the giant let it go, it sprang back again, and the tailor +was hurried into the air with it. When he had fallen down again +without injury, the giant said, "What is this? Hast thou not +strength enough to hold the weak twig?" "There is no lack of +strength," answered the little tailor. "Dost thou think that could +be anything to a man who has struck down seven at one blow? +I leapt over the tree because the huntsmen are shooting down there +in the thicket. Jump as I did, if thou canst do it." The giant +made the attempt, but could not get over the tree, and remained +hanging in the branches, so that in this also the tailor kept the +upper hand. + +The giant said, "If thou art such a valiant fellow, come with me +into our cavern and spend the night with us." The little tailor was +willing, and followed him. When they went into the cave, other +giants were sitting there by the fire, and each of them had a roasted +sheep in his hand and was eating it. The little tailor looked round +and thought, "It is much more spacious here than in my workshop." +The giant showed him a bed and said he was to lie down in it and +sleep. The bed was, however, too big for the little tailor; he did +not lie down in it but crept into a corner. When it was midnight, +and the giant thought the little tailor was lying in a sound sleep, +he got up, took a great iron bar, cut through the bed with one blow, +and thought he had given the grasshopper his finishing stroke. With +the earliest dawn the giants went into the forest, and had quite +forgotten the little tailor, when all at once he walked up to them +quite merrily and boldly. The giants were terrified; they were afraid +that he would strike them all dead, and ran away in a great hurry. + +The little tailor went onwards, always following his own pointed +nose. After he had walked for a long time, he came to the courtyard +of a royal palace, and as he felt weary he lay down on the grass +and fell asleep. Whilst he lay there, the people came and inspected +him on all sides, and read on his girdle, "Seven at one stroke!" +"Ah!" said they, "what does a great warrior here in the midst +of peace? He must be a mighty lord." They went and announced +him to the King, and gave it as their opinion that if war should +break out, this would be a weighty and useful man, who ought on no +account to be allowed to depart. The counsel pleased the King, and +he sent one of his courtiers to the little tailor to offer him military +service when he awoke. The ambassador remained standing by the sleeper, +waited until he stretched his limbs and opened his eyes, and then +conveyed to him this proposal. "For this very reason have I come here," +the tailor replied; "I am ready to enter the King's service." He was +therefore honorably received, and a separate dwelling was assigned to +him. + +The soldiers, however, were set against the little tailor, and wished +him a thousand miles away. "What is to be the end of this?" they +said amongst themselves. "If we quarrel with him and he strikes +about him, seven of us will fall at every blow; not one of us can +stand against him." They came therefore to a decision, betook +themselves in a body to the King, and begged for their dismissal. +"We are not prepared," said they, "to stay with a man who kills +seven at one stroke." The King was sorry that for the sake of one he +should lose all his faithful servants, wished that he had never set +eyes on the tailor, and would willingly have been rid of him again. +But he did not venture to give him his dismissal, for he dreaded lest +he should strike him and all his people dead and place himself on the +royal throne. He thought about it for a long time and at last found +good counsel. He sent to the little tailor and caused him to be informed +that as he was such a great warrior, he had one request to make to him. +In a forest of his country lived two giants, who caused great mischief +with their robbing, murdering, ravaging, and burning, and no one could +approach them without putting himself in danger of death. If the tailor +conquered and killed these two giants, he would give him his only +daughter to wife and half his kingdom as a dowry, likewise one hundred +horsemen should go with him to assist him. "That would indeed be a fine +thing for a man like me!" thought the little tailor. "One is not +offered a beautiful princess and half a kingdom every day of one's +life!" "Oh, yes," he replied, "I will soon subdue the giants, and do +not require the help of the hundred horsemen to do it; he who can hit +seven with one blow has no need to be afraid of two." + +The little tailor went forth, and the hundred horsemen followed +him. When he came to the outskirts of the forest, he said to his +followers, "Just stay waiting here, I alone will soon finish off the +giants." Then he bounded into the forest and looked about right +and left. After a while he perceived both giants. They lay sleeping +under a tree and snored so that the branches waved up and +down. The little tailor, not idle, gathered two pocketfuls of stones +and with these climbed up a tree. When he was halfway up, he +slipped down by a branch until he sat just above the sleepers, and +then let one stone after another fall on the breast of one of the +giants. For a long time the giant felt nothing, but at last he awoke, +pushed his comrade, and said, "Why art thou knocking me?" +"Thou must be dreaming," said the other; "I am not knocking +thee." They laid themselves down to sleep again, and then the +tailor threw a stone down on the second. "What is the meaning of +this?" cried the other. "Why art thou pelting me?" "I am not +pelting thee," answered the first, growling. They disputed about +it for a time, but as they were weary they let the matter rest, and +their eyes closed once more. The little tailor began his game again, +picked out the biggest stone, and threw it with all his might on the +breast of the first giant. "That is too bad!" cried he, and sprang +up like a madman, and pushed his companion against the tree until +it shook. The other paid him back in the same coin, and they got +into such a rage that they tore up trees and belabored each other so +long that at last they both fell down dead on the ground at the +same time. Then the little tailor leapt down. "It is a lucky +thing," said he, "that they did not tear up the tree on which I was +sitting, or I should have had to spring on to another like a squirrel; +but we tailors are nimble." He drew out his sword and gave each of +them a couple of thrusts in the breast, and then went out to the +horsemen and said, "The work is done; I have given them both their +finishing stroke, but it was hard work! They tore up trees in +their sore need, and defended themselves with them, but all that is +to no purpose when a man like myself comes, who can kill seven +at one blow." "But are you not wounded?" asked the horsemen. +"You need not concern yourself about that," answered the tailor. +"They have not bent one hair of mine." The horsemen would not +believe him, and rode into the forest; there they found the giants +swimming in their blood, and all round about lay the torn-up +trees. + +The little tailor demanded of the King the promised reward; he, +however, repented of his promise, and again bethought himself +how he could get rid of the hero. "Before thou receivest my daughter +and the half of my kingdom," said he to him," thou must perform +one more heroic deed. In the forest roams a unicorn which +does great harm, and thou must catch it first." "I fear one unicorn +still less than two giants. Seven at one blow is my kind of affair." +He took a rope and an ax with him, went forth into the forest, and +again bade those who went with him to wait outside. He had not to +seek long. The unicorn soon came towards him and rushed directly +on the tailor, as if it would spit him on its horn without more +ceremony. "Softly, softly; it can't be done as quickly as that," +said he, and stood still and waited until the animal was quite close, +and then sprang nimbly behind the tree. The unicorn ran against +the tree with all its strength, and struck its horn so fast in the +trunk that it had not strength enough to draw it out again, and +thus it was caught. "Now I have got the bird," said the tailor, and +came out from behind the tree and put the rope round its neck, and +then with his ax he hewed the horn out of the tree, and when all +was ready he led the beast away and took it to the King. + +The King still would not give him the promised reward, and made +a third demand. Before the wedding the tailor was to catch him a +wild boar that made great havoc in the forest, and the hunts-- +men should give him their help. "Willingly," said the tailor, "that +is child's play!" He did not take the huntsmen with him into the +forest, and they were well pleased that he did not, for the wild boar +had several times received them in such a manner that they had +no inclination to lie in wait for him. When the boar perceived the +tailor, it ran on him with foaming mouth and whetted tusks, and +was about to throw him to the ground, but the active hero sprang into +a chapel, which was near, and up to the window at once, and in one +bound was out again. The boar ran in after him, but the tailor +ran round outside and shut the door behind it, and then the raging +beast, which was much too heavy and awkward to leap out of the +window, was caught. The little tailor called the huntsmen thither, +that they might see the prisoner with their own eyes. The hero, however, +went to the King, who was now, whether he liked it or not, obliged to +keep his promise, and gave him his daughter and the half of his kingdom. +Had he known that it was no warlike hero but a little tailor who was +standing before him, it would have gone to his heart still more than +it did. The wedding was held with great magnificence and small joy, +and out of the tailor a king was made. + +After some time the young Queen heard her husband say in his +dreams at night, "Boy, make me the doublet and patch the pantaloons, +or else I will rap the yard measure over thine ears." Then +she discovered in what state of life the young lord had been born, +and next morning complained of her wrongs to her father, and +begged him to help her to get rid of her husband, who was nothing +else but a tailor. The King comforted her and said, "Leave thy +bedroom door open this night, and my servants shall stand outside, +and when he has fallen asleep shall go in, bind him, and take him +on board a ship which shall carry him into the wide world." The +woman was satisfied with this; but the King's armor-bearer, who +had heard all, was friendly with the young lord, and informed him of +the whole plot. "I'll put a screw into that business," said the little +tailor. At night he went to bed with his wife at the usual time, and +when she thought that he had fallen asleep, she got up, opened the +door, and then lay down again. The little tailor, who was only +pretending to be asleep, began to cry out in a clear voice, "Boy, make +me the doublet and patch me the pantaloons, or I will rap the yard +measure over thine ears. I smote seven at one blow, I killed two +giants, I brought away one unicorn and caught a wild boar, and am I to +fear those who are standing outside the room?" When these men +heard the tailor speaking thus, they were overcome with a great +dread, and ran as if the wild huntsman were behind them, and none +of them would venture anything further against him. So the little +tailor was a king and remained one, to the end of his life. + + + + +CINDERELLA, OR THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER + +Charles Perrault + + +Once upon a time there was a gentleman who married, for his +second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that ever was +seen. She had two daughters of her own, who were, indeed, exactly +like her in all things. The gentleman had also a young daughter, of +rare goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her +mother, who was the best creature in the world. + +The wedding was scarcely over, when the stepmother's bad temper +began to show itself. She could not bear the goodness of this +young girl, because it made her own daughters appear the more +odious. The stepmother gave her the meanest work in the house +to do; she had to scour the dishes, tables, etc., and to scrub the floors +and clean out the bedrooms. The poor girl had to sleep in the +garret, upon a wretched straw bed, while her sisters lay in fine +rooms with inlaid floors, upon beds of the very newest fashion, and +where they had looking-glasses so large that they might see themselves +at their full length. The poor girl bore all patiently, and +dared not complain to her father, who would have scolded her if she +had done so, for his wife governed him entirely. + +When she had done her work, she used to go into the chimney corner, +and sit down among the cinders; hence she was called Cinderwench. +The younger sister of the two, who was not so rude and uncivil as +the elder, called her Cinderella. However, Cinderella, in spite of +her mean apparel, was a hundred times more handsome than her sisters, +though they were always richly dressed. + +It happened that the King's son gave a ball, and invited to it +all persons of fashion. Our young misses were also invited, for +they cut a very grand figure among the people of the countryside. +They were highly delighted with the invitation, and wonderfully +busy in choosing the gowns, petticoats, and head-dresses +which might best become them. This made Cinderella's lot still +harder, for it was she who ironed her sisters' linen and plaited +their ruffles. They talked all day long of nothing but how they +should be dressed. + +"For my part," said the elder, "I will wear my red velvet suit +with French trimmings." + +"And I," said the younger, "shall wear my usual skirt; but then, +to make amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered mantle, and +my diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary +one in the world." They sent for the best hairdressers they could +get, to make up their hair in fashionable style, and bought patches +for their cheeks. Cinderella was consulted in all these matters, +for she had good taste. She advised them always for the best, +and even offered her services to dress their hair, which they were +very willing she should do.. + +As she was doing this, they said to her: + +"Cinderella, would you not be glad to go to the ball?" + +"Young ladies," she said, "you only jeer at me; it is not for +such as I am to go there." + +"You are right," they replied; "people would laugh to see a +Cinderwench at a ball." + +Any one but Cinderella would have dressed their hair awry, but +she was good-natured, and arranged it perfectly well. They were +almost two days without eating, so much were they transported with +joy. They broke above a dozen laces in trying to lace themselves +tight, that they might have a fine, slender shape, and they were +continually at their looking-glass. + +At last the happy day came; they went to Court, and Cinderella +followed them with her eyes as long as she could, and when she +had lost sight of them, she fell a-crying. + +Her godmother, who saw her all in tears, asked her what was +the matter. + +"I wish I could--I wish I could--" but she could not finish for +sobbing. + +Her godmother, who was a fairy, said to her, "You wish you +could go to the ball; is it not so?" + +"Alas, yes," said Cinderella, sighing. + +"Well," said her godmother, "be but a good girl, and I will see +that you go." Then she took her into her chamber, and said to +her, "Run into the garden, and bring me a pumpkin." + +Cinderella went at once to gather the finest she could get, and +brought it to her godmother, not being able to imagine how this +pumpkin could help her to go to the ball. Her godmother scooped +out all the inside of it, leaving nothing but the rind. Then she +struck it with her wand, and the pumpkin was instantly turned into +a fine gilded coach. + +She then went to look into the mousetrap, where she found six +mice, all alive. She ordered Cinderella to lift the trapdoor, when, +giving each mouse, as it went out, a little tap with her wand, it was +that moment turned into a fine horse, and the six mice made a fine +set of six horses of a beautiful mouse-colored, dapple gray. + +Being at a loss for a coachman, Cinderella said, "I will go and +see if there is not a rat in the rat-trap--we may make a coachman +of him." + +"You are right," replied her godmother; "go and look." + +Cinderella brought the rat-trap to her, and in it there were three +huge rats. The fairy chose the one which had the largest beard, +and, having touched him with her wand, he was turned into a fat +coachman with the finest mustache and whiskers ever seen. + +After that, she said to her: + +"Go into the garden, and you will find six lizards behind the +watering pot; bring them to me." + +She had no sooner done so than her godmother turned them into +six footmen, who skipped up immediately behind the coach, with +their liveries all trimmed with gold and silver, and they held on +as if they had done nothing else their whole lives. + +The fairy then said to Cinderella, "Well, you see here a carriage fit +to go to the ball in; are you not pleased with it?" + +"Oh, yes!" she cried; "but must I go as I am in these rags?" + +Her godmother simply touched her with her wand, and, at the +same moment, her clothes were turned into cloth of gold and +silver, all decked with jewels. This done, she gave her a pair of +the prettiest glass slippers in the whole world. Being thus attired, +she got into the carriage, her godmother commanding her, above all +things, not to stay till after midnight, and telling her, at the same +time, that if she stayed one moment longer, the coach would be a +pumpkin again, her horses mice, her coachman a rat, her footmen +lizards, and her clothes would become just as they were before. + +She promised her godmother she would not fail to leave the ball +before midnight. She drove away, scarce able to contain herself +for joy. The King's son, who was told that a great princess, whom +nobody knew, was come, ran out to receive her. He gave her his +hand as she alighted from the coach, and led her into the hall where +the company were assembled. There was at once a profound silence; +every one left off dancing, and the violins ceased to play, so attracted +was every one by the singular beauties of the unknown newcomer. +Nothing was then heard but a confused sound of voices saying: + +"Ha! how beautiful she is! Ha! how beautiful she is!" + +The King himself, old as he was, could not keep his eyes off her, +and he told the Queen under his breath that it was a long time since +he had seen so beautiful and lovely a creature. + +All the ladies were busy studying her clothes and head-dress, so +that they might have theirs made next day after the same pattern, +provided they could meet with such fine materials and able hands to +make them. + +The King's son conducted her to the seat of honor, and afterwards +took her out to dance with him. She danced so very gracefully that +they all admired her more and more. A fine collation was served, +but the young Prince ate not a morsel, so intently was he occupied +with her. + +She went and sat down beside her sisters, showing them a thousand +civilities, and giving them among other things part of the oranges +and citrons with which the Prince had regaled her. This very +much surprised them, for they had not been presented to her. + +Cinderella heard the clock strike a quarter to twelve. She at +once made her adieus to the company and hastened away as fast as +she could. + +As soon as she got home, she ran to find her godmother, and +after having thanked her, she said she much wished she might go +to the ball the next day, because the King's son had asked her to do +so. As she was eagerly telling her godmother all that happened +at the ball, her two sisters knocked at the door; Cinderella opened +it. "How long you have stayed!" said she, yawning, rubbing her +eyes, and stretching herself as if she had been just awakened. She +had not, however, had any desire to sleep since they went from +home. + +"If you had been at the ball," said one of her sisters, "you +would not have been tired with it. There came thither the finest +princess, the most beautiful ever was seen with mortal eyes. She +showed us a thousand civilities, and gave us oranges and citrons." + +Cinderella did not show any pleasure at this. Indeed, she asked +them the name of the princess; but they told her they did not know +it, and that the King's son was very much concerned, and would +give all the world to know who she was. At this Cinderella, smiling, +replied: + +"Was she then so very beautiful? How fortunate you have been! +Could I not see her? Ah! dear Miss Charlotte, do lend me your +yellow suit of clothes which you wear every day." + +"Ay, to be sure!" cried Miss Charlotte; "lend my clothes to +such a dirty Cinderwench as thou art! I should be out of my +mind to do so." + +Cinderella, indeed, expected such an answer and was very glad +of the refusal; for she would have been sadly troubled if her sister +had lent her what she jestingly asked for. The next day the two +sisters went to the ball, and so did Cinderella, but dressed more +magnificently than before. The King's son was always by her +side, and his pretty speeches to her never ceased. These by no +means annoyed the young lady. Indeed, she quite forgot her godmother's +orders to her, so that she heard the clock begin to strike +twelve when she thought it could not be more than eleven. She +then rose up and fled, as nimble as a deer. The Prince followed, but +could not overtake her. She left behind one of her glass slippers, +which the Prince took up most carefully. She got home, but quite +out of breath, without her carriage, and in her old clothes, having +nothing left her of all her finery but one of the little slippers, fellow +to the one she had dropped. The guards at the palace gate were +asked if they had not seen a princess go out, and they replied they +had seen nobody go out but a young girl, very meanly dressed, and +who had more the air of a poor country girl than of a young lady. + +When the two sisters returned from the ball, Cinderella asked them +if they had a pleasant time, and if the fine lady had been there. +They told her, yes; but that she hurried away the moment it struck +twelve, and with so much haste that she dropped one of her little +glass slippers, the prettiest in the world, which the King's son had +taken up. They said, further, that he had done nothing but look +at her all the time, and that most certainly he was very much in +love with the beautiful owner of the glass slipper. + +What they said was true; for a few days after the King's son +caused it to be proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, that he would +marry her whose foot this slipper would fit exactly. They began +to try it on the princesses, then on the duchesses, and then on all the +ladies of the Court; but in vain. It was brought to the two sisters, +who did all they possibly could to thrust a foot into the slipper, but +they could not succeed. Cinderella, who saw this, and knew her +slipper, said to them, laughing: + +"Let me see if it will not fit me." + +Her sisters burst out a-laughing, and began to banter her. The +gentleman who was sent to try the slipper looked earnestly at +Cinderella, and, finding her very handsome, said it was but just +that she should try, and that he had orders to let every lady try it +on. + +He obliged Cinderella to sit down, and, putting the slipper to her +little foot, he found it went on very easily, and fitted her as if it had +been made of wax. The astonishment of her two sisters was great, +but it was still greater when Cinderella pulled out of her pocket the +other slipper and put it on her foot. Thereupon, in came her godmother, +who, having touched Cinderella's clothes with her wand, +made them more magnificent than those she had worn before. + +And now her two sisters found her to be that beautiful lady they +had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet to beg +pardon for all their ill treatment of her. Cinderella took them up, +and, as she embraced them, said that she forgave them with all her +heart, and begged them to love her always. + +She was conducted to the young Prince, dressed as she was. He +thought her more charming than ever, and, a few days after, married +her. Cinderella, who was as good as she was beautiful, gave her two +sisters a home in the palace, and that very same day married them to +two great lords of the Court. + + + + +THE HISTORY OF DICK WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT + +Old Chapbook + + +In the reign of the famous King Edward the Third, there was +a little boy called Dick Whittington, whose father and mother died +when he was very young, so that he remembered nothing at all about +them, and was left a dirty little fellow running about a country village. +As poor Dick was not old enough to work, he was in a sorry plight. He +got but little for his dinner, and sometimes nothing at all for his +breakfast, for the people who lived in the village were very poor +themselves, and could spare him little more than the parings of potatoes, +and now and then a hard crust. + +For all this, Dick Whittington was a very sharp boy, and was always +listening to what every one talked about. + +On Sundays he never failed to get near the farmers, as they sat talking +on the tombstones in the churchyard before the parson was come; and +once a week you might be sure to see little Dick leaning against the +signpost of the village alehouse, where people stopped to drink as they +came from the next market town; and whenever the barber's shop door was +open Dick listened to all the news he told his customers. + +In this manner Dick heard of the great city called London; how +the people who lived there were all fine gentlemen and ladies; +that there were singing and music in it all day long; and that the +streets were paved all over with gold. + +One day a wagoner, with a large wagon and eight horses, all with +bells at their heads, drove through the village while Dick was +lounging near his favorite signpost. The thought immediately +struck him that it must be going to the fine town of London; and +taking courage he asked the wagoner to let him walk with him by +the side of the wagon. The man, hearing from poor Dick that he +had no parents, and seeing by his ragged condition that he could +not be worse off, told him he might go if he would; so they set off +together. + +Dick got safe to London; and so eager was he to see the fine streets +paved all over with gold that he ran as fast as his legs would carry +him through several streets, expecting every moment to come to +those that were all paved with gold, for Dick had three times seen +a guinea in his own village, and observed what a great deal of money +it brought in change; so he imagined he had only to take up some +little bits of the pavement to have as much money as he desired. + +Poor Dick ran till he was tired, and at last, finding it grow dark, +and that whichever way he turned he saw nothing but dirt instead +of gold, he sat down in a dark corner and cried himself asleep. + +Little Dick remained all night in the streets; and next morning, +finding himself very hungry, he got up and walked about, asking +those he met to give him a halfpenny to keep him from starving; but +nobody stayed to answer him, and only two or three gave him anything, +so that the poor boy was soon in the most miserable condition. +Being almost starved to death, he laid himself down at the door of +one Mr. Fitzwarren, a great, rich merchant. Here he was soon +perceived by the cook-maid, who was an ill-tempered creature, and +happened just then to be very busy dressing dinner for her master +and mistress; so, seeing poor Dick, she called out, "What business +have you there, you lazy rogue? There is nothing else but beggars; +if you do not take yourself away, we will see how you will +like a sousing of some dishwater I have here that is hot enough to +make you caper." + +Just at this time Mr. Fitzwarren himself came home from the city +to dinner, and, seeing a dirty, ragged boy lying at the door, said to +him, "Why do you lie there, my lad? You seem old enough to +work. I fear you must be somewhat idle." '"No, indeed, sir," says +Whittington, "that is not true, for I would work with all my heart, +but I know nobody, and I believe I am very sick for want of food." + +"Poor fellow!" answered Mr. Fitzwarren. + +Dick now tried to rise, but was obliged to lie down again, being +too weak to stand, for he had not eaten anything for three days, +and was no longer able to run about and beg a halfpenny of people +in the street; so the kind merchant ordered that he should be taken +into his house, and have a good dinner immediately, and that +he should be kept to do what dirty work he was able for the +cook. + +Little Dick would have lived very happily in this worthy family +had it not been for the crabbed cook, who was finding fault and +scolding him from morning till night, and was withal so fond of +roasting and basting that, when the spit was out of her hands, she +would be at basting poor Dick's head and shoulders with a broom, +or anything else that happened to fall in her way, till at last her +ill usage of him was told to Miss Alice, Mr. Fitzwarren's daughter, +who asked the ill-tempered creature if she was not ashamed to use +a little friendless boy so cruelly; and added she would certainly be +turned away if she did not treat him with more kindness. + +But though the cook was so ill-tempered, Mr. Fitzwarren's footman +was quite the contrary. He had lived in the family many years, +was rather elderly, and had once a little boy of his own, who died +when about the age of Whittington, so that he could not but feel +compassion for the poor boy. + +As the footman was very fond of reading, he used generally in +the evening to entertain his fellow servants, when they had done +their work, with some amusing book. The pleasure our little hero +took in hearing him made him very much desire to learn to read, +too; so the next time the good-natured footman gave him a halfpenny, +he bought a hornbook with it; and, with a little of his help, +Dick soon learned his letters, and afterwards to read. + +About this time Miss Alice was going out one morning for a walk, +and the footman happening to be out of the way, little Dick, who +had received from Mr. Fitzwarren a neat suit of clothes to go to +church on Sundays, was ordered to put them on, and walk behind +her. As they walked along, Miss Alice, seeing a poor woman with +one child in her arms and another at her back, pulled out her +purse, and gave her some money; and, as she was putting it again +into her pocket, she dropped it on the ground, and walked on. +Luckily Dick, who was behind, saw what she had done, picked it up, +and immediately presented it to her. + +Besides the ill-humor of the cook, which now, however, was somewhat +mended, Whittington had another hardship to get over. This +was, that his bed, which was made of flock, was placed in a garret, +where there were so many holes in the floor and walls that he never +went to bed without being awakened in his sleep by great numbers of +rats and mice, which generally ran over his face, and made such a +noise that he sometimes thought the walls were tumbling down about +him. + +One day a gentleman who paid a visit to Mr. Fitzwarren happened +to have dirtied his shoes, and begged they might be cleaned. +Dick took great pains to make them shine, and the gentleman gave +him a penny. This he resolved to lay out in buying a cat, if possible; +and the next day, seeing a little girl with a cat under her +arm, he went up to her, and asked if she would let him have it for +a penny, to which the girl replied she would with all her heart, +for her mother had more cats than she could maintain, adding +that the one she had was an excellent mouser. + +This cat Whittington hid in the garret, always taking care to carry +her a part of his dinner; and in a short time he had no further +disturbance from the rats and mice, but slept as sound as a top. + +Soon after this the merchant, who had a ship ready to sail, richly +laden, and thinking it but just that all his servants should have some +chance for good luck as well as himself, called them into the parlor, +and asked them what commodity they chose to send. + +All mentioned something they were willing to venture, but poor +Whittington, who, having no money nor goods, could send nothing +at all, for which reason he did not come in with the rest; but Miss +Alice, guessing what was the matter, ordered him to be called, and +offered to lay down some money for him from her own purse; but +this, the merchant observed, would not do, for it must be something +of his own. + +Upon this, poor Dick said he had nothing but a cat, which he +bought for a penny that was given him. + +"Fetch thy cat, boy," says Mr. Fitzwarren, "and let her go." + +Whittington brought poor puss, and delivered her to the captain +with tears in his eyes, for he said, "He should now again be kept +awake all night by the rats and mice." + +All the company laughed at the oddity of Whittington's adventure; and +Miss Alice, who felt the greatest pity for the poor boy, gave him some +halfpence to buy another cat. + +This, and several other marks of kindness shown him by Miss +Alice, made the ill-tempered cook so jealous of the favors the poor +boy received that she began to use him more cruelly than ever, and +constantly made game of him for sending his cat to sea, asking him +if he thought it would sell for as much money as would buy a +halter. + +At last the unhappy little fellow, being unable to bear this +treatment any longer, determined to run away from his place. He +accordingly packed up the few things that belonged to him, and set +out very early in the morning on Allhallow Day, which is the +first of November. He traveled as far as Holloway, and there sat +down on a stone, which to this day is called Whittington's Stone, +and began to consider what course he should take. + +While he was thus thinking what he could do, Bow Bells, of which +there were then only six, began to ring, and it seemed to him that +their sounds addressed him in this manner-- + + "Turn again, Whitlington, + Lord mayor of London." + +"Lord mayor of London!" says he to himself. "Why, to be +sure, I would bear anything to be lord mayor of London, and ride in +a fine coach! Well, I will go back, and think nothing of all the +cuffing and scolding of old Cicely, if I am at last to be lord mayor +of London." + +So back went Dick, and got into the house, and set about his +business before Cicely came downstairs. + +The ship, with the cat on board, was long beaten about at sea, +and was at last driven by contrary winds on a part of the coast of +Barbary, inhabited by Moors that were unknown to the English. + +The natives in this country came in great numbers, out of curiosity, +to see the people on board, who were all of so different a color from +themselves, and treated them with great civility, and, as they became +better acquainted, showed marks of eagerness to purchase the fine +things with which the ship was laden. + +The captain, seeing this, sent patterns of the choicest articles he +had to the king of the country, who was so much pleased with +them that he sent for the captain and his chief mate to the palace. +Here they were placed, as is the custom of the country, on rich +carpets flowered with gold and silver; and, the king and queen being +seated at the upper end of the room, dinner was brought in, which +consisted of the greatest rarities. No sooner, however, were all the +dishes set before the company than an amazing number of rats +and mice rushed in, and helped themselves plentifully from every +dish, scattering pieces of flesh and gravy all about the room. + +The captain, extremely astonished, asked if these vermin were not +very offensive. + +"Oh, yes," said they, "very offensive; and the king would give +half his treasure to be free of them, for they not only destroy his +dinner, but they disturb him even in his chamber, so that he is +obliged to be watched while he sleeps." + +The captain, who was ready to jump for joy, remembering poor +Whittington's hard case, and the cat he had entrusted to his care, told +him he had a creature on board his ship that would kill them all. + +The king was still more overjoyed than the captain. "Bring this +creature to me," says he; "and if she can really perform what you +say I will load your ship with wedges of gold in exchange for her." + +Away flew the captain, while another dinner was providing, to +the ship, and, taking puss under his arm, returned to the palace in +time to see the table covered with rats and mice, and the second +dinner in a fair way to meet with the same fate as the first. + +The cat, at sight of them, did not wait for bidding, but sprang +from the captain's arms, and in a few moments laid the greatest part +of the rats and mice dead at her feet, while the rest, in the greatest +fright imaginable, scampered away to their holes. + +The king, having seen and considered of the wonderful exploits +of Mrs. Puss, and being informed she would soon have young ones, +which might in time destroy all the rats and mice in the country, +bargained with the captain for his whole ship's cargo, and afterwards +agreed to give a prodigious quantity of wedges of gold, of still +greater value, for the cat, with which, after taking leave of their +Majesties, and other great personages belonging to the court, he, +with all his ship's company, set sail, with a fair wind, and, after a +happy voyage, arrived safely in the port of London. + +One morning Mr. Fitzwarren had just entered his counting-house, +and was going to seat himself at the desk, when who should arrive +but the captain and mate of the merchant ship, the _Unicorn,_ just +arrived from the coast of Barbary, and followed by several men, +bringing with them a prodigious quantity of wedges of gold that had +been paid by the king of Barbary in exchange for the merchandise, +and also in exchange for Mrs. Puss. Mr. Fitzwarren, the instant he +heard the news, ordered Whittington to be called, and, having desired +him to be seated, said, "Mr. Whittington, most heartily do I rejoice +in the news these gentlemen have brought you, for the captain has +sold your cat to the king of Barbary, and brought you in return +more riches than I possess in the whole world; and may you long +enjoy them!" + +Mr. Fitzwarren then desired the men to open the immense treasure +they had brought, and added that Mr. Whittington had now nothing +to do but to put it in some place of safety. + +Poor Dick could scarce contain himself for joy. He begged his +master to take what part of it he pleased, since to his kindness he +was indebted for the whole. "No, no, this wealth is all your own, +and justly so," answered Mr. Fitzwarren; "and I have no doubt you +will use it generously." + +Whittington, however, was too kind-hearted to keep all himself; +and accordingly made a handsome present to the captain, the mate, +and every one of the ship's company, and afterwards to his excellent +friend the footman, and the rest of Mr. Fitzwarren's servants, not +even excepting crabbed old Cicely. + +After this, Mr. Fitzwarren advised him to send for tradespeople, +and get himself dressed as became a gentleman, and made him the +offer of his house to live in till he could provide himself with a +better. + +When Mr. Whittington's face was washed, his hair curled, his +hat cocked, and he was dressed in a fashionable suit of clothes, he +appeared as handsome and genteel as any young man who visited +at Mr. Fitzwarren's; so that Miss Alice, who had formerly thought +of him with compassion, now considered him as fit to be her lover; +and the more so, no doubt, because Mr. Whittington was constantly +thinking what he could do to oblige her, and making her the prettiest +presents imaginable. + +Mr. Fitzwarren, perceiving their affection for each other, proposed +to unite them in marriage, to which, without difficulty, they each +consented; and accordingly a day for the wedding was soon fixed, +and they were attended to church by the lord mayor, the court of +aldermen, the sheriffs, and a great number of the wealthiest merchants +in London; and the ceremony was succeeded by a most elegant +entertainment and splendid ball. + +History tells us that the said Mr. Whittington and his lady lived +in great splendor, and were very happy; that they had several children; +that he was sheriff of London in the year 1340, and several +times afterwards lord mayor; that in the last year of his mayoralty +he entertained King Henry the Fifth on his return from the battle +of Agincourt. And sometime afterwards, going with an address +from the city on one of his Majesty's victories, he received the honor +of knighthood. + +Sir Richard Whittington constantly fed great numbers of the poor. +He built a church and college to it, with a yearly allowance to poor +scholars, and near it erected a hospital. + +The effigy of Sir Richard Whittington was to be seen, with his cat +in his arms, carved in stone, over the archway of the late prison of +Newgate that went across Newgate Street. + + + + +THE UGLY DUCKLING + +Hans Christian Andersen + + +It was glorious out in the country. It was summer, and the cornfields +were yellow, and the oats were green; the hay had been put +up in stacks in the green meadows, and the stork went about on his +long red legs, and chattered Egyptian, for this was the language he +had learned from his good mother. All around the fields and +meadows were great forests, and in the midst of these forests lay +deep lakes. Yes, it was really glorious out in the country. In the +midst of the sunshine there lay an old farm, surrounded by deep +canals, and from the wall down to the water grew great burdocks, +so high that the children could stand upright under the loftiest of +them. It was just as wild there as in the deepest wood. Here sat +a Duck upon her nest, for she had to hatch her young ones; but she +was almost tired out before the little ones came; and then she so +seldom had visitors. The other Ducks liked better to swim about in +the canals than to run up to sit down under a burdock and cackle +with her. + +At last one eggshell after another burst open. "Piep! piep!" it +cried, and in all the eggs there were little creatures that stuck out +their heads. + +"Rap! rap!" they said; and they all came rapping out as fast as +they could, looking all round them under the green leaves; and the +mother let them look as much as they chose, for green is good for +the eyes. "How wide the world is!" said the young ones, for they +certainly had much more room now than when they were in the eggs. + +"Do you think this is all the world!" asked the mother. "That +extends far across the other side of the garden, quite into the parson's +field, but I have never been there yet. I hope you are all together," +she continued, and stood up." No, I have not all. The largest egg +still lies there. How long is that to last? I am really tired of it." +And she sat down again. + +"Well, how goes it?" asked an old Duck who had come to pay +her a visit. + +"It lasts a long time with that one egg," said the Duck who sat +there. "It will not burst. Now, only look at the others; are they +not the prettiest ducks one could possibly see? They are all like +their father; the bad fellow never comes to see me." + +"Let me see the egg which will not burst," said the old visitor. +"Believe me, it is a turkey's egg. I was once cheated in that way, +and had much anxiety and trouble with the young ones, for they +are afraid of the water. I could not get them to venture in. I +quacked and clucked, but it was of no use. Let me see the egg. +Yes, that's a turkey's egg. Let it lie there, and you teach the other +children to swim." + +"I think I will sit on it a little longer," said the Duck. "I've sat +so long now that I can sit a few days more." + +"Just as you please," said the old Duck; and she went away. + +At last the great egg burst. "Piep! piep!" said the little one, +and crept forth. It was very large and very ugly. The Duck +looked at it. + +"It's a very large duckling," said she; "none of the others look +like that; can it really be a turkey chick? Now we shall soon find +out. It must go into the water, even if I have to thrust it in myself." + +The next day the weather was splendidly bright, and the sun +shone on all the green trees. The Mother Duck went down to the +water with all her little ones. Splash! she jumped into the water. +"Quack! quack!" she said, and then one duckling after another +plunged in. The water closed over their heads, but they came up +in an instant and swam capitally; their legs went of themselves, and +there they were, all in the water. The ugly gray Duckling swam +with them. + +"No, it's not a turkey," said she; "look how well it can use its +legs, and how upright it holds itself. It is my own child! On the +whole it's quite pretty, if one looks at it rightly. Quack! quack! +come with me, and I'll lead you out into the great world, and +present you in the poultry yard; but keep close to me, so that no +one may tread on you; and take care of the cats!" + +And so they came into the poultry yard. There was a terrible +riot going on there, for two families were quarreling about an eel's +head, and the cat got it after all. + +"See, that's how it goes in the world!" said the Mother Duck; +and she whetted her beak, for she, too, wanted the eel's head. "Only +use your legs," she said. "See that you bustle about, and bow your +heads before the old Duck yonder. She's the grandest of all here; +she's of Spanish blood--that's why she's so fat; and do you see, +she has a red rag round her leg; that's something particularly +fine, and the greatest distinction a duck can enjoy; it signifies that +one does not want to lose her, and that she's to be recognized by +man and beast. Shake yourselves--don't turn in your toes: a well-brought-up +Duck turns its toes quite out, just like father and mother, +so! Now bend your necks and say 'Rap!'" + +And they did so; but the other Ducks round about looked at them +and said quite boldly: + +"Look there! now we're to have these hanging on, as if there were +not enough of us already! And--fie--! how that Duckling yonder +looks; we won't stand that!" And one Duck flew up immediately, +and bit it in the neck. + +"Let it alone," said the mother; "it does no harm to any one." + +"Yes, but it's too large and peculiar," said the Duck who had +bitten it; "and therefore it must be buffeted." + +"Those are pretty children that the mother has there," said the +old Duck with the rag round her leg. "They're all pretty but that +one; that was a failure. I wish she could alter it." + +"That cannot be done, my Lady," replied the Mother Duck. "It +is not pretty, but it has a really good disposition, and swims as well +as any other; I may even say it swims better. I think it will grow +up pretty, and become smaller in time; it has lain too long in the +egg, and therefore is not properly shaped." And then she pinched +it in the neck and smoothed its feathers. "Moreover, it is a drake," +she said, "and therefore it is not of so much consequence. I think +he will be very strong; he makes his way already." + +"The other ducklings are graceful enough," said the old Duck. +"Make yourself at home; and if you find an eel's head, you may +bring it me." + +And now they were at home. But the poor Duckling which had +crept last out of the egg, and looked so ugly, was bitten and pushed +and jeered, as much by the Ducks as by the chickens. + +"It is too big!" they all said. And the turkey-cock, who had +been born with spurs and therefore thought himself an emperor, +blew himself up like a ship in full sail and bore straight down upon +it; then he gobbled and grew quite red in the face. The poor +Duckling did not know where it should stand or walk; it was quite +melancholy, because it looked ugly and was scoffed at by the whole +yard. + +So it went on the first day, and afterward it became worse and +worse. The poor Duckling was hunted about by every one; even +its brothers and sisters were quite angry with it, and said, "If the +cat would only catch you, you ugly creature!" And the mother +said, "If you were only far away!" And the Ducks bit it and the +chickens beat it, and the girl who had to feed the poultry kicked +at it with her foot. + +Then it ran and flew over the fence, and the little birds in the +bushes flew up in fear. + +"That is because I am so ugly!" thought the Duckling; and it +shut its eyes, but flew no further; thus it came out into the great +moor, where the Wild Ducks lived. Here it lay the whole night +long; and it was weary and downcast. + +Toward morning the Wild Ducks flew up and looked at their new +companion. + +"What sort of a one are you?" they asked; and the Duckling +turned in every direction, and bowed as well as it could. "You are +remarkably ugly!" said the Wild Ducks. "But that is very indifferent +to us, so long as you do not marry into our family." + +Poor thing! It certainly did not think of marrying, and only +hoped to obtain leave to lie among the reeds and drink some of the +swamp water. + +Thus it lay two whole days; then came thither two Wild Geese, +or, properly speaking, two wild ganders. It was not long since each +had crept out of an egg, and that's why they were so saucy. + +"Listen, comrade," said one of them. "You're so ugly that I +like you. Will you go with us and become a bird of passage? +Near here, in another moor, there are a few sweet lovely wild geese, +all unmarried and all able to say 'Rap!' You've a chance of +making your fortune, ugly as you are!" + +"Piff! paff!" resounded through the air; and the two ganders +fell down dead in the swamp, and the water became blood-red. +"Piff! paff!" it sounded again, and the whole flock of wild geese +rose up from the reeds. And then there was another report. A +great hunt was going on. The hunters were lying in wait all round +the moor and some were even sitting up in the branches of the +trees, which spread far over the reeds. The blue smoke rose up like +clouds among the dark trees, and was wafted far away across the +water; and the hunting dogs came--splash, splash!--into the +swamp, and the rushes and reeds bent down on every side. That +was a fright for the poor Duckling! It turned its head and put it +under its wing; but at that moment a frightful great dog stood close +by the Duckling. His tongue hung far out of his mouth and his +eyes gleamed horrible and ugly; he thrust out his nose close against +the Duckling, showed his sharp teeth, and--splash, splash!--on +he went without seizing it. + +"Oh, heaven be thanked!" sighed the Duckling. "I am so ugly +that even the dog does not like to bite me!" + +And so it lay quiet, while the shots rattled through the reeds and +gun after gun was fired. At last, late in the day, silence; but the +poor Duckling did not dare to rise up; it waited several hours before +it looked round, and then hastened away out of the moor as fast as it +could. It ran on over field and meadow; there was such a storm +raging that it was difficult to get from one place to another. + +Toward evening the Duck came to a little miserable peasant's hut. +This hut was so dilapidated that it did not know on which side it +should fall; and that's why it remained standing. The storm whistled +round the Duckling in such a way that the poor creature was +obliged to sit down, to stand against it; and the tempest grew worse +and worse. Then the Duckling noticed that one of the hinges of the +door had given way, and the door hung so slanting that the Duckling +could slip through the crack into the room; and it did so. + +Here lived an old woman, with her Tom Cat and her Hen. And the +Tom Cat, whom she called Sonnie, could arch his back and purr, he +could even give out sparks; but for that one had to stroke his fur +the wrong way. The Hen had quite little legs, and therefore she +was called Chickabiddy-short-shanks; she laid good eggs, and the +woman loved her as her own child. + +In the morning the strange Duckling was at once noticed, and +the Tom Cat began to purr and the Hen to cluck. + +"What's this?" said the woman, and looked all round; but she +could not see well, and therefore she thought the Duckling was a +fat duck that had strayed. "This is a rare prize," she said. "Now +I shall have duck's eggs. I hope it is not a drake. We must try +that." + +And so the Duckling was admitted on trial for three weeks; but +no eggs came. And the Tom Cat was master of the house, and the +Hen was the lady, and they always said "We and the world!" for +they thought they were half the world, and by far the better half. +The Duckling thought one might have a different opinion, but the +Hen would not allow it. + +"Can you lay eggs?" she asked. + +"No." + +"Then you'll have the goodness to hold your tongue." + +And the Tom Cat said, "Can you curve your back, and purr, and +give out sparks? + +"No." + +"Then you cannot have any opinion of your own when sensible +people are speaking." + +And the Duckling sat in a corner and was melancholy; then the +fresh air and the sunshine streamed in; and it was seized with such +a strange longing to swim on the water that it could not help telling +the Hen of it. + +"What are you thinking of?" cried the Hen. "You have nothing +to do, that's why you have these fancies. Purr or lay eggs, and +they will pass over." + +"But it is so charming to swim on the water!" said the Duckling, +"so refreshing to let it close above one's head, and to dive down +to the bottom." + +"Yes, that must be a mighty pleasure truly," quoth the Hen. "I +fancy you must have gone crazy. Ask the Cat about it--he's the +cleverest animal I know--ask him if he likes to swim on the water, +or to dive down: I won't speak about myself. Ask our mistress, +the old woman; no one in the world's cleverer than she. Do you +think she has any desire to swim, and to let the water close above +her head?" + +"You don't understand me," said the Duckling. + +"We don't understand you? Then pray who is to understand +you? You surely don't pretend to be cleverer than the Tom Cat and +the old woman--I won't say anything of myself. Don't be conceited, +child, and be grateful for all the kindness you have received. +Did you not get into a warm room, and have you not fallen into +company from which you may learn something? But you are a +chatterer, and it is not pleasant to associate with you. You may +believe me, I speak for your good. I tell you disagreeable things, +and by that one may always know one's friends. Only take care +that you learn to lay eggs, or to purr and give out sparks!" + +"I think I will go out into the wide world," said the Duckling. + +"Yes, do go," replied the Hen. + +And the Duckling went away. It swam on the water, and dived, +but it was slighted by every creature because of its ugliness. + +Now came the autumn. The leaves in the forest turned yellow +and brown; the wind caught them so that they danced about, and up +in the air it was very cold. The clouds hung low, heavy with hail +and snowflakes, and on the fence stood the raven, crying, "Croak! +croak!" for mere cold; yes, it was enough to make one feel cold +to think of this. The poor little Duckling certainly had not a good +time. One evening--the sun was just setting in his beauty--there +came a whole flock of great handsome birds out of the bushes; they +were dazzlingly white, with long, flexible necks; they were swans. +They uttered a very peculiar cry, spread forth their glorious great +wings, and flew away from that cold region to warmer lands, to fair +open lakes. They mounted so high, so high! and the ugly little +Duckling felt quite strangely as it watched them. It turned round +and round in the water like a wheel, stretched out its neck toward +them, and uttered such a strange loud cry as frightened itself. Oh! +it could not forget those beautiful, happy birds; and as soon as it +could see them no longer, it dived down to the very bottom, and when +it came up again, it was quite beside itself. It knew not the name of +those birds, and knew not whither they were flying; but it loved them +more than it had ever loved any one. It was not at all envious of +them. How could it think of wishing to possess such loveliness as +they had? It would have been glad if only the ducks would have +endured its company--the poor ugly creature! + +And the winter grew cold, very cold! The Duckling was forced +to swim about in the water, to prevent the surface from freezing +entirely; but every night the hole in which it swam about became +smaller and smaller. It froze so hard that the icy covering crackled +again; and the Duckling was obliged to use its legs continually to +prevent the hole from freezing up. At last it became exhausted, +and lay quite still, and thus froze fast into the ice. + +Early in the morning a peasant came by, and when he saw what +had happened, he took his wooden shoe, broke the ice crust to pieces, +and carried the Duckling home to his wife. Then it came to itself +again. The children wanted to play with it; but the Duckling +thought they would do it an injury, and in its terror fluttered up +into the milk pan, so that the milk spurted down into the room. The +woman clasped her hands, at which the Duckling flew down into the +butter tub, and then into the meal barrel and out again. How it +looked then! The woman screamed, and struck at it with the fire +tongs; the children tumbled over one another, in their efforts to +catch the Duckling; and they laughed and screamed finely! Happily +the door stood open, and the poor creature was able to slip out +between the shrubs into the newly fallen snow; and there it lay quite +exhausted. + +But it would be too melancholy if I were to tell all the misery +and care which the Duckling had to endure in the hard winter. It +lay out on the moor among the reeds, when the sun began to shine +again and the larks to sing; it was a beautiful spring. + +Then all at once the Duckling could flap its wings; they beat the +air more strongly than before, and bore it strongly away; and before +it well knew how all this had happened, it found itself in a great +garden, where the elder trees smelt sweet, and bent their long green +branches down to the canal that wound through the region. Oh, here +it was so beautiful, such a gladness of spring! and from the thicket +came three glorious white swans; they rustled their wings, and swam +lightly on the water. The Duckling knew the splendid creatures, +and felt oppressed by a peculiar sadness. + +"I will fly away to them, to the royal birds! and they will kill +me, because I, that am so ugly, dare to approach them. But it is of +no consequence! Better to be killed by _them_ than to be pursued +by ducks, and beaten by fowls, and pushed about by the girl who takes +care of the poultry yard, and to suffer hunger in winter!" And it +flew out into the water, and swam toward the beautiful swans: these +looked at it, and came sailing down upon it with outspread wings. +"Kill me!" said the poor creature, and bent its head down upon +the water, expecting nothing but death. But what was this that it +saw in the clear water? It beheld its own image--and, lo! it was +no longer a clumsy dark-gray bird, ugly and hateful to look at, but +--a swan. + +It matters nothing if one was born in a duck yard, if one has only +lain in a swan's egg. + +It felt quite glad at all the need and misfortune it had suffered, +now it realized its happiness in all the splendor that surrounded it. +And the great swans swam round it, and stroked it with their beaks. + +Into the garden came little children, who threw bread and corn +into the water; the youngest cried, "There is a new one!" and the +other children shouted joyously, "Yes, a new one has arrived!" +And they clapped their hands and danced about, and ran to their +father and mother; and bread and cake were thrown into the water; +and they all said, "The new one is the most beautiful of all! so +young and handsome!" and the old swans bowed their heads before +him. + +Then he felt quite ashamed, and hid his head under his wing, for +he did not know what to do; he was so happy, and yet not at all +proud. He thought how he had been persecuted and despised; and +now he heard them saying that he was the most beautiful of all the +birds. Even the elder tree bent its branches straight down into the +water before him, and the sun shone warm and mild. Then his +wings rustled, he lifted his slender neck, and cried rejoicingly from +the depths of his heart: + +"I never dreamed of so much happiness when I was still the +Ugly Duckling!" + + + +THE FLAX + +Hans Christian Andersen + + +The Flax was in full bloom. Its pretty blue blossoms were as soft +as the wings of a moth, and still more delicate. And the sun shone +on the flax field, and the rain watered it; and that was as good for +the flax flowers as it is for little children to be washed and kissed +by their mother,--they look so much fresher and prettier afterwards. +Thus it was with the Flax flowers. + +"People say I am so fine and flourishing," observed the Flax; +"and that I am growing so charmingly tall, a splendid piece of +linen will be got from me. Oh, how happy I am! how can any one +be happier? Everything around me is so pleasant, and I shall be +of use for something or other. How the sun cheers one up, and how +fresh and sweet the rain tastes! I am incomparably happy; I am +the happiest vegetable in the world!" + +"Ah, ah, ah!" jeered the Stakes in the hedge; "you don't know +the world, not you, but we know it, there are knots in us!" and then +they cracked so dolefully: + +"Snip, snap, snurre, +Bassilurre, +And so the song is en-ded-ded-ded." + +"No, it is not ended," replied the Flax; "the sun shines every +morning, the rain does me so much good, I can see myself grow; +I can feel that I am in blossom--who so happy as I?" + +However, one day people came, took hold of the Flax, and pulled +it up, root and all; that was exceedingly uncomfortable; and then it +was thrown into water, as though intended to be drowned, and, after +that, put before the fire, as though to be roasted. That was most +cruel! + +"One cannot always have what one wishes!" sighed the Flax; +"it is well to suffer sometimes, it gives one experience." + +But matters seemed to get worse and worse. The Flax was bruised +and broken, hacked and hackled, and at last put on the wheel-- +snurre rur! snurre rur!--it was not possible to keep one's thoughts +collected in such a situation as this. + +"I have been exceedingly fortunate," thought the Flax, amid all +these tortures. "One ought to be thankful for the happiness one +has enjoyed in times past. Thankful, thankful, oh, yes!" and still +the Flax said the same when taken to the loom. And here it was +made into a large, handsome piece of linen; all the Flax of that +one field was made into a single piece. + +"Well, but this is charming! Never should I have expected it. +What unexampled good fortune I have carried through the world +with me! What arrant nonsense the Stakes in the hedge used to +talk with their + + "'Snip, snap, snurre, + Bassilurre.' + +The song is not ended at all! Life is but just beginning. It is a +very pleasant thing, too, is life; to be sure I have suffered, but that is +past now, and I have become something through suffering. I am +so strong, and yet so soft! so white and so long! this is far better +than being a vegetable; even during blossom-time nobody attends +to one, and one only gets water when it is raining. Now, I am well +taken care of--the girl turns me over every morning, and I have a +shower bath from the water tub every evening; nay, the parson's wife +herself came and looked at me, and said I was the finest piece of +linen in the parish. No one can possibly be happier than I am!" + +The Linen was taken into the house, and cut up with scissors. Oh, +how it was cut and clipped, how it was pierced and stuck through +with needles! that was certainly no pleasure at all. It was at last +made up into twelve articles of attire, such articles as are not often +mentioned, but which people can hardly do without; there were just +twelve of them. + +"So this, then, was my destiny. Well, it is very delightful; now +I shall be of use in the world, and there is really no pleasure like +that of being useful. We are now twelve pieces, but we are still one +and the same--we are a dozen! Certainly, this is being extremely +fortunate!" + +Years passed away,--at last the Linen could endure no longer. + +"All things must pass away some time or other," remarked each +piece. "I should like very much to last a little while longer, but +one ought not to wish for impossibilities." And so the Linen was +rent into shreds and remnants numberless; they believed all was over +with them, for they were hacked, and mashed, and boiled, and they +knew not what else--and thus they became beautiful, fine, white +paper! + +"Now, upon my word, this is a surprise! And a most delightful +surprise too!" declared the Paper. "Why, now I am finer than +ever, and I shall be written upon! I wonder what will be written +upon me. Was there ever such famous good fortune as mine!" +And the Paper was written upon; the most charming stories in the +world were written on it, and they were read aloud! and people declared +that these stories were very beautiful and very instructive; +that to read them would make mankind both wiser and better. +Truly, a great blessing was given to the world in the words written +upon that same Paper. + +"Certainly, this is more than I could ever have dreamt of, when +I was a wee little blue flower of the field! How could I then have +looked forward to becoming a messenger destined to bring knowledge +and pleasure among men? I can hardly understand it even +now. Yet, so it is, actually. And, for my own part, I have never +done anything, beyond the little that in me lay, to strive to exist, +and yet I am carried on from one state of honor and happiness to +another; and every time that I think within myself, 'Now, surely, the +song is en-ded-ded-ded,' I am converted into something new, something +far higher and better. Now, I suppose I shall be sent on my +travels, shall be sent round the wide world, so that all men may read +me. I should think that would be the wisest plan. Formerly I had +blue blossoms, now for every single blossom I have some beautiful +thought, or pleasant fancy--who so happy as I?" + +But the Paper was not sent on its travels, it went to the printer's +instead, and there all that was written upon it was printed in a +book; nay, in many hundred books: and in this way an infinitely +greater number of people received pleasure and profit therefrom +than if the written Paper itself had been sent round the world, and +perhaps got torn and worn to pieces before it had gone halfway. + +"Yes, to be sure, this is much more sensible," thought the Paper. +"It had never occurred to me, though. I am to stay at home and +be held in as great honor as if I were an old grandfather. The +book was written on me first, the ink flowed in upon me from the pen +and formed the words. I shall stay at home, while the books go +about the world, to and fro--that is much better. How glad I am! +how fortunate I am!" + +So the Paper was rolled up and laid on one side. "It is good to +repose after labor," said the Paper. "It is quite right to collect +oneself, and quietly think over all that dwelleth within one. Now, +first, do I rightly know myself. And to know oneself, I have heard, +is the best knowledge, the truest progress. And come what will, +this I am sure of, all will end in progress--always is there +progress!" + +One day the roll of Paper was thrown upon the stove to be burnt +--it must not be sold to the grocer to wrap round pounds of butter +and sugar. And all the children in the house flocked round; they +wanted to see the blaze, they wanted to count the multitude of tiny +red sparks which seem to dart to and fro among the ashes, dying out, +one after another, so quickly--they call them "the children going +out of school," and the last spark of all is the schoolmaster; they +often fancy he is gone out, but another and another spark flies up +unexpectedly, and the schoolmaster always tarries a little behind the +rest. + +And now all the Paper lay heaped up on the stove. "Ugh!" it +cried, and all at once it burst into a flame. So high did it rise into +the air, never had the Flax been able to rear its tiny blue blossoms +so high, and it shone as never the white Linen had shone; all the letters +written on it became fiery red in an instant, and all the words +and thoughts of the writer were surrounded with a glory. + +"Now, then, I go straight up into the sun!" said something within +the flames. It was as though a thousand voices at once had spoken +thus; and the Flame burst through the chimney, and rose high above +it; and brighter than the Flame, yet invisible to mortal eyes, hovered +little tiny beings, as many as there had been blossoms on the +Flax. They were lighter and of more subtle essence than even the +Flame that bore them; and when that Flame had quite died away, +and nothing remained of the Paper but the black ashes, they once +again danced over them, and wherever their feet touched the ashes, +their footprints, the fiery red sparks, were seen. Thus "the children +went out of school, and the schoolmaster came last"; it was a pleasure +to see the pretty sight, and the children of the house stood looking +at the black ashes and singing--- + + "Snip, snap, snurre, + Bassilurre, + And now the song is en-ded-ded-ded." + +But the tiny invisible beings replied every one, "The song is never +ended; that is the best of it! We know that, and therefore none are +so happy as we are!" + +However, the children could neither hear nor understand the reply; +nor would it be well that they should, for children must not +know everything. + + + +BLUE BEARD + +Charles Perrault + + +Once upon a time there was a man who had fine houses, both in +town and country, a deal of silver and gold plate, carved furniture, +and coaches gilded all over. But unhappily this man had a blue +beard, which made him so ugly and so terrible that all the women +and girls ran away from him. + +One of his neighbors, a lady of quality, had two daughters who +were perfect beauties. He asked for one of them in marriage, leaving +to her the choice of which she would bestow on him. They +would neither of them have him, and they sent him backward and +forward from one to the other, neither being able to make up her +mind to marry a man who had a blue beard. Another thing which +made them averse to him was that he had already married several +wives, and nobody knew what had become of them. + +Blue Beard, to become better acquainted, took them, with their +mother and three or four of their best friends, with some young +people of the neighborhood, to one of his country seats, where they +stayed a whole week. + +There was nothing going on but pleasure parties, hunting, fishing, +dancing, mirth, and feasting. Nobody went to bed, but all passed +the night in playing pranks on each other. In short, everything +succeeded so well that the youngest daughter began to think that the +beard of the master of the house was not so very blue, and that he +was a very civil gentleman. So as soon as they returned home, the +marriage was concluded. + +About a month afterward Blue Beard told his wife that he was +obliged to take a country journey for six weeks at least, upon business +of great importance. He desired her to amuse herself well in +his absence, to send for her friends, to take them into the country, +if she pleased, and to live well wherever she was. + +"Here," said he, "are the keys of the two great warehouses +wherein I have my best furniture: these are of the room where I +keep my silver and gold plate, which is not in everyday use; these +open my safes, which hold my money, both gold and silver; these +my caskets of jewels; and this is the master-key to all my apartments. +But as for this little key, it is the key of the closet at the end +of the great gallery on the ground floor. Open them all; go everywhere; +but as for that little closet, I forbid you to enter it, and I +promise you surely that, if you open it, there's nothing that you may +not expect from my anger." + +She promised to obey exactly all his orders; and he, after having +embraced her, got into his coach and proceeded on his journey. + +Her neighbors and good friends did not stay to be sent for by the +new-married lady, so great was their impatience to see all the riches +of her house, not daring to come while her husband was there, because +of his blue beard, which frightened them. They at once ran +through all the rooms, closets, and wardrobes, which were so fine +and rich, and each seemed to surpass all others. They went up +into the warehouses, where was the best and richest furniture; and +they could not sufficiently admire the number and beauty of the +tapestry, beds, couches, cabinets, stands, tables, and looking-glasses, +in which you might see yourself from head to foot. Some of them +were framed with glass, others with silver, plain and gilded, the +most beautiful and the most magnificent ever seen. + +They ceased not to praise and envy the happiness of their friend, +who, in the meantime, was not at all amused by looking upon all +these rich things, because of her impatience to go and open the +closet on the ground floor. Her curiosity was so great that, without +considering how uncivil it was to leave her guests, she went down +a little back staircase, with such excessive haste that twice or thrice +she came near breaking her neck. Having reached the closet door, +she stood still for some time, thinking of her husband's orders, and +considering that unhappiness might attend her if she was disobedient; +but the temptation was so strong she could not overcome it. She +then took the little key, and opened the door, trembling. At first she +could not see anything plainly, because the windows were shut. +After some moments she began to perceive that several dead women +were scattered about the floor. (These were all the wives whom +Blue Beard had married and murdered, one after the other, because +they did not obey his orders about the closet on the ground floor.) +She thought she surely would die for fear, and the key, which she +pulled out of the lock, fell out of her hand. + +After having somewhat recovered from the shock, she picked +up the key, locked the door, and went upstairs into her chamber +to compose herself; but she could not rest, so much was she +frightened. + +Having observed that the key of the closet was stained, she tried +two or three times to wipe off the stain, but the stain would not +come out. In vain did she wash it, and even rub it with soap and +sand. The stain still remained, for the key was a magic key, and +she could never make it quite clean; when the stain was gone off +from one side, it came again on the other. + +Blue Beard returned from his journey that same evening, and +said he had received letters upon the road, informing him that the +business which called him away was ended to his advantage. His +wife did all she could to convince him she was delighted at his +speedy return. + +Next morning he asked her for the keys, which she gave him, but +with such a trembling hand that he easily guessed what had happened. + +"How is it," said he, "that the key of my closet is not among the +rest?" + +"I must certainly," said she, "have left it upstairs upon the +table." + +"Do not fail," said Blue Beard, "to bring it to me presently." + +After having put off doing it several times, she was forced to +bring him the key. Blue Beard, having examined it, said to his +wife: + +"How comes this stain upon the key?" + +"I do not know," cried the poor woman, paler than death. + +"You do not know!" replied Blue Beard. "I very well know. +You wished to go into the cabinet? Very well, madam; you shall +go in, and take your place among the ladies you saw there." + +She threw herself weeping at her husband's feet, and begged his +pardon with all the signs of a true repentance for her disobedience. +She would have melted a rock, so beautiful and sorrowful was she; +but Blue Beard had a heart harder than any stone. + +"You must die, madam," said he, "and that at once." + +"Since I must die," answered she, looking upon him with her eyes +all bathed in tears, "give me some little time to say my prayers." + +"I give you," replied Blue Beard, "half a quarter of an hour, +but not one moment more." + +When she was alone she called out to her sister, and said to her: + +"Sister Anne,"---for that was her name,---"go up, I beg you, to +the top of the tower, and look if my brothers are not coming; they +promised me they would come today, and if you see them, give them +a sign to make haste." + +Her sister Anne went up to the top of the tower, and the poor +afflicted wife cried out from time to time: + +"Anne, sister Anne, do you see any one coming?" + +And sister Anne said: + +"I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, +which looks green." + +In the meanwhile Blue Beard, holding a great saber in his hand, +cried to his wife as loud as he could: + +"Come down instantly, or I shall come up to you." + +"One moment longer, if you please," said his wife; and then she +cried out very softly, "Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see anybody +coming?" + +And sister Anne answered: + +"I see nothing but the sun, which makes a dust, and the grass, +which is green." + +"Come down quickly," cried Blue Beard, "or I will come up to +you." + +"I am coming," answered his wife; and then she cried, "Anne, +sister Anne, dost thou not see any one coming?" + +"I see," replied sister Anne, "a great dust, which comes from +this side." + +"Are they my brothers?" + +"Alas! no, my sister, I see a flock of sheep." + +"Will you not come down?" cried Blue Beard. + +"One moment longer," said his wife, and then she cried out, +"Anne, sister Anne, dost thou see nobody coming?" + +"I see," said she, "two horsemen, but they are yet a great way +off." + +"God be praised," replied the poor wife, joyfully; "they are my +brothers; I will make them a sign, as well as I can, for them to make +haste." + +Then Blue Beard bawled out so loud that he made the whole house +tremble. The distressed wife came down, and threw herself at his +feet, all in tears, with her hair about her shoulders. + +"All this is of no help to you," says Blue Beard; "you must +die;" then, taking hold of her hair with one hand, and lifting up +his sword in the air with the other, he was about to take off her head. +The poor lady, turning about to him, and looking at him with dying +eyes, desired him to afford her one little moment to her thoughts. + +"No, no," said he, "commend thyself to God," and again lifting +his arm-- + +At this moment there was such a loud knocking at the gate that +Blue Beard stopped suddenly. The gate was opened, and presently +entered two horsemen, who, with sword in hand, ran directly to +Blue Beard. He knew them to be his wife's brothers, one a dragoon, +the other a musketeer. He ran away immediately, but the two +brothers pursued him so closely that they overtook him before he +could get to the steps of the porch. There they ran their swords +through his body, and left him dead. The poor wife was almost +as dead as her husband, and had not strength enough to arise and +welcome her brothers. + +Blue Beard had no heirs, and so his wife became mistress of all +his estate. She made use of one portion of it to marry her sister +Anne to a young gentleman who had loved her a long while; another +portion to buy captains' commissions for her brothers; and the +rest to marry herself to a very worthy gentleman, who made her +forget the sorry time she had passed with Blue Beard. + + + + +JACK AND THE BEANSTALK + +Joseph Jacobs + + +There was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son +named Jack, and a cow named Milky-white. And all they had to +live on was the milk the cow gave every morning, which they carried +to the market and sold. But one morning Milky-white gave +no milk, and they didn't know what to do. + +"What shall we do, what shall we do?" said the widow, wringing +her hands. + +"Cheer up, mother, I'll go and get work somewhere," said Jack. + +"We've tried that before, and nobody would take you," said his +mother; "we must sell Milky-white and with the money start shop, +or something." + +"All right, mother," says Jack; "it's market-day today, and I'll +soon sell Milky-white, and then we'll see what we can do." + +So he took the cow's halter in his hand, and off he started. He +hadn't gone far when he met a funny-looking old man, who said to +him: "Good morning, Jack." + +"Good morning to you," said Jack, and wondered how he knew +his name. + +"Well, Jack, and where are you off to?" said the man. + +"I'm going to market to sell our cow here." + +"Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows," said the man, +"I wonder if you know how many beans make five." + +"Two in each hand and one in your mouth," says Jack, as sharp +as a needle. + +"Right you are," says the man, "and here they are, the very beans +themselves," he went on, pulling out of his pocket a number of +strange-looking beans. "As you are so sharp," says he, "I don't +mind a swop with you---your cow for these beans." + +"Go along," says Jack; "wouldn't you like it?" + +"Ah! you don't know what these beans are," said the man; "if +you plant them over night, by morning they grow right up to the +sky." + +"Really?" said Jack; "you don't say so." + +"Yes, that is so, and if it doesn't turn out to be true, you can have +your cow back." + +"Right," says Jack, and hands him over Milky-white's halter and +pockets the beans. + +Back goes Jack home, and as he hadn't gone very far it wasn't +dusk by the time he got to his door. + +"Back already, Jack?" said his mother; "I see you haven't +got Milky-white, so you've sold her. How much did you get for +her?" + +"You'll never guess, mother," says Jack. + +"No, you don't say so. Good boy! Five pounds, ten, fifteen, +no, it can't be twenty." + +"I told you you couldn't guess. What do you say to these beans; +they're magical, plant them over night and---" + +"What!" says Jack's mother; "have you been such a fool, such +a dolt, such an idiot, as to give away my Milky-white, the best milker +in the parish, and prime beef to boot, for a set of paltry beans? +Take that! Take that! Take that! And as for your precious +beans, here they go out of the window. And now off with you to +bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow +this very night." + +So Jack went upstairs to his little room in the attic, and sad and +sorry he was, to be sure, as much for his mother's sake as for the +loss of his supper. + +At last he dropped off to sleep. + +When he woke up, the room looked so funny. The sun was shining +into part of it, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. +So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window. +And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had +thrown out of the window into the garden, had sprung up into a +big beanstalk which went up and up and up till it reached the sky. +So the man spoke truth after all. + +The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack's window, so all he +had to do was to open it and give a jump on to the beanstalk, which +ran up just like a big ladder. So Jack climbed, and he climbed +and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and +he climbed till at last he reached the sky. And when he got there +he found a long, broad road going as straight as a dart. So he +walked along and he walked along till he came to a great big tall +house, and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman. + +"Good morning, mum," says Jack, quite politely. "Could you +be so kind as to give me some breakfast?" For he hadn't had +anything to eat, you know, the night before and was as hungry as +a hunter. + +"It's breakfast you want, is it?" says the great big tall woman; +"it's breakfast you'll be if you don't move off from here. My man +is an ogre and there's nothing he likes better than boys broiled on +toast. You'd better be moving on or he'll soon be coming." + +"Oh! please, mum, do give me something to eat, mum. I've had +nothing to eat since yesterday morning, really and truly, mum," says +Jack. "I may as well be broiled as die of hunger." + +Well, the ogre's wife was not half so bad after all. So she took +Jack into the kitchen, and gave him a chunk of bread and cheese and +a jug of milk. But Jack hadn't half finished these when thump! +thump! thump! the whole house began to tremble with the noise of +some one coming. + +"Good gracious me! It's my old man," said the ogre's wife; +"what on earth shall I do? Come along quick and jump in here." +And she bundled Jack into the oven just as the ogre came in. + +He was a big one, to be sure. At his belt he had three calves +strung up by the heels, and he unhooked them and threw them down +on the table and said: "Here, wife, broil me a couple of these for +breakfast. Ah! what's this I smell? + + "Fee-fi-fo-fum, + I smell the blood of an Englishman, + Be he alive, or be he dead, + I'll have his bones to grind my bread." + +"Nonsense, dear," said his wife, "you're dreaming. Or perhaps +you smell the scraps of that little boy you liked so much for +yesterday's dinner. Here, you go and have a wash and tidy up, and +by the time you come back your breakfast'll be ready for you." + +So off the ogre went, and Jack was just going to jump out of the +oven and run away when the woman told him not. "Wait till he's +asleep," says she; "he always has a doze after breakfast." + +Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he goes to a big +chest and takes out of it a couple of bags of gold, and down he sits +and counts till at last his head began to nod and he began to snore +till the whole house shook again. + +Then Jack crept out on tiptoe from his oven, and as he was passing +the ogre he took one of the bags of gold under his arm, and off he +pelters till he came to the beanstalk, and then he threw down the bag +of gold, which of course fell into his mother's garden, and then he +climbed down and climbed down till at last he got home and told +his mother and showed her the gold and said: "Well, mother, +wasn't I right about the beans? They are really magical, you see." + +So they lived on the bag of gold for some time, but at last they +came to the end of it, and Jack made up his mind to try his luck once +more at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning he rose up +early, and got on to the beanstalk, and he climbed and he climbed +and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till +at last he came out on to the road again and up to the great big tall +house he had been to before. There, sure enough, was the great +big tall woman a-standing on the doorstep. + +"Good morning, mum," says Jack, as bold as brass, "could you +be so good as to give me something to eat?" + +"Go away, my boy," said the big tall woman, "or else my man +will eat you up for breakfast. But aren't you the youngster who +came here once before? Do you know, that very day, my man +missed one of his bags of gold." + +"That's strange, mum," said Jack, "I dare say I could tell you +something about that, but I'm so hungry I can't speak till I've had +something to eat." + +Well, the big tall woman was so curious that she took him in and +gave him something to eat. But he had scarcely begun munching +it as slowly as he could when thump! thump! thump! they heard +the giant's footstep, and his wife hid Jack away in the oven. + +All happened as it did before. In came the ogre as he did before, +said: "Fee-fi-fo-fum," and had his breakfast of three broiled oxen. +Then he said: "Wife, bring me the hen that lays the golden eggs." +So she brought it, and the ogre said: "Lay," and it laid an egg all +of gold. And then the ogre began to nod his head, and to snore till +the house shook. Then Jack crept out of the oven on tiptoe and +caught hold of the golden hen, and was off before you could say +"Jack Robinson." But this time the hen gave a cackle which woke +the ogre, and just as Jack got out of the house he heard him calling: +"Wife, wife, what have you done with my golden hen?" + +And the wife said: "Why, my dear?" + +But that was all Jack heard, for he rushed off to the beanstalk and +climbed down like a house on fire. And when he got home, he +showed his mother the wonderful hen, and said "Lay" to it; and it +laid a golden egg every time he said "Lay." + +Well, Jack was not content, and it wasn't very long before he determined +to have another try at his luck up there at the top of the beanstalk. +So one fine morning he rose up early, and got on to the beanstalk, and +he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till he got to +the top. But this time he knew better than to go straight to the ogre's +house. And when he got near it, he waited behind a bush till he saw the +ogre's wife come out with a pail to get some water, and then he crept +into the house and got into the copper. He hadn't been there long when +he heard thump! thump! thump! as before, and in came the ogre and his +wife. + +"Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman," cried out the +ogre. "I smell him, wife, I smell him." + +"Do you, my dearie?" says the ogre's wife. "Then if it's that +little rogue that stole your gold and the hen that laid the golden +eggs he's sure to have got into the oven." And they both rushed to +the oven. But Jack wasn't there, luckily, and the ogre's wife said: +"There you are again with your fee-fi-fo-fum. Why, of course it's +the boy you caught last night that I've just broiled for your breakfast. +How forgetful I am, and how careless you are not to know the +difference between live and dead after all these years." + +So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it, but every now +and then he would mutter: "Well, I could have sworn--" and +he'd get up and search the larder and the cupboards and everything; +only, luckily, he didn't think of the copper. + +After breakfast was over, the ogre called out: "Wife, wife, +bring me my golden harp." So she brought it out and put it on +the table before him. Then he said: "Sing!" and the golden harp +sang most beautifully. And it went on singing till the ogre fell +asleep and commenced to snore like thunder. + +Then Jack lifted up the copper-lid very quietly and got down +like a mouse and crept on hands and knees till he came to the table, +when up he crawled, caught hold of the golden harp and dashed with +it towards the door. But the harp called out quite loud: "Master! +Master!" and the ogre woke up just in time to see Jack running off +with his harp. + +Jack ran as fast as he could, and the ogre came rushing after, and +would soon have caught him only Jack had a start and dodged him +a bit and knew where he was going. When he got to the beanstalk +the ogre was not more than twenty yards away when suddenly he saw +Jack disappear-like, and when he came to the end of the road he +saw Jack underneath climbing down for dear life. Well, the ogre +didn't like trusting himself to such a ladder, and he stood and waited, +so Jack got another start. But just then the harp cried out: "Master! +Master!" and the ogre swung himself down on to the beanstalk, +which shook with his weight. Down climbs Jack, and after +him climbed the ogre. By this time Jack had climbed down and +climbed down and climbed down till he was very nearly home. So +he called out: "Mother! Mother! bring me an ax, bring me an +ax." And his mother came rushing out with the ax in her hand, +but when she came to the beanstalk she stood stock still with fright, +for there she saw the ogre with his legs just through the clouds. + +But Jack jumped down and got hold of the ax and gave a chop at +the beanstalk which cut it half in two. The ogre felt the beanstalk +shake and quiver, so he stopped to see what was the matter. Then +Jack gave another chop with the ax, and the beanstalk was cut in +two and began to topple over. Then the ogre fell down and broke +his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after. + +Then Jack showed his mother his golden harp, and what with +showing that and selling the golden eggs, Jack and his mother became +very rich, and he married a great princess, and they lived +happy ever after. + + + + +THE ELVES + +Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm + + +A shoemaker, by no fault of his own, had become so poor that +at last he had nothing left but leather for one pair of shoes. So +in the evening, he cut out the shoes which he wished to begin to +make the next morning, and as he had a good conscience, he lay +down quietly in his bed, commended himself to God, and fell +asleep. + +In the morning, after he had said his prayers, and was just going +to sit down to work, the two shoes stood quite finished on his table. +He was astounded, and did not know what to say to it. He took +the shoes in his hands to observe them closer, and they were so neatly +made that there was not one bad stitch in them, just as if they were +intended as a masterpiece. + +Soon after, too, a buyer came in, and as the shoes pleased him so +well, he paid more for them than was customary, and, with the +money, the shoemaker was able to purchase leather for two pairs of +shoes. He cut them out at night, and next morning was about to set +to work with fresh courage; but he had no need to do so, for, when +he got up, they were already made, and buyers also were not +wanting, who gave him money enough to buy leather for four pairs +of shoes. The following morning, too, he found the four pairs +made; and so it went on constantly, what he cut out in the evening +was finished in the morning, so that he soon had his honest independence +again, and at last became a wealthy man. + +Now it befell that one evening not long before Christmas, when +the man had been cutting out, he said to his wife, before going to +bed, "What think you if we were to stay up tonight to see who it is +that lends us this helping hand?" The woman liked the idea, and +lighted a candle, and then they hid themselves in a corner of the +room, behind some clothes which were hanging up there, and watched. + +When it was midnight, two pretty little naked men came, sat down +by the shoemaker's table, took all the work which was cut out before +them and began to stitch, and sew, and hammer so skillfully and +so quickly with their little fingers that the shoemaker could not turn +away his eyes for astonishment. They did not stop until all was +done and stood finished on the table, and then they ran quickly +away. + +Next morning the woman said, "The little men have made us rich, +and we really must show that we are grateful for it. They run +about so, and have nothing on, and must be cold. I'll tell thee +what I'll do: I will make them little shirts, and coats, and vests, +and trousers, and knit both of them a pair of stockings, and do thou, +too, make them two little pairs of shoes." The man said, "I shall +be very glad to do it;" and one night, when everything was ready, +they laid their presents all together on the table instead of the cutout +work, and then concealed themselves to see how the little men +would behave. + +At midnight they came bounding in, and wanted to get at work at +once, but as they did not find any leather cut out, but only the pretty +little articles of clothing, they were at first astonished, and then they +showed intense delight. They dressed themselves with the greatest +rapidity, putting the pretty clothes on, and singing, + + "Now we are boys so fine to see, + Why should we longer cobblers be?" + +Then they danced and skipped and leapt over chairs and benches. +At last they danced out of doors. + +From that time forth they came no more, but as long as the shoemaker +lived all went well with him, and all his undertakings prospered. + + + + +THE FROG-PRINCE + +Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm + + +One fine evening a young princess went into a wood and sat down +by the side of a cool spring of water. She had a golden ball in +her hand, which was her favorite plaything, and she amused herself +with tossing it into the air and catching it again as it fell. After +a time she threw it up so high that when she stretched out her +hand to catch it, the ball bounded away and rolled along upon the +ground, till at last it fell into the spring. The princess looked into +the spring after her ball; but it was very deep, so deep that she could +not see the bottom of it. Then she began to lament her loss, and +said, "Alas! if I could only get my ball again, I would give all my +fine clothes and jewels, and everything that I have in the world." + +While she was speaking a frog put its head out of the water and +said, "Princess, why do you weep so bitterly?" "Alas!" said +she, "what can you do for me, you nasty frog? My golden ball +has fallen into the spring." The frog said, "I want not your pearls +and jewels and fine clothes; but if you will love me and let me live +with you, and eat from your little golden plate, and sleep upon your +little bed, I will bring you your ball again." "What nonsense," +thought the princess, "this silly frog is talking! He can never get +out of the well: however, he may be able to get my ball for me; and +therefore I will promise him what he asks." So she said to the frog, +"Well, if you will bring me my ball, I promise to do all you require." + +Then the frog put his head down, and dived deep under the water; +and after a little while he came up again with the ball in his mouth, +and threw it on the ground. As soon as the young princess saw her +ball, she ran to pick it up, and was so overjoyed to have it in her +hand again, that she never thought of the frog, but ran home with +it as fast as she could. The frog called after her, "Stay, princess, +and take me with you as you promised;" but she did not stop to +hear a word. + +The next day, just as the princess had sat down to dinner, she +heard a strange noise, tap-tap, as if somebody was coming up the +marble staircase; and soon afterwards something knocked gently at +the door, and said: + + "Open the door, my princess dear, + Open the door to thy true love here! + And mind the words that thou and I said, + By the fountain cool in the greenwood shade." + +Then the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she +saw the frog, whom she had quite forgotten; she was terribly frightened, +and shutting the door as fast as she could, came back to her +seat. The king her father asked her what had frightened her. +"There is a nasty frog," said she, "at the door, who lifted my ball +out of the spring last evening: I promised him that he should live +with me here, thinking that he could never get out of the spring; +but there he is at the door and wants to come in!" While she was +speaking, the frog knocked again at the door, and said: + + "Open the door, my princess dear, + Open the door to thy true love here! + And mind the words that thou and I said, + By the fountain cool in the greenwood shade." + +The king said to the young princess, "As you have made a +promise, you must keep it; so go and let him in." She did so, and +the frog hopped into the room, and came up close to the table. +"Pray lift me upon a chair," said he to the princess, "and let me sit +next to you." As soon as she had done this, the frog said, "Put +your plate closer to me that I may eat out of it." This she did, +and when he had eaten as much as he could, he said, "Now I am +tired; carry me upstairs and put me into your little bed." And the +princess took him up in her hand and put him upon the pillow of +her own little bed, where he slept all night long. As soon as it +was light, he jumped up, hopped downstairs, and went out of the +house. "Now," thought the princess, "he is gone, and I shall be +troubled with him no more." + +But she was mistaken; for when night came again, she heard the +same tapping at the door, and when she opened it, the frog came +in and slept upon her pillow as before till the morning broke: +and the third night he did the same; but when the princess awoke +on the following morning, she was astonished to see, instead of the +frog, a handsome prince standing at the head of her bed, and gazing +on her with the most beautiful eyes that ever were seen. + +He told her that he had been enchanted by a malicious fairy, who +had changed him into the form of a frog, in which he was fated to +remain till some princess should take him out of the spring and let +him sleep upon her bed for three nights. "You," said the prince, +"have broken this cruel charm, and now I have nothing to wish for +but that you should go with me into my father's kingdom, where I +will marry you, and love you as long as you live." + +The young princess, you may be sure, was not long in giving her +consent; and as they spoke, a splendid carriage drove up with eight +beautiful horses decked with plumes of feathers and golden harness, +and behind rode the prince's servant, the faithful Henry, who +had bewailed the misfortune of his dear master so long and bitterly +that his heart had well-nigh burst. Then all set out full of joy +for the prince's kingdom, where they arrived safely, and lived happily +a great many years. + + + + +THE QUERN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA + +Peter Christen Asbjørnsen + + +Once upon a time in the old, old days there were two brothers, one +of whom was rich and the other poor. When Christmas Eve came +the poor brother had not a morsel in the house, neither of meat nor +bread; and so he went to his rich brother, and asked for a trifle +for Christmas, in heaven's name. It was not the first time the +brother had helped him, but he was always very close-fisted, and was +not particularly glad to see him this time. + +"If you'll do what I tell you, you shall have a whole ham," he +said. The poor brother promised he would, and was very grateful +into the bargain. + +"There it is, and now go to the devil!" said the rich brother, +and threw the ham across to him. + +"Well, what I have promised I must keep," said the other one. +He took the ham, and set out. He walked and walked the whole day, +and as it was getting dark he came to a place where the lights were +shining brightly. "This is most likely the place," thought the man +with the ham. + +In the woodshed stood an old man with a long white beard, cutting +firewood for Christmas. + +"Good evening," said he with the ham. + +"Good evening to you," said the man. "Where are you going +so late?" + +"I am going to the devil--that is to say, if I am on the right +way," answered the poor man. + +"Yes, you are quite right; this is his place," said the old man. +"When you get in they will all want to buy your ham, for ham is +scarce food here; but you must not sell it unless you get the hand-quern, +which stands just behind the door. When you come out again I'll teach +you how to use it. You will find it useful in many ways." + +The man with the ham thanked him for all the information and +knocked at the door. + +When he got in it happened just as the old man had said. All +the imps, both big and small, flocked around him like ants in a field, +and the one outbid the other for the ham. + +"Well," said the man, "my good woman and I were to have it +for Christmas Eve, but since you want it so badly I will let you +have it. But if I am going to part with it, I want that hand-quern +which stands behind the door." + +The devil did not like to part with it, and higgled and haggled +with the man, but he stuck to what he had said, and in the end the +devil had to part with the quern. + +When the man came out he asked the old woodcutter how he was +to use the quern, and when he had learned this, he thanked the old +man and set out homeward, as quickly as he could; but after all he +did not get home till the clock struck twelve on Christmas Eve. + +"Where in all the world have you been?" said his wife. "Here +have I been sitting, hour after hour, waiting and watching for you, +and have not had as much as two chips to lay under the porridge +pot." + +"Well, I couldn't get back before," said the man. "I have had +a good many things to look after, and I've had a long way to walk +as well; but now I'll show you something," said he, and he put the +quern on the table. He asked it first to grind candles, then a cloth, +and then food and beer, and everything else that was good for +Christmas cheer; and as he spoke the quern brought them forth. The +woman crossed herself time after time and wanted to know where her +husband had got the quern from; but this he would not tell her. + +"It does not matter where I got it from; you see the quern is good +and the mill stream is not likely to freeze," said the man. So he +ground food and drink and all good things during Christmas; and +the third day he invited his friends, as he wanted to give them a +feast. When the rich brother saw all that was in the house, he became +both angry and furious, for he begrudged his brother everything. + +"On Christmas Eve he was so needy that he came to me and asked +for a trifle in heaven's name; and now he gives a feast, as if he were +both a count and a king," said the brother. "Where did you get +all your riches from?" he said to his brother. + +"From just behind the door," he answered, for he did not care +to tell his brother much about it. But later in the evening, when +he had drunk a little freely, he could no longer resist, but brought +out the quern. + +"There you see that which has brought me all my riches," +he said, and so he let the quern grind first one thing and then +another. + +When the brother saw this he was determined to have the quern +at all cost, and at last it was settled he should have it, but three +hundred dollars was to be the price of it. The brother was, however, +to keep it till the harvest began; "for if I keep it so long I +can grind out food for many years to come," he thought. + +During that time you may be sure the quern did not rust, and +when the harvest began the rich brother got it; but the other had +taken great care not to show him how to use it. + +It was evening when the rich brother got the quern home, and in +the morning he asked his wife to go out and help the haymakers; +he would get the breakfast ready for himself, he said. + +When it was near breakfast time he put the quern on the breakfast +table. + +"Grind herrings and broth, and do it quickly and well," said the +man, and the quern began to bring forth herrings and broth, and +first filled all the dishes and tubs, and afterward began flooding the +whole kitchen. + +The man fiddled and fumbled and tried to stop the quern, but +however much he twisted and fingered it, the quern went on grinding, +and in a little while the broth reached so high that the man was +very near drowning. He then pulled open the parlor door, but it +was not very long before the quern had filled the parlor also, and +it was just in the very nick of time that the man put his hand down +into the broth and got hold of the latch, and when he had got the +door open, he was soon out of the parlor, you may be sure. He +rushed out, and the herrings and the broth came pouring out after +him, like a stream, down the fields and meadows. + +The wife, who was out haymaking, now thought it took too long a +time to get the breakfast ready. + +"If my husband doesn't call us soon we must go home whether +or no: I don't suppose he knows much about making broth, so I +must go and help him," said the wife to the haymakers. + +They began walking homeward, but when they had got a bit up the +hill they met the stream of broth with the herrings tossing about +in it and the man himself running in front of it all. + +"I wish all of you had a hundred stomachs each!" shouted the +man; "but take care you don't get drowned." And he rushed past +them as if the Evil One were at his heels, down to where his brother +lived. He asked him for heaven's sake to take back the quern, and +that at once; "if it goes on grinding another hour the whole parish +will perish in broth and herrings," he said. But the brother would +not take it back on any account before his brother had paid him +three hundred dollars more, and this he had to do. The poor +brother now had plenty of money, and before long he bought a farm +much grander than the one on which his rich brother lived, and +with the quern he ground so much gold that he covered the farmstead +with gold plates, and, as it lay close to the shore, it glittered +and shone far out at sea. All those who sailed past wanted to +call and visit the rich man in the golden house, and everybody +wanted to see the wonderful quern, for its fame had spread far and +wide, and there was no one who had not heard it spoken of. + +After a long while there came a skipper who wanted to see the +quern; he asked if it could grind salt. Yes, that it could, said he +who owned it; and when the skipper heard this he wanted the quern +by hook or crook, cost what it might, for if he had it he thought he +need not sail far away across dangerous seas for cargoes of salt. + +At first the man did not want to part with it, but the skipper both +begged and prayed, and at last he sold it and got many, many thousand +dollars for it. + +As soon as the skipper had got the quern on his back, he did not +stop long, for he was afraid the man would change his mind, and +as for asking how to use it he had no time to do that; he made for his +ship as quickly as he could, and when he had got out to sea a bit +he had the quern brought up on deck. + +"Grind salt, and that both quickly and well," said the skipper, +and the quern began to grind out salt so that it spurted to all sides. + +When the skipper had got the ship filled he wanted to stop the +quern, but however much he tried and whatever he did the quern +went on grinding, and the mound of salt grew higher and higher, +and at last the ship sank. + +There at the bottom of the sea stands the quern grinding till this +very day, and that is the reason why the sea is salt. + + + + +BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER BULL-FROG + +Joel Chandler Harris + + + +The day that the little boy got permission to go to mill with Uncle +Remus was to be long remembered. It was a brand-new experience +to the little city-bred child, and he enjoyed it to the utmost. It is +true that Uncle Remus didn't go to mill in the old-fashioned way, +but even if the little chap had known of the old-fashioned way, his +enjoyment would not have been less. Instead of throwing a bag +of corn on the back of a horse, and perching himself on top in an +uneasy and a precarious position, Uncle Remus placed the corn in a +spring wagon, helped the little boy to climb into the seat, clucked to +the horse, and went along as smoothly and as rapidly as though they +were going to town. + +Everything was new to the lad--the road, the scenery, the mill, +and the big mill pond, and, best of all, Uncle Remus allowed him to +enjoy himself in his own way when they came to the end of the +journey. He was such a cautious and timid child, having little or +none of the spirit of adventure that is supposed to dominate the +young, that the old negro was sure he would come to no harm. Instead +of wandering about, and going to places where he had no business +to go, the little boy sat where he could see the water flowing +over the big dam. He had never seen such a sight before, and the +water seemed to him to have a personality of its own--a personality +with both purpose and feeling. + +The river was not a very large one, but it was large enough to be +impressive when its waters fell and tumbled over the big dam. The +little boy watched the tumbling water as it fell over the dam and +tossed itself into foam on the rocks below; he watched it so long +and he sat so still that he was able to see things that a noisier +youngster would have missed altogether. He saw a big bull-frog +creep warily from the water and wipe his mouth and eyes with one +of his fore legs, and he saw the same frog edge himself softly toward +a white butterfly that was flitting about near the edge of the stream. +He saw the frog lean forward, and then the butterfly vanished. It +seemed like a piece of magic. The child knew that the frog had +caught the butterfly, but how? The fluttering insect was more than +a foot from the frog when it disappeared, and he was sure that the +frog had neither jumped nor snapped at the butterfly. What he saw, +he saw as plainly as you see your hand in the light of day. + +And he saw another sight too that is not given to every one to +see. While he was watching the tumbling water and wondering +where it all came from and where it was going, he thought he saw +swift-moving shadows flitting from the water below up and into +the mill pond above. He never would have been able to discover +just what the shadows were if one of them had not paused a +moment while halfway to the top of the falling water. It poised +itself for one brief instant, as a humming-bird poises over a flower, +but during that fraction of time the little boy was able to see that +what he thought was a shadow was really a fish going from the +water below to the mill pond above. The child could hardly believe +his eyes, and for a little while it seemed that the whole world +was turned topsy-turvy, especially as the shadows continued to flit +from the water below to the mill pond above. + +And he was still more puzzled when he reported the strange +fact to Uncle Remus, for the old negro took the information as a +matter of course. With him the phenomenon was almost as old as +his experience. The only explanation that he could give of it was +that the fish--or some kinds of fish, and he didn't know rightly +what kind it was--had a habit of falling from the bottom of the +falls to the top. The most that he knew was that it was a fact, +and that it was occurring every day in the year when the fish were +running. It was certainly wonderful, as in fact everything would be +wonderful if it were not so familiar. + +"We ain't got but one way er lookin' at things," remarked Uncle +Remus, "an' ef you'll b'lieve me, honey, it's a mighty one-sided way. +Ef you could git on a perch some'rs an' see things like dey reely is, +an' not like dey seem ter us, I be boun' you'd hol' yo' breff an' shet +yo' eyes." + +The old man, without intending it, was going too deep into a deep +subject for the child to follow him, and so the latter told him about +the bull-frog and the butterfly. The statement seemed to call up +pleasing reminiscences, for Uncle Remus laughed in a hearty way. +And when his laughing had subsided, he continued to chuckle until +the little boy wondered what the source of his amusement could +be. Finally he asked the old negro point blank what had caused him +to laugh at such a rate. + +"Yo' pa would 'a' know'd," Uncle Remus replied, and then he +grew solemn again and sighed heavily. For a little while he seemed +to be listening to the clatter of the mill, but, finally, he turned to the +little boy. "An' so you done made de 'quaintance er ol' Brer Bull-Frog? +Is you take notice whedder he had a tail er no?" + +"Why, of course he didn't have a tail!" exclaimed the child. +"Neither toad-frogs nor bull-frogs have tails. I thought everybody +knew that." + +"Oh, well, ef dat de way you feel 'bout um, 'taint no use fer ter +pester wid um. It done got so now dat folks don't b'lieve nothin' +but what dey kin see, an' mo' dan half un um won't b'lieve what dey +see less'n dey kin feel un it too. But dat ain't de way wid dem +what's ol' 'nough fer ter know. Ef I'd 'a' tol' you 'bout de fishes +swimmin' ag'in fallin' water, you wouldn't 'a' b'lieved me, would +you? No, you wouldn't--an' yet, dar 'twuz right 'fo' yo' face an' +eyes. Dar dey wuz a-skeetin' fum de bottom er de dam right up in +de mill pon', an' you settin' dar lookin' at um. S'posin' you wuz ter +say dat you won't b'lieve um less'n you kin feel um; does you speck +de fish gwineter hang dar in de fallin' water an' wait twel you kin +wade 'cross de slipp'y rocks an' put yo' han' on um? Did you look +right close, fer ter see ef de bull-frog what you seed is got a tail +er no?" + +The little boy admitted that he had not. He knew as well as +anybody that no kind of a frog has a tail unless it is the Texas frog, +which is only a horned lizard, for he saw one once in Atlanta, and +it was nothing but a rusty-back lizard with a horn on his head. + +"I ain't 'sputin' what you say, honey," said Uncle Remus, "but +de creetur what you seed mought 'a' been a frog an' you not know +it. One thing I does know is dat in times gone by de bull-frog had +a tail, kaze I hear de ol folks sesso, an' mo' dan dat, dey know'd +des how he los' it--de whar, an' de when an' de which-away. Fer +all I know it wuz right here at dish yer identual mill pon'. I ain't +gwine inter court an' make no affledave on it, but ef anybody wuz +ter walk up an' p'int der finger at me, an' say dat dis is de place +where ol' Brer Bull-Frog lose his tail, I'd up and 'low, 'Yasser, it +mus' be de place, kaze it look might'ly like de place what I been +hear tell 'bout.' An' den I'd set my eyes an' see ef I can't git it +straight in my dreams." + +Uncle Remus paused and pretended to be counting a handful of +red grains of corn that he had found somewhere in the mill. Seeing +that he showed no disposition to tell how Brother Bull-Frog had +lost his tail, the little boy reminded him of it. But the old man +laughed. "Ef Brer Bull-Frog ain't never had no tail," he said, +"how de name er goodness he gwineter lose un? Ef he yever is had +a tail, why den dat's a gray boss uv an'er color. Dey's a tale 'bout +'im havin' a tail an' losin' it, but how kin dey be a tale when dey +ain't no tail?" + +Well, the little boy didn't know at all, and he looked so disconsolate +and so confused that the old negro relented. "Now, den," +he remarked, "ef ol' Brer Bull-Frog had a tail an' he ain't got none +now, dey must 'a' been sump'n happen. In dem times--de times +what all deze tales tells you 'bout--Brer Bull-Frog stayed in an' +aroun' still water des like he do now. De bad col' dat he had in +dem days, he's got it yit--de same pop-eyes, and de same bal' +head. Den, ez now, dey wa'n't a bunch er ha'r on it dat you could +pull out wid a pa'r er tweezers. Ez he bellers now, des dat a-way +he bellered den, mo' speshually at night. An' talk 'bout settin' up +late--why, ol' Brer Bull-Frog could beat dem what fust got in de +habits er settin' up late. + +"Dey's one thing dat you'll hatter gi' 'im credit fer, an' dat wuz +keepin' his face an' han's clean, an' in takin' keer er his cloze. Nobody, +not even his mammy, had ter patch his britches er tack buttons +on his coat. See 'im whar you may an' when you mought, he wuz +allers lookin' spick an' span des like he done come right out'n a ban'-box. +You know what de riddle say 'bout 'im: when he stan' up he +sets down, an' when he walks he hops. He'd 'a' been mighty well +thunk un, ef it hadn't but 'a' been fer his habits. He holler so +much at night dat de yuther creeturs can't git no sleep. He'd holler +an' holler, an' 'bout de time you think he bleeze ter be 'shame' er +hollerin' so much, he'd up an' holler 'gi'n. It got so dat de creeturs +hatter go 'way off some'rs ef dey wanter git any sleep, an' it +seem like dey can't git so fur off but what Brer Bull-Frog would wake +um up time dey git ter dozin' good. + +"He'd raise up an' low, _'Here I is! Here I is! Wharbouts is +you? Wharbouts is you? Come along! Come along!'_ It 'uz +des dat a-way de whole blessed night, an' de yuther creeturs, dey say +dat it sholy was a shame dat anybody would set right flat-footed an' +ruin der good name. Look like he pestered ev'ybody but ol' Brer +Rabbit, an' de reason dat he liked it wuz kaze it worried de yuther +creeturs. He'd set an' lissen, ol' Brer Rabbit would, an' den he'd +laugh fit ter kill kaze he ain't a-keerin' whedder er no he git any sleep +or not. Ef dey's anybody what kin set up twel de las' day in de +mornin' an' not git red-eyed an' heavy-headed, it's ol' Brer Rabbit. +When he wanter sleep, he'd des shet one eye an' sleep, an' when he +wanter stay 'wake, he'd des open bofe eyes, an' dar he wuz wid all +his foots under 'im, an' a-chawin' his terbacker same ez ef dey +wa'n't no Brer Bull-Frog in de whole Nunited State er Georgy. + +"It went on dis way fer I dunner how long--ol' Brer Bull-Frog +a-bellerin' all night long an' keepin' de yuther creeturs 'wake, an' +Brer Rabbit a-laughin'. But, bimeby, de time come when Brer +Rabbit hatter lay in some mo' calamus root, ag'in de time when 't +would be too col' ter dig it, an' when he went fer ter hunt fer it, +his way led 'im down todes de mill pon' whar Brer Bull-Frog live +at. Dey wuz calamus root a-plenty down dar, an' Brer Rabbit, atter +lookin' de groun' over, promise hisse'f dat he'd fetch a basket de nex' +time he come, an' make one trip do fer two. He ain't been dar long +'fo' he had a good chance fer ter hear Brer Bull-Frog at close range. +He hear him, he did, an' he shake his head an' say dat a mighty +little bit er dat music would go a long ways, kaze dey ain't nobody +what kin stan' flat-footed an' say dat Brer Bull-Frog is a better singer +dan de mockin'-bird. + +"Well, whiles Brer Rabbit wuz pirootin' roun' fer ter see what +mought be seed, he git de idee dat he kin hear thunder way off yander. +He lissen ag'in, an' he hear Brer Bull-Frog mumblin' an' grumblin' +ter hisse'f, an' he must 'a' had a mighty bad col', kaze his talk soun' +des like a bummil-eye bee been kotch in a sugar-barrel an' can't git +out. An' dat creetur must 'a' know'd dat Brer Rabbit wuz down in +dem neighborhoods, kaze, atter while, he 'gun to talk louder, an' yit +mo' louder. He say, _'Whar you gwine? Whar you gwine?'_ an' +den, '_Don't go too fur--don't go too fur!_' an', atter so long a +time, '_Come back--come back! Come back soon!_' Brer Rabbit, he +sot dar, he did, an' work his nose an' wiggle his mouf, an' wait fer +ter see what gwineter happen nex'. + +"Whiles Brer Rabbit settin' dar, Brer Bull-Frog fall ter mumblin' +ag'in an' it look like he 'bout ter drap off ter sleep, but bimeby +he talk louder, '_Be my frien'--be my frien'! Oh, be my frien'!_' +Brer Rabbit wunk one eye an' smole a smile, kaze he done hear a +heap er talk like dat. He wipe his face an' eyes wid his pocket-hankcher, +an' sot so still dat you'd 'a' thunk he wa'n't nothin' but a +chunk er wood. But Brer Bull-Frog, he know'd how ter stay still +hisse'f, an' he ain't so much ez bubble a bubble. But atter whiles, +when Brer Rabbit can't stay still no mo,' he got up fum whar he wuz +settin' at an' mosied out by de mill-race whar de grass is fresh an' de +trees is green. + +"Brer Bull-Frog holla, '_Jug-er-rum--jug-er-rum! Wade in +here--I'll gi' you some!_' Now der nothin' dat ol' Brer Rabbit +like better dan a little bit er dram fer de stomach-ache, an' his mouf +'gun ter water right den an' dar. He went a little closer ter de mill +pon', an' Brer Bull-Frog keep on a-talkin' 'bout de jug er rum, +an' what he gwine do ef Brer Rabbit'will wade in dar. He look at +de water, an' it look mighty col'; he look ag'in an' it look mighty +deep. It say, 'Lap-lap!' an' it look like it's a-creepin' higher. +Brer Rabbit drawed back wid a shiver, an' he wish mighty much dat +he'd a fotch his overcoat. + +"Brer Bull-Frog say, '_Knee deep--knee deep! Wade in-- +wade in!_' an' he make de water bubble des like he takin' a dram. +Den an' dar, sump'n n'er happen, an' how it come ter happen Brer +Rabbit never kin tell; but he peeped in de pon' fer ter see ef he kin +ketch a glimp er de jug, an' in he went--_kerchug!_ He ain't never +know whedder he fall in, er slip in, er ef he was pushed in, but +dar he wuz! He come mighty nigh not gittin' out; but he scramble +an' he scuffle twel he git back ter de bank whar he kin clim' out, +an' he stood dar, he did, an' kinder shuck hisse'f, kaze he mighty +glad fer ter fin' dat he's in de worl' once mo'. He know'd dat a +lettel mo' an' he'd 'a' been gone fer good, kaze when he drapped in, +er jumped in, er fell in, he wuz over his head an' years, an' he +hatter do a sight er kickin' an' scufflin' an' swallerin' water 'fo' he kin +git whar he kin grab de grass on de bank. + +"He sneeze an' snoze, an' wheeze an' whoze, twel it look like he'd +drown right whar he wuz stan'in' anyway you kin fix it. He say ter +hisse'f dat he ain't never gwineter git de tas'e er river water outer +his mouf an' nose, an' he wonder how in de worl' dat plain water +kin be so watery. Ol' Brer Bull-Frog, he laugh like a bull in de +pastur', an' Brer Rabbit gi' a sidelong look dat oughter tol' 'im ez +much ez a map kin tell one er deze yer school scholars. Brer Rabbit +look at 'im, but he ain't say narry a word. He des shuck hisse'f +once mo', an' put out fer home whar he kin set in front er de fire +an' git dry. + +"Atter dat day, Brer Rabbit riz mighty soon an' went ter bed late, +an' he watch Brer Bull-Frog so close dat dey wa'n't nothin' he kin do +but what Brer Rabbit know' 'bout it time it 'uz done; an' one +thing he know'd better dan all--he know' dat when de winter time +come Brer Bull-Frog would have ter pack up his duds an' move over +in de bog whar de water don't git friz up. Dat much he know'd, an' +when dat time come, he laid off fer ter make Brer Bull-Frog's journey, +short ez it wuz, ez full er hap'nin's ez de day when de ol' cow +went dry. He tuck an' move his bed an' board ter de big holler +poplar, not fur fum de mill pon', an' dar he stayed an' keep one eye +on Brer Bull-Frog bofe night an' day. He ain't lose no flesh whiles +he waitin', kaze he ain't one er deze yer kin' what mopes an' gits +sollumcolly; he wuz all de time betwixt a grin an' a giggle. + +"He know'd mighty well--none better--dat time goes by turns +in deze low groun's, an' he wait fer de day when Brer Bull-Frog +gwineter move his belongin's fum pon' ter bog. An' bimeby dat +time come, an' when it come, Brer Bull-Frog is done fergit off'n his +mind all 'bout Brer Rabbit an' his splashification. He rig hisse'f +out in his Sunday best, an' he look kerscrumptious ter dem what like +dat kinder doin's. He had on a little sojer hat wid green an' white +speckles all over it, an' a long green coat, an' satin britches, an' +a white silk wescut, an' shoes wid silver buckles. Mo' dan dat, he +had a green umbrell fer ter keep fum havin' freckles, an' his long +spotted tail wuz done up in de umbrell kivver so dat it won't drag on +de groun'." + +Uncle Remus paused to see what the little boy would say to this +last statement, but the child's training prevented the asking of many +questions, and so he only laughed at the idea of a frog with a tail, +and the tail done up in the cover of a green umbrella. The laughter +of the youngster was hearty enough to satisfy the old negro, and he +went on with the story. + +"Whiles all dis goin' on, honey, you better b'lieve dat Brer Rabbit +wa'n't so mighty fur fum dar. When Brer Bull-Frog come out +an' start fer ter promenade ter de bog, Brer Rabbit show hisse'f an' +make like he skeered. He broke an' run, an' den he stop fer ter see +what 'tis--an' den he run a leetle ways an' stop ag'in, an' he keep on +dodgin' an' runnin' twel he fool Brer Bull-Frog inter b'lievin' dat he +wuz skeer'd mighty nigh ter death. + +"You know how folks does when dey git de idee dat somebody's +feared un um--ef you don't you'll fin' out long 'fo' yo' whiskers gits +ter hangin' to yo' knees. When folks take up dis idee, dey gits +biggity, an' dey ain't no stayin' in de same country wid um. + +"Well, Brer Bull-Frog, he git de idee dat Brer Rabbit wuz 'fear'd +un 'im, an' he shuck his umbrell like he mad, an' he beller: 'Whar +my gun?' Brer Rabbit flung up bofe han's like he wuz skeer'd er +gittin' a load er shot in his vitals, an' den he broke an' run ez hard +ez he kin. Brer Bull-Frog holler out, 'Come yer, you vilyun, an' +le' me' gi' you de frailin' what I done promise you!' but ol' Brer +Rabbit, he keep on a-gwine. Brer Bull-Frog went hoppin' atter, +but he ain't make much headway, kaze all de time he wuz hoppin' +he wuz tryin' to strut. + +"'Twuz e'en about ez much ez Brer Rabbit kin do ter keep fum +laughin', but he led Brer Bull-Frog ter de holler poplar, whar he +had his hatchet hid. Ez he went in' he 'low, 'You can't git me!' +He went in, he did, an' out he popped on t'er side. By dat time +Brer Bull-Frog wuz mighty certain an' sho dat Brer Rabbit wuz +skeer'd ez he kin be, an' inter de holler he went, widout so much ez +takin' de trouble ter shet up his umbrell. When he got in de holler, +in co'se he ain't see hide ner ha'r er Brer Rabbit, an' he beller out, +'Whar is you? You may hide, but I'll fin' you, an' when I does +--when I does!' He ain't say all he wanter say, kaze by dat time +Brer Rabbit wuz lammin' on de tree wid his hatchet. He hit it some +mighty heavy whacks, an' Brer Bull-Frog git de idee dat somebody +wuz cuttin' it down. + +"Dat kinder skeer'd 'im, kaze he know dat ef de tree fell while he +in de holler, it'd be all-night Isom wid him. But when he make a +move fer ter turn roun' in dar fer ter come out, Brer Rabbit run +roun' ter whar he wuz, an' chop his tail off right smick-smack-smoove." + +The veteran story-teller paused, and looked at the clouds that +were gathering in the sky. "'Twouldn't 'stonish me none," he +remarked dryly, "ef we wuz ter have some fallin' wedder." + +"But, Uncle Remus, what happened when Brother Rabbit cut off +the Bull-Frog's tail?" inquired the little boy. + +The old man sighed heavily, and looked around, as if he were +hunting for some way of escape. "Why, honey, when de Frog tail +wuz cut off, it stayed off, but dey tells me dat it kep' on a wigglin' +plum twel de sun went down. Dis much I does know, dat sence +dat day, none er de Frog fambly has been troubled wid tails. Ef +you don't believe me you kin ketch um an' see." + + + + +BROWNIE AND THE COOK + +Dinah Maria Mulock Craik + + +There was once a little Brownie who lived--where do you +think he lived?--In a coal cellar. + +Now a coal cellar may seem a most curious place to choose to +live in; but then a Brownie is a curious creature--a fairy, and +yet not one of that sort of fairies who fly about on gossamer +wings, and dance in the moonlight, and so on. He never dances; +and as to wings, what use would they be to him in a coal cellar? +He is a sober, stay-at-home household elf--nothing much to look +at, even if you did see him, which you are not likely to do--only +a little old man, about a foot high, all dressed in brown, with a +brown face and hands, and a brown peaked cap, just the color of a +brown mouse. And like a mouse he hides in corners--especially +kitchen corners, and only comes out after dark when nobody is about, +and so sometimes people call him Mr. Nobody. + +I said you were not likely to see him. I never did, certainly, and +never knew anybody that did; but still, if you were to go into +Devonshire, you would hear many funny stories about Brownies in +general, and so I may as well tell you the adventures of this +particular Brownie, who belonged to a family there; which family he +had followed from house to house, most faithfully, for years and +years. + +A good many people had heard him--or supposed they had-- +when there were extraordinary noises about the house; noises which +must have come from a mouse or a rat--or a Brownie. But nobody +had ever seen him, except the children, the three little boys and +three little girls--who declared he often came to play with them when +they were alone, and was the nicest companion in the world, though +he was such an old man--hundreds of years old! He was full of +fun and mischief and up to all sorts of tricks, but he never did +anybody any harm unless they deserved it. + +Brownie was supposed to live under one particular coal, in the +darkest corner of the cellar, which was never allowed to be +disturbed. Why he had chosen it nobody knew, and how he lived there, +nobody knew either; nor what he lived upon. Except that, ever +since the family could remember, there had always been a bowl of +milk put behind the coal cellar door for the Brownie's supper. +Perhaps he drank it--perhaps he didn't: anyhow, the bowl was +always found empty next morning. + +The old Cook, who had lived all her life in the family, had never +once forgotten to give Brownie his supper; but at last she died, and a +young Cook came in her stead, who was very apt to forget everything. +She was also both careless and lazy, and disliked taking +the trouble to put a bowl of milk in the same place every night for +Mr. Nobody. "She didn't believe in Brownies," she said; "she +had never seen one, and seeing's believing." So she laughed at the +other servants, who looked very grave, and put the bowl of milk in +its place as often as they could, without saying much about it. + +But once, when Brownie woke up, at his usual hour for rising-- +ten o'clock at night, and looked round in search of his supper-- +which was in fact his breakfast, he found nothing there. At first +he could not imagine such neglect, and went smelling and smelling +about for his bowl of milk--it was not always placed in the same +corner now--but in vain. + +"This will never do," said he; and being extremely hungry, began +running about the coal cellar to see what he could find. His eyes +were as useful in the dark as in the light--like a pussycat's; but +there was nothing to be seen--not even a potato paring, or a dry +crust, or a well-gnawed bone, such as Tiny the terrier sometimes +brought into the coal cellar and left on the floor. Nothing, in short, +but heaps of coals and coal dust, which even a Brownie cannot eat, +you know. + +"Can't stand this; quite impossible!" said the Brownie, tightening +his belt to make his poor little inside feel less empty. He had been +asleep so long--about a week, I believe, as was his habit when there +was nothing to do---that he seemed ready to eat his own head, or his +boots, or anything. "What's to be done? Since nobody brings my +supper I must go and fetch it." + +He spoke quickly, for he always thought quickly and made up +his mind in a minute. To be sure it was a very little mind, like his +little body; but he did the best he could with it, and was not a bad +sort of old fellow after all. In the house he had never done any +harm--and often some good, for he frightened away all the rats, +mice, and black beetles. Not the crickets--he liked them, as the +old Cook had done: she said they were such cheerful creatures, and +always brought luck to the house. But the young Cook could not +bear them, and used to pour boiling water down their holes, and set +basins of beer with little wooden bridges up to the rim, that they +might walk up, tumble in, and be drowned. + +So there was not even a cricket singing in the silent house when +Brownie put his head out of his coal cellar door, which, to his +surprise, he found open. Old Cook used to lock it every night; +but the young Cook had left that key, and the kitchen and pantry +keys too, all dangling in the lock, so that any thief might have got +in and wandered all over the house without being found out. + +"Hurrah, here's luck!" cried Brownie, tossing his cap up in +the air, and bounding right through the scullery into the kitchen. +It was quite empty, but there was a good fire burning itself out-- +just for its own amusement, and the remains of a capital supper +were spread on the table--enough for half-a-dozen people being +left still. + +Would you like to know what there was? Devonshire cream, of +course; and part of a large dish of junket, which is something like +curds and whey. Lots of bread and butter and cheese, and half an +apple pudding. Also a great jug of cider and another of milk, +and several half-full glasses, and no end of dirty plates, knives, and +forks. All were scattered about the table in the most untidy fashion, +just as the servants had risen from their supper, without thinking to +put anything away. + +Brownie screwed up his little old face and turned up his button +of a nose, and gave a long whistle. You might not believe it, seeing +he lived in a coal cellar, but really he liked tidiness and always +played his pranks upon disorderly or slovenly folk. + +"Whew!" said he, "here's a chance! What a supper I'll get +now!" + +And he jumped on to a chair and thence to the table, but so quietly +that the large black cat with four white paws, called Muff, because +she was so fat and soft and her fur so long, who sat dozing in front +of the fire, just opened one eye and went to sleep again. She had +tried to get her nose into the milk jug, but it was too small; and +the junket dish was too deep for her to reach, except with one paw. +She didn't care much for bread and cheese and apple pudding, and +was very well fed besides; so after just wandering round the table +she had jumped down from it again, and settled herself to sleep on +the hearth. + +But Brownie had no notion of going to sleep. He wanted his +supper, and oh! what a supper he did eat! first one thing and then +another, and then trying everything all over again. And oh! what +a lot he drank!--first milk and then cider, and then mixed the two +together in a way that would have disagreed with anybody except a +Brownie. As it was, he was obliged to slacken his belt several times, +and at last took it off altogether. But he must have had a most +extraordinary capacity for eating and drinking--since, after he +had nearly cleared the table, he was just as lively as ever, and +began jumping about on the table as if he had had no supper at all. + +Now his jumping was a little awkward, for there happened to be +a clean white tablecloth! as this was only Monday, it had had no time +to get dirty--untidy as the Cook was. And you know Brownie lived +in a coal cellar, and his feet were black with running about in coal +dust. So wherever he trod, he left the impression behind; until at +last the whole tablecloth was covered with black marks. + +Not that he minded this; in fact, he took great pains to make the +cloth as dirty as possible; and then laughing loudly, "Ho, ho, ho!" +leaped on to the hearth, and began teasing the cat; squeaking like a +mouse, or chirping like a cricket, or buzzing like a fly; and altogether +disturbing poor Pussy's mind so much, that she went and hid herself in +the farthest corner, and left him the hearth all to himself, where he +lay at ease till daybreak. + +Then, hearing a slight noise overhead, which might be the servants +getting up, he jumped on to the table again--gobbled up the +few remaining crumbs for his breakfast, and scampered off to his +coal cellar; where he hid himself under his big coal, and fell asleep +for the day. + +Well, the Cook came downstairs rather earlier than usual, for she +remembered she had to clear off the remains of supper; but lo and +behold, there was nothing left to clear! Every bit of food was +eaten up--the cheese looked as if a dozen mice had been nibbling +at it, and nibbled it down to the very rind; the milk and cider were +all drunk--and mice don't care for milk and cider, you know: as for +the apple pudding, it had vanished altogether; and the dish was +licked as clean as if Boxer the yard dog had been at it, in his +hungriest mood. + +"And my white tablecloth--oh, my clean white tablecloth! +What can have been done to it?" cried she in amazement. For it +was all over little black footmarks, just the size of a baby's foot-- +only babies don't wear shoes with nails in them, and don't run about +and climb on kitchen tables after all the family have gone to bed. + +Cook was a little frightened; but her fright changed to anger +when she saw the large black cat stretched comfortably on the +hearth. Poor Muff had crept there for a little snooze after Brownie +went away. + +"You nasty cat! I see it all now; it's you that have eaten up all +the supper; it's you that have been on my clean tablecloth with +your dirty paws." + +They were white paws, and as clean as possible; but Cook never +thought of that, any more than she did of the fact that cats don't +usually drink cider or eat apple pudding. + +"I'll teach you to come stealing food in this way; take that-- +and that--and that!" + +Cook got hold of a broom and beat poor Pussy till the creature ran +mewing away. She couldn't speak, you know--unfortunate cat! +and tell people that it was Brownie who had done it all. + +Next night Cook thought she would make all safe and sure; so, +instead of letting the cat sleep by the fire, she shut her up in the +chilly coal cellar--locked the door, put the key in her pocket, and +went off to bed; leaving the supper as before. + +When Brownie woke up and looked out of his hole, there was as +usual no supper for him, and the cellar was close shut. He peered +about, to try and find some cranny under the door to creep out at, +but there was none. And he felt so hungry that he could almost +have eaten the cat, who kept walking to and fro in a melancholy +manner--only she was alive, and he couldn't well eat her alive:-- +besides he knew she was old, and had an idea she might be tough; +so he merely said, politely, "How do you do, Mrs. Pussy?" to +which she answered nothing--of course. + +Something must be done, and luckily Brownies can do things +which nobody else can do. So he thought he would change himself +into a mouse, and gnaw a hole through the door. But then he suddenly +remembered the cat, who, though he had decided not to eat +her, might take this opportunity of eating him. So he thought it +advisable to wait till she was fast asleep, which did not happen for +a good while. At length, quite tired with walking about, Pussy +turned round on her tail six times, curled down in a corner, and fell +fast asleep. + +Immediately Brownie changed himself into the smallest mouse +possible; and, taking care not to make the least noise, gnawed a hole +in the door, and squeezed himself through--immediately turning +into his proper shape again, for fear of accidents. + +The kitchen fire was at its last glimmer; but it showed a better +supper than even last night, for the Cook had had friends with her, +a brother and two cousins, and they had been exceedingly merry. +The food they had left behind was enough for three Brownies at least, +but this one managed to eat it all up. Only once, in trying to cut +a great slice of beef, he let the carving knife and fork fall with +such a clatter, that Tiny the terrier, who was tied up at the foot of +the stairs, began to bark furiously. However, he brought her her +puppy, which had been left in a basket in a corner of the kitchen, +and so succeeded in quieting her. + +After that he enjoyed himself amazingly, and made more marks +than ever on the white tablecloth--for he began jumping about +like a pea on a trencher, in order to make his particularly large +supper agree with him. + +Then, in the absence of the cat, he teased the puppy for an hour +or two, till, hearing the clock strike five, he thought it as well to +turn into a mouse again, and creep back cautiously into his cellar. +He was only just in time, for Muff opened one eye, and was just +going to pounce upon him, when he changed himself back into a +Brownie. She was so startled that she bounded away, her tail growing +into twice its natural size, and her eyes gleaming like round +green globes. But Brownie only said, "Ha, ha, ho!" and walked +deliberately into his hole. + +When Cook came downstairs and saw that the same thing had +happened again--that the supper was all eaten, and the tablecloth +blacker than ever with extraordinary footmarks, she was greatly +puzzled. Who could have done it all? Not the cat, who came mewing +out of the coal cellar the minute she unlocked the door. Possibly +a rat--but then would a rat have come within reach of Tiny? + +"It must have been Tiny herself, or her puppy," which just came +rolling out of its basket over Cook's feet. "You little wretch! You +and your mother are the greatest nuisance imaginable. I'll punish +you!" + +And quite forgetting that Tiny had been safely tied up all night, +and that her poor little puppy was so fat and helpless it could +scarcely stand on its legs--and so was unlikely to jump on chairs +and tables, she gave them both such a thrashing that they ran howling +together out of the kitchen door, where the kind little kitchen maid +took them up in her arms. + +"You ought to have beaten the Brownie, if you could catch him," +said she in a whisper. "He'll do it again and again, you'll see, for +he can't bear an untidy kitchen. You'd better do as poor old Cook +did, and clear the supper things away, and put the odds and ends +safe in the larder; also," she added mysteriously, "if I were you, +I'd put a bowl of milk behind the coal-cellar door." + +"Nonsense!" answered the young Cook and flounced away. But +afterwards she thought better of it, and did as she was advised, +grumbling all the time, but doing it. + +Next morning, the milk was gone! Perhaps Brownie had drunk +it up, anyhow nobody could say that he hadn't. As for the supper, +Cook having safely laid it on the shelves of the larder, nobody +touched it. And the tablecloth, which was wrapped up tidily and +put in the dresser drawer, came out as clean as ever, with not a +single black footmark upon it. No mischief being done, the cat +and the dog both escaped beating, and Brownie played no more +tricks with anybody--till the next time. + + + + + +THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER; OR, THE BLACK BROTHERS + +John Ruskin + + + + +CHAPTER I + +HOW THE AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM OF THE BLACK BROTHERS WAS INTERFERED +WITH BY SOUTHWEST WIND, ESQUIRE + + + +In a secluded and mountainous part of Stiria there was in old +time a valley of the most surprising and luxuriant fertility. It was +surrounded on all sides by steep and rocky mountains, rising into +peaks which were always covered with snow, and from which a +number of torrents descended in constant cataracts. One of these +fell westward over the face of a crag so high, that, when the sun had +set to everything else, and all below was darkness, his beams still +shone full upon this waterfall, so that it looked like a shower of +gold. It was, therefore, called by the people of the neighborhood, +the Golden River. It was strange that none of these streams fell +into the valley itself. They all descended on the other side of the +mountains, and wound away through broad plains and by populous +cities. But the clouds were drawn so constantly to the snowy hills, +and rested so softly in the circular hollow, that in time of drought +and heat, when all the country round was burnt up, there was still +rain in the little valley; and its crops were so heavy and its hay so +high, and its apples so red, and its grapes so blue, and its wine so +rich, and its honey so sweet, that it was a marvel to every one who +beheld it, and was commonly called the Treasure Valley. + +The whole of this little valley belonged to three brothers called +Schwartz, Hans, and Gluck. Schwartz and Hans, the two elder +brothers, were very ugly men, with overhanging eyebrows and small +dull eyes, which were always half shut, so that you could not see +into _them_, and always fancied they saw very far into _you_. +They lived by farming the Treasure Valley, and very good farmers they +were. They killed everything that did not pay for its eating. They +shot the blackbirds, because they pecked the fruit; and killed the +hedgehogs, lest they should suck the cows; they poisoned the crickets +for eating the crumbs in the kitchen; and smothered the cicadas, +which used to sing all summer in the lime trees. They worked their +servants without any wages, till they would not work any more, and +then quarreled with them, and turned them out of doors without +paying them. It would have been very odd if with such a farm and +such a system of farming they hadn't got very rich; and very rich +they _did_ get. They generally contrived to keep their corn by them +till it was very dear, and then sell it for twice its value; they had +heaps of gold lying about on their floors, yet it was never known that +they had given so much as a penny or a crust in charity; they never +went to mass; grumbled perpetually at paying tithes; and were, in +a word, of so cruel and grinding a temper, as to receive from all those +with whom they had any dealings, the nickname of the "Black +Brothers." + +The youngest brother, Gluck, was as completely opposed, in both +appearance and character, to his seniors as could possibly be +imagined or desired. He was not above twelve years old, fair, blue-eyed, +and kind in temper to every living thing. He did not, of +course, agree particularly well with his brothers, or rather, they +did not agree with _him_. He was usually appointed to the honorable +office of turnspit, when there was anything to roast, which was not +often; for, to do the brothers justice, they were hardly less sparing +upon themselves than upon other people. At other times he used +to clean the shoes, floors, and sometimes the plates, occasionally +getting what was left on them, by way of encouragement, and a +wholesome quantity of dry blows, by way of education. + +Things went on in this manner for a long time. At last came +a very wet summer, and everything went wrong in the country around. +The hay had hardly been got in when the haystacks were floated +bodily down to the sea by an inundation; the vines were cut to pieces +with the hail; the corn was all killed by a black blight; only in +the Treasure Valley, as usual, all was safe. As it had rain when +there was rain nowhere else, so it had sun when there was sun nowhere +else. Everybody came to buy corn at the farm, and went away pouring +maledictions on the Black Brothers. They asked what they liked, and +got it, except from the poor people, who could only beg, and several +of whom were starved at their very door without the slightest regard +or notice. + +It was drawing towards Winter, and very cold weather, when +one day the two elder brothers had gone out with their usual warning +to little Gluck, who was left to mind the roast, that he was to let +nobody in and give nothing out. Gluck sat down quite close to the +fire, for it was raining very hard, and the kitchen walls were by +no means dry or comfortable looking. He turned and turned, and +the roast got nice and brown. "What a pity," thought Gluck, "my +brothers never ask anybody to dinner. I'm sure when they have +such a nice piece of mutton as this, and nobody else has got so much +as a piece of dry bread, it would do their hearts good to have somebody +to eat it with them." + +Just as he spoke there came a double knock at the house door, yet +heavy and dull, as though the knocker had been tied up--more like +a puff than a knock. + +"It must be the wind," said Gluck; "nobody else would venture to +knock double knocks at our door." + +No; it wasn't the wind: there it came again very hard; and what +was particularly astounding, the knocker seemed to be in a hurry, +and not to be in the least afraid of the consequences. Gluck +went to the window, opened it, and put his head out to see who it +was. + +It was the most extraordinary-looking little gentleman he had +ever seen in his life. He had a very large nose, slightly +brass-colored; his cheeks were very round and very red, and might have +warranted a supposition that he had been blowing a refractory fire +for the last eight-and-forty hours; his eyes twinkled merrily through +long silky eyelashes, his mustaches curled twice round like a corkscrew +on each side of his mouth, and his hair, of a curious mixed +pepper-and-salt-color, descended far over his shoulders. He was +about four-feet-six in height, and wore a conical pointed cap of nearly +the same altitude, decorated with a black feather some three feet +long. His doublet was prolonged behind into something resembling +a violent exaggeration of what is now termed a "swallowtail," but +was much obscured by the swelling folds of an enormous black, +glossy-looking cloak, which must have been very much too long in +calm weather, as the wind, whistling round the old house, carried +it clear out from the wearer's shoulders to about four times his own +length. + +Gluck was so perfectly paralyzed by the singular appearance of +his visitor that he remained fixed without uttering a word, until the +old gentleman, having performed another and a more energetic concerto +on the knocker, turned round to look after his fly-away cloak. +In so doing he caught sight of Gluck's little yellow head jammed in +the window, with his mouth and eyes very wide-open indeed. + +"Hollo!" said the little gentleman, "that's not the way to answer +the door: I'm wet, let me in." + +To do the little gentleman justice, he _was_ wet. His feather hung +down between his legs like a beaten puppy's tail, dripping like an +umbrella; and from the ends of his mustaches the water was running +into his waistcoat pockets, and out again like a mill stream. + +"I beg pardon, sir," said Gluck, "I'm very sorry, but I really +can't." + +"Can't what?" said the old gentleman. + +"I can't let you in, sir,--I can't indeed; my brothers would beat +me to death, sir, if I thought of such a thing. What do you want, +sir?" + +"Want?" said the old gentleman, petulantly. "I want fire and +shelter; and there's your great fire there, blazing, crackling, and +dancing on the walls, with nobody to feel it. Let me in, I say; I only +want to warm myself." + +Gluck had had his head so long out of the window by this time +that he began to feel it was really unpleasantly cold, and when he +turned and saw the beautiful fire rustling and roaring, and throwing +long, bright tongues up the chimney, as if it were licking its chops +at the savory smell of the leg of mutton, his heart melted within him +that it should be burning away for nothing. "He does look _very_ +wet," said little Gluck; "I'll just let him in for a quarter of an hour." +Round he went to the door and opened it; and as the little gentleman +walked in there came a gust of wind through the house that made the +old chimneys totter. + +"That's a good boy," said the little gentleman. "Never mind +your brothers. I'll talk to them." + +"Pray, sir, don't do any such thing," said Gluck. "I can't let +you stay till they come: they'd be the death of me." + +"Dear me," said the old gentleman, "I'm very sorry to hear that. +How long may I stay?" + +"Only till the mutton's done, sir," replied Gluck, "and it's very +brown." + +Then the old gentleman walked into the kitchen, and sat himself +down on the hob, with the top of his cap accommodated up the chimney, +for it was a great deal too high for the roof. + +"You'll soon dry there, sir," said Gluck, and sat down again +to turn the mutton. But the old gentleman did _not_ dry there, but +went on drip, drip, dripping among the cinders, and the fire fizzed, +and sputtered, and began to look very black and uncomfortable. +Never was such a cloak; every fold in it ran like a gutter. + +"I beg pardon, sir," said Gluck at length, after watching the +water spreading in long, quicksilver-like streams over the floor for a +quarter of an hour; "mayn't I take your cloak?" + +"No, thank you," said the old gentleman. + +"Your cap, sir?" + +"I am all right, thank you," said the old gentleman, rather +gruffly. + +"But,--sir,--I'm very sorry," said Gluck, hesitatingly; "but--really, +sir,--you're--putting the fire out." + +"It'll take longer to do the mutton, then," replied his visitor +dryly. + +Gluck was very much puzzled by the behavior of his guest; it was +such a strange mixture of coolness and humility. He turned away +at the string meditatively for another five minutes. + +"That mutton looks very nice," said the old gentleman at length. +"Can't you give me a little bit?" + +"Impossible, sir," said Gluck. + +"I'm very hungry," continued the old gentleman; "I've had nothing +to eat yesterday nor today. They surely couldn't miss a bit +from the knuckle!" + +He spoke in so very melancholy a tone that it quite melted Gluck's +heart. "They promised me one slice today, sir," said he; "I can +give you that, but not a bit more." + +"That's a good boy," said the old gentleman again. + +Then Gluck warmed a plate, and sharpened a knife. "I don't +care if I do get beaten for it." thought he. Just as he had cut a large +slice out of the mutton, there came a tremendous rap at the door. +The old gentleman jumped off the hob, as if it had suddenly +become inconveniently warm. Gluck fitted the slice into the +mutton again, with desperate efforts at exactitude, and ran to open +the door. + +"What did you keep us waiting in the rain for?" said Schwartz, as +he walked in, throwing his umbrella in Gluck's face. "Ay! what +for, indeed, you little vagabond?" said Hans, administering an +educational box on the ear, as he followed his brother into the +kitchen. + +"Bless my soul!" said Schwartz, when he opened the door. + +"Amen," said the little gentleman, who had taken his cap off, and +was standing in the middle of the kitchen, bowing with the utmost +possible velocity. + +"Who's that?" said Schwartz, catching up a rolling-pin, and turning +to Gluck with a fierce frown. + +"I don't know, indeed, brother," said Gluck, in great terror. + +"How did he get in?" roared Schwartz. + +"My dear brother," said Gluck, deprecatingly, "he was so +_very_ wet!" + +The rolling-pin was descending on Gluck's head; but at the instant +the old gentleman interposed his conical cap, on which it +crashed with a shock that shook the water out of it all over the room. +What was very odd, the rolling-pin no sooner touched the cap than +it flew out of Schwartz's hand, spinning like a straw in a high wind, +and fell into the corner at the farther end of the room. + +"Who are you, sir?" demanded Schwartz, turning upon him. + +"What's your business?" snarled Hans. + +"I'm a poor old man, sir," the little gentleman began very +modestly, "and I saw your fire through the window, and begged +shelter for a quarter of an hour." + +"Have the goodness to walk out again, then," said Schwartz. +"We've quite enough water in our kitchen without making it a +drying-house." + +"It is a cold day to turn an old man out in, sir; look at my gray +hairs." They hung down to his shoulders, as I told you before. + +"Ay!" said Hans, "there are enough of them to keep you warm. +Walk!" + +"I'm very, very hungry, sir; couldn't you spare me a bit of bread +before I go?" + +"Bread, indeed!" said Schwartz; "do you suppose we've nothing +to do with our bread but to give it to such red-nosed fellows as +you?" + +"Why don't you sell your feather?" said Hans, sneeringly. +"Out with you!" + +"A little bit," said the old gentleman. + +"Be off!" said Schwartz. + +"Pray, gentlemen--" + +"Off, and be hanged!" cried Hans, seizing him by the collar. +But he had no sooner touched the old gentleman's collar, than +away he went after the rolling-pin, spinning round and round, till +he fell into the corner on the top of it. Then Schwartz was very +angry, and ran at the old gentleman to turn him out; but he also +had hardly touched him, when away he went after Hans and the +rolling-pin, and hit his head against the wall as he tumbled into the +corner. And so there they lay, all three. + +Then the old gentleman spun himself round with velocity in the +opposite direction; continued to spin until his long cloak was all +wound neatly about him: clapped his cap on his head, very much on +one side (for it could not stand upright without going through the +ceiling), gave an additional twist to his corkscrew mustaches, and +replied with perfect coolness: "Gentlemen, I wish you a very +good morning. At twelve o'clock tonight I'll call again; after such +a refusal of hospitality as I have just experienced, you will not be +surprised if that visit is the last I ever pay you." + +"If ever I catch you here again," muttered Schwartz, coming, +half frightened, out of the corner--but, before he could finish his +sentence, the old gentleman had shut the house door behind him with +a great bang: and there drove past the window, at the same instant, +a wreath of ragged cloud, that whirled and rolled away down the +valley in all manner of shapes; turning over and over in the air, +and melting away at last in a gush of rain. + +"A very pretty business, indeed, Mr. Gluck!" said Schwartz. +"Dish the mutton, sir. If ever I catch you at such a trick again +--bless me, why, the mutton's been cut!" + +"You promised me one slice, brother, you know," said Gluck. + +"Oh! and you were cutting it hot, I suppose, and going to catch +all the gravy. It'll be long before I promise you such a thing +again. Leave the room, sir; and have the kindness to wait in the +coal cellar till I call you." + +Gluck left the room, melancholy enough. The brothers ate as +much mutton as they could, locked the rest into the cupboard, and +proceeded to get very drunk after dinner. + +Such a night as it was! Howling wind, and rushing rain, without +intermission. The brothers had just sense enough left to put up +all the shutters, and double-bar the door, before they went to bed. + +They usually slept in the same room. As the clock struck twelve, +they were both awakened by a tremendous crash. Their door burst +open with a violence that shook the house from top to bottom. + +"What's that?" cried Schwartz, starting up in his bed. + +"Only I," said the little gentleman. + +The two brothers sat up on their bolster, and stared into the +darkness. The room was full of water; and by a misty moonbeam, +which found its way through a hole in the shutter, they could see in +the midst of it an enormous foam globe, spinning round, and bobbing +up and down like a cork, on which, as on a most luxurious +cushion, reclined the little old gentleman, cap and all. There +was plenty of room for it now, for the roof was off. + +"Sorry to incommode you," said their visitor, ironically. "I'm +afraid your beds are dampish; perhaps you had better go to your +brother's room: I've left the ceiling on there." + +They required no second admonition, but rushed into Gluck's +room, wet through, and in an agony of terror. + +"You'll find my card on the kitchen table," the old gentleman +called after them. "Remember, the _last_ visit." + +"Pray Heaven it may!" said Schwartz, shuddering. And the +foam globe disappeared. + +Dawn came at last, and the two brothers looked out of Gluck's +little window in the morning. The Treasure Valley was one mass +of ruin and desolation. The inundation had swept away trees, +crops, and cattle, and left in their stead a waste of red sand and +gray mud. The two brothers crept shivering and horror-struck into +the kitchen. The water had gutted the whole first floor; corn, money, +almost every movable thing had been swept away, and there was +left only a small white card on the kitchen table. On it, in large, +breezy, long-legged letters, were engraved the words: + +_SOUTHWEST WIND, ESQUIRE_ + + + + +CHAPTER II + +OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE THREE BROTHERS AFTER THE VISIT OF SOUTHWEST +WIND, ESQUIRE; AND HOW LITTLE GLUCK HAD AN INTERVIEW WITH THE KING OF +THE GOLDEN RIVER + + + +Southwest Wind, Esquire, was as good as his word. After the +momentous visit above related, he entered the Treasure Valley no +more; and what was worse, he had so much influence with his relations, +the West Winds in general, and used it so effectually, that +they all adopted a similar line of conduct. So no rain fell in the +valley from one year's end to another. Though everything remained +green and flourishing in the plains below, the inheritance of the +Three Brothers was a desert. What had once been the richest soil +in the kingdom became a shifting heap of red sand; and the brothers, +unable longer to contend with the adverse skies, abandoned their +valueless patrimony in despair, to seek some means of gaining a +livelihood among the cities and people of the plains. All their +money was gone, and they had nothing left but some curious, old- +fashioned pieces of gold plate, the last remnants of their ill-gotten +wealth. + +"Suppose we turn goldsmiths?" said Schwartz to Hans, as they +entered the large city. "It is a good knave's trade; we can put a +great deal of copper into the gold without any one's finding it out." + +The thought was agreed to be a very good one; they hired a +furnace, and turned goldsmiths. But two slight circumstances +affected their trade: the first, that people did not approve of the +coppered gold; the second, that the two elder brothers whenever they +had sold anything used to leave little Gluck to mind the furnace, +and go and drink out the money in the alehouse next door. So +they melted all their gold, without making money enough to buy +more, and were at last reduced to one large drinking mug, which an +uncle of his had given to little Gluck, and which he was very fond +of, and would not have parted with for the world; though he never +drank anything out of it but milk and water. The mug was a very +odd mug to look at. The handle was formed of two wreaths of +flowing golden hair, so finely spun that it looked more like silk +than metal, and these wreaths descended into and mixed with a +beard and whiskers of the same exquisite workmanship, which surrounded +and decorated a very fierce little face, of the reddest gold +imaginable, right in the front of the mug, with a pair of eyes in it +which seemed to command its whole circumference. It was impossible +to drink from the mug without being subjected to an intense +gaze out of the side of these eyes; and Schwartz positively averred +that once after emptying it full of Rhenish seventeen times he had +seen them wink! When it came to the mug's turn to be made into +spoons, it half broke poor little Gluck's heart; but the brothers only +laughed at him, tossed the mug into the melting pot, and staggered +out to the alehouse, leaving him, as usual, to pour the gold into bars, +when it was all ready. + +When they were gone, Gluck took a farewell look at his old friend +in the melting pot. The flowing hair was all gone; nothing remained +but the red nose and the sparkling eyes, which looked more +malicious than ever. "And no wonder," thought Gluck, "after +being treated in that way." He sauntered disconsolately to the +window, and sat himself down to catch the fresh evening air, and +escape the hot breath of the furnace. Now this window commanded +a direct view of the range of mountains, which, as I told you before, +overhung the Treasure Valley, and more especially of the peak from +which fell the Golden River. It was just at the close of the day; +and when Gluck sat down at the window, he saw the rocks of the +mountain tops all crimson and purple with the sunset; and there +were bright tongues of fiery cloud burning and quivering about +them; and the river, brighter than all, fell in a waving column of +pure gold from precipice to precipice, with the double arch of a +broad purple rainbow stretched across it, flushing and fading +alternately in the wreaths of spray. + +"Ah!" said Gluck aloud, after he had looked at it for a while, +"if that river were really all gold, what a nice thing it would be." + +"No, it wouldn't, Gluck," said a clear metallic voice, close at +his ear. + +"Bless me! what's that?" exclaimed Gluck, jumping up. There +was nobody there. He looked round the room, and under the table, +and a great many times behind him, but there was certainly nobody +there, and he sat down again at the window. This time he didn't +speak, but he couldn't help thinking again that it would be very +convenient if the river were really all gold. + +"Not at all, my boy," said the same voice, louder than before. + +"Bless me!" said Gluck again, "what _is_ that?" He looked +again into all the corners and cupboards, and then began turning +round and round as fast as he could in the middle of the room, +thinking there was somebody behind him, when the same voice struck +again on his ear. It was singing now very merrily, "Lala-lira-la"; +no words, only a soft, running, effervescent melody, something like +that of a kettle on the boil. Gluck looked out of the window. No, +it was certainly in the house. Upstairs, and downstairs. No, it was +certainly in that very room, coming in quicker time and clearer notes +every moment. "Lala-lira-la." All at once it struck Gluck that it +sounded louder near the furnace. He ran to the opening, and looked +in: yes, he saw right, it seemed to be coming not only out of the +furnace, but out of the pot. He uncovered it, and ran back in a +great fright, for the pot was certainly singing! He stood in the +farthest corner of the room with his hands up and his mouth open, +for a minute or two when the singing stopped, and the voice became +clear and pronunciative. + +"Hollo!" said the voice. + +Gluck made no answer. + +"Hollo! Gluck, my boy," said the pot again. + +Gluck summoned all his energies, walked straight up to the crucible, +drew it out of the furnace and looked in. The gold was all +melted, and its surface as smooth and polished as a river; but instead +of reflecting little Gluck's head as he looked in, he saw meeting his +glance from beneath the gold the red nose and sharp eyes of his +old friend of the mug, a thousand times redder and sharper than +ever he had seen them in his life. + +"Come, Gluck, my boy," said the voice out of the pot again, "I'm +all right; pour me out." + +But Gluck was too much astonished to do anything of the kind. + +"Pour me out, I say," said the voice, rather gruffly. + +Still Gluck couldn't move. + +"_Will_ you pour me out?" said the voice, passionately, "I'm too +hot." + +By a violent effort Gluck recovered the use of his limbs, took hold +of the crucible, and sloped it so as to pour out the gold. But +instead of a liquid stream there came out, first, a pair of pretty +little yellow legs, then some coat tails, then a pair of arms stuck +akimbo, and, finally, the well-known head of his friend the mug; all +which articles, uniting as they rolled out, stood up energetically on +the floor, in the shape of a little golden dwarf about a foot and a +half high. + +"That's right!" said the dwarf, stretching out first his legs, and +then his arms, and then shaking his head up and down, and as far +round as it would go, for five minutes without stopping, apparently +with the view of ascertaining if he were quite correctly put together, +while Gluck stood contemplating him in speechless amazement. +He was dressed in a slashed doublet of spun gold, so fine in its texture +that the prismatic colors gleamed over it, as if on a surface +of mother of pearl; and over this brilliant doublet his hair and beard +fell full halfway to the ground in waving curls, so exquisitely delicate, +that Gluck could hardly tell where they ended; they seemed to +melt into air. The features of the face, however, were by no means +finished with the same delicacy; they were rather coarse, slightly +inclined to coppery in complexion, and indicative, in expression, +of a very pertinacious and intractable disposition in their small +proprietor. When the dwarf had finished his self-examination, he +turned his small sharp eyes full on Gluck, and stared at him deliberately +for a minute or two. "No, it wouldn't, Gluck, my boy," said the little +man. + +This was certainly rather an abrupt and unconnected mode of +commencing conversation. It might indeed be supposed to refer to +the course of Gluck's thoughts, which had first produced the dwarf's +observations out of the pot; but whatever it referred to, Gluck had +no inclination to dispute what he said. + +"Wouldn't it, sir?" said Gluck, very mildly and submissively +indeed. + +"No," said the dwarf, conclusively. "No, it wouldn't." And +with that the dwarf pulled his cap hard over his brows, and took +two turns, of three feet long, up and down the room, lifting his legs +up very high and setting them down very hard. This pause gave +time for Gluck to collect his thoughts a little, and seeing no great +reason to view his diminutive visitor with dread, and feeling his +curiosity overcome his amazement, he ventured on a question of +peculiar delicacy. + +"Pray, sir," said Gluck, rather hesitatingly, "were you my mug?" + +On which the little man turned sharp round, walked straight +up to Gluck, and drew himself up to his full height. "I," said the +little man, "am the King of the Golden River." Whereupon he +turned about again, and took two more turns some six feet long in +order to allow time for the consternation which this announcement +produced in his auditor to evaporate. After which he again walked +up to Gluck and stood still, as if expecting some comment on his +communication. + +Gluck determined to say something at all events. "I hope your +Majesty is very well," said Gluck. + +"Listen!" said the little man, deigning no reply to this polite +inquiry. "I am the King of what you mortals call the Golden +River. The shape you saw me in was owing to the malice of a +stronger king, from whose enchantments you have this instant freed +me. What I have seen of you, and your conduct to your wicked +brothers, renders me willing to serve you; therefore, attend to what +I tell you. Whoever shall climb to the top of that mountain from +which you see the Golden River issue, and shall cast into the stream +at its source three drops of holy water, for him, and for him only, +the river shall turn to gold. But no one failing in his first can +succeed in a second attempt; and if any one shall cast unholy water +into the river it will overwhelm him, and he will become a black +stone." So saying, the King of the Golden River turned away and +deliberately walked into the center of the hottest flame of the +furnace. His figure became red, white, transparent, dazzling,--a +blaze of intense light,--rose, trembled, and disappeared. The King +of the Golden River had evaporated. + +"Oh!" cried poor Gluck, running to look up the chimney after +him; "oh, dear, dear, dear me! My mug! my mug! my mug!" + + + + +CHAPTER III + +HOW MR. HANS SET OFF ON AN EXPEDITION TO THE GOLDEN RIVER, AND HOW +HE PROSPERED THEREIN + + + +The King of the Golden River had hardly made the extraordinary +exit related in the last chapter before Hans and Schwartz came +roaring into the house very savagely drunk. The discovery of the +total loss of their last piece of plate had the effect of sobering +them just enough to enable them to stand over Gluck, beating him +very steadily for a quarter of an hour; at the expiration of which +period they dropped into a couple of chairs, and requested to know +what he had got to say for himself. Gluck told them his story, of +which, of course, they did not believe a word. They beat him again, +till their arms were tired, and staggered to bed. In the morning, +however, the steadiness with which he adhered to his story obtained +him some degree of credence; the immediate consequence of which was +that the two brothers, after wrangling a long time on the knotty +question, Which of them should try his fortune first, drew their +swords and began fighting. The noise of the fray alarmed the +neighbors, who, finding they could not pacify the combatants, sent +for the constable. + +Hans, on hearing this, contrived to escape, and hid himself; but +Schwartz was taken before the magistrate, fined for breaking the +peace, and having drunk out his last penny the evening before, was +thrown into prison till he should pay. + +When Hans heard this, he was much delighted, and determined +to set out immediately for the Golden River. How to get the holy +water was the question. He went to the priest, but the priest could +not give any holy water to so abandoned a character. So Hans went +to vespers in the evening for the first time in his life, and, under +pretense of crossing himself, stole a cupful and returned home in +triumph. + +Next morning he got up before the sun rose, put the holy water +into a strong flask, and two bottles of wine and some meat in a +basket, slung them over his back, took his alpine staff in his hand, +and set off for the mountains. + +On his way out of the town he had to pass the prison, and as he +looked in at the windows, whom should he see but Schwartz himself +peeping out of the bars, and looking very disconsolate. + +"Good morning, brother," said Hans; "have you any message +for the King of the Golden River?" + +Schwartz gnashed his teeth with rage, and shook the bars with +all his strength; but Hans only laughed at him, and advising him +to make himself comfortable till he came back again, shouldered his +basket, shook the bottle of holy water in Schwartz's face till it +frothed again, and marched off in the highest spirits in the world. + +It was indeed a morning that might have made any one happy, +even with no Golden River to seek for. Level lines of dewy mist +lay stretched along the valley, out of which rose the massy mountains +--their lower cliffs in pale gray shadow, hardly distinguishable +from the floating vapor, but gradually ascending till they caught +the sunlight, which ran in sharp touches of ruddy color along the +angular crags, and pierced, in long level rays, through their fringes +of spear-like pine. Far above, shot up red splintered masses of +castellated rock, jagged and shivered into myriads of fantastic forms, +with here and there a streak of sunlit snow, traced down their chasms +like a line of forked lightning; and far beyond and above all these, +fainter than the morning cloud, but purer and changeless, slept in +the blue sky the utmost peaks of the eternal snow. + +The Golden River, which sprang from one of the lower and snowless +elevations, was now nearly in shadow; all but the uppermost jets +of spray, which rose like slow smoke above the undulating line of the +cataract, and floated away in feeble wreaths upon the morning wind. + +On this object, and on this alone, Hans' eyes and thoughts were +fixed; forgetting the distance he had to traverse, he set off at an +imprudent rate of walking, which greatly exhausted him before he +had scaled the first range of the green and low hills. He was, +moreover, surprised on surmounting them, to find that a large glacier, +of whose existence, notwithstanding his previous knowledge of the +mountains, he had been absolutely ignorant, lay between him and +the source of the Golden River. He mounted it though, with the +boldness of a practiced mountaineer; yet he thought he had never +traversed so strange or so dangerous a glacier in his life. The ice +was excessively slippery, and out of all its chasms came wild sounds +of gushing water; not monotonous or low, but changeful and loud, +rising occasionally into drifting passages of wild melody, then +breaking off into short melancholy tones, or sudden shrieks, resembling +those of human voices in distress or pain. The ice was broken into +thousands of confused shapes, but none, Hans thought, like the ordinary +forms of splintered ice. There seemed a curious _expression_ about +all their outlines--a perpetual resemblance to living features, +distorted and scornful. Myriads of deceitful shadows, and lurid lights, +played and floated about and through the pale blue pinnacles, dazzling +and confusing the sight of the traveler; while his ears grew dull and +his head giddy with the constant gush and roar of the concealed waters. +These painful circumstances increased upon him as he advanced; the ice +crashed and yawned into fresh chasms at his feet, tottering spires +nodded around him, and fell thundering across his path; and though he +had repeatedly faced these dangers on the most terrific glaciers, and +in the wildest weather, it was with a new and oppressive feeling of +panic terror that he leaped the last chasm, and flung himself, +exhausted and shuddering, on the firm turf of the mountain. + +He had been compelled to abandon his basket of food, which +became a perilous incumbrance on the glacier, and had now no +means of refreshing himself but by breaking off and eating some of +the pieces of ice. This, however, relieved his thirst; an hour's +repose recruited his hardy frame, and with the indomitable spirit of +avarice, he resumed his laborious journey. + +His way now lay straight up a ridge of bare red rocks, without +a blade of grass to ease the foot, or a projecting angle to afford +an inch of shade from the south sun. It was past noon, and the +rays beat intensely upon the steep path, while the whole atmosphere +was motionless, and penetrated with heat. Intense thirst was soon +added to the bodily fatigue with which Hans was now afflicted; glance +after glance he cast at the flask of water which hung at his belt. +"Three drops are enough," at last thought he; "I may, at least, +cool my lips with it." + +He opened the flask, and was raising it to his lips, when his eye +fell on an object lying on the rock beside him; he thought it moved. +It was a small dog, apparently in the last agony of death from thirst. +Its tongue was out, its jaws dry, its limbs extended lifelessly, and +a swarm of black ants were crawling about its lips and throat. Its eye +moved to the bottle which Hans held in his hand. He raised it, +drank, spurned the animal with his foot, and passed on. And he +did not know how it was, but he thought that a strange shadow had +suddenly come across the blue sky. + +The path became steeper and more rugged every moment; and the +high hill air, instead of refreshing him, seemed to throw his blood +into a fever. The noise of the hill cataracts sounded like mockery +in his ears; they were all distant, and his thirst increased every +moment. Another hour passed, and he again looked down to the +flask at his side; it was half empty, but there was much more than +three drops in it. He stopped to open it, and again, as he did so, +something moved in the path above him. It was a fair child, +stretched nearly lifeless on the rock, its breast heaving with thirst, +its eyes closed, and its lips parched and burning. Hans eyed it +deliberately, drank, and passed on. And a dark gray cloud came +over the sun, and long, snake-like shadows crept up along the mountain +sides. Hans struggled on. The sun was sinking, but its descent +seemed to bring no coolness; the leaden weight of the dead air +pressed upon his brow and heart, but the goal was near. He saw +the cataract of the Golden River springing from the hillside, scarcely +five hundred feet above him. He paused for a moment to breathe, +and sprang on to complete his task. + +At this instant a faint cry fell on his ear. He turned, and saw a +gray-haired old man extended on the rocks. His eyes were sunk, +his features deadly pale, and gathered into an expression of despair. +"Water!" he stretched his arms to Hans, and cried feebly, "Water! +I am dying." + +"I have none," replied Hans; "thou hast had thy share of life." +He strode over the prostrate body, and darted on. And a flash of +blue lightning rose out of the east, shaped like a sword; it shook +thrice over the whole heaven, and left it dark with one heavy, +impenetrable shade. The sun was setting; it plunged towards the +horizon like a red-hot ball. + +The roar of the Golden River rose on Hans' ear. He stood at the +brink of the chasm through which it ran. Its waves were filled with +the red glory of the sunset; they shook their crests like tongues +of fire, and flashes of bloody light gleamed along their foam. Their +sound came mightier and mightier on his senses; his brain grew +giddy with the prolonged thunder. Shuddering, he drew the flask +from his girdle, and hurled it into the center of the torrent. As he +did so, an icy chill shot through his limbs; he staggered, shrieked, +and fell. The waters closed over his cry. And the moaning of +the river rose wildly into the night, as it gushed over THE BLACK +STONE. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +HOW MR. SCHWARTZ SET OFF ON AN EXPEDITION TO THE GOLDEN RIVER, AND HOW +HE PROSPERED THEREIN + + + +Poor little Gluck waited very anxiously alone in the house for +Hans' return. Finding he did not come back, he was terribly frightened, +and went and told Schwartz in the prison all that had happened. +Then Schwartz was very much pleased, and said that Hans +must certainly have been turned into a black stone, and he should +have all the gold to himself. But Gluck was very sorry, and cried +all night. When he got up in the morning, there was no bread in +the house, nor any money; so Gluck went and hired himself to another +goldsmith, and he worked so hard, and so neatly, and so long +every day, that he soon got money enough together to pay his +brother's fine, and he went and gave it all to Schwartz, and Schwartz +got out of prison. Then Schwartz was quite pleased, and said he +should have some of the gold of the river. But Gluck only begged +he would go and see what had become of Hans. + +Now, when Schwartz had heard that Hans had stolen the holy +water, he thought to himself that such a proceeding might not be +considered altogether correct by the King of the Golden River, and +determined to manage matters better. So he took some more of +Gluck's money, and went to a bad priest, who gave him some holy +water very readily for it. Then Schwartz was sure it was all quite +right. So Schwartz got up early in the morning before the sun rose, +and took some bread and wine in a basket, and put his holy water in +a flask, and set off for the mountains. Like his brother, he was +much surprised at the sight of the glacier, and had great difficulty +in crossing it, even after leaving his basket behind him. The day was +cloudless, but not bright; there was a heavy purple haze hanging +over the sky, and the hills looked lowering and gloomy. And as +Schwartz climbed the steep rock path, the thirst came upon him, as +it had upon his brother, until he lifted his flask to his lips to drink. +Then he saw the fair child lying near him on the rocks, and it +cried to him, and moaned for water. "Water, indeed," said +Schwartz; "I haven't half enough for myself," and passed on. And +as he went he thought the sunbeams grew more dim, and he saw a +low bank of black cloud rising out of the west; and when he had +climbed for another hour the thirst overcame him again, and he +would have drunk. Then he saw the old man lying before him on +the path, and heard him cry out for water. "Water, indeed," said +Schwartz; "I haven't half enough for myself," and on he went. + +Then again the light seemed to fade from before his eyes, and +he looked up, and, behold, a mist, of the color of blood, had come +over the sun; and the bank of black cloud had risen very high, +and its edges were tossing and tumbling like the waves of the angry +sea. And they cast long shadows, which flickered over Schwartz's +path. + +Then Schwartz climbed for another hour, and again his thirst +returned; and as he lifted his flask to his lips, he thought he saw +his brother Hans lying exhausted on the path before him, and, as he +gazed, the figure stretched its arms to him, and cried for water. +"Ha, ha," laughed Schwartz, "are you there? remember the prison +bars, my boy. Water, indeed--do you suppose I carried it all the +way up here for _you_!" And he strode over the figure; yet, as +he passed, he thought he saw a strange expression of mockery about +its lips. And, when he had gone a few yards farther, he looked back; +but the figure was not there. + +And a sudden horror came over Schwartz, he knew not why; but +the thirst for gold prevailed over his fear, and he rushed on. And +the bank of black cloud rose to the zenith, and out of it came bursts +of spiry lightning, and waves of darkness seemed to heave and float +between their flashes, over the whole heavens. And the sky, where +the sun was setting, was all level, and like a lake of blood; and a +strong wind came out of that sky, tearing its crimson clouds into +fragments, and scattering them far into the darkness. And, when +Schwartz stood by the brink of the Golden River, its waves were +black, like thunder clouds, but their foam was like fire; and the roar +of the waters below and the thunder above, met, as he cast the flask +into the stream. And, as he did so, the lightning glared in his eyes, +and the earth gave way beneath him, and the waters closed over his +cry. And the moaning of the river rose wildly into the night, as it +gushed over the TWO BLACK STONES. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +HOW LITTLE GLUCK SET OFF ON AN EXPEDITION TO THE GOLDEN RIVER, AND HOW +HE PROSPERED THEREIN; WITH OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST + + + +When Gluck found that Schwartz did not come back, he was very +sorry, and did not know what to do. He had no money, and he was +obliged to go and hire himself again to the goldsmith, who worked +him very hard, and gave him very little money. So, after a month +or two, Gluck grew tired, and made up his mind to go and try his +fortune with the Golden River. "The little king looked very kind," +thought he. "I don't think he will turn me into a black stone." So +he went to the priest, and the priest gave him some holy water +as soon as he asked for it. Then Gluck took some bread in his +basket, and the bottle of water, and set off very early for the mountains. + +If the glacier had occasioned a great deal of fatigue to his brothers, +it was twenty times worse for him, who was neither so strong nor so +practiced on the mountains. He had several very bad falls, lost his +basket and bread, and was very much frightened at the strange +noises under the ice. He lay a long time to rest on the grass, after +he had got over, and began to climb the hill just in the hottest part +of the day. When he had climbed for an hour, he got dreadfully +thirsty, and was going to drink, like his brothers, when he saw an +old man coming down the path above him, looking very feeble, +and leaning on a staff. "My son," said the old man, "I am faint +with thirst, give me some of that water." Then Gluck looked at him, +and when he saw that he was pale and weary, he gave him the water; +"Only, pray, don't drink it all," said Gluck. But the old man drank +a great deal, and gave him back the bottle two-thirds empty. Then +he bade him good speed, and Gluck went on again merrily. And +the path became easier to his feet, and two or three blades of grass +appeared upon it, and some grasshoppers began singing on the bank +beside it; and Gluck thought he had never heard such merry singing. + +Then he went on for another hour, and the thirst increased on him +so that he thought he should be forced to drink. But, as he raised +the flask, he saw a little child lying panting by the roadside, and +it cried out piteously for water. Then Gluck struggled with himself, +and determined to bear the thirst a little longer; and he put +the bottle to the child's lips, and it drank it all but a few drops. +Then it smiled on him, and got up, and ran down the hill; and +Gluck looked after it, till it became as small as a little star, and +then turned and began climbing again. And then there were all +kinds of sweet flowers growing on the rocks, bright green moss with +pale pink starry flowers, and soft belled gentians more blue than +the sky at its deepest, and pure white transparent lilies. And crimson +and purple butterflies darted hither and thither, and the sky +sent down such pure light, that Gluck had never felt so happy in his +life. + +Yet, when he had climbed for another hour, his thirst became +intolerable again; and, when he looked at his bottle, he saw that +there were only five or six drops left in it, and he could not venture +to drink. And, as he was hanging the flask to his belt again, he saw +a little dog lying on the rocks, gasping for breath--just as Hans +had seen it on the day of his ascent. And Gluck stopped and looked +at it, and then at the Golden River, not five hundred yards above him; +and he thought of the dwarf's word, "that no one could succeed, +except in his first attempt"; and he tried to pass the dog, but it +whined piteously, and Gluck stopped again. "Poor beastie," said +Gluck, "it'll be dead when I come down again, if I don't help it." +Then he looked closer and closer at it, and its eye turned on him so +mournfully, that he could not stand it. "Confound the King, and +his gold too," said Gluck; and he opened the flask, and poured all +the water into the dog's mouth. + +The dog sprang up and stood on its hind legs. Its tail disappeared, +its ears became long, longer, silky, golden; its nose became +very red, its eyes became very twinkling; in three seconds the dog +was gone, and before Gluck stood his old acquaintance, the King +of the Golden River. + +"Thank you," said the monarch; "but don't be frightened, it's +all right"; for Gluck showed manifest symptoms of consternation +at this unlooked-for reply to his last observation. "Why didn't you +come before," continued the dwarf, "instead of sending me those +rascally brothers of yours, for me to have the trouble of turning +into stones? Very hard stones they make too." + +"Oh, dear me!" said Gluck, "have you really been so cruel?" + +"Cruel!" said the dwarf; "they poured unholy water into my +stream: do you suppose I'm going to allow that?" + +"Why," said Gluck, "I am sure, sir--your Majesty, I mean--they +got the water out of the church font." + +"Very probably," replied the dwarf; "but," and his countenance +grew stern as he spoke, "the water which has been refused to the cry +of the weary and dying, is unholy, though it had been blessed by +every saint in heaven; and the water which is found in the vessel +of mercy is holy, though it had been defiled with corpses." + +So saying, the dwarf stooped and plucked a lily that grew at +his feet. On its white leaves there hung three drops of clear dew. +And the dwarf shook them into the flask which Gluck held in his +hand. "Cast these into the river," he said, "and descend on the +other side of the mountains into the Treasure Valley. And so good +speed." + +As he spoke, the figure of the dwarf became indistinct. The +playing colors of his robe formed themselves into a prismatic mist +of dewy light; he stood for an instant veiled with them as with the +belt of a broad rainbow. The colors grew faint, the mist rose into +the air; the monarch had evaporated. + +And Gluck climbed to the brink of the Golden River, and its waves +were as clear as crystal, and as brilliant as the sun. And, when he +cast the three drops of dew into the stream, there opened where +they fell a small circular whirlpool, into which the waters descended +with a musical noise. + +Gluck stood watching it for some time, very much disappointed, +because not only the river was not turned into gold, but its waters +seemed much diminished in quantity. Yet he obeyed his friend +the dwarf, and descended the other side of the mountains, toward the +Treasure Valley; and, as he went, he thought he heard the noise of +water working its way under the ground. And, when he came in +sight of the Treasure Valley, behold, a river, like the Golden River, +was springing from a new cleft of the rocks above it, and was flowing +in innumerable streams among the dry heaps of red sand. + +And as Gluck gazed, fresh grass sprang beside the new streams, +and creeping plants grew, and climbed among the moistening soil. +Young flowers opened suddenly along the river sides, as stars leap +out when twilight is deepening, and thickets of myrtle, and tendrils +of vine, cast lengthening shadows over the valley as they grew. +And thus the Treasure Valley became a garden again, and the inheritance +which had been lost by cruelty was regained by love. + +And Gluck went and dwelt in the valley, and the poor were never +driven from his door: so that his barns became full of corn, and his +house of treasure. And, for him, the river had, according to the +dwarf's promise, become a River of Gold. + +And, to this day, the inhabitants of the valley point out the place +where the three drops of holy dew were cast into the stream, and +trace the course of the Golden River under the ground, until it +emerges in the Treasure Valley. And at the top of the cataract +of the Golden River are still to be seen TWO BLACK STONES, round +which the waters howl mournfully every day at sunset; and these +stones are still called by the people of the valley THE BLACK +BROTHERS. + + + + + +THE ORIENTAL WONDER STORY + + + + +THE STORY OF ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP + + + +In the capital of one of the large and rich provinces of the kingdom of +China, the name of which I do not recollect, there lived a tailor, +named Mustapha, who was so poor, that he could hardly, by his daily +labor, maintain himself and his family, which consisted of a wife and +son. + +His son, who was called Aladdin, had been brought up in a very careless +and idle manner, and by that means had contracted many vicious habits. +He was wicked, obstinate, and disobedient to his father and mother, +who, when he grew up, could not keep him within doors. He was in the +habit of going out early in the morning, and would stay out all day, +playing in the streets and public places with idle children of his own +age. + +When he was old enough to learn a trade, his father, not being able to +put him out to any other, took him into his own shop, and taught him +how to use his needle; but neither fair words nor the fear of +chastisement were capable of fixing his lively genius. All his father's +endeavors to keep him to his work were in vain; for no sooner was his +back turned, than he was gone for the day. Mustapha chastised him, but +Aladdin was incorrigible and his father, to his great grief, was forced +to abandon him to his idleness: and was so much troubled at not being +able to reclaim him, that it threw him into a fit of sickness, of which +he died in a few months. + +The mother, finding that her son would not follow his father's +business, shut up the shop, sold off the implements of trade, and with +the money she received for them, and what she could get by spinning +cotton, thought to maintain herself and her son. + +Aladdin, who was now no longer restrained by the fear of a father, and +who cared so little for his mother, that whenever she chid him, he +would abuse her, gave himself entirely over to his idle habits, and was +never out of the streets from his companions. This course he followed +till he was fifteen years old, without giving his mind to any useful +pursuit, or the least reflection on what would become of him. In this +situation, as he was one day playing according to custom, in the +street, with his vagabond associates, a stranger passing by stood to +observe him. + +This stranger was a sorcerer, called by the writer of this story, the +African magician; and by the name I shall call him with the more +propriety as he was a native of Africa, and had been but two days +arrived from thence. + +The African magician, who was a good physiognomist, observing in +Aladdin's countenance something absolutely necessary for the execution +of the design he was engaged in, inquired artfully about his family, +who he was, and what were his inclinations; and when he had learned all +he desired to know, went up to him, and taking him aside from his +comrades, said, "Child, was not your father called Mustapha the +tailor?" "Yes, sir," answered the boy; "but he has been dead a long +time." + +At these words, the African magician threw his arms about Aladdin's +neck, and kissed him several times with tears in his eyes. Aladdin, who +observed his tears, asked him what made him weep. "Alas! my son," cried +the African magician with a sigh, "how can I forbear? I am your uncle; +your worthy father was my own brother. I have been many years abroad, +and now I am come home with the hopes of seeing him, you tell me he is +dead. I assure you it is a sensible grief to me to be deprived of the +comfort I expected. But it is some relief to my affliction, that as far +as I can remember him, I knew you at first sight, you are so like him; +and I see I am not deceived." Then he asked Aladdin, putting his hand +into his purse, where his mother lived, and as soon as he had informed +him, gave him a handful of small money, saying, "Go, my son, to your +mother, give my love to her, and tell her that I will visit her +tomorrow, if I have time, that I may have the satisfaction of seeing +where my good brother lived so long, and ended his days." + +As soon as the African magician left his newly adopted nephew, Aladdin +ran to his mother, overjoyed at the money his uncle had given him. +"Mother," said he, "have I an uncle?" "No, child," replied his mother, +"you have no uncle by your father's side, or mine." "I am just now +come," said Aladdin, "from a man who says he is my uncle by my father's +side, assuring me that he is his brother. He cried and kissed me when I +told him my father was dead; and to show you that what I tell you is +truth," he added, pulling out the money, "see what he has given me; he +charged me to give his love to you, and to tell you, if he has any time +tomorrow, he will come and pay you a visit, that he may see the house +my father lived and died in." "Indeed, child," replied the mother, +"your father had a brother, but he has been dead a long time, and I +never heard of another." + +The mother and son talked no more then of the African magician; but the +next day Aladdin's uncle found him playing in another part of the town +with other children, and embracing him as before, put two pieces of +gold into his hand, and said to him, "Carry this, child, to your +mother, tell her that I will come and see her tonight, and bid her get +us something for supper; but first show me the house where you live." + +After Aladdin had showed the African magician the house, he carried the +two pieces of gold to his mother, and when he had told her of his +uncle's intention, she went out and bought provisions; and considering +she wanted various utensils, borrowed them of her neighbors. She spent +the whole day in preparing the supper; and at night when it was ready, +said to her son, "Perhaps your uncle knows not how to find our house; +go and bring him if you meet with him." + +Though Aladdin had shown the magician the house, he was ready to go, +when somebody knocked at the door, which he immediately opened: and the +magician came in loaded with wine, and all sorts of fruits, which he +brought for a dessert. + +After the African magician had given what he brought into Aladdin's +hands, he saluted his mother, and desired her to show him the place +where his brother Mustapha used to sit on the sofa; and when she had so +done, he fell down and kissed it several times, crying out with tears +in his eyes, "My poor brother! how unhappy am I, not to have come soon +enough to give you one last embrace." Aladdin's mother desired him to +sit down in the same place, but he declined. "No," said he, "I shall +take care how I do that; but give me leave to sit opposite to it, that +although I am deprived of the satisfaction of seeing the master of a +family so dear to me, I may at least have the pleasure of beholding the +place where he used to sit." The widow pressed him no farther, but left +him at liberty to sit where he pleased. + +When the magician had made choice of a place, and sat down, he began to +enter into discourse with Aladdin's mother: "My good sister," said he, +"do not be surprised at your never having seen me all the time you have +been married to my brother Mustapha of happy memory. I have been forty +years absent from this country, which is my native place, as well as my +late brother's; and during that time have traveled into the Indies, +Persia, Arabia, Syria, and Egypt, have resided in the finest towns of +those countries; and afterwards crossed over into Africa, where I made +a longer stay. At last, as it is natural for a man, how distant soever +it may be, to remember his native country, relations, and acquaintance, +I was desirous to see mine again, and to embrace my dear brother; and +finding I had strength enough to undertake so long a journey, I +immediately made the necessary preparations, and set out. I will not +tell you the length of time it took me, all the obstacles I met with, +and what fatigues I have endured, to come hither; but nothing ever +mortified and afflicted me so much, as hearing of my brother's death, +for whom I always had a brotherly love and friendship. I observed his +features in the face of my nephew, your son, and distinguished him +among a number of children with whom he was at play; he can tell you +how I received the most melancholy news that ever reached my ears. But +God be praised for all things! It is a comfort for me to find, as it +were, my brother in a son, who has his most remarkable features." + +The African magician, perceiving that the widow began to weep at the +remembrance of her husband, changed the conversation, and turning +towards her son, asked him his name. "I am called Aladdin," said he. +"Well, Aladdin," replied the magician, "what business do you follow? +Are you of any trade?" + +At this question the youth hung down his head, and was not a little +abashed when his mother answered, "Aladdin is an idle fellow; his +father, when alive, strove all he could to teach him his trade, but +could not succeed; and since his death, notwithstanding all I can say +to him, he does nothing but idle away his time in the street, as you +saw him, without considering he is no longer a child; and if you do not +make him ashamed of it, I despair of his ever coming to any good. He +knows that his father left him no fortune, and sees me endeavor to get +bread by spinning cotton; for my part, I am resolved one of these days +to turn him out of doors and let him provide for himself." + +After these words, Aladdin's mother burst into tears; and the magician +said, "This is not well, nephew; you must think of helping yourself, +and getting your livelihood. There are many sorts of trades, consider +if you have not an inclination to some of them; perhaps you did not +like your father's, and would prefer another: come, do not disguise +your sentiments from me; I will endeavor to help you." But finding that +Aladdin returned no answer, "If you have no mind," continued he, "to +learn any handicraft, I will take a shop for you, furnish it with all +sorts of fine stuffs and linens; and with the money you make of them +lay in fresh goods and then you will live in an honorable way. Consult +your inclinations, and tell me freely what you think of my proposal: +you shall always find me ready to keep my word." + +This plan greatly flattered Aladdin, who hated work, but had sense +enough to know that such shops were much frequented, and the owners +respected. He told the magician he had a greater inclination to that +business than to any other, and that he should be much obliged to him +for his kindness. "Since this profession is agreeable to you," said the +African magician, "I will carry you with me tomorrow, clothe you as +handsomely as the best merchants in the city, and afterwards we will +think of opening a shop as I mentioned." + +The widow, who never till then could believe that the magician was her +husband's brother, no longer doubted after his promises of kindness to +her son. She thanked him for his good intentions; and after having +exhorted Aladdin to render himself worthy of his uncle's favor by good +behavior, served up supper, at which they talked of several indifferent +matters; and then the magician, who saw that the night was pretty far +advanced, took his leave, and retired. + +He came again the next day, as he had promised, and took Aladdin with +him to a merchant, who sold all sorts of clothes for different ages and +ranks ready made, and a variety of fine stuffs. He asked to see some +that suited Aladdin in size; and after choosing a suit for himself +which he liked best, and rejecting others which he did not think +handsome enough, he bade Aladdin choose the one he preferred. Aladdin, +charmed with the liberality of his new uncle, made choice of one, and +the magician immediately paid for it. + +When Aladdin found himself so handsomely equipped, he returned his +uncle thanks; who promised never to forsake him, but always to take him +along with him; which he did to the most frequented places in the city, +and particularly where the principal merchants kept their shops. When +he brought him into the street where they sold the richest stuffs, and +finest linens, he said to Aladdin, "As you are soon to be a merchant, +it is proper you should frequent these shops, and be acquainted with +them." He then showed him the largest and finest mosques, carried him +to the khans or inns where the merchants and travelers lodged, and +afterwards to the sultan's palace, where he had free access; and at +last brought him to his own khan, where meeting with some merchants he +had become acquainted with since his arrival, he gave them a treat, to +bring them and his pretended nephew acquainted. + +This entertainment lasted till night, when Aladdin would have taken +leave of his uncle to go home; the magician would not let him go by +himself, but conducted him to his mother, who, as soon as she saw him +so well dressed, was transported with joy, and bestowed a thousand +blessings upon the magician, for being at so great an expense upon her +child. "Generous relation!" said she, "I know not how to thank you for +your liberality! I know that my son is not deserving of your favors; +and were he ever so grateful, and answered your good intentions, he +would be unworthy of them. I thank you with all my soul, and wish you +may live long enough to witness my son's gratitude, which he cannot +better show than by regulating his conduct by your good advice." + +"Aladdin," replied the magician, "is a good boy, and I believe we shall +do very well; but I am sorry for one thing, which is, that I cannot +perform tomorrow what I promised, because, as it is Friday, the shops +will be shut up, and therefore we cannot hire or furnish one, but must +wait till Saturday. I will, however, call on him tomorrow and take him +to walk in the gardens, where people of the best fashion generally +resort. Perhaps he has never seen these amusements, he has only +hitherto been among children; but now he must see men." The African +magician took his leave of the mother and the son, and retired. +Aladdin, who was overjoyed to be so well clothed, anticipated the +pleasure of walking in the gardens. He had never been out of the town, +nor seen the environs, which were very beautiful and pleasant. + +Aladdin rose early the next morning, dressed himself, to be ready +against his uncle called on him; and after he had waited some time, +began to be impatient, and stood watching at the door; but as soon as +he perceived him coming, he told his mother, took his leave of her, and +ran to meet him. + +The magician caressed Aladdin, and said, "Come, my dear child, and I +will show you fine things." He then led him out at one of the gates of +the city, to some magnificent houses, or rather palaces, to each of +which belonged beautiful gardens, into which anybody might enter. At +every building he came to, he asked Aladdin if he did not think it +fine; and the youth was ready to answer when any one presented itself, +crying out, "Here is a finer house, uncle, than we have seen yet." By +this artifice, the cunning magician led Aladdin some way into the +country; and as he meant to carry him farther, to execute his design, +he took an opportunity to sit down in one of the gardens on the brink +of a fountain of clear water, which discharged itself by a lion's mouth +of bronze into a basin, pretending to be tired: "Come, nephew," said +he, "you must be weary as well as I; let us rest ourselves, and we +shall be better able to pursue our walk." + +After they had sat down, the magician pulled from his girdle a +handkerchief with cakes and fruit, which he had provided, and laid them +on the edge of the basin. He broke a cake in two, gave one half to +Aladdin, and ate the other himself; and in regard to the fruit, left +him at liberty to take which sort he liked best. During this short +repast, he exhorted his nephew to leave off keeping company with +vagabonds, and seek that of wise and prudent men, to improve by their +conversation; "for," said he, "you will soon be at man's estate, and +you cannot too early begin to imitate their example." When they had +eaten as much as they liked, they got up, and pursued their walk +through gardens separated from one another only by small ditches, which +marked out the limits without interrupting the communication; so great +was the confidence the inhabitants reposed in each other. By this +means, the African magician drew Aladdin insensibly beyond the gardens, +and crossed the country, till they nearly reached the mountains. + +Aladdin, who had never been so far before, began to find himself much +tired with so long a walk, and said to the magician, "Where are we +going, uncle? We have left the gardens a great way behind us, and I see +nothing but mountains; if we go much farther, I do not know whether I +shall be able to reach the town again." "Never fear, nephew," said the +false uncle; "I will show you another garden which surpasses all we +have yet seen; it is not far off; and when we come there, you will say +that you would have been sorry to have been so nigh, and not seen it." +Aladdin was soon persuaded, and the magician, to make the way seem +shorter and less fatiguing, told him a great many stories. + +At last they arrived between two mountains of moderate height, and +equal size, divided by a narrow valley, which was the place where the +magician intended to execute the design that had brought him from +Africa to China. "We will go no farther now," said he to Aladdin: "I +will show you here some extraordinary things, which, when you have +seen, you will thank me for: but while I strike a light, gather up all +the loose dry sticks you can see, to kindle a fire with." + +Aladdin found so many dried sticks, that before the magician had +lighted a match, he had collected a great heap. The magician presently +set them on fire, and when they were in a blaze, threw in some incense +which raised a cloud of smoke. This he dispersed on each side, by +pronouncing several magical words which Aladdin did not understand. + +At the same time the earth trembling, opened just before the magician, +and uncovered a stone, laid horizontally, with a brass ring fixed into +the middle. Aladdin was so frightened at what he saw, that he would +have run away; but the magician caught hold of him, abused him, and +gave him such a box on the ear, that he knocked him down. Aladdin got +up trembling, and with tears in his eyes, said to the magician, "What +have I done, uncle, to be treated in this severe manner?" "I have my +reasons," answered the magician: "I am your uncle, I supply the place +of your father, and you ought to make no reply. But, child," added he, +softening, "do not be afraid; for I shall not ask anything of you, but +that you obey me punctually, if you would reap the advantages which I +intend you." These fair promises calmed Aladdin's fears and resentment; +and when the magician saw that he was appeased, he said to him, "You +see what I have done by virtue of my incense, and the words I +pronounced. Know, then, that under this stone there is hidden a +treasure, destined to be yours, and which will make you richer than the +greatest monarch in the world: no person but yourself is permitted to +lift this stone, or enter the cave; so you must punctually execute what +I may command, for it is a matter of great consequence both to you and +me." + +Aladdin, amazed at all he saw, and heard the magician say of the +treasure which was to make him happy, forgot what was past, and rising, +said, "Well, uncle, what is to be done? Command me, I am ready to +obey." "I am overjoyed, child," said the African magician, embracing +him; "take hold of the ring, and lift up that stone." "Indeed, uncle," +replied Aladdin, "I am not strong enough, you must help me." "You have +no occasion for my assistance," answered the magician; "if I help you, +we shall be able to do nothing; take hold of the ring, pronounce the +names of your father and grandfather, then lift it up, and you will +find it will come easily." Aladdin did as the magician bade him, raised +the stone with ease, and laid it on one side. + +When the stone was pulled up, there appeared a cavity of about three or +four feet deep, with a little door, and steps to go down lower. +"Observe, my son," said the African magician, "what I direct. Descend +into the cave, and when you are at the bottom of those steps you will +find a door open, which will lead you into a spacious vault, divided +into three great halls, in each of which you will see four large brass +cisterns placed on each side, full of gold and silver; but take care +you do not meddle with them. Before you enter the first hall, be sure +to tuck up your vest, wrap it about you, and then pass through the +second into the third without stopping. Above all things, have a care +that you do not touch the walls, so much as with your clothes; for if +you do, you will die instantly. At the end of the third hall, you will +find a door which opens into a garden planted with fine trees loaded +with fruit; walk directly across the garden by a path which will lead +you to five steps that will bring you upon a terrace, where you will +see a niche before you, and in that niche a lighted lamp. Take the lamp +down, and extinguish it: when you have thrown away the wick, and poured +out the liquor, put it in your vestband and bring it to me. Do not be +afraid that the liquor will spoil your clothes, for it is not oil; and +the lamp will be dry as soon as it is thrown out. If you should wish +for any of the fruit of the garden, you may gather as much as you +please." + +After these words, the magician drew a ring off his finger, and put it +on one of Aladdin's, telling him that it was a preservative against all +evil, while he should observe what he had prescribed to him. After this +instruction he said, "Go down boldly, child, and we shall both be rich +all our lives." + +Aladdin jumped into the cave, descended the steps, and found the three +halls just as the African magician had described. He went through them +with all the precaution the fear of death could inspire; crossed the +garden without stopping, took down the lamp from the niche, threw out +the wick and the liquor, and, as the magician had desired, put it in +his vestband. But as he came down from the terrace, seeing it was +perfectly dry, he stopped in the garden to observe the fruit, which he +only had a glimpse of in crossing it. All the trees were loaded with +extraordinary fruit, of different colors on each tree. Some bore fruit +entirely white, and some clear and transparent as crystal; some pale +red, and others deeper; some green, blue, and purple, and others +yellow: in short, there was fruit of all colors. The white were pearls; +the clear and transparent, diamonds; the deep red, rubies; the paler, +balas rubies; the green, emeralds; the blue, turquoises; the purple, +amethysts; and those that were of yellow cast, sapphires. Aladdin was +altogether ignorant of their worth, and would have preferred figs and +grapes, or any other fruits. But though he took them only for colored +glass of little value, yet he was so pleased with the variety of the +colors, and the beauty and extraordinary size of the seeming fruit, +that he resolved to gather some of every sort, and accordingly filled +the two new purses his uncle had bought for him with his clothes. Some +he wrapped up in the skirts of his vest, which was of silk, large and +wrapping, and crammed his bosom as full as it could hold. + +Aladdin, having thus loaded himself with riches he knew not the value +of, returned through the three halls with the same precaution, made all +the haste he could, that he might not make his uncle wait, and soon +arrived at the mouth of the cave, where the African magician expected +him with the utmost impatience. As soon as Aladdin saw him, he cried +out, "Pray, uncle, lend me your hand, to help me out." "Give me the +lamp first," replied the magician; "it will be troublesome to you." +"Indeed, uncle," answered Aladdin, "I cannot now; it is not troublesome +to me: but I will as soon as I am up." The African magician was so +obstinate, that he would have the lamp before he would help him up; and +Aladdin, who had encumbered himself so much with his fruit that he +could not well get at it, refused to give it to him till he was out of +the cave. The African magician, provoked at this obstinate refusal, +flew into a passion, threw a little of his incense into the fire, which +he had taken care to keep in, and no sooner pronounced two magical +words, than the stone which had closed the mouth of the cave moved into +its place, with the earth over it in the same manner as it lay at the +arrival of the magician and Aladdin. + +This action of the African magician's plainly showed him to be neither +Aladdin's uncle, nor Mustapha the tailor's brother: but a true African. +Africa is a country whose inhabitants delight most in magic of any in +the whole world, and he had applied himself to it from his youth. After +forty years' experience in enchantments, geomancy, fumigations, and +reading of magic books, he had found out that there was in the world a +wonderful lamp, the possession of which would render him more powerful +than any monarch; and by a late operation of geomancy, he had +discovered that this lamp lay concealed in a subterraneous place in the +midst of China, in the situation already described. Fully persuaded of +the truth of this discovery, he set out from the farthest part of +Africa; and after a long and fatiguing journey, came to the town +nearest to this treasure. But though he had a certain knowledge of the +place where the lamp was, he was not permitted to take if himself, nor +to enter the subterraneous place, but must receive it from the hands of +another person. For this reason he had addressed himself to Aladdin, +whom he looked upon as a young lad whose life was of no consequence, +and fit to serve his purpose, resolving, as soon as he should get the +lamp into his hands, to sacrifice him to his avarice and wickedness, by +making the fumigation mentioned before, and repeating two magical +words, the effect of which would remove the stone into its place, so +that no witness would remain of the transaction. + +The blow he had given Aladdin was intended to make him obey the more +readily, and give him the lamp as soon as he should ask for it. But his +too great precipitation, and fear lest somebody should come that way +during their dispute, and discover what he wished to keep secret, +produced an effect quite contrary to what he had proposed to himself. + +When the African magician saw that all his hopes were frustrated +forever, he returned the same day for Africa; but went quite round the +town, and at some distance from it, lest some persons who had observed +him walk out with the boy, on seeing him come back without him, should +entertain any suspicions, and stop him. + +According to all appearance, there was no prospect of Aladdin being any +more heard of. But the magician, when he had contrived his death, +forgot the ring he had put upon his finger, which preserved him, though +he knew not its virtue. It may seem astonishing that the loss of that, +together with the lamp, did not drive the magician to despair; but +magicians are so much used to misfortunes, and events contrary to their +wishes, that they do not lay them to heart, but still feed themselves, +to the end of life, with unsubstantial notions and chimeras. + +The surprise of Aladdin, who had never suspected this treachery from +his pretended uncle, after all his caresses and what he had done for +him, is more easily to be imagined than expressed. When he found +himself buried alive, he cried, and called out to his uncle, to tell +him he was ready to give him the lamp; but in vain, since his cries +could not be heard. He descended to the bottom of the steps, with a +design to get into the garden, but the door, which was opened before by +enchantment, was now shut by the same means. He then redoubled his +cries and tears, sat down on the steps, without any hopes of ever +seeing light again, and in a melancholy certainty of passing from the +present darkness into that of a speedy death. + +Aladdin remained in this state two days, without eating or drinking, +and on the third looked upon death as inevitable. Clasping his hands +with an entire resignation to the will of God, he said, "There is no +strength or power but in the great and high God." In this action of +joining his hands he rubbed the ring which the magician had put on his +finger, and of which he knew not yet the virtue. Immediately a genie of +enormous size and frightful aspect rose out of the earth, his head +reaching the roof of the vault, and said to him, "What wouldst thou +have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all who +may possess the ring on thy finger; I and the other slaves of that +ring." + +At another time, Aladdin, who had not been used to such appearances, +would have been so frightened at the sight of so extraordinary a figure +that he would not have been able to speak; but the danger he was in +made him answer without hesitation, "Whoever thou art, deliver me from +this place, if thou art able." He had no sooner spoken these words, +than he found himself on the very spot where the magician had caused +the earth to open. + +It was some time before his eyes could bear the light, after being so +long in total darkness: but after he had endeavored by degrees to +support it, and began to look about him, he was much surprised not to +find the earth open, and could not comprehend how he had got so soon +out of its bowels. There was nothing to be seen but the place where the +fire had been, by which he could nearly judge the situation of the +cave. Then turning himself towards the town, he perceived it at a +distance in the midst of the gardens that surround it, and saw the way +by which the magician had brought him. Returning God thanks to find +himself once more in the world, he made the best of his way home. When +he got within his mother's door, the joy to see her and his weakness +for want of sustenance for three days made him faint, and he remained +for a long time as dead. His mother, who had given him over for lost, +seeing him in this condition, omitted nothing to bring him to himself. +As soon as he recovered, the first words he spoke, were, "Pray, mother, +give me something to eat, for I have not put a morsel of anything into +my mouth these three days." His mother brought what she had, and set it +before him. "My son," said she, "be not too eager, for it is dangerous; +eat but little at a time, and take care of yourself. Besides, I would +not have you talk; you will have time enough to tell me what happened +to you when you are recovered. It is a great comfort to me to see you +again, after the affliction I have been in since Friday, and the pains +I have taken to learn what was become of you." + +Aladdin took his mother's advice, and ate and drank moderately. When he +had done, "Mother," said he to her, "I cannot help complaining of you, +for abandoning me so easily to the discretion of a man who had a design +to kill me, and who at this very moment thinks my death certain. You +believed he was my uncle, as well as I; and what other thoughts could +we entertain of a man who was so kind to me, and made such advantageous +proffers? But I must tell you, mother, he is a rogue and a cheat, and +only made me those promises to accomplish my death; but for what reason +neither you nor I can guess. For my part, I can assure you, I never +gave him any cause to justify the least ill treatment from him. You +shall judge yourself, when you have heard all that passed from the time +I left you, till he came to the execution of his wicked design." + +Aladdin then related to his mother all that had happened to him from +the Friday, when the magician took him to see the palaces and gardens +about the town, and what fell out in the way, till they came to the +place between the two mountains where the great prodigy was to be +performed; how, with incense which the magician threw into the fire, +and some magical words which he pronounced, the earth opened, and +discovered a cave, which led to an inestimable treasure. He forgot not +the blow the magician had given him, in what manner he softened again, +and engaged him by great promises, and putting a ring to his finger, to +go down into the cave. He did not omit the least circumstance of what +he saw in crossing the three halls and the garden, and his taking the +lamp, which he pulled out of his bosom and showed to his mother, as +well as the transparent fruit of different colors, which he had +gathered in the garden as he returned. But, though these fruits were +precious stones, brilliant as the sun, and the reflection of a lamp +which then lighted the room might have led them to think they were of +great value, she was as ignorant of their worth as her son, and cared +nothing for them. She had been bred in a low rank of life, and her +husband's poverty prevented his being possessed of jewels, nor had she, +her relations, or neighbors, ever seen any; so that we must not wonder +that she regarded them as things of no value, and only pleasing to the +eye by the variety of their colors. + +Aladdin put them behind one of the cushions of the sofa, and continued +his story, telling his mother, that when he returned to the mouth of +the cave, upon his refusal to give the magician the lamp till he should +get out, the stone, by his throwing some incense into the fire, and +using two or three magical words, shut him in, and the earth closed. He +could not help bursting into tears at the representation of the +miserable condition he was in, at finding himself buried alive in a +dismal cave, till by the touching of his ring, the virtue of which he +was till then an entire stranger to, he, properly speaking, came to +life again. When he had finished his story, he said to his mother, "I +need say no more, you know the rest. This is my adventure, and the +danger I have been exposed to since you saw me." + +Aladdin's mother heard with so much patience as not to interrupt him +this surprising and wonderful relation, notwithstanding it could be no +small affliction to a mother, who loved her son tenderly: but yet in +the most moving part which discovered the perfidy of the African +magician, she could not help showing, by marks of the greatest +indignation, how much she detested him; and when her son had finished +his story, she broke out into a thousand reproaches against that vile +impostor. She called him perfidious traitor, barbarian, assassin, +deceiver, magician, and an enemy and destroyer of mankind. "Without +doubt, child," added she, "he is a magician, and they are plagues to +the world, and by their enchantments and sorceries have commerce with +the devil. Bless God for preserving you from his wicked designs; for +your death would have been inevitable, if you had not called upon him, +and implored his assistance." She said a great deal more against the +magician's treachery; but finding that whilst she talked, Aladdin, who +had not slept for three days and nights, began to doze, she left him to +his repose and retired. + +Aladdin, who had not closed his eyes while he was in the subterraneous +abode, slept very soundly till late the next morning; when the first +thing he said to his mother was, that he wanted something to eat, and +that she could not do him a greater kindness than to give him his +breakfast. "Alas! child," said she, "I have not a bit of bread to give +you, you ate up all the provisions I had in the house yesterday; but +have a little patience, and it shall not be long before I will bring +you some: I have a little cotton, which I have spun; I will go and sell +it, buy bread, and something for our dinner." "Mother," replied +Aladdin, "keep your cotton for another time, and give me the lamp I +brought home with me yesterday; I will go and sell it, and the money I +shall get for it will serve both for breakfast and dinner, and perhaps +supper too." + +Aladdin's mother took the lamp, and said to her son, "Here it is, but +it is very dirty; if it was a little cleaner I believe it would bring +something more." She took some fine sand and water to clean it; but had +no sooner begun to rub it, than in an instant a hideous genie of +gigantic size appeared before her, and said to her in a voice like +thunder, "What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, +and the slave of all those who have the lamp in their hands; I and the +other slaves of the lamp." + +Aladdin's mother, terrified at the sight of the genie, fainted; when +Aladdin, who had seen such a phantom in the cavern, snatched the lamp +out of his mother's hand, and said to the genie boldly, "I am hungry, +bring me something to eat." The genie disappeared immediately, and in +an instant returned with a large silver tray, holding twelve covered +dishes of the same metal, which contained the most delicious viands; +six large white bread cakes on two plates, two flagons of wine, and two +silver cups. All these he placed upon a carpet, and disappeared: this +was done before Aladdin's mother recovered from her swoon. + +Aladdin had fetched some water, and sprinkled it in her face, to +recover her: whether that or the smell of the meat brought her to life +again, it was not long before she came to herself. "Mother," said +Aladdin, "do not mind this; get up, and come and eat; here is what will +put you in heart, and at the same time satisfy my extreme hunger: do +not let such delicious meat get cold." + +His mother was much surprised to see the great tray, twelve dishes, six +loaves, the two flagons and cups, and to smell the savory odor which +exhaled from the dishes. "Child," said she, "to whom are we obliged for +this great plenty and liberality? has the sultan been made acquainted +with our poverty, and had compassion on us?" "It is no matter, mother," +said Aladdin, "let us sit down and eat; for you have almost as much +need of a good breakfast as myself; when we have done, I will tell +you." Accordingly both mother and son sat down, and ate with the better +relish as the table was so well furnished. But all the time Aladdin's +mother could not forbear looking at and admiring the tray and dishes, +though she could not judge whether they were silver or any other metal, +and the novelty more than the value attracted her attention. + +The mother and son sat at breakfast till it was dinner-time, and then +they thought it would be best to put the two meals together; yet after +this they found they should have enough left for supper, and two meals +for the next day. + +When Aladdin's mother had taken away and set by what was left, she went +and sat down by her son on the sofa, saying, "I expect now that you +should satisfy my impatience, and tell me exactly what passed between +the genie and you while I was in a swoon"; which he readily complied +with. + +She was in as great amazement at what her son told her, as at the +appearance of the genie; and said to him, "But, son, what have we to do +with genies? I never heard that any of my acquaintance had ever seen +one. How came that vile genie to address himself to me, and not to you, +to whom he had appeared before in the cave?" "Mother," answered +Aladdin, "the genie you saw is not the one who appeared to me, though +he resembles him in size; no, they had quite different persons and +habits; they belong to different masters. If you remember, he that I +first saw, called himself the slave of the ring on my finger; and this +you saw, called himself the slave of the lamp you had in your hand: but +I believe you did not hear him, for I think you fainted as soon as he +began to speak." + +"What!" cried the mother, "was your lamp then the occasion of that +cursed genie's addressing himself rather to me than to you? Ah! my son, +take it out of my sight, and put it where you please. I will never +touch it. I had rather you would sell it, than run the hazard of being +frightened to death again by touching it: and if you would take my +advice, you would part also with the ring, and not have anything to do +with genies, who, as our prophet has told us, are only devils." + +"With your leave, mother," replied Aladdin, "I shall now take care how +I sell a lamp, which may be so serviceable both to you and me. Have you +not been an eye-witness of what it has procured us? and it shall still +continue to furnish us with subsistence and maintenance. You may +suppose as I do, that my false and wicked uncle would not have taken so +much pains, and undertaken so long and tedious a journey, if it had not +been to get into his possession this wonderful lamp, which he preferred +before all the gold and silver which he knew was in the halls, and +which I have seen with my own eyes. He knew too well the worth of this +lamp, not to prefer it to so great a treasure; and since chance hath +discovered the virtue of it to us, let us make a profitable use of it, +without making any great show, and exciting the envy and jealousy of +our neighbors. However, since the genies frighten you so much, I will +take it out of your sight, and put it where I may find it when I want +it. The ring I cannot resolve to part with; for without that you had +never seen me again; and though I am alive now, perhaps, if it was +gone, I might not be so some moments hence; therefore, I hope you will +give me leave to keep it, and to wear it always on my finger. Who knows +what dangers you and I may be exposed to, which neither of us can +foresee, and from which it may deliver us?" As Aladdin's arguments were +just, his mother had nothing to say against them; she only replied, +that he might do what he pleased, for her part, she would have nothing +to do with genies, but would wash her hands of them, and never say +anything more about them. + +By the next night they had eaten all the provisions the genie had +brought; and the next day Aladdin, who could not bear the thoughts of +hunger, putting one of the silver dishes under his vest, went out early +to sell it, and addressing himself to a Jew whom he met in the streets, +took him aside, and pulling out the plate, asked him if he would buy +it. The cunning Jew took the dish, examined it, and as soon as he found +that it was good silver, asked Aladdin at how much he valued it. +Aladdin, who knew not its value, and never had been used to such +traffic, told him he would trust to his judgment and honor. The Jew was +somewhat confounded at this plain dealing; and doubting whether Aladdin +understood the material or the full value of what he offered to sell, +took a piece of gold out of his purse and give it him, though it was +but the sixtieth part of the worth of the plate. Aladdin, taking the +money very eagerly, retired with so much haste, that the Jew, not +content with the exorbitancy of his profit, was vexed he had not +penetrated into his ignorance, and was going to run after him, to +endeavor to get some change out of the piece of gold; but he ran so +fast, and had got so far, that it would have been impossible for him to +overtake him. + +Before Aladdin went home, he called at a baker's, bought some cakes of +bread, changed his money, and on his return gave the rest to his +mother, who went and purchased provisions enough to last them some +time. After this manner they lived, till Aladdin had sold the twelve +dishes singly, as necessity pressed, to the Jew, for the same money; +who, after the first time, durst not offer him less, for fear of losing +so good a bargain. When he had sold the last dish, he had recourse to +the tray, which weighed ten times as much as the dishes, and would have +carried it to his old purchaser, but that it was too large and +cumbersome; therefore he was obliged to bring him home with him to his +mother's, where, after the Jew had examined the weight of the tray, he +laid down ten pieces of gold, with which Aladdin was very well +satisfied. + +They lived on these ten pieces in a frugal manner, and Aladdin, though +used to an idle life, had left off playing with young lads of his own +age ever since his adventure with the African magician. He spent his +time in walking about, and conversing with decent people, with whom he +gradually got acquainted. Sometimes he would stop at the principal +merchants' shops, where people of distinction met, and listen to their +discourse, by which he gained some little knowledge of the world. + +When all the money was spent, Aladdin had recourse again to the lamp. +He took it in his hand, looked for the part where his mother had rubbed +it with the sand, rubbed it also, when the genie immediately appeared, +and said, "What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy +slave, and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands." +"I am hungry," said Aladdin, "bring me something to eat." The genie +disappeared, and presently returned with a tray, the same number of +covered dishes as before, set them down, and vanished. + +Aladdin's mother, knowing what her son was going to do, went out about +some business, on purpose to avoid being in the way when the genie +came; and when she returned, was almost as much surprised as before at +the prodigious effect of the lamp. However, she sat down with her son, +and when they had eaten as much as they liked, she set enough by to +last them two or three days. + +As soon as Aladdin found that their provisions were expended, he took +one of the dishes, and went to look for his Jew chapman; but passing by +a goldsmith's shop, who had the character of a very fair and honest +man, the goldsmith perceiving him, called to him, and said, "My lad, I +have often observed you go by, loaded as you are at present, and talk +with such a Jew, and then come back again empty handed. I imagine that +you carry something which you sell to him; but perhaps you do not know +that he is the greatest rogue even among the Jews, and is so well +known, that nobody of prudence will have anything to do with him. What +I tell you is for your own good. If you will show me what you now +carry, and it is to be sold, I will give you the full worth of it; or I +will direct you to other merchants who will not cheat you." + +The hopes of getting more money for his plate induced Aladdin to pull +it from under his vest, and show it to the goldsmith, who at first +sight saw that it was made of the finest silver, asked him if he had +sold such as that to the Jew, when Aladdin told him that he had sold +him twelve such, for a piece of gold each. "What a villain!" cried the +goldsmith; "but," added he, "my son, what is past cannot be recalled. +By showing you the value of this plate, which is of the finest silver +we use in our shops, I will let you see how much the Jew has cheated +you." + +The goldsmith took a pair of scales, weighed the dish, and after he had +mentioned how much an ounce of fine silver cost, assured him that his +plate would fetch by weight sixty pieces of gold, which he offered to +pay down immediately. "If you dispute my honesty," said he, "you may go +to any other of our trade, and if he gives you more, I will be bound to +forfeit twice as much; for we gain only the fashion of the plate we +buy, and that the fairest-dealing Jews are not contented with." + +Aladdin thanked him for his fair dealing, so greatly to his advantage, +took the gold, and never after went to any other person, but sold him +all his dishes and the tray, and had as much for them as the weight +came to. + +Though Aladdin and his mother had an inexhaustible treasure in their +lamp, and might have had whatever they wished for, yet they lived with +the same frugality as before, except that Aladdin dressed better; as +for his mother, she wore no clothes but what she earned by spinning +cotton. After their manner of living, it may be supposed, that the +money for which Aladdin had sold the dishes and tray was sufficient to +maintain them some time. + +During this interval, Aladdin frequented the shops of the principal +merchants, where they sold cloth of gold and silver, linens, silk +stuffs, and jewelry, and oftentimes joining in their conversation, +acquired a knowledge of the world, and respectable demeanor. By his +acquaintance among the jewelers, he came to know that the fruit which +he had gathered when he took the lamp were, instead of colored glass, +stones of inestimable value; but he had the prudence not to mention +this to any one, not even to his mother. + +One day as Aladdin was walking about the town, he heard an order +proclaimed, commanding the people to shut up their shops and houses, +and keep within doors, while the princess Buddir al Buddoor, the +sultan's daughter, went to the baths and returned. + +This proclamation inspired Aladdin with eager curiosity to see the +princess's face, which he could not do without admission into the house +of some acquaintance, and then only through a window; which did not +satisfy him, when he considered that the princess when she went to the +baths, would be closely veiled; but to gratify his curiosity, he +presently thought of a scheme, which succeeded; it was to place himself +behind the door of the bath, which was so situated that he could not +fail of seeing her face. + +Aladdin had not waited long before the princess came, and he could see +her plainly through a chink of the door without being discovered. She +was attended by a great crowd of ladies, slaves, and eunuchs, who +walked on each side, and behind her. When she came within three or four +paces of the door of the baths, she took off her veil, and gave Aladdin +an opportunity of a full view. + +As soon as Aladdin had seen the princess his heart could not withstand +those inclinations so charming an object always inspires. The princess +was the most beautiful brunette in the world; her eyes were large, +lively, and sparkling; her looks sweet and modest; her nose was of a +just proportion and without a fault, her mouth small, her lips of a +vermilion red and charmingly agreeable symmetry; in a word, all the +features of her face were perfectly regular. It is not therefore +surprising that Aladdin, who had never before seen such a blaze of +charms, was dazzled, and his senses ravished by such an assemblage. +With all these perfections the princess had so fine a form, and so +majestic an air, that the sight of her was sufficient to inspire love +and admiration. + +After the princess had passed by, and entered the baths, Aladdin +remained some time astonished, and in a kind of ecstasy, retracing and +imprinting the idea of so charming an object deeply in his mind. But at +last, considering that the princess was gone past him, and that when +she returned from the bath her back would be towards him, and then +veiled, he resolved to quit his hiding place and go home. He could not +so far conceal his uneasiness but that his mother perceived it, was +surprised to see him so much more thoughtful and melancholy than usual; +and asked what had happened to make him so, or if he was ill. He +returned her no answer, but sat carelessly down on the sofa, and +remained silent, musing on the image of the charming Buddir al Buddoor. +His mother, who was dressing supper, pressed him no more. When it was +ready, she served it up, and perceiving that he gave no attention to +it, urged him to eat, but had much ado to persuade him to change his +place; which when he did, he ate much less than usual, all the time +cast down his eyes, and observed so profound a silence, that she could +not obtain a word in answer to all the questions she put, in order to +find the reason of so extraordinary an alteration. + +After supper, she asked him again why he was so melancholy, but could +get no information, and he determined to go to bed rather than give her +the least satisfaction. Without examining how he passed the night, his +mind full as it was with the charms of the princess, I shall only +observe that as he sat next day on the sofa, opposite his mother, as +she was spinning cotton, he spoke to her in these words: "I perceive, +mother, that my silence yesterday has much troubled you; I was not, nor +am I sick, as I fancy you believed; but I assure you, that what I felt +then, and now endure, is worse than any disease. I cannot explain what +ails me; but doubt not what I am going to relate will inform you. + +"It was not proclaimed in this quarter of the town, and therefore you +could know nothing of it, that the sultan's daughter was yesterday to +go to the baths. I heard this as I walked about the town, and an order +was issued that all the shops should be shut up in her way thither, and +everybody keep withindoors, to leave the streets free for her and her +attendants. As I was not then far from the bath, I had a great +curiosity to see the princess's face; and as it occurred to me that the +princess, when she came nigh the door of the bath, would pull her veil +off, I resolved to conceal myself behind the door. You know the +situation of the door, and may imagine that I must have had a full view +of her. The princess threw off her veil, and I had the happiness of +seeing her lovely face with the greatest security. This, mother, was +the cause of my melancholy and silence yesterday; I love the princess +with more violence than I can express; and as my passion increases +every moment, I cannot live without the possession of the amiable +Buddir al Buddoor, and am resolved to ask her in marriage of the sultan +her father." + +Aladdin's mother listened with surprise to what her son told her; but +when he talked of asking the princess in marriage, she could not help +bursting out into a loud laugh. Aladdin would have gone on with his +rhapsody, but she interrupted him: "Alas! child," said she, "what are +you thinking of? you must be mad to talk thus." + +"I assure you, mother," replied Aladdin, "that I am not mad, but in my +right senses; I foresaw that you would reproach me with folly and +extravagance; but I must tell you once more, that I am resolved to +demand the princess of the sultan in marriage, and your remonstrances +shall not prevent me." + +"Indeed, son," replied the mother seriously, "I cannot help telling +you, that you have forgotten yourself; and if you would put this +resolution of yours in execution, I do not see whom you can prevail +upon to venture to make the proposal for you." "You yourself," replied +he immediately. "I go to the sultan!" answered the mother, amazed and +surprised. "I shall be cautious how I engage in such an errand. Why, +who are you, son," continued she, "that you can have the assurance to +think of your sultan's daughter? Have you forgotten that your father +was one of the poorest tailors in the capital, and that I am of no +better extraction; and do not you know that sultans never marry their +daughters but to princes, sons of sovereigns like themselves?" + +"Mother," answered Aladdin, "I have already told you that I foresaw all +that you have said, or can say: and tell you again, that neither your +discourse nor your remonstrances shall make me change my mind. I have +told you that you must ask the princess in marriage for me: it is a +favor I desire of you, and I beg of you not to refuse, unless you would +rather see me in my grave, than by your compliance give me new life." + +The good old woman was much embarrassed, when she found Aladdin +obstinately persisting in so wild a design. "My son," said she again, +"I am your mother, who brought you into the world, and there is nothing +that is reasonable but I would readily do for you. If I were to go and +treat about your marriage with some neighbor's daughter, whose +circumstances were equal with yours, I would do it with all my heart; +and even then they would expect you should have some little estate or +fortune, or be of some trade. When such poor folks as we are wish to +marry, the first thing they ought to think of, is how to live. But +without reflecting on the meanness of your birth, and the little merit +and fortune you have to recommend you, you aim at the highest pitch of +exaltation; and your pretensions are no less than to demand in marriage +the daughter of your sovereign, who with one single word can crush you +to pieces. I say nothing of what respects yourself. I leave you to +reflect on what you have to do, if you have ever so little thought. I +come now to consider what concerns myself. How could so extraordinary a +thought come into your head, as that I should go to the sultan and make +a proposal to him to give his daughter in marriage to you? Suppose I +had, not to say the boldness, but the impudence to present myself +before the sultan, and make so extravagant a request, to whom should I +address myself to be introduced to his Majesty? Do you not think the +first person I should speak to would take me for a madwoman, and +chastise me as I should deserve? Suppose, however, that there is no +difficulty in presenting myself for an audience of the sultan, and I +know there is none to those who go to petition for justice, which he +distributes equally among his subjects; I know too that to those who +ask a favor he grants it with pleasure when he sees it is deserved, and +the persons are worthy of it. But is that your case? do you think you +have merited the honor you would have me ask for you? are you worthy of +it? What have you done to claim such a favor, either for your prince or +country? How have you distinguished yourself? If you have done nothing +to merit so high a distinction, nor are worthy of it, with what face +shall I ask it? How can I open my mouth to make the proposal to the +sultan? His majestic presence and the luster of his court would +absolutely confound me, who used even to tremble before my late husband +your father, when I asked him for anything. There is another reason, my +son, which you do not think of, which is that nobody ever goes to ask a +favor of the sultan without a present. But what presents have you to +make? And if you had any that were worthy of the least attention of so +great a monarch, what proportion could they bear to the favor you would +ask? Therefore, reflect well on what you are about, and consider, that +you aspire to an object which it is impossible for you to obtain." + +Aladdin heard very calmly all that his mother could say to dissuade him +from his design, and after he had weighed her representations in all +points, replied: "I own, mother, it is great rashness in me to presume +to carry my pretensions so far; and a great want of consideration to +ask you with so much heat and precipitancy to go and make the proposal +to the sultan, without first taking proper measures to procure a +favorable reception, and therefore beg your pardon. But be not +surprised that through the violence of my passion I did not at first +see every measure necessary to procure me the happiness I seek. I love +the princess, or rather I adore her, and shall always persevere in my +design of marrying her. I am obliged to you for the hint you have given +me, and look upon it as the first step I ought to take to procure the +happy issue I promise myself. + +"You say it is not customary to go to the sultan without a present, and +that I have nothing worthy of his acceptance. As to the necessity of a +present, I agree with you, and own that I never thought of it; but as +to what you say that I have nothing fit to offer, do not you think, +mother, that what I brought home with me the day on which I was +delivered from an inevitable death, may be an acceptable present? I +mean what you and I both took for colored glass: but now I am +undeceived, and can tell you that they are jewels of inestimable value, +and fit for the greatest monarch. I know the worth of them by +frequenting the shops; and you may take my word that all the precious +stones which I saw in the most capital jeweler's possession were not to +be compared to those we have, either for size or beauty, and yet they +value theirs at an excessive price. In short, neither you nor I know +the value of ours; but be it as it may, by the little experience I +have, I am persuaded that they will be received very favorably by the +sultan: you have a large porcelain dish fit to hold them; fetch it, and +let us see how they will look, when we have arranged them according to +their different colors." + +Aladdin's mother brought the china dish, when he took the jewels out of +the two purses in which he had kept them, and placed them in order +according to his fancy. But the brightness and luster they emitted in +the daytime, and the variety of the colors, so dazzled the eyes both of +mother and son, that they were astonished beyond measure; for they had +only seen them by the light of a lamp; and though the latter had beheld +them pendant on the trees like fruit beautiful to the eye, yet as he +was then but a boy, he looked on them only as glittering playthings. + +After they had admired the beauty of the jewels some time, Aladdin said +to his mother, "Now you cannot excuse yourself from going to the +sultan, under pretext of not having a present to make him, since here +is one which will gain you a favorable reception." + +Though the good widow, notwithstanding the beauty and luster of the +precious stones, did not believe them so valuable as her son estimated +them, she thought such a present might nevertheless be agreeable to the +sultan, but still she hesitated at the request. "My son," said she, "I +cannot conceive that your present will have its desired effect, or that +the sultan will look upon me with a favorable eye; I am sure, that if I +attempt to deliver your strange message, I shall have no power to open +my mouth; therefore I shall not only lose my labor, but the present, +which you say is so invaluable, and shall return home again in +confusion, to tell you that your hopes are frustrated. I have +represented the consequence, and you ought to believe me; but," added +she, "I will exert my best endeavor to please you, and wish I may have +power to ask the sultan as you would have me; but certainly he would +either laugh at me, and send me back like a fool, or be in so great a +rage as to make us both the victims of his fury." + +She used many other arguments to endeavor to make him change his mind; +but the charms of the princess had made too great an impression on his +heart for him to be dissuaded from his design. He persisted in +importuning his mother to execute his resolution, and she, as much out +of tenderness as for fear he should be guilty of greater extravagance, +complied with his request. + +As it was now late, and the time for admission to the palace was +passed, it was put off till the next day. The mother and son talked of +different matters the remaining part of the day; and Aladdin strove to +encourage her in the task she had undertaken; while she, +notwithstanding all his arguments, could not persuade herself she +should succeed; and it must be confessed she had reason enough to +doubt. "Child," said she to Aladdin, "if the sultan should receive me +favorably, as I wish for your sake, should even hear my proposal with +calmness, and after this scarcely-to-be-expected reception should think +of asking me where lie your riches and your estate (for he will sooner +inquire after these than your person), if, I say, he should ask me +these questions, what answer would you have me return him?" + +"Let us not be uneasy, mother," replied Aladdin, "about what may never +happen. First, let us see how the sultan receives, and what answer he +gives you. If it should so fall out, that he desires to be informed of +what you mention, I have thought of an answer, and am confident that +the lamp which hath supported us so long will not fail me in time of +need." + +The tailor's widow could not say anything against what her son then +proposed; but reflected that the lamp might be capable of doing greater +wonders than just providing victuals for them. This consideration +satisfied her, and at the same time removed all the difficulties which +might have prevented her from undertaking the service she had promised +her son with the sultan; Aladdin, who penetrated into his mother's +thoughts, said to her, "Above all things, mother, be sure to keep +secret our possession of the lamp, for thereon depends the success we +have to expect"; and after this caution, Aladdin and his mother parted +to go to rest. But violent love, and the great prospect of so immense a +fortune, had so much possessed the son's thoughts, that he could not +repose himself so well as he could have wished. He rose before +daybreak, awakened his mother, pressing her to get herself dressed to +go to the sultan's palace, and to get admittance, if possible, before +the grand vizier, the other viziers, and the great officers of state +went in to take their seats in the divan, where the sultan always +assisted in person. + +Aladdin's mother took the china dish, in which they had put the jewels +the day before, wrapped in two napkins, one finer than the other, which +was tied at the four corners for more easy carriage, and set forwards +for the sultan's palace. When she came to the gates, the grand vizier, +the other viziers, and most distinguished lords of the court were just +gone in; but, notwithstanding the crowd of people who had business was +great, she got into the divan, a spacious hall, the entrance into which +was very magnificent. She placed herself just before the sultan, grand +vizier, and the great lords, who sat in council, on his right and left +hand. Several causes were called, according to their order, pleaded and +adjudged, until the time the divan generally broke up, when the sultan +rising, returned to his apartment, attended by the grand vizier; the +other viziers and ministers of state then retired, as also did all +those whose business had called them thither; some pleased with gaining +their causes, others dissatisfied at the sentences pronounced against +them, and some in expectation of theirs being heard the next sitting. + +Aladdin's mother, seeing the sultan retire, and all the people depart, +judged rightly that he would not sit again that day, and resolved to go +home. When Aladdin saw her return with the present designed for the +sultan, he knew not what to think of her success, and in his fear lest +she should bring him some ill news, had not courage to ask her any +questions; but she, who had never set foot into the sultan's palace +before, and knew not what was every day practiced there, freed him from +his embarrassment, and said to him, with a great deal of simplicity, +"Son, I have seen the sultan, and am very well persuaded he has seen me +too; for I placed myself just before him; but he was so much taken up +with those who attended on all sides of him, that I pitied him, and +wondered at his patience. At last I believe he was heartily tired, for +he rose up suddenly, and would not hear a great many who were ready +prepared to speak to him, but went away, at which I was well pleased, +for indeed I began to lose all patience, and was extremely fatigued +with staying so long. But there is no harm done; I will go again +tomorrow; perhaps the sultan may not be so busy." + +Though his passion was very violent, Aladdin was forced to be satisfied +with this delay, and to fortify himself with patience. He had at least +the satisfaction to find that his mother had got over the greatest +difficulty, which was to procure access to the sultan, and hoped that +the example of those she saw speak to him would embolden her to acquit +herself better of her commission when a favorable opportunity might +offer to speak to him. + +The next morning she repaired to the sultan's palace with the present, +as early as the day before, but when she came there, she found the +gates of the divan shut, and understood that the council sat but every +other day, therefore she must come again the next. This news she +carried to her son, whose only relief was to guard himself with +patience. She went six times afterwards on the days appointed, placed +herself always directly before the sultan, but with as little success +as the first morning, and might have perhaps come a thousand times to +as little purpose, if luckily the sultan himself had not taken +particular notice of her: for only those who came with petitions +approached the sultan, when each pleaded their cause in its turn, and +Aladdin's mother was not one of them. + +On the sixth day, however, after the divan was broken up, when the +sultan returned to his own apartment, he said to his grand vizier, "I +have for some time observed a certain woman, who attends constantly +every day that I give audience, with something wrapped up in a napkin: +she always stands up from the beginning to the breaking up of the +audience, and affects to place herself just before me. Do you know what +she wants?" + +"Sir," replied the grand vizier, who knew no more than the sultan what +she wanted, but did not wish to seem uninformed, "your Majesty knows +that women often make complaints on trifles; perhaps she may come to +complain to your Majesty, that somebody has sold her some bad flour, or +some such trifling matter." The sultan was not satisfied with this +answer, but replied, "If this woman comes to our next audience, do not +fail to call her, that I may hear what she has to say." The grand +vizier made answer by lowering his hand, and then lifting it up above +his head, signifying his willingness to lose it if he failed. + +By this time, the tailor's widow was so much used to go to audience, +and stand before the sultan, that she did not think it any trouble, if +she could but satisfy her son that she neglected nothing that lay in +her power to please him: the next audience day she went to the divan, +placed herself in front of the sultan as usual; and before the grand +vizier had made his report of business, the sultan perceived her, and +compassionating her for having waited so long, said to the vizier, +"Before you enter upon any business, remember the woman I spoke to you +about; bid her come near, and let us hear and dispatch her business +first." The grand vizier immediately called the chief of the mace- +bearers who stood ready to obey his commands; and pointing to her, bade +him go to that woman, and tell her to come before the sultan. + +The chief of the officers went to Aladdin's mother, and at a sign he +gave her, she followed him to the foot of the sultan's throne, where he +left her, and retired to his place by the grand vizier. The old woman, +after the example of others whom she saw salute the sultan, bowed her +head down to the carpet, which covered the platform of the throne, and +remained in that posture till the sultan bade her rise, which she had +no sooner done, than he said to her, "Good woman, I have observed you +to stand a long time, from the beginning to the rising of the divan; +what business brings you here?" + +After these words, Aladdin's mother prostrated herself a second time; +and when she arose, said, "Monarch of monarchs, before I tell your +Majesty the extraordinary and almost incredible business which brings +me before your high throne, I beg of you to pardon the boldness or +rather impudence of the demand I am going to make, which is so +uncommon, that I tremble, and am ashamed to propose it to my +sovereign." In order to give her the more freedom to explain herself, +the sultan ordered all to quit the divan but the grand vizier, and then +told her she might speak without restraint. + +Aladdin's mother, not content with this favor of the sultan's to save +her the trouble and confusion of speaking before so many people, was +notwithstanding for securing herself against his anger, which, from the +proposal she was going to make, she was not a little apprehensive of; +therefore resuming her discourse, she said, "I beg of your Majesty, if +you should think my demand the least injurious or offensive, to assure +me first of your pardon and forgiveness." "Well," replied the sultan, +"I will forgive you, be it what it may, and no hurt shall come to you: +speak boldly." + +When Aladdin's mother had taken all these precautions, for fear of the +sultan's anger, she told him faithfully how Aladdin had seen the +princess Buddir al Buddoor, the violent love that fatal sight had +inspired him with, the declaration he had made to her of it when he +came home, and what representations she had made to dissuade him from a +passion "no less disrespectful," said she, "to your Majesty, as sultan, +than to the princess your daughter. But," continued she, "my son, instead +of taking my advice and reflecting on his presumption, was so obstinate +as to persevere, and to threaten me with some desperate act, if I refused +to come and ask the princess in marriage of your Majesty; and it was not +without the greatest reluctance that I was led to accede to his request, +for which I beg your Majesty once more to pardon not only me, but also +Aladdin my son, for entertaining so rash a project as to aspire to so +high an alliance." + +The sultan hearkened to this discourse with mildness, and without +showing the least anger; but before he gave her any answer, asked her +what she had brought tied up in the napkin. She took the china dish, +which she had set down at the foot of the throne, before she prostrated +herself before him; untied it, and presented it to the sultan. + +The sultan's amazement and surprise were inexpressible, when he saw so +many large, beautiful, and valuable jewels collected in the dish. He +remained for some time motionless with admiration. At last, when he had +recovered himself, he received the present from Aladdin's mother's +hand, crying out in a transport of joy, "How rich, how beautiful!" +After he had admired and handled all the jewels, one after another, he +turned to the grand vizier, and showing him the dish, said, "Behold, +admire, wonder, and confess that your eyes never beheld jewels so rich +and beautiful before." The vizier was charmed. "Well," continued the +sultan, "what sayst thou to such a present? Is it not worthy of the +princess my daughter? And ought I not to bestow her on one who values +her at so great price?" + +These words put the grand vizier into extreme agitation. The sultan had +some time before signified to him his intention of bestowing the +princess on a son of his; therefore he was afraid, and not without +grounds, that the sultan, dazzled by so rich and extraordinary a +present, might change his mind. Therefore going to him, and whispering +him in the ear, he said, "I cannot but own that the present is worthy +of the princess; but I beg of your Majesty to grant me three months +before you come to a final resolution. I hope, before that time, my +son, on whom you have had the goodness to look with a favorable eye, +will be able to make a nobler present than Aladdin, who is an entire +stranger to your Majesty." + +The sultan, though he was fully persuaded that it was not possible for +the vizier to provide so considerable a present for his son to make the +princess, yet as he had given him hopes, hearkened to him, and granted +his request. Turning therefore to the old widow, he said to her, "Good +woman, go home, and tell your son that I agree to the proposal you have +made me; but I cannot marry the princess my daughter, till the +paraphernalia I design for her be got ready, which cannot be finished +these three months; but at the expiration of that time come again." + +Aladdin's mother returned home much more gratified than she had +expected, since she had met with a favorable answer, instead of the +refusal and confusion she had dreaded. From two circumstances Aladdin, +when he saw his mother returning, judged that she brought him good +news: the one was, that she returned sooner than ordinary; and the +other, the gayety of her countenance. "Well, mother," said he, "may I +entertain any hopes, or must I die with despair?" When she had pulled +off her veil, and had seated herself on the sofa by him, she said to +him, "Not to keep you long in suspense, son, I will begin by telling +you, that instead of thinking of dying, you have every reason to be +well satisfied." Then pursuing her discourse, she told him, that she +had an audience before everybody else, which made her come home so +soon; the precautions she had taken lest she should have displeased the +sultan, by making the proposal of marriage between him and the princess +Buddir al Buddoor, and the condescending answer she had received from +the sultan's own mouth; and that as far as she could judge, the present +had wrought a powerful effect. "But when I least expected it," said +she, "and he was going to give me an answer, and I fancied a favorable +one, the grand vizier whispered him in the ear, and I was afraid might +be some obstacle to his good intentions towards us, and so it happened, +for the sultan desired me to come to audience again this day three +months." + +Aladdin thought himself the most happy of all men at hearing this news, +and thanked his mother for the pains she had taken in the affair, the +good success of which was of so great importance to his peace. Though +from his impatience to obtain the object of his passion, three months +seemed an age, yet he disposed himself to wait with patience, relying +on the sultan's word, which he looked upon to be irrevocable. But all +that time he not only counted the hours, days, and weeks, but every +moment. When two of the three months were past, his mother one evening +going to light the lamp, and finding no oil in the house, went out to +buy some, and when she came into the city, found a general rejoicing. +The shops, instead of being shut up, were open, dressed with foliage, +silks, and carpeting, every one striving to show their zeal in the most +distinguished manner according to his ability. The streets were crowded +with officers in habits of ceremony, mounted on horses richly +caparisoned, each attended by a great many footmen. Aladdin's mother +asked the oil merchant what was the meaning of all this preparation of +public festivity. "Whence came you, good woman," said he, "that you +don't know that the grand vizier's son is to marry the princess Buddir +al Buddoor, the sultan's daughter, tonight? She will presently return +from the baths; and these officers whom you see are to assist at the +cavalcade to the palace, where the ceremony is to be solemnized." This +was news enough for Aladdin's mother. She ran till she was quite out of +breath home to her son, who little suspected any such event. "Child," +cried she, "you are undone! you depend upon the sultan's fine promises, +but they will come to nothing." Aladdin was alarmed at these words. +"Mother," replied he, "how do you know the sultan has been guilty of a +breach of promise?" "This night," answered the mother, "the grand +vizier's son is to marry the princess Buddir al Buddoor." She then +related how she had heard it; so that from all circumstances, he had no +reason to doubt the truth of what she said. + +At this account, Aladdin was thunderstruck. Any other man would have +sunk under the shock; but a sudden hope of disappointing his rival soon +roused his spirits, and he bethought himself of the lamp, which had on +every emergency been so useful to him; and without venting his rage in +empty words against the sultan, the vizier or his son, he only said, +"Perhaps, mother, the vizier's son may not be so happy tonight as he +promises himself: while I go into my chamber a moment, do you get +supper ready." She accordingly went about it, but guessed that her son +was going to make use of the lamp, to prevent, if possible, the +consummation of the marriage. + +When Aladdin had got into his chamber, he took the lamp, rubbed it in +the same place as before, when immediately the genie appeared, and said +to him, "What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, +and the slave of all those who have that lamp in their possession; I +and the other slaves of the lamp." "Hear me," said Aladdin; "thou hast +hitherto brought me whatever I wanted as to provisions; but now I have +business of the greatest importance for thee to execute. I have +demanded the princess Buddir al Buddoor in marriage of the sultan her +father; he promised her to me, only requiring three months' delay; but +instead of keeping that promise, has this night married her to the +grand vizier's son. What I ask of you is, that as soon as the bride and +bridegroom are retired, you bring them both hither in their bed." +"Master," replied the genie, "I will obey you. Have you any other +commands?" "None at present," answered Aladdin; the genie then +disappeared. + +Aladdin having left his chamber, supped with his mother, with the same +tranquillity of mind as usual; and after supper talked of the +princess's marriage as of an affair wherein he had not the least +concern; he then retired to his own chamber again, and left his mother +to go to bed; but sat up waiting the execution of his orders to the +genie. + +In the meantime, everything was prepared with the greatest magnificence +in the sultan's palace to celebrate the princess's nuptials; and the +evening was spent with all the usual ceremonies and great rejoicings +till midnight, when the grand vizier's son, on a signal given him by +the chief of the princess's eunuchs, slipped away from the company, and +was introduced by that officer into the princess's apartment. In a +little time after, the sultaness, accompanied by her own women, and +those of the princess, brought the bride. + +No sooner was the door shut, than the genie, as the faithful slave of +the lamp, and punctual in executing the command of those who possessed +it, to the great amazement of them both, took up the bed, and +transported it in an instant into Aladdin's chamber, where he set it +down. + +Aladdin, who had waited impatiently for this moment, did not suffer the +vizier's son to remain long in bed with the princess. "Take this new- +married man," said he to the genie, "shut him up in a room, and come +again tomorrow morning before daybreak." The genie instantly forced the +vizier's son out of bed, carried him whither Aladdin had commanded him; +and after he had breathed upon him, which prevented his stirring, left +him there. + +Aladdin did not talk much to the princess when they were alone, but +only said with a respectful air, "Fear nothing, adorable princess, you +are here in safety; for, notwithstanding the violence of my passion, +which your charms have kindled, it shall never exceed the bounds of the +profound adoration I owe you. If I have been forced to come to this +extremity, it is not with any intention of affronting you, but to +prevent an unjust rival's possessing you, contrary to the sultan your +father's promise in favor of myself." + +The princess, who knew nothing of these particulars, gave very little +attention to what Aladdin could say. The fright and amazement of so +surprising and unexpected an adventure had alarmed her so much that he +could not get one word from her. Aladdin, satisfied with having thus +deprived his rival of the happiness he had flattered himself with, went +outside the room, where he slept very soundly, though the princess +Buddir al Buddoor never passed a night so ill in her life; and if we +consider the condition in which the genie left the grand vizier's son, +we may imagine that the new bridegroom spent it much worse. + +Aladdin had no occasion the next morning to rub the lamp to call the +genie; who appeared at the hour appointed, just when he had done +dressing himself, and said to him, "I am here, master, what are your +commands?" "Go," said Aladdin, "fetch the vizier's son out of the place +where you left him, put him into his bed again, and carry it to the +sultan's palace, from whence you brought it." The genie presently +returned with the vizier's son. The bridegroom was laid by the +princess, and in an instant the nuptial bed was transported into the +same chamber of the palace from whence it had been brought. But we must +observe, that all this time the genie never was visible either to the +princess or the grand vizier's son. His hideous form would have made +them die with fear. Neither did they hear anything of the discourse +between Aladdin and him; they only perceived the motion of the bed, and +their transportation from one place to another; which we may well +imagine was enough to alarm them. + +As soon as the genie had set down the nuptial bed in its proper place, +the sultan tapped at the door to wish her good morning. The grand +vizier's son, who was almost perished with cold, by standing in his +thin under garment all night, and had not had time to warm himself in +bed, had no sooner heard the knocking at the door than he got out of +bed, and ran into the robing chamber, where he had undressed himself +the night before. + +The sultan having opened the door, went to the bedside, kissed the +princess between the eyes, according to custom, wishing her a good +morrow, but was extremely surprised to see her so melancholy. She only +cast at him a sorrowful look, expressive of great affliction or great +dissatisfaction. He said a few words to her, but finding that he could +not get a word from her, he retired. Nevertheless, he suspected that +there was something extraordinary in this silence, and thereupon went +immediately to the sultaness's apartment, told her in what a state he +had found the princess, and how she had received him. "Sir," said +the sultaness, "I will go and see her; I am much deceived if she +receives me in the same manner." + +As soon as the sultaness was dressed, she went to the princess's +apartment, who was still in bed. She undrew the curtain, wished her +good morrow, and kissed her. But how great was her surprise when she +returned no answer; and looking more attentively at her, she perceived +her to be much dejected, which made her judge that something had +happened, which she did not understand. "How comes it, child," said the +sultaness, "that you do not return my caresses? Ought you to treat your +mother after this manner? I am induced to believe something +extraordinary has happened; come, tell me freely, and leave me no +longer in a painful suspense." + +At last the princess broke silence with a deep sigh and said, "Alas! +most honored mother, forgive me if I have failed in the respect I owe +you. My mind is so full of the extraordinary circumstances which have +befallen me this night, that I have not yet recovered from my amazement +and alarm." She then told her, how the instant after she and her +husband were together, the bed was transported into a dark, dirty room, +where he was taken from her and carried away, but where she knew not; +and that she was left alone with a young man, who said something to +her, which her fright did not suffer her to hear; and in the morning +her husband was brought to her again, when the bed was transported back +to her own chamber in an instant. "All this," said she, "was but just +done, when the sultan my father came into my chamber. I was so +overwhelmed with grief, that I had not power to speak, and am afraid +that he is offended at the manner in which I received the honor he did +me; but I hope he will forgive me, when he knows my melancholy +adventure, and the miserable state I am in at present." + +The sultaness heard all the princess told her very patiently, but would +not believe it. "You did well, child," said she, "not to speak of this +to your father: take care not to mention it to anybody; for you will +certainly be thought mad if you talk in this manner." "Madam," replied +the princess, "I can assure you I am in my right senses; ask my +husband, and he will tell you the same circumstances." "I will," said +the sultaness; "but if he should talk in the same manner, I shall not +be better persuaded of the truth. Come, rise, and throw off this idle +fancy; it will be a strange event, if all the feasts and rejoicings in +the kingdom should be interrupted by such a vision. Do not you hear the +trumpets of congratulation, and concerts of the finest music? Cannot +these inspire you with joy and pleasure, and make you forget the +fancies of an imagination disturbed by what can have been only a dream?" +At the same time the sultaness called the princess's women, and after +she had seen her get up, and begin dressing, went to the sultan's +apartment, told him that her daughter had got some odd notions in her, +but that there was nothing in them but idle fantasy. + +She then sent for the vizier's son, to know of him something of what +the princess had told her; but he, thinking himself highly honored to +be allied to the sultan, and not willing to lose the princess, denied +what had happened. "That is enough," answered the sultaness, "I ask no +more. I see you are wiser than my daughter." + +The rejoicings lasted all that day in the palace, and the sultaness, +who never left the princess, forgot nothing to divert her, and induce +her to take part in the various diversions and shows; but she was so +struck with the idea of what had happened to her in the night, that it +was easy to see her thoughts were entirely taken up with it. Neither +was the grand vizier's son in less tribulation, though his ambition +made him disguise his feelings so well, that nobody doubted of his +being a happy bridegroom. + +Aladdin, who was well acquainted with what passed in the palace, was +sure the new-married couple were to lie together again, notwithstanding +the troublesome adventure of the night before; and therefore, having as +great an inclination to disturb them, had recourse to his lamp, and +when the genie appeared, and offered his service, he said to him, "The +grand vizier's son and the princess Buddir al Buddoor are to lie +together again tonight: go, and as soon as they are in bed, bring the +bed hither, as thou didst yesterday." + +The genie obeyed as faithfully and exactly as the day before, and the +grand vizier's son passed the night as coldly and disagreeably. The +genie, according to orders, came the next morning, brought the +bridegroom, laid him by his bride, and then carried the bed and new- +married couple back again to the palace. + +The sultan, after the reception the princess had given him, was very +anxious to know how she passed the second night, and therefore went +into her chamber as early as the morning before. The grand vizier's +son, more ashamed, and mortified with the ill success of this last +night, no sooner heard him coming, than he jumped out of bed, and ran +hastily into the robing-chamber. The sultan went to the princess's +bedside, and after the same caresses he had given her the former +morning, bade her good morrow. "Well, daughter," said he, "are you in +better humor than yesterday?" Still the princess was silent, and the +sultan perceiving her to be more troubled, and in greater confusion +than before, doubted not that something very extraordinary was the +cause; but provoked that his daughter should conceal it, he said to her +in a rage, with his saber in his hand, "Daughter, tell me what is the +matter, or I will cut off your head immediately." + +The princess, more frightened at the menaces and tone of the enraged +sultan than at the sight of the drawn saber, at last broke silence, and +said with tears in her eyes, "My dear father and sultan, I ask your +Majesty's pardon if I have offended you, and hope, that out of your +goodness and clemency you will have compassion on me, when I shall have +told you in what a miserable condition I have spent this last night, as +well as the preceding." + +After this preamble, which appeased and affected the sultan, she told +him what had happened to her, in so moving a manner, that he, who loved +her tenderly, was most sensibly grieved. She added, "If your Majesty +doubts the truth of this account, you may inform yourself from my +husband, who, I am persuaded, will tell you the same thing." + +The sultan immediately felt all the extreme uneasiness so surprising an +adventure must have given the princess. "Daughter," said he, "you are +much to blame for not telling me this yesterday, since it concerns me +as much as yourself. I did not marry you with an intention to make you +miserable, but that you might enjoy all the happiness you deserve and +might hope for from a husband, who to me seemed agreeable to you. +Efface all these troublesome ideas from your memory; I will take care +that you shall have no more such disagreeable and insupportable +nights." + +As soon as the sultan had returned to his own apartments, he sent for +the grand vizier: "Vizier," said he, "have you seen your son, and has +he told you anything?" The vizier replied, "No." The sultan related all +the circumstances of which the princess had informed him, and +afterwards said, "I do not doubt but that my daughter has told me the +truth; but nevertheless I should be glad to have it confirmed by your +son, therefore go and ask him how it was." + +The grand vizier went immediately to his son, communicated what the +sultan had told him, and enjoined him to conceal nothing, but to relate +the whole truth. "I will disguise nothing from you, father," replied +the son, "for indeed all that the princess has stated is true; but what +relates particularly to myself she knows nothing of. Since my marriage, +I have passed two nights beyond imagination or expression disagreeable, +not to mention the fright I was in at finding my bed lifted four times, +transported from one place to another, without being able to guess how +it was done. You may judge of the miserable condition I was in, passing +two whole nights in nothing but my under vestments, standing in a small +room, unable to stir out of the place or to make the least movement, +though I could not perceive any obstacle to prevent me. Yet I must tell +you, that all this ill usage does not in the least lessen those +sentiments of love, respect, and gratitude I entertain for the +princess, and of which she is so deserving; but I must confess, that +notwithstanding all the honor and splendor that attends marrying my +sovereign's daughter, I would much rather die, than continue in so +exalted an alliance if I must undergo nightly much longer what I have +already endured. I do not doubt but that the princess entertains the +same sentiments, and that she will readily agree to a separation, which +is so necessary both for her repose and mine. Therefore, father, I beg, +by the same tenderness which led you to procure me so great an honor, +to obtain the sultan's consent that our marriage may be declared null +and void." + +Notwithstanding the grand vizier's ambition to have his son allied to +the sultan, the firm resolution he saw he had formed to be separated +from the princess made him not think it proper to propose to him to +have patience for a few days, to see if this disappointment would not +have an end; but he left him to give an account of what he had related +to him, and without waiting till the sultan himself, whom he found +disposed to it, spoke of setting aside the marriage, he begged of him +to give his son leave to retire from the palace, alleging it was not +just that the princess should be a moment longer exposed to so terrible +a persecution upon his son's account. + +The grand vizier found no great difficulty to obtain what he asked, as +the sultan had determined already; orders were given to put a stop to +all rejoicing in the palace and town, and expresses dispatched to all +parts of his dominions to countermand them; and, in a short time, all +rejoicings ceased. + +This sudden and unexpected change gave rise both in the city and +kingdom to various speculations and inquiries; but no other account +could be given of it, except that both the vizier and his son went out +of the palace very much dejected. Nobody but Aladdin knew the secret. +He rejoiced within himself at the happy success procured by his lamp, +which now he had no more occasion to rub, to produce the genie to +prevent the consummation of the marriage, as he had certain information +it was broken off, and that his rival had left the palace. Neither the +sultan nor the grand vizier, who had forgotten Aladdin and his request, +had the least thought that he had any concern in the enchantment which +caused the dissolution of the marriage. + +Aladdin waited till the three months were completed, which the sultan +had appointed for the consummation of the marriage between the princess +Buddir al Buddoor and himself; and the next day sent his mother to the +palace, to remind the sultan of his promise. + +Aladdin's mother went to the palace, and stood in the same place as +before in the hall of audience. The sultan no sooner cast his eyes upon +her than he knew her again, remembered her business, and how long he +had put her off: therefore when the grand vizier was beginning to make +his report, the sultan interrupted him and said, "Vizier, I see the +good woman who made me the present of jewels some months ago; forbear +your report, till I have heard what she has to say." The vizier looking +about the divan, perceived the tailor's widow, and sent the chief of +the mace-bearers to conduct her to the sultan. + +Aladdin's mother came to the foot of the throne, prostrated herself as +usual, and when she rose, the sultan asked her what she would have. +"Sir," said she, "I come to represent to your Majesty, in the name of +my son Aladdin, that the three months, at the end of which you ordered +me to come again, are expired; and to beg you to remember your +promise." + +The sultan, when he had fixed a time to answer the request of this good +woman, little thought of hearing any more of a marriage, which he +imagined must be very disagreeable to the princess, when he considered +the meanness and poverty of her dress and appearance; but this summons +for him to fulfill his promise was somewhat embarrassing; he declined +giving an answer till he had consulted his vizier, and signified to him +the little inclination he had to conclude a match for his daughter with +a stranger, whose rank he supposed to be very mean. + +The grand vizier freely told the sultan his thoughts, and said to him, +"In my opinion, sir, there is an infallible way for your Majesty to +avoid a match so disproportionable, without giving Aladdin, were he +known to your Majesty, any cause of complaint; which is, to set so high +a price upon the princess, that, however rich he may be, he cannot +comply with. This is the only evasion to make him desist from so bold, +not to say rash, an undertaking, which he never weighed before he +engaged in it." + +The sultan, approving of the grand vizier's advice, turned to the +tailor's widow, and said to her, "Good woman, it is true sultans ought +to abide by their word, and I am ready to keep mine, by making your son +happy in marriage with the princess, my daughter. But as I cannot marry +her without some further valuable consideration from your son, you may +tell him, I will fulfill my promise as soon as he shall send me forty +trays of massy gold, full of the same sort of jewels you have already +made me a present of, and carried by the like number of black slaves, +who shall be led by as many young and handsome white slaves, all +dressed magnificently. On these conditions I am ready to bestow the +princess my daughter upon him; therefore, good woman, go and tell him +so, and I will wait till you bring me his answer." + +Aladdin's mother prostrated herself a second time before the sultan's +throne and retired. On her way home, she laughed within herself at her +son's foolish imagination. "Where," says she, "can he get so many large +gold trays, and such precious stones to fill them? Must he go again to +that subterraneous abode, the entrance into which is stopped up, and +gather them off the trees? But where will he get so many such slaves as +the sultan requires? It is altogether out of his power, and I believe +he will not be much pleased with my embassy this time." When she came +home, full of these thoughts, she said to her son, "Indeed, child, I +would not have you think any farther of your marriage with the +princess. The sultan received me very kindly, and I believe he was well +inclined to you; but if I am not much deceived the grand vizier has +made him change his mind, as you will guess from what I have to tell +you. After I had represented to his Majesty, that the three months were +expired, and begged of him to remember his promise, I observed that he +whispered with his grand vizier before he gave me his answer." She then +gave her son an exact account of what the sultan had said to her, and +the conditions on which he consented to the match. Afterwards she said +to him, "The sultan expects your answer immediately; but," continued +she, laughing, "I believe he may wait long enough." + +"Not so long, mother, as you imagine," replied Aladdin; "the sultan is +mistaken, if he thinks by this exorbitant demand to prevent my +entertaining thoughts of the princess. I expected greater difficulties, +and that he would have set a higher price upon her incomparable charms. +I am very well pleased; his demand is but a trifle to what I could have +done for her. But while I think of satisfying his request, go and get +something for our dinner, and leave the rest to me." + +As soon as his mother was gone out to market, Aladdin took the lamp, +and rubbing it, the genie appeared, and offered his service as usual. +"The sultan," said Aladdin to him, "gives me the princess his daughter +in marriage; but demands first forty large trays of massy gold, full of +the fruits of the garden from whence I took this lamp; and these he +expects to have carried by as many black slaves, each preceded by a +young, handsome white slave, richly clothed. Go, and fetch me this +present as soon as possible, that I may send it to him before the divan +breaks up." The genie told him his command should be immediately +obeyed, and disappeared. + +In a little time afterwards the genie returned with forty black slaves, +each bearing on his head a heavy tray of pure gold, full of pearls, +diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and every sort of precious stones, all +larger and more beautiful than those presented to the sultan. Each tray +was covered with silver tissue, embroidered with flowers of gold: +these, together with the white slaves, quite filled the house, which +was but a small one, the little court before it, and a small garden +behind. The genie asked if he had any other commands, and Aladdin +telling him that he wanted nothing farther, he disappeared. + +When Aladdin's mother came from market, she was much surprised to see +so many people and such vast riches. As soon as she had laid down her +provisions, she was going to pull off her veil; but he prevented her, +and said, "Mother, let us lose no time; before the sultan and the divan +rise, I would have you return to the palace with this present as the +dowry demanded for the princess, that he may judge by my diligence and +exactness of the ardent and sincere desire I have to procure myself the +honor of this alliance." Without waiting for his mother's reply, +Aladdin opened the street door, and made the slaves walk out; each +white slave followed by a black with a tray upon his head. When they +were all out, the mother followed the last black slave, he shut the +door, and then retired to his chamber, full of hopes that the sultan, +after this present, which was such as he required, would receive him as +his son-in-law. + +The first white slave who went out made all the people who were going +by stop; and before they were all clear of the house, the streets were +crowded with spectators, who ran to see so extraordinary and +magnificent a procession. The dress of each slave was so rich, both for +the stuff and the jewels, that those who were dealers in them valued +each at no less than a million of money; besides the neatness and +propriety of the dress, the noble air, fine shape and proportion of +each slave were unparalleled; their grave walk at an equal distance +from each other, the luster of the jewels curiously set in their +girdles of gold, in beautiful symmetry, and the egrets of precious +stones in their turbans, which were of an unusual but elegant taste, +put the spectators into such great admiration, that they could not +avoid gazing at them, and following them with their eyes as far as +possible; but the streets were so crowded with people, that none could +move out of the spot they stood on. As they had to pass through several +streets to the palace, a great part of the city had an opportunity of +seeing them. As soon as the first of these slaves arrived at the palace +gate, the porters formed themselves into order, taking him for a prince +from the richness and magnificence of his habit, and were going to kiss +the hem of his garment; but the slave, who was instructed by the genie, +prevented them, and said, "We are only slaves, our master will appear +at a proper time." + +The first slave, followed by the rest, advanced into the second court, +which was very spacious, and in which the sultan's household was ranged +during the sitting of the divan. The magnificence of the officers, who +stood at the head of their troops, was considerably eclipsed by the +slaves who bore Aladdin's present, of which they themselves made a +part. Nothing was ever seen so beautiful and brilliant in the sultan's +palace; and all the luster of the lords of his court was not to be +compared to them. + +As the sultan, who had been informed of their march and approach to the +palace, had given orders for them to be admitted, they met with no +obstacle, but went into the divan in regular order, one part filing to +the right, and the other to the left. After they entered, and had +formed a semicircle before the sultan's throne, the black slaves laid +the golden trays on the carpet, prostrated themselves, touching the +carpet with their foreheads, and at the same time the white slaves did +the same. When they rose, the black slaves uncovered the trays, and +then all stood with their arms crossed over their breasts. + +In the meantime Aladdin's mother advanced to the foot of the throne, +and having paid her respects, said to the sultan, "Sir, my son is +sensible this present, which he has sent your Majesty, is much below +the princess Buddir al Buddoor's worth; but hopes, nevertheless, that +your Majesty will accept of it and make it agreeable to the princess, +and with the greater confidence since he has endeavored to conform to +the conditions you were pleased to impose." + +The sultan was not able to give the least attention to this compliment. +The moment he cast his eyes on the forty trays, full of the most +precious, brilliant, and beautiful jewels he had ever seen, and the +fourscore slaves, who appeared by the elegance of their persons, and +the richness and magnificence of their dress, like so many princes, he +was so struck, that he could not recover from his admiration. Instead +of answering the compliment of Aladdin's mother, he addressed himself +to the grand vizier, who could not any more than the sultan comprehend +from whence such a profusion of richness could come. "Well, vizier," +said he aloud, "who do you think it can be that has sent me so +extraordinary a present, and neither of us know? Do you think him +worthy of the princess Buddir al Buddoor, my daughter?" + +The vizier, notwithstanding his envy and grief to see a stranger +preferred to be the sultan's son-in-law before his son, durst not +disguise his sentiments. It was too visible that Aladdin's present was +more than sufficient to merit his being received into royal alliance; +therefore, consulting his master's feelings, he returned this answer: +"I am so far from having any thoughts that the person who has made your +Majesty so noble a present is unworthy of the honor you would do him, +that I should say he deserved much more, if I was not persuaded that +the greatest treasure in the world ought not to be put in competition +with the princess your Majesty's daughter." This speech was applauded +by all the lords who were then in council. + +The sultan made no longer hesitation, nor thought of informing himself +whether Aladdin was endowed with all the qualifications requisite in +one who aspired to be his son-in-law. The sight alone of such immense +riches, and Aladdin's quickness in satisfying his demand, without +starting the least difficulty at the exorbitant conditions he had +imposed, easily persuaded him, that he could want nothing to render him +accomplished, and such as he desired. Therefore, to send Aladdin's +mother back with all the satisfaction she could desire, he said to her, +"My good lady, go and tell your son, that I wait with open arms to +embrace him, and the more haste he makes to come and receive the +princess my daughter from my hands, the greater pleasure he will do +me." + +As soon as the tailor's widow had retired, overjoyed as a woman in her +condition must have been, to see her son raised beyond all expectations +to such exalted fortune, the sultan put an end to the audience; and +rising from his throne, ordered that the princess's eunuchs should come +and carry the trays into their mistress's apartments, whither he went +himself to examine them with her at his leisure. The fourscore slaves +were conducted into the palace; and the sultan, telling the princess of +their magnificent appearance, ordered them to be brought before her +apartment, that she might see through the lattices he had not +exaggerated in his account of them. + +In the meantime Aladdin's mother got home, and showed in her air and +countenance the good news she brought her son. "My son," said she to +him, "you have now all the reason in the world to be pleased: you are, +contrary to my expectations, arrived at the height of your desires. Not +to keep you too long in suspense, the sultan, with the approbation of +the whole court, has declared that you are worthy to possess the +princess Buddir al Buddoor, and waits to embrace you and conclude your +marriage; therefore, you must think of making some preparations for +your interview, which may answer the high opinion he has formed of your +person; and after the wonders I have seen you do, I am persuaded +nothing can be wanting. But I must not forget to tell you, the sultan +waits for you with great impatience; therefore lose no time in paying +your respects." + +Aladdin, enraptured with this news, and full of the object which +possessed his soul, made his mother very little reply, but retired to +his chamber. There, after he had rubbed his lamp, which had never +failed him in whatever he wished for, the obedient genie appeared. +"Genie," said Aladdin, "I want to bathe immediately, and you must +afterwards provide me the richest and most magnificent habit ever worn +by a monarch." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the genie +rendered him, as well as himself, invisible, and transported him into a +hummum of the finest marble of all sorts of colors; where he was +undressed, without seeing by whom, in a magnificent and spacious hall. +From the hall he was led to the bath, which was of a moderate heat, and +he was there rubbed and washed with various scented waters. After he +had passed through several degrees of heat, he came out, quite a +different man from what he was before. His skin was clear white and +red, his body lightsome and free; and when he returned into the hall, +he found, instead of his own, a suit, the magnificence of which +astonished him. The genie helped him to dress, and when he had done, +transported him back to his own chamber, where he asked him if he had +any other commands. "Yes," answered Aladdin, "I expect you to bring me +as soon as possible a charger, that surpasses in beauty and goodness +the best in the sultan's stables, with a saddle, bridle, and other +caparisons worth a million of money. I want also twenty slaves, as +richly clothed as those who carried the present to the sultan, to walk +by my side and follow me, and twenty more to go before me in two ranks. +Besides these, bring my mother six women slaves to attend her, as +richly dressed at least as any of the princess Buddir al Buddoor's, +each carrying a complete dress fit for any sultaness. I want also ten +thousand pieces of gold in ten purses; go and make haste." + +As soon as Aladdin had given these orders, the genie disappeared, but +presently returned with the horse, the forty slaves, ten of whom +carried each a purse containing ten thousand pieces of gold, and six +women slaves, each carrying on her head a different dress for Aladdin's +mother, wrapped up in a piece of silver tissue, and presented them all +to Aladdin. + +Of the ten purses Aladdin took four, which he gave to his mother, +telling her, those were to supply her with necessaries; the other six +he left in the hands of the slaves who brought them, with an order to +throw them by handfuls among the people as they went to the sultan's +palace. The six slaves who carried the purses he ordered likewise to +march before him, three on the right hand and three on the left. +Afterwards he presented the six women slaves to his mother, telling her +they were her slaves, and that the dresses they had brought were for +her use. + +When Aladdin had thus settled matters, he told the genie he would call +for him when he wanted him, and thereupon the genie disappeared. +Aladdin's thoughts now were only upon answering, as soon as possible, +the desire the sultan had shown to see him. He dispatched one of the +forty slaves to the palace, with an order to address himself to the +chief of the porters, to know when he might have the honor to come and +throw himself at the sultan's feet. The slave soon acquitted himself of +his commission, and brought for answer, that the sultan waited for him +with impatience. + +Aladdin immediately mounted his charger, and began his march, in the +order we have already described; and though he never was on horseback +before, appeared with such extraordinary grace, that the most +experienced horseman would not have taken him for a novice. The streets +through which he was to pass were almost instantly filled with an +innumerable concourse of people, who made the air echo with their +acclamations, especially every time the six slaves who carried the +purses threw handfuls of gold among the populace. Neither did these +acclamations and shouts of joy come from those alone who scrambled for +the money, but from a superior rank of people, who could not forbear +applauding Aladdin's generosity. Not only those who knew him when he +played in the streets like a vagabond did not recollect him, but those +who saw him but a little while before hardly recognized him, so much +were his features altered: such were the effects of the lamp, as to +procure by degrees to those who possessed it perfections suitable to +the rank to which the right use of it advanced them. Much more +attention was paid to Aladdin's person than to the pomp and +magnificence of his attendants, as a similar show had been seen the day +before when the slaves walked in procession with the present to the +sultan. Nevertheless the horse was much admired by good judges, who +knew how to discern his beauties, without being dazzled by the jewels +and richness of the furniture. When the report was everywhere spread, +that the sultan was going to give the princess in marriage to Aladdin, +nobody regarded his birth, nor envied his good fortune, so worthy he +seemed of it in the public opinion. + +When he arrived at the palace, everything was prepared for his +reception; and when he came to the gate of the second court, he would +have alighted from his horse, agreeably to the custom observed by the +grand vizier, the commander in chief of the empire, and governors of +provinces of the first rank; but the chief of the mace-bearers who +waited on him by the sultan's order prevented him, and attended him to +the grand hall of audience where he helped him to dismount; though +Aladdin endeavored to prevent him, but could not prevail. The officers +formed themselves into two ranks at the entrance of the hall. The chief +put Aladdin on his right hand, and through the midst of them led him to +the sultan's throne. + +As soon as the sultan perceived Aladdin, he was no less surprised to +see him more richly and magnificently habited than ever he had been +himself, than struck at his good mien, fine shape, and a certain air of +unexpected dignity, very different from the meanness of his mother's +late appearance. + +But, notwithstanding, his amazements and surprise did not hinder him +from rising off his throne, and descending two or three steps, quick +enough to prevent Aladdin's throwing himself at his feet. He embraced +him with all the demonstrations of joy at his arrival. After this +civility Aladdin would have thrown himself at his feet again; but he +held him fast by the hand, and obliged him to sit close to the throne. + +Aladdin then addressed the sultan, saying, "I receive the honor which +your Majesty out of your great condescension is pleased to confer; but +permit me to assure you, that I have not forgotten that I am your +slave; that I know the greatness of your power, and that I am not +insensible how much my birth is below the splendor and luster of the +high rank to which I am raised. If any way," continued he, "I could +have merited so favorable a reception, I confess I owe it merely to the +boldness which chance inspired in me to raise my eyes, thoughts, and +desires to the divine princess, who is the object of my wishes. I ask +your Majesty's pardon for my rashness, but I cannot dissemble, that I +should die with grief were I to lose my hopes of seeing them +accomplished." + +"My son," answered the sultan, embracing him a second time, "you would +wrong me to doubt for a moment of my sincerity; your life from this +moment is too dear to me not to preserve it, by presenting you with the +remedy which is at my disposal. I prefer the pleasure of seeing and +hearing you before all your treasure added to my own." + +After these words, the sultan gave a signal, and immediately the air +echoed with the sound of trumpets, hautboys, and other musical +instruments: and at the same time the sultan led Aladdin into a +magnificent hall, where was laid out a most splendid collation. The +sultan and Aladdin ate by themselves, while the grand vizier and the +great lords of the court, according to their dignity and rank, sat at +different tables. The conversation turned on different subjects; but +all the while the sultan took so much pleasure in looking at his +intended son-in-law, that he hardly ever took his eyes off him; and +throughout the whole of their conversation Aladdin showed so much good +sense, as confirmed the sultan in the high opinion he had formed of +him. + +After the feast, the sultan sent for the chief judge of his capital, +and ordered him to draw up immediately a contract of marriage between +the princess Buddir al Buddoor his daughter and Aladdin. In the +meantime the sultan and he entered into another conversation on various +subjects, in the presence of the grand vizier and the lords of the +court, who all admired the solidity of his wit, the great ease and +freedom wherewith he delivered himself, the justness of his remarks, +and his energy in expressing them. + +When the judge had drawn up the contract in all the requisite forms, +the sultan asked Aladdin if he would stay in the palace, and solemnize +the ceremonies of marriage that day. To which he answered, "Sir, though +great is my impatience to enjoy your Majesty's goodness, yet I beg of +you to give me leave to defer it till I have built a palace fit to +receive the princess; therefore I petition you to grant me a convenient +spot of ground near your palace, that I may the more frequently pay my +respects, and I will take care to have it finished with all diligence." +"Son," said the sultan, "take what ground you think proper, there is +space enough on every quarter round my palace; but consider, I cannot +see you too soon united with my daughter, which alone is wanting to +complete my happiness." After these words he embraced Aladdin again, +who took his leave with as much politeness as if he had been bred up +and had always lived at court. + +Aladdin returned home in the order he had come, amidst the acclamations +of the people, who wished him all happiness and prosperity. As soon as +he dismounted, he retired to his own chamber, took the lamp, and called +the genie as before, who in the usual manner made him a tender of his +service. "Genie," said Aladdin, "I have every reason to commend your +exactness in executing hitherto punctually whatever I have demanded; +but now if you have any regard for the lamp your protector, you must +show, if possible, more zeal and diligence than ever. I would have you +build me, as soon as you can, a palace opposite, but at a proper +distance from the sultan's, fit to receive my spouse the princess +Buddir al Buddoor. I leave the choice of the materials to you, that is +to say, porphyry, jasper, agate, lapis lazuli, or the finest marble of +various colors, and also the architecture of the building. But I expect +that on the terraced roof of this palace you will build me a large hall +crowned with a dome, and having four equal fronts; and that instead of +layers of bricks, the walls be formed of massy gold and silver, laid +alternately; that each front shall contain six windows, the lattices of +all of which, except one, which must be left unfinished, shall be so +enriched in the most tasteful workmanship, with diamonds, rubies, and +emeralds, that they shall exceed everything of the kind ever seen in +the world. I would have an inner and outer court in front of the +palace, and a spacious garden; but above all things, take care that +there be laid in a place which you shall point out to me a treasure of +gold and silver coin. Besides, the edifice must be well provided with +kitchens and offices, storehouses, and rooms to keep choice furniture +in, for every season of the year. I must have stables full of the +finest horses, with their equerries and grooms, and hunting equipage. +There must be officers to attend the kitchens and offices, and women +slaves to wait on the princess. You understand what I mean; therefore +go about it, and come and tell me when all is finished." + +By the time Aladdin had instructed the genie respecting the building of +his palace, the sun was set. The next morning, before break of day, our +bridegroom, whose love for the princess would not let him sleep, was +up, when the genie presented himself, and said, "Sir, your palace is +finished, come and see how you like it." Aladdin had no sooner +signified his consent, than the genie transported him thither in an +instant, and he found it so much beyond his expectation, that he could +not enough admire it. The genie led him through all the apartments, +where he met with nothing but what was rich and magnificent, with +officers and slaves, all habited according to their rank and the +services to which they were appointed. The genie then showed him the +treasury, which was opened by a treasurer, where Aladdin saw heaps of +purses, of different sizes, piled up to the top of the ceiling, and +disposed in most excellent order. The genie assured him of the +treasurer's fidelity, and thence led him to the stables, where he +showed him some of the finest horses in the world, and the grooms busy +in dressing them; from thence they went to the storehouses, which were +filled with all things necessary, both for food and ornament. + +When Aladdin had examined the palace from top to bottom, and +particularly the hall with the four-and-twenty windows, and found it +much beyond whatever he could have imagined, he said, "Genie, no one +can be better satisfied than I am; and indeed I should be much to blame +if I found any fault. There is only one thing wanting which I forgot to +mention; that is, to lay from the sultan's palace to the door of the +apartment designed for the princess, a carpet of fine velvet for her to +walk upon." The genie immediately disappeared, and Aladdin saw what he +desired executed in an instant. The genie then returned, and carried +him home before the gates of the sultan's palace were opened. + +When the porters, who had always been used to an open prospect, came to +open the gates, they were amazed to find it obstructed, and to see a +carpet of velvet spread from the grand entrance. They did not +immediately look how far it extended; but when they could discern +Aladdin's palace distinctly, their surprise was increased. The news of +so extraordinary a wonder was presently spread through the palace. The +grand vizier, who arrived soon after the gates were open, being no less +amazed than others at this novelty, ran and acquainted the sultan, but +endeavored to make him believe it to be all enchantment. "Vizier," +replied the sultan, "why will you have it to be enchantment? You know +as well as I that it must be Aladdin's palace, which I gave him leave +to build, for the reception of my daughter. After the proof we have had +of his riches, can we think it strange, that he should raise a palace +in so short a time? He wished to surprise us, and let us see what +wonders are to be done with money in only one night. Confess sincerely +that the enchantment you talk of proceeds from a little envy on account +of your son's disappointment." The hour of going to council put an end +to the conversation. + +When Aladdin had been conveyed home, and had dismissed the genie, he +found his mother up, and dressing herself in one of those suits which +had been brought her. By the time the sultan rose from the council, +Aladdin had prepared his mother to go to the palace with her slaves, +and desired her, if she saw the sultan, to tell him she should do +herself the honor to attend the princess towards evening to her palace. +Accordingly she went; but though she and the women slaves who followed +her were all dressed like sultanesses, yet the crowd was not near so +great as the preceding day, because they were all veiled, and had each +an upper garment on agreeable to the richness and magnificence of their +habits. Aladdin mounted his horse, and took leave of his paternal house +forever, taking care not to forget his wonderful lamp, by the +assistance of which he had reaped such advantages, and arrived at the +utmost height of his wishes, and went to the palace in the same pomp as +the day before. + +As soon as the porters of the sultan's palace saw Aladdin's mother, +they went and informed the sultan, who immediately ordered the bands of +trumpets, cymbals, drums, fifes and hautboys, placed in different parts +of the palace, to play, so that the air resounded with concerts which +inspired the whole city with joy: the merchants began to adorn their +shops and houses with fine carpets and silks, and to prepare +illuminations against night. The artisans of every description left +their work, and the populace repaired to the great space between the +royal palace and that of Aladdin; which last drew all their attention, +not only because it was new to them, but because there was no +comparison between the two buildings. But their amazement was to +comprehend by what unheard-of miracle so magnificent a palace could +have been so soon erected, it being apparent to all that there were no +prepared materials, or any foundations laid the day before. + +Aladdin's mother was received in the palace with honor, and introduced +into the princess Buddir al Buddoor's apartment by the chief of the +eunuchs. As soon as the princess saw her, she rose, saluted, and +desired her to sit down on a sofa; and while her women finished +dressing, and adorning her with the jewels which Aladdin had presented +to her, a collation was served up. At the same time the sultan, who +wished to be as much with his daughter as possible before he parted +with her, came in and paid the old lady great respect. Aladdin's mother +had talked to the sultan in public, but he had never seen her with her +veil off, as she was then; and though she was somewhat advanced in +years, she had the remains of a good face, which showed what she had +been in her youth. The sultan, who had always seen her dressed very +meanly, not to say poorly, was surprised to find her as richly and +magnificently attired as the princess his daughter. This made him think +Aladdin equally prudent and wise in whatever he undertook. + +When it was night, the princess took her leave of the sultan her +father: their adieus were tender, and accompanied with tears. They +embraced each other several times, and at last the princess left her +own apartment for Aladdin's palace, with his mother on her left hand +carried in a superb litter, followed by a hundred women slaves, dressed +with surprising magnificence. All the bands of music, which had played +from the time Aladdin's mother arrived, being joined together, led the +procession, followed by a hundred state ushers, and the like number of +black eunuchs, in two files, with their officers at their head. Four +hundred of the sultan's young pages carried flambeaux on each side, +which, together with the illuminations of the sultan's and Aladdin's +palaces, made it as light as day. + +In this order the princess proceeded in her litter on the carpet, which +was spread from the sultan's palace, preceded by bands of musicians, +who, as they advanced, joining with those on the terraces of Aladdin's +palace, formed a concert, which increased the joyful sensations not +only of the crowd assembled in the great square, but of the metropolis +and its environs. + +At length the princess arrived at the new palace. Aladdin ran with all +imaginable joy to receive her at the grand entrance. His mother had +taken care to point him out to the princess, in the midst of the +officers who surrounded him, and she was charmed with his person. +"Adorable princess," said Aladdin, accosting her, and saluting her +respectfully, as soon as she had entered her apartment, "if I have the +misfortune to have displeased you by my boldness in aspiring to the +possession of so lovely a princess, and my sultan's daughter, I must +tell you, that you ought to blame your bright eyes and charms, not me." +"Prince (as I may now call you)," answered the princess, "I am obedient +to the will of my father; and it is enough for me to have seen you, to +tell you that I obey without reluctance." + +Aladdin, charmed with so agreeable and satisfactory an answer, would +not keep the princess standing; but took her by the hand, which he +kissed with the greatest demonstration of joy, and led her into a large +hall, illuminated with an infinite number of wax candles, where, by the +care of the genie, a noble feast was served up. The dishes were of +massy gold, and contained the most delicate viands. The vases, basins, +and goblets were gold also, and of exquisite workmanship, and all the +other ornaments and embellishments of the hall were answerable to this +display. The princess, dazzled to see so much riches collected in one +place, said to Aladdin, "I thought, prince, that nothing in the world +was so beautiful as the sultan my father's palace, but the sight of +this hall alone is sufficient to show I was deceived." + +Aladdin led the princess to the place appointed for her, and as soon as +she and his mother were seated, a band of the most harmonious +instruments, accompanied with the voices of beautiful ladies, began a +concert, which lasted without intermission to the end of the repast. +The princess was so charmed, that she declared she had never heard +anything like it in the sultan her father's court; but she knew not +that these musicians were fairies chosen by the genie, the slave of the +lamp. + +When the supper was ended, there entered a company of female dancers, +who performed, according to the custom of the country, several figure +dances, singing at the same time verses in praise of the bride and +bridegroom. About midnight Aladdin's mother conducted the bride to the +nuptial apartment, and he soon after retired. + +The next morning when Aladdin left the bridal chamber, his attendants +presented themselves to dress him, and brought him another habit as +rich and magnificent as that worn the day before. He then ordered one +of the horses appointed for his use to be got ready, mounted him, and +went in the midst of a large troop of slaves to the sultan's palace. +The sultan received him with the same honor as before, embraced him, +placed him on the throne near him, and ordered a collation. Aladdin +said, "I beg your Majesty will dispense with my eating with you today; +I came to entreat you to take a repast in the princess's palace, +attended by your grand vizier, and all the lords of your court." The +sultan consented with pleasure, rose up immediately, and, preceded by +the principal officers of his palace, and followed by all the great +lords of his court, accompanied Aladdin. + +The nearer the sultan approached Aladdin's palace, the more he was +struck with its beauty, but was much more amazed when he entered it; +and could not forbear breaking out into exclamations of approbation. +But when he came into the hall, and cast his eyes on the windows, +enriched with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, all large perfect stones, he +was so much surprised, that he remained some time motionless. After he +recovered himself, he said to his vizier, "Is it possible that there +should be such a stately palace so near my own, and I be an utter +stranger to it till now?" "Sir," replied the grand vizier, "your +Majesty may remember that the day before yesterday you gave Aladdin, +whom you accepted for your son-in-law, leave to build a palace opposite +your own, and that very day at sunset there was no palace on this spot, +but yesterday I had the honor first to tell you that the palace was +built and finished." "I remember," replied the sultan, "but never +imagined that the palace was one of the wonders of the world; for where +in all the world besides shall we find walls built of massy gold and +silver, instead of brick, stone, or marble; and diamonds, rubies, and +emeralds composing the windows!" + +The sultan would examine and admire the beauty of all the windows, and +counting them, found that there were but three and twenty so richly +adorned, and he was greatly astonished that the twenty-fourth was left +imperfect. "Vizier," said he, for that minister made a point of never +leaving him, "I am surprised that a hall of this magnificence should be +left thus imperfect." "Sir," replied the grand vizier, "without doubt +Aladdin only wanted time to finish this window like the rest; for it is +not to be supposed but that he has sufficient jewels for the purpose, +or that he will not complete it at the first opportunity." + +Aladdin, who had left the sultan to go and give some orders, returned +just as the vizier had finished his remark. "Son," said the sultan to +him, "this hall is the most worthy of admiration of any in the world; +there is only one thing that surprises me, which is to find one of the +windows unfinished. Is it from the forgetfulness or negligence of the +workmen, or want of time, that they have not put the finishing stroke +to so beautiful a piece of architecture?" "Sir," answered Aladdin, "it +was for none of these reasons that your Majesty sees it in this state. +The omission was by design; it was by my orders that the workmen left +it thus, since I wished that your Majesty should have the glory of +finishing this hall, and of course the palace." "If you did it with +this intention," replied the sultan, "I take it kindly and will give +orders about it immediately." He accordingly sent for the most +considerable jewelers and goldsmiths in his capital. + +Aladdin then conducted the sultan into the saloon where he had regaled +his bride the preceding night. The princess entered immediately +afterwards, and received the sultan her father with an air that showed +how much she was satisfied with her marriage. Two tables were +immediately spread with the most delicious meats, all served up in gold +dishes. The sultan, princess, Aladdin, his mother, and the grand vizier +sat down at the first, and all the lords of the court at the second, +which was very long. The sultan was much pleased with the cookery, and +owned he had never eaten anything more excellent. He said the same of +the wines, which were delicious; but what he most of all admired, were +four large beaufets, profusely furnished with large flagons, basins, +and cups, all of massy gold, set with jewels. He was besides charmed +with several bands of music, which were ranged along the hall, and +formed most agreeable concerts. + +When the sultan rose from the table, he was informed that the jewelers +and goldsmiths attended; upon which he returned to the hall, and showed +them the window which was unfinished: "I sent for you," said he, "to +fit up this window in as great perfection as the rest; examine them +well, and make all the dispatch you can." + +The jewelers and goldsmiths examined the three and twenty windows with +great attention, and after they had consulted together to know what +each could furnish, they returned, and presented themselves before the +sultan, whose principal jeweler, undertaking to speak for the rest, +said, "Sir, we are all willing to exert our utmost care and industry to +obey your Majesty; but among us all we cannot furnish jewels enough for +so great a work." "I have more than are necessary," said the sultan; +"come to my palace, and you shall choose what may answer your purpose." + +When the sultan returned to his palace, he ordered his jewels to be +brought out, and the jewelers took a great quantity, particularly those +Aladdin had made him a present of, which they soon used, without making +any great advance in their work. They came again several times for +more, and in a month's time had not finished half their work. In short, +they used all the jewels the sultan had, and borrowed of the vizier, +but yet the work was not half done. + +Aladdin, who knew that all the sultan's endeavors to make this window +like the rest were in vain, sent for the jewelers and goldsmiths, and +not only commanded them to desist from their work, but ordered them to +undo what they had begun, and to carry all their jewels back to the +sultan and to the vizier. They undid in a few hours what they had been +six weeks about, and retired, leaving Aladdin alone in the hall. He +took the lamp which he carried about him, rubbed it, and presently the +genie appeared. "Genie," said Aladdin, "I ordered thee to leave one of +the four and twenty windows of this hall imperfect, and thou hast +executed my commands punctually; now I would have thee make it like the +rest." The genie immediately disappeared. Aladdin went out of the hall, +and returning soon after, found the window, as he wished it to be, like +the others. + +In the meantime, the jewelers and goldsmiths repaired to the palace, +and were introduced into the sultan's presence; where the chief +jeweler, presenting the precious stones which he had brought back, +said, in the name of all the rest, "Your Majesty knows how long we have +been upon the work you were pleased to set us about, in which we used +all imaginable industry. It was far advanced, when prince Aladdin +commanded us not only to leave off, but to undo what we had already +begun, and bring your Majesty your jewels back." The sultan asked them +if Aladdin had given them any reason for so doing, and they answering +that he had given them none, he ordered a horse to be brought, which he +mounted, and rode to his son-in-law's palace, with some few attendants +on foot. When he came there, he alighted at the staircase, which led up +to the hall with the twenty-four windows, and went directly up to it, +without giving previous notice to Aladdin; but it happened that at that +very juncture Aladdin was opportunely there, and had just time to +receive him at the door. + +The sultan, without giving Aladdin time to complain obligingly of his +not having given notice, that he might have acquitted himself with the +more becoming respect, said to him, "Son, I come myself to know the +reason why you commanded the jewelers to desist from work, and take to +pieces what they had done." + +Aladdin disguised the true reason, which was, that the sultan was not +rich enough in jewels to be at so great an expense, but said, "I beg of +you now to see if anything is wanting." + +The sultan went directly to the window which was left imperfect, and +when he found it like the rest, fancied that he was mistaken, examined +the two windows on each side, and afterwards all the four and twenty; +but when he was convinced that the window which several workmen had +been so long about was finished in so short a time, he embraced +Aladdin, and kissed him between his eyes. "My son," said he, "what a +man you are to do such surprising things always in the twinkling of an +eye: there is not your fellow in the world; the more I know, the more I +admire you." + +Aladdin received these praises from the sultan with modesty, and +replied in these words--"Sir, it is a great honor to me to deserve your +Majesty's good-will and approbation, and I assure you, I shall study to +deserve them more." + +The sultan returned to his palace, but would not let Aladdin attend +him. When he came there, he found his grand vizier waiting, to whom he +related the wonder he had witnessed, with the utmost admiration, and in +such terms as left the minister no room to doubt but that the fact was +as the sultan related it; though he was the more confirmed in his +belief, that Aladdin's palace was the effect of enchantment, as he had +told the sultan the first moment he saw it. He was going to repeat the +observation, but the sultan interrupted him and said, "You told me so +once before; I see, vizier, you have not forgotten your son's espousals +to my daughter." The grand vizier plainly saw how much the sultan was +prepossessed, therefore avoided disputes, and let him remain in his own +opinion. The sultan as soon as he rose every morning went into the +closet to look at Aladdin's palace, and would go many times in a day to +contemplate and admire it. + +Aladdin did not confine himself in his palace; but took care to show +himself once or twice a week in the town, by going sometimes to one +mosque, and sometimes to another, to prayers, or to visit the grand +vizier, who affected to pay his court to him on certain days, or to do +the principal lords of the court the honor to return their visits after +he had regaled them at his palace. Every time he went out, he caused +two slaves, who walked by the side of his horse, to throw handfuls of +money among the people as he passed through the streets and squares, +which were generally on those occasions crowded. Besides, no one came +to his palace gates to ask alms but returned satisfied with his +liberality. In short, he so divided his time, that not a week passed +but he went either once or twice a-hunting, sometimes in the environs +of the city, sometimes farther off; at which time the villages through +which he passed felt the effects of his generosity, which gained him +the love and blessings of the people: and it was common for them to +swear by his head. Thus, without giving the least umbrage to the +sultan, to whom he paid all imaginable respect, Aladdin, by his affable +behavior and liberality, had won the affections of the people, and was +more beloved than the sultan himself. With all these good qualities he +showed a courage and a zeal for the public good which could not be +sufficiently applauded. He gave sufficient proofs of both in a revolt +on the borders of the kingdom; for he no sooner understood that the +sultan was levying an army to disperse the rebels than he begged the +command of it, which he found not difficult to obtain. As soon as he +was empowered, he marched with so much expedition, that the sultan +heard of the defeat of the rebels before he had received an account of +his arrival in the army. And though this action rendered his name +famous throughout the kingdom, it made no alteration in his +disposition; but he was as affable after his victory as before. + +Aladdin had conducted himself in this manner several years, when the +African magician, who undesignedly had been the instrument of raising +him to so high a pitch of prosperity, recalled him to his recollection +in Africa, whither, after his expedition, he had returned. And though +he was almost persuaded that Aladdin must have died miserably in the +subterraneous abode where he had left him, yet he had the curiosity to +inform himself about his end with certainty; and as he was a great +geomancer, he took out of a cupboard a square covered box, which he +used in his geomantic observations: then sat himself down on his sofa, +set it before him, and uncovered it. After he had prepared and leveled +the sand which was in it, with an intention to discover whether or no +Aladdin had died in the subterraneous abode, he cast the points, drew +the figures, and formed a horoscope, by which, when he came to examine +it, he found that Aladdin, instead of dying in the cave, had made his +escape, lived splendidly, was in possession of the wonderful lamp, had +married a princess, and was much honored and respected. + +The magician no sooner understood by the rules of his diabolical art, +that Aladdin had arrived to this height of good fortune, than his face +became inflamed with anger, and he cried out in a rage, "This sorry +tailor's son has discovered the secret and virtue of the lamp! I +believed his death to be certain, but find that he enjoys the fruit of +my labor and study! I will, however, prevent his enjoying it long, or +perish in the attempt." He was not a great while deliberating on what +he should do, but the next morning mounted a barb, set forwards, and +never stopped but to refresh himself and horse, till he arrived at the +capital of China. He alighted, took up his lodging in a khan, and +stayed there the remainder of the day and the night, to refresh himself +after so long a journey. + +The next day, his first object was to inquire what people said of +Aladdin; and, taking a walk through the town, he went to the most +public and frequented places, where persons of the best distinction met +to drink a certain warm liquor, which he had drunk often during his +former visit. As soon as he had seated himself, he was presented with a +cup of it, which he took; but listening at the same time to the +discourse of the company on each side of him, he heard them talking of +Aladdin's palace. When he had drunk off his liquor, he joined them, and +taking this opportunity, inquired particularly of what palace they +spoke with so much commendation. "From whence come you?" said the +person to whom he addressed himself; "you must certainly be a stranger +not to have seen or heard of prince Aladdin's palace (for he was called +so after his marriage with the princess). I do not say," continued the +man, "that it is one of the wonders of the world, but that it is the +only wonder of the world; since nothing so grand, rich, and magnificent +was ever beheld. Certainly you must have come from a great distance, or +some obscure corner, not to have heard of it, for it must have been +talked of all over the world. Go and see it, and then judge whether I +have told you more than the truth." "Forgive my ignorance," replied the +African magician; "I arrived here but yesterday, and came from the +farthest part of Africa, where the fame of this palace had not reached +when I came away. The business which brought me hither was so urgent, +that my sole object was to arrive as soon as I could, without stopping +anywhere, or making any acquaintance. But I will not fail to go and see +it; my impatience is so great, I will go immediately and satisfy my +curiosity, if you will do me a favor to show me the way thither." + +The person to whom the African magician addressed himself took a +pleasure in showing him the way to Aladdin's palace, and he got up and +went thither instantly. When he came to the palace, and had examined it +on all sides, he doubted not but Aladdin had made use of the lamp to +build it. Without attending to the inability of a poor tailor's son, he +knew that none but the genii, the slaves of the lamp, the attaining of +which he had missed, could have performed such wonders; and piqued to +the quick at Aladdin's happiness and splendor, he returned to the khan +where he lodged. + +The next point was to ascertain where the lamp was; whether Aladdin +carried it about with him, or where he kept it; and this he was to +discover by an operation of geomancy. As soon as he entered his +lodging, he took his square box of sand, which he always carried with +him when he traveled, and after he had performed some operations, he +found that the lamp was in Aladdin's palace, and so great was his joy +at the discovery that he could hardly contain himself. "Well," said he, +"I shall have the lamp, and I defy Aladdin's preventing my carrying it +off, and making him sink to his original meanness, from which he has +taken so high a flight." + +It was Aladdin's misfortune at that time to be absent in the chase for +eight days, and only three were expired, which the magician came to +know by this means. After he had performed the magical operation, which +gave him so much joy, he went to the superintendent of the khan, +entered into conversation with him on indifferent subjects, and among +the rest, told him he had been to see Aladdin's palace; and after +exaggerating on all that he, had seen most worthy of observation, +added, "But my curiosity leads me farther, and I shall not be satisfied +till I have seen the person to whom this wonderful edifice belongs." +"That will be no difficult matter," replied the master of the khan; +"there is not a day passes but he gives an opportunity when he is in +town, but at present he is not at the palace, and has been gone these +three days on a hunting-match, which will last eight." + +The magician wanted to know no more; he took his leave of the +superintendent of the khan, and returning to his own chamber, said to +himself, "This is an opportunity I ought by no means to neglect, but +must make the best use of it." To that end, he went to a coppersmith, +and asked for a dozen copper lamps: the master of the shop told him he +had not so many by him, but if he would have patience till the next +day, he would have them ready. The magician appointed his time, and +desired him to take care that they should be handsome and well +polished. After promising to pay him well, he returned to his inn. + +The next day the magician called for the twelve lamps, paid the man his +full price, put them into a basket which he bought on purpose, and with +the basket hanging on his arm, went directly to Aladdin's palace; as he +approached he began crying, "Who will change old lamps for new ones?" +As he went along, a crowd of children collected, who hooted, and +thought him, as did all who chanced to be passing by, a madman or a +fool, to offer to change new lamps for old ones. + +The African magician regarded not their scoffs, hootings, or all they +could say to him, but still continued crying, "Who will change old +lamps for new?" He repeated this so often, walking backwards and +forwards in front of the palace, that the princess, who was then in the +hall with the four-and-twenty windows, hearing a man cry something, and +not being able to distinguish his words, owing to the hooting of the +children and increasing mob about him, sent one of her women slaves to +know what he cried. + +The slave was not long before she returned, and ran into the hall, +laughing so heartily, that the princess could not forbear herself. +"Well, giggler," said the princess, "will you tell me what you laugh +at?" "Madam," answered the slave, laughing still, "who can forbear +laughing, to see a fool with a basket on his arm, full of fine new +lamps, ask to change them for old ones; the children and mob, crowding +about him so that he can hardly stir, make all the noise they can in +derision of him." + +Another female slave hearing this said, "Now you speak of lamps, I know +not whether the princess may have observed it, but there is an old one +upon a shelf of the prince's robing-room, and whoever owns it will not +be sorry to find a new one in its stead. If the princess chooses, she +may have the pleasure of trying if this fool is so silly as to give a +new lamp for an old one, without taking anything for the exchange." + +The lamp this slave spoke of was the wonderful lamp, which Aladdin had +laid upon the shelf before he departed for the chase: this he had done +several times before; but neither the princess, the slaves, nor the +eunuchs had ever taken notice of it. At all other times except when +hunting he carried it about his person. + +The princess, who knew not the value of this lamp, and the interest +that Aladdin, not to mention herself, had to keep it safe, entered into +the pleasantry, and commanded a eunuch to take it, and make the +exchange. The eunuch obeyed, went out of the hall, and no sooner got to +the palace gates than he saw the African magician, called to him, and +showing him the old lamp, said, "Give me a new lamp for this." + +The magician never doubted but this was the lamp he wanted. There could +be no other such in this palace, where every utensil was gold or +silver. He snatched it eagerly out of the eunuch's hand, and thrusting +it as far as he could into his breast, offered him his basket, and bade +him choose which he liked best. The eunuch picked out one, and carried +it to the princess; but the exchange was no sooner made than the place +rang with the shouts of the children, deriding the magician's folly. + +The African magician gave everybody leave to laugh as much as they +pleased; he stayed not long near the palace, but made the best of his +way, without crying any longer, "New lamps for old ones." His end was +answered, and by his silence he got rid of the children and the mob. + +As soon as he was out of the square between the two palaces, he +hastened down the streets which were the least frequented; and having +no more occasion for his lamps or basket, set all down in an alley +where nobody saw him: then going down another street or two, he walked +till he came to one of the city gates, and pursuing his way through the +suburbs, which were very extensive, at length reached a lonely spot, +where he stopped for a time to execute the design he had in +contemplation, never caring for his horse which he had left at the +khan; but thinking himself perfectly compensated by the treasure he had +acquired. In this place the African magician passed the remainder of +the day, till the darkest time of night, when he pulled the lamp out of +his breast and rubbed it. At that summons the genie appeared, and said, +"What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the +slave of all those who have that lamp in their hands; both I and the +other slaves of the lamp." "I command thee," replied the magician, "to +transport me immediately and the palace which thou and the other slaves +of the lamp have built in this city, with all the people in it, to +Africa." The genie made no reply, but with the assistance of the other +genii, the slaves of the lamp immediately transported him and the +palace entire, to the spot whither he was desired to convey it. + +As soon as the sultan rose the next morning, according to custom he +went into his closet, to have the pleasure of contemplating and +admiring Aladdin's palace; but when he first looked that way, and +instead of a palace saw an empty space such as it was before the palace +was built, he thought he was mistaken, and rubbed his eyes; but when he +looked again, he saw nothing more the second time than the first, +though the weather was fine, the sky clear, and the dawn advancing had +made all objects very distinct. He looked again in front, to the right +and left, but beheld nothing more than he had formerly been used to see +from his window. His amazement was so great, that he stood for some +time turning his eyes to the spot where the palace had stood, but where +it was no longer to be seen. He could not comprehend how so large a +palace as Aladdin's, which he had seen plainly every day for some +years, and but the day before, should vanish so soon, and not leave the +least remains behind. "Certainly," said he to himself, "I am not +mistaken; it stood there: if it had fallen, the materials would have +lain in heaps; and if it had been swallowed up by an earthquake, there +would be some mark left." At last, though he was convinced that no +palace stood now opposite his own, he could not help staying some time +at his window, to see whether he might not be mistaken. At last he +retired to his apartment, not without looking behind him before he +quitted the spot, ordered the grand vizier to be sent for with +expedition, and in the meantime sat down, his mind agitated by so many +different conjectures that he knew not what to resolve. + +The grand vizier did not make the sultan wait long for him, but came +with so much precipitation, that neither he nor his attendants, as they +passed, missed Aladdin's palace; neither did the porters, when they +opened the palace gates, observe any alteration. + +When he came into the sultan's presence, he said to him, "The haste in +which your Majesty sent for me, makes me believe something +extraordinary has happened, since you know this is a day of public +audience, and I should not have failed of attending at the usual time." +"Indeed," said the sultan, "it is something very extraordinary, as you +say, and you will allow it to be so: tell me what is become of +Aladdin's palace?" "His palace!" replied the grand vizier, in +amazement, "I thought as I passed it stood in its usual place; such +substantial buildings are not so easily removed." + +"Go into my closet," said the sultan, "and tell me if you can see it." + +The grand vizier went into the closet, where he was struck with no less +amazement than the sultan had been. When he was well assured that there +was not the least appearance of the palace, he returned to the sultan. +"Well," said the sultan, "have you seen Aladdin's palace?" "No," +answered the vizier, "but your Majesty may remember, that I had the +honor to tell you, that palace, which was the subject of your +admiration, with all its immense riches, was only the work of magic and +a magician; but your Majesty would not pay the least attention to what +I said." + +The sultan, who could not deny what the grand vizier had represented to +him, flew into the greater passion: "Where is that impostor, that +wicked wretch," said he, "that I may have his head taken off +immediately?" "Sir," replied the grand vizier, "it is some days since +he came to take his leave of your Majesty, on pretense of hunting; he +ought to be sent for, to know what is become of his palace, since he +cannot be ignorant of what has been transacted." "That is too great an +indulgence," replied the sultan: "command a detachment of horse to +bring him to me loaded with chains." The grand vizier gave orders for a +detachment, and instructed the officer who commanded them how they were +to act, that Aladdin might not escape. The detachment pursued their +orders; and about five or six leagues from the town met him returning +from the chase. The officer advanced respectfully, and informed him the +sultan was so impatient to see him, that he had sent his party to +accompany him home. + +Aladdin had not the least suspicion of the true reason of their meeting +him; but when he came within half a league of the city, the detachment +surrounded him, when the officer addressed himself to him, and said, +"Prince, it is with great regret that I declare to you the sultan's +order to arrest you, and to carry you before him as a criminal: I beg +of you not to take it ill that we acquit ourselves of our duty, and to +forgive us." + +Aladdin, who felt himself innocent, was much surprised at this +declaration, and asked the officer if he knew what crime he was accused +of; who replied, he did not. Then Aladdin, finding that his retinue was +much inferior to this detachment, alighted off his horse, and said to +the officers, "Execute your orders; I am not conscious that I have +committed any offense against the sultan's person or government." A +heavy chain was immediately put about his neck, and fastened round his +body, so that both his arms were pinioned down; the officer then put +himself at the head of the detachment, and one of the troopers taking +hold of the end of the chain and proceeding after the officer, led +Aladdin, who was obliged to follow him on foot, into the city. + +When this detachment entered the suburbs, the people, who saw Aladdin +thus led as a state criminal, never doubted but that his head was to be +cut off; and as he was generally beloved, some took sabers and other +arms; and those who had none gathered stones, and followed the escort. +The last division faced about to disperse them; but their numbers +presently increased so much, that the soldiery began to think it would +be well if they could get into the sultan's palace before Aladdin was +rescued; to prevent which, according to the different extent of the +streets, they took care to cover the ground by extending or closing. In +this manner they with much difficulty arrived at the palace square, and +there drew up in a line, till their officers and troopers with Aladdin +had got within the gates, which were immediately shut. + +Aladdin was carried before the sultan, who waited for him, attended by +the grand vizier, in a balcony; and as soon as he saw him, he ordered +the executioner, who waited there for the purpose, to strike off his +head without hearing him, or giving him leave to clear himself. + +As soon as the executioner had taken off the chain that was fastened +about Aladdin's neck and body, and laid down a skin stained with the +blood of the many he had executed, he made the supposed criminal kneel +down, and tied a bandage over his eyes. Then drawing his saber, he took +his aim by flourishing it three times in the air, waiting for the +sultan's giving the signal to strike. + +At that instant the grand vizier, perceiving that the populace had +forced the guard of horse, crowded the great square before the palace, +and were scaling the walls in several places, and beginning to pull +them down to force their way in, said to the sultan, before he gave the +signal, "I beg of your Majesty to consider what you are going to do, +since you will hazard your palace being destroyed; and who knows what +fatal consequence may follow?" "My palace forced!'" replied the sultan; +"who can have that audacity?" "Sir," answered the grand vizier, "if +your Majesty will but cast your eyes towards the great square, and on +the palace walls, you will perceive the truth of what I say." + +The sultan was so much alarmed when he saw so great a crowd, and how +enraged they were, that he ordered the executioner to put his saber +immediately into the scabbard, to unbind Aladdin, and at the same time +commanded the porters to declare to the people that the sultan had +pardoned him, and that they might retire. + +Those who had already got upon the walls, and were witnesses of what +had passed, abandoned their design and got quickly down, overjoyed that +they had saved the life of a man they dearly loved, and published the +news amongst the rest, which was presently confirmed by the mace- +bearers from the top of the terraces. The justice which the sultan had +done to Aladdin soon disarmed the populace of their rage; the tumult +abated, and the mob dispersed. + +When Aladdin found himself at liberty, he turned towards the balcony, +and perceiving the sultan, raised his voice, and said to him in a +moving manner, "I beg of your Majesty to add one favor more to that +which I have already received, which is, to let me know my crime." +"Your crime!" answered the sultan; "perfidious wretch! do you not know +it? Come hither, and I will show it you." + +Aladdin went up, when the sultan, going before him without looking at +him, said, "Follow me;" and then led him into his closet. When he came +to the door, he said, "Go in; you ought to know whereabouts your palace +stood: look round and tell me what is become of it." + +Aladdin looked, but saw nothing. He perceived the spot upon which his +palace had stood; but not being able to divine how it had disappeared, +was thrown into such great confusion and amazement, that he could not +return one word of answer. + +The sultan growing impatient, demanded of him again, "Where is your +palace, and what is become of my daughter?" Aladdin breaking silence, +replied, "Sir, I perceive and own that the palace which I have built is +not in its place, but is vanished; neither can I tell your Majesty +where it may be, but can assure you I had no concern in its removal." + +"I am not so much concerned about your palace," replied the sultan; "I +value my daughter ten thousand times more, and would have you find her +out, otherwise I will cause your head to be struck off, and no +consideration shall divert me from my purpose." + +"I beg of your Majesty," answered Aladdin, "to grant me forty days to +make my inquiries; and if in that time I have not the success I wish, I +will offer my head at the foot of your throne, to be disposed of at +your pleasure." "I give you the forty days you ask," said the sultan; +"but think not to abuse the favor I show you, by imagining you shall +escape my resentment; for I will find you out in whatsoever part of the +world you may conceal yourself." + +Aladdin went out of the sultan's presence with great humiliation, and +in a condition worthy of pity. He crossed the courts of the palace, +hanging down his head, and in such great confusion, that he durst not +lift up his eyes. The principal officers of the court, who had all +professed themselves his friends, and whom he had never disobliged, +instead of going up to him to comfort him, and offer him a retreat in +their houses, turned their backs to avoid seeing him. But had they +accosted him with a word of comfort or offer of service, they would +have no more known Aladdin. He did not know himself, and was no longer +in his senses, as plainly appeared by his asking everybody he met, and +at every house, if they had seen his palace, or could tell him any news +of it. + +These questions made the generality believe that Aladdin was mad. Some +laughed at him, but people of sense and humanity, particularly those +who had had any connection of business or friendship with him, really +pitied him. For three days he rambled about the city in this manner, +without coming to any resolution, or eating anything but what some +compassionate people forced him to take out of charity. + +At last, as he could no longer in his unhappy condition stay in a city +where he had lately been next to the sultan, he took the road to the +country; and after he had traversed several fields in wild uncertainty, +at the approach of night came to the bank of a river. There, possessed +by his despair, he said to himself, "Where shall I seek my palace? In +what province, country, or part of the world, shall I find that and my +dear princess, whom the sultan expects from me? I shall never succeed: +I had better free myself at once from fruitless endeavors, and such +bitter grief as preys upon me." He was just going to throw himself into +the river, but, as a good Moosulmaun, true to his religion, he thought +he should not do it without first saying his prayers. Going to prepare +himself, he went to the river's brink, in order to perform the usual +ablutions. The place being steep and slippery, from the water's beating +against it, he slid down, and had certainly fallen into the river, but +for a little rock which projected about two feet out of the earth. +Happily also for him he still had on the ring which the African +magician had put on his finger before he went down into the +subterraneous abode to fetch the precious lamp. In slipping down the +bank he rubbed the ring so hard by holding on the rock, that +immediately the same genie appeared whom he had seen in the cave where +the magician had left him. "What wouldst thou have?" said the genie. "I +am ready to obey thee as thy slave, and the slave of all those that +have that ring on their finger; both I and the other slaves of the +ring." + +Aladdin, agreeably surprised at an apparition he so little expected in +his present calamity, replied, "Save my life, genie, a second time, +either by showing me to the place where the palace I caused to be built +now stands, or immediately transporting it back where it first stood." +"What you command me," answered the genie, "is not wholly in my power: +I am only the slave of the ring; you must address yourself to the slave +of the lamp." "If that be the case," replied Aladdin, "I command thee, +by the power of the ring, to transport me to the spot where my palace +stands, in what part of the world soever it may be, and set me down +under the window of the princess Buddir al Buddoor." These words were +no sooner out of his mouth, than the genie transported him into Africa, +to the midst of a large plain, where his palace stood, at no great +distance from a city, and placing him exactly under the window of the +princess's apartment, left him. All this was done almost in an instant. + +Aladdin, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, knew his palace and +the princess Buddir al Buddoor's apartment again; but as the night was +far advanced, and all was quiet in the palace, he retired to some +distance, and sat down at the foot of a large tree. There, full of +hopes, and reflecting on his happiness, for which he was indebted to +chance, he found himself in a much more comfortable situation than when +he was arrested and carried before the sultan; being now delivered from +the immediate danger of losing his life. He amused himself for some +time with these agreeable thoughts; but not having slept for two days, +was not able to resist the drowsiness which came upon him, but fell +fast asleep. + +The next morning, as soon as day appeared, Aladdin was agreeably +awakened by the singing not only of the birds which had roosted in the +tree under which he had passed the night, but also of those which +frequented the thick groves of the palace garden. When he cast his eyes +on that wonderful edifice, he felt inexpressible joy at thinking he +might possibly soon be master of it again, and once more possess his +dear princess Buddir al Buddoor. Pleased with these hopes, he +immediately arose, went towards the princess's apartment, and walked +some time under the window in expectation of her rising, that he might +see her. During this expectation, he began to consider with himself +whence the cause of his misfortune had proceeded; and after mature +reflection, no longer doubted that it was owing to having trusted the +lamp out of his sight. He accused himself of negligence in letting it +be a moment away from him. But what puzzled him most was, that he could +not imagine who had been so envious of his happiness. He would soon +have guessed this, if he had known that both he and his palace were in +Africa, the very name of which would soon have made him remember the +magician, his declared enemy; but the genie, the slave of the ring, had +not made the least mention of the name of the country, nor had Aladdin +inquired. + +The princess rose earlier that morning than she had done since her +transportation into Africa by the magician, whose presence she was +forced to support once a day, because he was master of the palace; but +she had always treated him so harshly that he dared not reside in it. +As she was dressing, one of the women looking through the window +perceived Aladdin, and instantly told her mistress. The princess, who +could not believe the joyful tidings, hastened herself to the window, +and seeing Aladdin, immediately opened it. The noise of opening the +window made Aladdin turn his head that way, and perceiving the princess +he saluted her with an air that expressed his joy. "To lose no time," +said she to him, "I have sent to have the private door opened for you; +enter, and come up." + +The private door, which was just under the princess's apartment, was +soon opened, and Aladdin conducted up into the chamber. It is +impossible to express the joy of both at seeing each other, after so +cruel a separation. After embracing and shedding tears of joy, they sat +down, and Aladdin said, "I beg of you, princess, in God's name, before +we talk of anything else, to tell me, both for your own sake, the +sultan your father's, and mine, what is become of an old lamp which I +left upon a shelf in my robing-chamber, when I departed for the chase." + +"Alas! dear husband," answered the princess, "I was afraid our +misfortune might be owing to that lamp: and what grieves me most is, +that I have been the cause of it." "Princess," replied Aladdin, "do not +blame yourself, since it was entirely my fault, for I ought to have +taken more care of it. But let us now think only of repairing the loss; +tell me what has happened, and into whose hands it has fallen." + +The princess then related how she had changed the old lamp for a new +one, which she ordered to be fetched, that he might see it, and how the +next morning she found herself in the unknown country they were then +in, which she was told was Africa, by the traitor who had transported +her thither by his magic art. + +"Princess," said Aladdin, interrupting her, "you have informed me who +the traitor is, by telling me we are in Africa. He is the most +perfidious of men; but this is neither a time nor place to give you a +full account of his villainies. I desire you only to tell me what he +has done with the lamp, and where he has put it." "He carries it +carefully wrapped up in his bosom," said the princess; "and this I can +assure you, because he pulled it out before me, and showed it to me in +triumph." + +"Princess," said Aladdin, "do not be displeased that I trouble you with +so many questions, since they are equally important to us both. But to +come to what most particularly concerns me; tell me, I conjure you, how +so wicked and perfidious a man treats you." "Since I have been here," +replied the princess, "he repairs once every day to see me; and I am +persuaded the little satisfaction he receives from his visits makes him +come no oftener. All his addresses tend to persuade me to break that +faith I have pledged to you, and to take him for my husband; giving me +to understand, I need not entertain hopes of ever seeing you again, for +that you were dead, having had your head struck off by the sultan my +father's order. He added, to justify himself, that you were an +ungrateful wretch; that your good fortune was owing to him, and a great +many other things of that nature which I forbear to repeat: but as he +received no other answer from me but grievous complaints and tears, he +was always forced to retire with as little satisfaction as he came. I +doubt not his intention is to allow me time to overcome my grief, in +hopes that afterwards I may change my sentiments; and if I persevere in +an obstinate refusal, to use violence. But my dear husband's presence +removes all my apprehensions." + +"I am confident my attempts to punish the magician will not be in +vain," replied Aladdin, "since my princess's fears are removed, and I +think I have found the means to deliver you from both your enemy and +mine; to execute this design, it is necessary for me to go to the town. +I shall return by noon, and will then communicate my design and what +must be done by you to insure success. But that you may not be +surprised, I think it proper to acquaint you that I shall change my +apparel, and beg of you to give orders that I may not wait long at the +private door, but that it may be opened at the first knock:" all which +the princess promised to observe. + +When Aladdin was out of the palace, he looked round him on all sides, +and perceiving a peasant going into the country, hastened after him; +and when he had overtaken him, made a proposal to him to change habits, +which the man agreed to. When they had made the exchange, the +countryman went about his business, and Aladdin to the city. After +traversing several streets, he came to that part of the town where all +descriptions of merchants and artisans had their particular streets, +according to their trades. He went into that of the druggists; and +going into one of the largest and best-furnished shops, asked the +druggist if he had a certain powder which he named. + +The druggist, judging Aladdin by his habit to be very poor, and that he +had not money enough to pay for it, told him he had it, but that it was +very dear; upon which Aladdin, penetrating his thoughts, pulled out his +purse, and showing him some gold, asked for half a dram of the powder; +which the druggist weighed, wrapped up in paper, and gave him, telling +him the price was a piece of gold. Aladdin put the money into his hand, +and staying no longer in the town than just to get a little +refreshment, returned to the palace, where he waited not long at the +private door. When he came into the princess's apartment, he said to +her, "Princess, perhaps the aversion you tell me you have for your +ravisher may be an objection to your executing what I am going to +propose; but permit me to say it is proper that you should at this +juncture dissemble a little, and do violence to your inclinations, if +you would deliver yourself from him, and give my lord the sultan your +father the satisfaction of seeing you again. + +"If you will take my advice," continued he, "dress yourself this moment +in one of your richest habits, and when the African magician comes, +make no difficulty to give him the best reception; receive him with a +cheerful countenance, so that he may imagine time has removed your +affliction and disgust at his addresses. In your conversation, let him +understand that you strive to forget me; and that he may be the more +fully convinced of your sincerity, invite him to sup with you, and tell +him you should be glad to taste of some of the best wines of his +country. He will presently go to fetch you some. During his absence, +put into one of the cups you are accustomed to drink out of this +powder, and setting it by, charge the slave you may order that night to +attend you, on a signal you shall agree upon, to bring that cup to you. +When the magician and you have eaten and drunk as much as you choose, +let her bring you the cup, and then change cups with him. He will +esteem it so great a favor that he will not refuse, but eagerly quaff +it off; but no sooner will he have drunk, than you will see him fall +backwards. If you have any reluctance to drink out of his cup, you may +pretend only to do it, without fear of being discovered; for the effect +of the powder is so quick, that he will not have time to know whether +you drink or not." + +When Aladdin had finished, "I own," answered the princess, "I shall do +myself great violence in consenting to make the magician such advances +as I see are absolutely necessary; but what cannot one resolve to do +against a cruel enemy? I will therefore follow your advice, since both +my repose and yours depend upon it." After the princess had agreed to +the measures proposed by Aladdin, he took his leave, and went and spent +the rest of the day in the neighborhood of the palace till it was +night, and he might safely return to the private door. + +The princess, who had remained inconsolable at being separated not only +from her husband, whom she had loved from the first moment, and still +continued to love more out of inclination than duty, but also from the +sultan her father, who had always shown the most tender and paternal +affection for her, had, ever since their cruel separation, lived in +great neglect of her person. She had almost forgotten the neatness so +becoming persons of her sex and quality, particularly after the first +time the magician paid her a visit; and she had understood by some of +the women, who knew him again, that it was he who had taken the old +lamp in exchange for a new one, which rendered the sight of him more +abhorred. However, the opportunity of taking the revenge he deserved +made her resolve to gratify Aladdin. As soon, therefore, as he was +gone, she sat down to dress, and was attired by her women to the best +advantage in the richest habit of her wardrobe. Her girdle was of the +finest and largest diamonds set in gold, her necklace of pearls, six on +a side, so well proportioned to that in the middle, which was the +largest ever seen, and invaluable, that the greatest sultanesses would +have been proud to have been adorned with only two of the smallest. Her +bracelets, which were of diamonds and rubies intermixed, corresponded +admirably to the richness of the girdle and necklace. + +When the princess Buddir al Buddoor was completely dressed, she +consulted her glass and women upon her adjustment; and when she found +she wanted no charms to flatter the foolish passion of the African +magician, she sat down on a sofa expecting his arrival. + +The magician came at the usual hour, and as soon as he entered the +great hall where the princess waited to receive him, she rose with an +enchanting grace and smile, and pointed with her hand to the most +honorable place, waiting till he sat down, that she might sit at the +same time, which was a civility she had never shown him before. + +The African magician, dazzled more with the luster of the princess's +eyes than the glittering of the jewels with which she was adorned, was +much surprised. The smiling and graceful air with which she received +him, so opposite to her former behavior, quite fascinated his heart. + +When he was seated, the princess, to free him from his embarrassment, +broke silence first, looking at him all the time in such a manner as to +make him believe that he was not so odious to her as she had given him +to understand hitherto, and said, "You are doubtless amazed to find me +so much altered today; but your surprise will not be so great when I +acquaint you, that I am naturally of a disposition so opposite to +melancholy and grief, sorrow and uneasiness, that I always strive to +put them as far away as possible when I find the subject of them is +past. I have reflected on what you told me of Aladdin's fate, and know +my father's temper so well, that I am persuaded with you he could not +escape the terrible effects of the sultan's rage: therefore, should I +continue to lament him all my life, my tears cannot recall him. For +this reason, since I have paid all the duties decency requires of me to +his memory, now he is in the grave I think I ought to endeavor to +comfort myself. These are the motives of the change you see in me; I am +resolved to banish melancholy entirely; and, persuaded that you will +bear me company tonight, I have ordered a supper to be prepared; but as +I have no wines but those of China, I have a great desire to taste of +the produce of Africa, and doubt not your procuring some of the best." + +The African magician, who had looked upon the happiness of getting so +soon and so easily into the princess Buddir al Buddoor's good graces as +impossible, could not think of words expressive enough to testify how +sensible he was of her favor: but to put an end the sooner to a +conversation which would have embarrassed him, if he had engaged +farther in it, he turned it upon the wines of Africa, and said, "Of all +the advantages Africa can boast, that of producing the most excellent +wines is one of the principal. I have a vessel of seven years old, +which has never been broached; and it is indeed not praising it too +much to say it is the finest wine in the world. If my princess," added +he, "will give me leave, I will go and fetch two bottles, and return +again immediately." "I should be sorry to give you that trouble," +replied the princess; "you had better send for them." "It is necessary +I should go myself," answered the African magician; "for nobody but +myself knows where the key of the cellar is laid, or has the secret to +unlock the door." "If it be so," said the princess, "make haste back; +for the longer you stay, the greater will be my impatience, and we +shall sit down to supper as soon as you return." + +The African magician, full of hopes of his expected happiness, rather +flew than ran, and returned quickly with the wine. The princess, not +doubting but he would make haste, put with her own hand the powder +Aladdin had given her into the cup set apart for that purpose. They sat +down at the table opposite to each other, the magician's back towards +the beaufet. The princess presented him with the best at the table, and +said to him, "If you please, I will entertain you with a concert of +vocal and instrumental music; but as we are only two, I think +conversation may be more agreeable." This the magician took as a new +favor. + +After they had eaten some time, the princess called for some wine, +drank the magician's health, and afterwards said to him, "Indeed you +had a full right to commend your wine, since I never tasted any so +delicious." "Charming princess," said he, holding in his hand the cup +which had been presented to him, "my wine becomes more exquisite by +your approbation." "Then drink my health," replied the princess; "you +will find I understand wines." He drank the princess's health, and +returning the cup, said, "I think myself fortunate, princess, that I +reserved this wine for so happy an occasion; and own I never before +drank any in every respect so excellent." + +When they had each drunk two or three cups more, the princess, who had +completely charmed the African magician by her civility and obliging +behavior, gave the signal to the slave who served them with wine, +bidding her bring the cup which had been filled for herself, and at the +same time bring the magician a full goblet. When they both had their +cups in their hands, she said to him, "I know not how you express your +loves in these parts when drinking together? With us in China the lover +and his mistress reciprocally exchange cups, and drink each other's +health:" at the same time she presented to him the cup which was in her +hand, and held out her hand to receive his. He hastened to make the +exchange with the more pleasure, because he looked upon this favor as +the most certain token of an entire conquest over the princess, which +raised his rapture to the highest pitch. Before he drank, he said to +her, with the cup in his hand, "Indeed, princess, we Africans are not +so refined in the art of love as you Chinese: and your instructing me +in a lesson I was ignorant of, informs me how sensible I ought to be of +the favor done me. I shall never, lovely princess, forget my +recovering, by drinking out of your cup, that life, which your cruelty, +had it continued, must have made me despair of." + +The princess, who began to be tired with this impertinent declaration +of the African magician, interrupted him, and said, "Let us drink +first, and then say what you will afterwards;" at the same time she set +the cup to her lips, while the African magician, who was eager to get +his wine off first, drank up the very last drop. In finishing it, he +had reclined his head back to show his eagerness, and remained some +time in that state. The princess kept the cup at her lips, till she saw +his eyes turn in his head, when he fell backwards lifeless on the sofa. + +The princess had no occasion to order the private door to be opened to +Aladdin; for her women were so disposed from the great hall to the foot +of the staircase, that the word was no sooner given that the African +magician was fallen backwards, than the door was immediately opened. + +As soon as Aladdin entered the hall, he saw the magician stretched +backwards on the sofa. The princess rose from her seat, and ran +overjoyed to embrace him; but he stopped her, and said, "Princess, it +is not yet time; oblige me by retiring to your apartment; and let me be +left alone a moment, while I endeavor to transport you back to China as +speedily as you were brought from thence." + +When the princess, her women and eunuchs, were gone out of the hall, +Aladdin shut the door, and going directly to the dead body of the +magician, opened his vest, took out the lamp which was carefully +wrapped up, as the princess had told him, and unfolding and rubbing it, +the genie immediately appeared. "Genie," said Aladdin, "I have called +to command thee, on the part of thy good mistress this lamp, to +transport this palace instantly into China, to the place from whence it +was brought hither." The genie bowed his head in token of obedience, +and disappeared. Immediately the palace was transported into China, and +its removal was only felt by two little shocks, the one when it was +lifted up, the other when it was set down, and both in a very short +interval of time. + +Aladdin went to the princess's apartment, and embracing her, said, "I +can assure you, princess, that your joy and mine will be complete +tomorrow morning." The princess, guessing that Aladdin must be hungry, +ordered the dishes, served up in the great hall, to be brought down. +The princess and Aladdin ate as much as they thought fit, and drank of +the African magician's old wine; during which time their conversation +could not be otherwise than satisfactory, and then they retired to +their own chamber. + +From the time of the transportation of Aladdin's palace, the princess's +father had been inconsolable for the loss of her. He could take no +rest, and instead of avoiding what might continue his affliction he +indulged it without restraint. Before the disaster he used to go every +morning into his closet to please himself with viewing the palace; he +went now many times in the day to renew his tears, and plunge himself +into the deepest melancholy, by the idea of no more seeing that which +once gave him so much pleasure, and reflecting how he had lost what was +most dear to him in this world. + +The very morning of the return of Aladdin's palace, the sultan went, by +break of day, into his closet to indulge his sorrows. Absorbed in +himself, and in a pensive mood, he cast his eyes towards the spot, +expecting only to see an open space; but perceiving the vacancy filled +up, he at first imagined the appearance to be the effect of a fog; +looking more attentively, he was convinced beyond the power of doubt +that it was his son-in-law's palace. Joy and gladness succeeded to +sorrow and grief. He returned immediately into his apartment, and +ordered a horse to be saddled and brought to him without delay, which +he mounted that instant, thinking he could not make haste enough to the +palace. + +Aladdin, who foresaw what would happen, rose that morning at daybreak, +put on one of the most magnificent habits his wardrobe afforded, and +went up into the hall of twenty-four windows, from whence he perceived +the sultan approaching, and got down soon enough to receive him at the +foot of the great staircase, and to help him to dismount. "Aladdin," +said the sultan, "I cannot speak to you till I have seen and embraced +my daughter." + +He led the sultan into the princess's apartment. The happy father +embraced her with his face bathed in tears of joy; and the princess, on +her side, showed him all the testimonies of the extreme pleasure the +sight of him afforded her. + +The sultan was some time before he could open his lips, so great was +his surprise and joy to find his daughter again, after he had given her +up for lost; and the princess, upon seeing her father, let fall tears +of rapture and affection. + +At last the sultan broke silence, and said, "I would believe, daughter, +your joy to see me makes you seem as little changed as if no misfortune +had befallen you; yet I cannot be persuaded but that you have suffered +much alarm; for a large palace cannot be so suddenly transported as +yours has been, without causing great fright and apprehension. I would +have you tell me all that has happened, and conceal nothing from me." + +The princess, who took great pleasure in giving the sultan the +satisfaction he demanded, said, "If I appear so little altered, I beg +of your Majesty to consider that I received new life yesterday morning +by the presence of my dear husband and deliverer Aladdin, whom I looked +upon and bewailed as lost to me; and the happiness of seeing and +embracing of whom has almost recovered me to my former state of health. +My greatest suffering was only to find myself forced from your Majesty +and my dear husband; not only from the love I bore my husband, but from +the uneasiness I labored under through fear that he, though innocent, +might feel the effects of your anger, to which I knew he was left +exposed. I suffered but little from the insolence of the wretch who had +carried me off; for having secured the ascendant over him, I always put +a stop to his disagreeable overtures, and was as little constrained as +I am at present. + +"As to what relates to my transportation, Aladdin had no concern in it: +I was myself the innocent cause of it." To persuade the sultan of the +truth of what she said, she gave him a full account how the African +magician had disguised himself, and offered to change new lamps for old +ones; how she had amused herself in making that exchange, being +entirely ignorant of the secret and importance of the wonderful lamp; +how the palace and herself were carried away and transported into +Africa, with the African magician, who was recognized by two of her +women and the eunuch who made the exchange of the lamp, when he had the +audacity, after the success of his daring enterprise, to propose +himself for her husband; how he persecuted her till Aladdin's arrival; +how they had concerted measures to get the lamp from him again, and the +success they had fortunately met with by her dissimulation in inviting +him to supper, and giving him the cup with the powder prepared for him. +"For the rest," added she, "I leave it to Aladdin to recount." + +Aladdin had not much to tell the sultan, but only said, "When the +private door was opened I went up into the great hall, where I found +the magician lying dead on the sofa; and as I thought it not proper for +the princess to stay there any longer, I desired her to go down into +her own apartment, with her women and eunuchs. As soon as I was alone, +and had taken the lamp out of the magician's breast, I made use of the +same secret he had done, to remove the palace, and carry off the +princess; and by that means the palace was reconveyed to the place +where it stood before; and I have the happiness to restore the princess +to your Majesty, as you commanded me. But that your Majesty may not +think that I impose upon you, if you will give yourself the trouble to +go up into the hall, you may see the magician punished as he deserved." + +The sultan, to be assured of the truth, rose instantly, and went into +the hall, where, when he saw the African magician dead, and his face +already livid by the strength of the poison, he embraced Aladdin with +great tenderness, and said, "My son, be not displeased at my +proceedings against you; they arose from my paternal love; and +therefore you ought to forgive the excesses to which it hurried me." +"Sir," replied Aladdin, "I have not the least reason to complain of +your Majesty's conduct, since you did nothing but what your duty +required. This infamous magician, the basest of men, was the sole cause +of my misfortune. When your Majesty has leisure, I will give you an +account of another villainous action he was guilty of towards me, which +was no less black and base than this, from which I was preserved by the +providence of God in a very miraculous way." "I will take an +opportunity, and that very shortly," replied the sultan, "to hear it; +but in the meantime let us think only of rejoicing, and the removal of +this odious object." + +Aladdin ordered the magician's corpse to be removed and thrown upon a +dunghill, for birds and beasts to prey upon. In the meantime, the +sultan commanded the drums, trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments of +music to announce his joy to the public, and a festival of ten days to +be proclaimed for the return of the princess and Aladdin. + +Thus Aladdin escaped once more the almost inevitable danger of losing +his life; but this was not the last, since he ran as great a hazard a +third time; the circumstances of which I shall relate. + +The African magician had a younger brother, who was equally skillful as +a necromancer, and even surpassed him in villainy and pernicious +designs. As they did not live together, or in the same city, but +oftentimes when one was in the East, the other was in the West, they +failed not every year to inform themselves, by their art, each where +the other resided, and whether they stood in need of one another's +assistance. + +Some time after the African magician had failed in his enterprise +against Aladdin, his younger brother, who had heard no tidings of him, +and was not in Africa, but in a distant country, had the wish to know +in what part of the world he sojourned, the state of his health, and +what he was doing; and as he, as well as his brother, always carried a +geomantic square instrument about him, he prepared the sand, cast the +points, and drew the figures. On examining the planetary mansions, he +found that his brother was no longer living, but had been poisoned; and +by another observation, that he was in the capital of the kingdom of +China; also that the person who had poisoned him was of mean birth, +though married to a princess, a sultan's daughter. + +When the magician had informed himself of his brother's fate, he lost +no time in useless regret, which could not restore him to life; but +resolving immediately to revenge his death, departed for China; where, +after crossing plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, and a long tract of +country without delay, he arrived after incredible fatigues. + +When he came to the capital of China, he took a lodging. The next day +he walked through the town not so much to observe the beauties, which +were indifferent to him, as to take proper measures to execute his +pernicious designs. He introduced himself into the most frequented +places, where he listened to everybody's discourse. In a place where +people resort to divert themselves with games of various kinds, and +where some were conversing, while others played, he heard some persons +talk of the virtue and piety of a woman called Fatima, who was retired +from the world, and of the miracles she wrought. As he fancied that +this woman might be serviceable to him in the project he had conceived, +he took one of the company aside, and requested to be informed more +particularly who that holy woman was, and what sort of miracles she +performed. + +"What!" said the person whom he had addressed, "have you never seen or +heard of her? She is the admiration of the whole town, for her fasting, +her austerities, and her exemplary life. Except Mondays and Fridays, +she never stirs out of her little cell; and on those days on which she +comes into town she does an infinite deal of good; for there is not a +person that has the headache but is cured by her laying her hand upon +them." + +The magician wanted no further information. He only asked the person in +what part of the town this holy woman's cell was situated. After he had +informed himself on this head, he determined on the detestable design +of murdering her and assuming her character. With this view he watched +all her steps the first day she went out after he had made this +inquiry, without losing sight of her till evening, when he saw her +reenter her cell. When he had fully observed the place, he went to one +of those houses where they sell a certain hot liquor, and where any +person may pass the night, particularly in the great heats, when the +people of that country prefer lying on a mat to a bed. About midnight, +after the magician had satisfied the master of the house for what +little he had called for, he went out, and proceeded directly to the +cell of Fatima. He had no difficulty to open the door, which was only +fastened with a latch, and he shut it again after he had entered, +without any noise. When he entered the cell, he perceived Fatima by +moonlight lying in the air on a sofa covered only by an old mat, with +her head leaning against the wall. He awakened her, and clapped a +dagger to her breast. + +The pious Fatima opening her eyes, was much surprised to see a man with +a dagger at her breast ready to stab her, and who said to her, "If you +cry out, or make the least noise, I will kill you; but get up, and do +as I shall direct you." + +Fatima, who had lain down in her habit, got up, trembling with fear. +"Do not be so much frightened," said the magician; "I only want your +habit, give it me and take mine." Accordingly Fatima and he changed +clothes. He then said to her, "Color my face, that I may be like you;" +but perceiving that the poor creature could not help trembling, to +encourage her he said, "I tell you again you need not fear anything: I +swear by the name of God I will not take away your life." Fatima +lighted her lamp, led him into the cell, and dipping a soft brush in a +certain liquor, rubbed it over his face, assured him the color would +not change, and that his face was of the same hue as her own: after +which, she put her own head-dress on his head, also a veil, with which +she showed him how to hide his face as he passed through the town. +After this, she put a long string of beads about his neck, which hung +down to the middle of his body, and giving him the stick she used to +walk with, in his hand, brought him a looking-glass, and bade him look +if he was not as like her as possible. The magician found himself +disguised as he wished to be; but he did not keep the oath he so +solemnly swore to the good Fatima; but instead of stabbing her, for +fear the blood might discover him, he strangled her; and when he found +she was dead, threw her body into a cistern just by the cell. + +The magician, thus disguised like the holy woman Fatima, spent the +remainder of the night in the cell. The next morning, two hours after +sunrise, though it was not a day the holy woman used to go out on, he +crept out of the cell, being well persuaded that nobody would ask him +any questions; or, if they should, he had an answer ready for them. As +one of the first things he did after his arrival was to find out +Aladdin's palace, where he was to complete his designs, he went +directly thither. + +As soon as the people saw the holy woman, as they imagined him to be, +they presently gathered about him in a great crowd. Some begged his +blessing, others kissed his hand, and others, more reserved, only the +hem of his garment; while others, whether their heads ached, or they +wished to be preserved against that disorder, stooped for him to lay +his hands upon them; which he did, muttering some words in form of +prayer; and, in short, counterfeited so well, that everybody took him +for the holy woman. + +After frequently stopping to satisfy people of this description, who +received neither good nor harm from this imposition of hands, he came +at last to the square before Aladdin's palace. The crowd was so great +that the eagerness to get at him increased in proportion. Those who +were the most zealous and strong forced their way through the crowd. +There were such quarrels, and so great a noise, that the princess, who +was in the hall of four-and-twenty windows, heard it, and asked what +was the matter; but nobody being able to give her an answer, she +ordered them to inquire and inform her. One of her women looked out of +a window, and then told her it was a great crowd of people collected +about the holy woman to be cured of the headache by the imposition of +her hands. + +The princess, who had long heard of this holy woman, but had never seen +her, was very desirous to have some conversation with her, which the +chief of the eunuchs perceiving, told her it was an easy matter to +bring her to her, if she desired and commanded it; and the princess +expressing her wishes, he immediately sent four eunuchs for the +pretended holy woman. + +As soon as the crowd saw the eunuchs, they made way, and the magician +perceiving also that they were coming for him, advanced to meet them, +overjoyed to find his plot proceeded so well. "Holy woman," said one of +the eunuchs, "the princess wants to see you, and has sent us for you." +"The princess does me too great an honor," replied the false Fatima; "I +am ready to obey her command," and at the same time followed the +eunuchs to the palace. + +When the magician, who under a holy garment disguised a wicked heart, +was introduced into the great hall, and perceived the princess, he +began a prayer, which contained a long enumeration of vows and good +wishes for the princess's health and prosperity, and that she might +have everything she desired. He then displayed all his hypocritical +rhetoric, to insinuate himself into the princess's favor under the +cloak of piety, which it was no hard matter for him to do; for as the +princess herself was naturally good, she was easily persuaded that all +the world were like her, especially those who made profession of +serving God in solitude. + +When the pretended Fatima had finished his long harangue, the princess +said to him, "I thank you, good mother, for your prayers; I have great +confidence in them, and hope God will hear them. Come, and sit by me." +The false Fatima sat down with affected modesty: the princess then +resuming her discourse, said, "My good mother, I have one thing to +request, which you must not refuse me; it is, to stay with me, that you +may edify me with your way of living; and that I may learn from your +good example how to serve God." "Princess," said the counterfeit +Fatima, "I beg of you not to ask what I cannot consent to, without +neglecting my prayers and devotion." "That shall be no hindrance to +you," answered the princess; "I have a great many apartments +unoccupied; you shall choose which you like best, and have as much +liberty to perform your devotions as if you were in your own cell." + +The magician, who desired nothing more than to introduce himself into +the palace, where it would be much easier matter for him to execute his +designs, under the favor and protection of the princess, than if he had +been forced to come and go from the cell to the palace, did not urge +much to excuse himself from accepting the obliging offer which the +princess made him. "Princess," said he, "whatever resolution a poor +wretched woman as I am may have made to renounce the pomp and grandeur +of this world, I dare not presume to oppose the will and commands of so +pious and charitable a princess." + +Upon this the princess, rising up, said, "Come with me, I will show +you what vacant apartments I have, that you may make choice of that you +like best." The magician followed the princess, and of all the +apartments she showed him, made choice of that which was the worst +furnished, saying, It was too good for him, and that he only accepted +of it to please her. + +Afterwards the princess would have brought him back again into the +great hall to make him dine with her; but he considering that he should +then be obliged to show his face, which he had always taken care to +conceal; and fearing that the princess should find out that he was not +Fatima, he begged of her earnestly to excuse him, telling her that he +never ate anything but bread and dried fruits, and desiring to eat +that slight repast in his own apartment. The princess granted his +request, saying, "You may be as free here, good mother, as if you were +in your own cell; I will order you a dinner, but remember I expect you +as soon as you have finished your repast." + +After the princess had dined, and the false Fatima had been informed by +one of the eunuchs that she was risen from table, he failed not to wait +upon her. "My good mother," said the princess, "I am overjoyed to have +the company of so holy a woman as yourself, who will confer a blessing +upon this palace. But now I am speaking of the palace, Pray how do you +like it? And before I show it all to you, tell me first what you think +of this hall." + +Upon this question, the counterfeit Fatima, who, to act his part the +better, affected to hang down his head, without so much as ever once +lifting it, at last looked up, and surveyed the hall from one end to +the other. When he had examined it well, he said to the princess, "As +far as such a solitary being as I am, who am unacquainted with what the +world calls beautiful, can judge, this hall is truly admirable and most +beautiful; there wants but one thing." "What is that, good mother?" +demanded the princess. "Tell me, I conjure you. For my part, I always +believed, and have heard say, it wanted nothing; but if it does, it +shall be supplied." + +"Princess," said the false Fatima, with great dissimulation, "forgive +me the liberty I have taken; but my opinion is, if it can be of any +importance, that if a roc's egg were hung up in the middle of the dome, +this hall would have no parallel in the four quarters of the world, and +your palace would be the wonder of the universe." + +"My good mother," said the princess, "what bird is a roc, and where may +one get an egg?" "Princess," replied the pretended Fatima, "it is a +bird of prodigious size, which inhabits the summit of Mount Caucasus; +the architect who built your palace can get you one." + +After the princess had thanked the false Fatima for what she believed +her good advice, she conversed with her upon other matters; but could +not forget the roc's egg, which she resolved to request of Aladdin when +he returned from hunting. He had been gone six days, which the magician +knew, and therefore took advantage of his absence; but he returned that +evening after the false Fatima had taken leave of the princess, and +retired to his apartment. As soon as he arrived, he went directly to +the princess's apartment, saluted and embraced her, but she seemed to +receive him coldly. "My princess," said he, "I think you are not so +cheerful as you used to be; has anything happened during my absence, +which has displeased you, or given you any trouble or dissatisfaction? +In the name of God do not conceal it from me; I will leave nothing +undone that is in my power to please you." "It is a trifling matter," +replied the princess, "which gives me so little concern that I could +not have thought you could have perceived it in my countenance; but +since you have unexpectedly discovered some alteration, I will no +longer disguise a matter of so little consequence from you. + +"I always believed," continued the princess, "that our palace was the +most superb, magnificent, and complete in the world: but I will tell +you now what I find fault with, upon examining the hall of four-and- +twenty windows. Do not you think with me, that it would be complete if +a roc's egg were hung up in the midst of the dome?" "Princess," replied +Aladdin, "it is enough that you think there wants such an ornament; you +shall see by the diligence used to supply that deficiency, that there +is nothing which I would not do for your sake." + +Aladdin left the princess Buddir al Buddoor that moment, and went up +into the hall of four-and-twenty windows, where pulling out of his +bosom the lamp, which, after the danger he had been exposed to, he +always carried about him, he rubbed it; upon which the genie +immediately appeared. "Genie," said Aladdin, "there wants a roc's egg +to be hung up in the midst of the dome; I command thee, in the name of +this lamp, to repair the deficiency." Aladdin had no sooner pronounced +these words, than the genie gave so loud and terrible a cry, that the +hall shook, and Aladdin could scarcely stand upright. "What! wretch," +said the genie, in a voice that would have made the most undaunted man +tremble, "is it not enough that I and my companions have done +everything for you, but you, by an unheard-of ingratitude, must command +me to bring my master, and hang him up in the midst of this dome? This +attempt deserves that you, your wife, and your palace, should be +immediately reduced to ashes: but you are happy that this request does +not come from yourself. Know, then, that the true author is the brother +of the African magician, your enemy, whom you have destroyed as he +deserved. He is now in your palace, disguised in the habit of the holy +woman Fatima, whom he has murdered; and it is he who has suggested to +your wife to make this pernicious demand. His design is to kill you, +therefore take care of yourself." After these words, the genie +disappeared. + +Aladdin lost not a word of what the genie had said. He had heard talk +of the holy woman Fatima, and how she pretended to cure the headache. +He returned to the princess's apartment, and without mentioning a word +of what had happened, sat down, and complained of a great pain which +had suddenly seized his head; upon which the princess ordered the holy +woman to be called, and then told him how she had invited her to the +palace, and that she had appointed her an apartment. + +When the pretended Fatima came, Aladdin said, "Come hither, good +mother; I am glad to see you here at so fortunate a time; I am +tormented with a violent pain in my head, and request your assistance, +by the confidence I have in your good prayers, and hope you will not +refuse me that favor which you do to so many persons afflicted with +this complaint." So saying, he arose, but held down his head. The +counterfeit Fatima advanced towards him, with his hand all the time on +a dagger concealed in his girdle under his gown; which Aladdin +observing, he seized his hand before he had drawn it, pierced him to +the heart with his own dagger, and then pushed him down on the floor. + +"My dear husband, what have you done?" cried the princess in surprise. +"You have killed the holy woman." "No, my princess," answered Aladdin, +with emotion, "I have not killed Fatima, but a villain, who would have +assassinated me, if I had not prevented him. This wicked wretch," added +he, uncovering his face, "has strangled Fatima, whom you accuse me of +killing, and disguised himself in her clothes with intent to murder me: +but that you may know him better, he is brother to the African +magician." Aladdin then informed her how he came to know these +particulars, and afterwards ordered the dead body to be taken away. + +Thus was Aladdin delivered from the persecution of two brothers, who +were magicians. Within a few years afterwards, the sultan died in a +good old age, and as he left no male children, the princess Buddir al +Buddoor, as lawful heir of the throne, succeeded him, and communicating +the power to Aladdin, they reigned together many years, and left a +numerous and illustrious posterity. + + + + + +MYTHS AND LEGENDS + + + + +CLASSIC + + + + +THE GORGON'S HEAD + +Nathaniel Hawthorne + + + +Perseus was the son of Danaë, who was the daughter of a king. And when +Perseus was a very little boy, some wicked people put his mother and +himself into a chest, and set them afloat upon the sea. The wind blew +freshly, and drove the chest away from the shore, and the uneasy +billows tossed it up and down; while Danaë clasped her child closely to +her bosom, and dreaded that some big wave would dash its foamy crest +over them both. The chest sailed on, however, and neither sank nor was +upset; until, when night was coining, it floated so near an island that +it got entangled in a fisherman's nets, and was drawn out high and dry +upon the sand. The island was called Seriphus, and it was reigned over +by King Polydectes, who happened to be the fisherman's brother. + +This fisherman, I am glad to tell you, was an exceedingly humane and +upright man. He showed great kindness to Danaë and her little boy; and +continued to befriend them, until Perseus had grown to be a handsome +youth, very strong and active, and skillful in the use of arms. Long +before this time King Polydectes had seen the two strangers--the mother +and her child--who had come to his dominions in a floating chest. As he +was not good and kind, like his brother the fisherman, but extremely +wicked, he resolved to send Perseus on a dangerous enterprise, in which +he would probably be killed, and then to do some great mischief to +Danaë herself. So this bad-hearted king spent a long while in +considering what was the most dangerous thing that a young man could +possibly undertake to perform. At last, having hit upon an enterprise +that promised to turn out as fatally as he desired, he sent for the +youthful Perseus. + +The young man came to the palace, and found the king sitting upon his +throne. + +"Perseus," said King Polydectes, smiling craftily upon him, "you are +grown up a fine young man. You and your good mother have received a +great deal of kindness from myself, as well as from my worthy brother, +the fisherman, and I suppose you would not be sorry to repay some of +it." + +"Please, your Majesty," answered Perseus, "I would willingly risk my +life to do so." + +"Well, then," continued the king, still with a cunning smile on his +lips, "I have a little adventure to propose to you; and, as you are a +brave and enterprising youth, you will doubtless look upon it as a +great piece of good luck to have so rare an opportunity of +distinguishing yourself. You must know, my good Perseus, I think of +getting married to the beautiful Princess Hippodamia; and it is +customary, on these occasions, to make the bride a present of some +farfetched and elegant curiosity. I have been a little perplexed, I +must honestly confess, where to obtain anything likely to please a +princess of her exquisite taste. But, this morning, I flatter myself, I +have thought of precisely the article." + +"And can I assist your Majesty in obtaining it?" cried Perseus, +eagerly. + +"You can, if you are as brave a youth as I believe you to be," replied +King Polydectes, with the utmost graciousness of manner. "The bridal +gift which I have set my heart on presenting to the beautiful +Hippodamia is the head of the Gorgon Medusa, with the snaky locks; and +I depend on you, my dear Perseus, to bring it to me. So, as I am +anxious to settle affairs with the princess, the sooner you go in quest +of the Gorgon, the better I shall be pleased." + +"I will set out tomorrow morning," answered Perseus. + +"Pray do so, my gallant youth," rejoined the king. "And, Perseus, in +cutting off the Gorgon's head, be careful to make a clean stroke, so as +not to injure its appearance. You must bring it home in the very best +condition, in order to suit the exquisite taste of the beautiful +Princess Hippodamia." + +Perseus left the palace, but was scarcely out of hearing before +Polydectes burst into a laugh; being greatly amused, wicked king that +he was, to find how readily the young man fell into the snare. The news +quickly spread abroad, that Perseus had undertaken to cut off the head +of Medusa with the snaky locks. Everybody was rejoiced; for most of the +inhabitants of the island were as wicked as the king himself, and would +have liked nothing better than to see some enormous mischief happen to +Danae and her son. The only good man in this unfortunate island of +Seriphus appears to have been the fisherman. As Perseus walked along, +therefore, the people pointed after him, and made mouths, and winked to +one another, and ridiculed him as loudly as they dared. + +"Ho, ho!" cried they; "Medusa's snakes will sting him soundly!" + +Now, there were three Gorgons alive, at that period, and they were the +most strange and terrible monsters that had ever been seen since the +world was made, or that have been seen in after days, or that are +likely to be seen in all time to come. I hardly know what sort of +creature or hobgoblin to call them. They were three sisters, and seem +to have borne some distant resemblance to women, but were really a very +frightful and mischievous species of dragon. It is, indeed, difficult +to imagine what hideous beings these three sisters were. Why, instead +of locks of hair, if you can believe me, they had each of them a +hundred enormous snakes growing on their heads, all alive, twisting, +wriggling, curling, and thrusting out their venomous tongues, with +forked stings at the end! The teeth of the Gorgons were terribly long +tusks; their hands were made of brass; and their bodies were all over +scales, which, if not iron, were something as hard and impenetrable. +They had wings, too, and exceedingly splendid ones, I can assure you; +for every feather in them was pure, bright, glittering, burnished gold, +and they looked very dazzlingly, no doubt, when the Gorgons were flying +about in the sunshine. + +But when people happened to catch a glimpse of their glittering +brightness, aloft in the air, they seldom stopped to gaze, but ran and +hid themselves as speedily as they could. You will think, perhaps, that +they were afraid of being stung by the serpents that served the Gorgons +instead of hair--or of having their heads bitten off by their ugly +tusks,--or of being torn all to pieces by their brazen claws. Well, to +be sure, these were some of the dangers, but by no means the greatest, +nor the most difficult to avoid. For the worst thing about these +abominable Gorgons was, that, if once a poor mortal fixed his eyes full +upon one of their faces, he was certain, that very instant, to be +changed from warm flesh and blood into cold and lifeless stone! + +Thus, as you will easily perceive, it was a very dangerous adventure +that the wicked King Polydectes had contrived for this innocent young +man. Perseus himself, when he had thought over the matter, could not +help seeing that he had very little chance of coming safely through it, +and that he was far more likely to become a stone image than to bring +back the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. For, not to speak of +other difficulties, there was one which it would have puzzled an older +man than Perseus to get over. Not only must he fight with and slay this +golden-winged, iron-scaled, long-tusked, brazen-clawed, snaky-haired +monster, but he must do it with his eyes shut, or, at least, without so +much as a glance at the enemy with whom he was contending. Else, while +his arm was lifted to strike, he would stiffen into stone, and stand +with that uplifted arm for centuries, until time, and the wind and +weather, should crumble him quite away. This would be a very sad thing +to befall a young man who wanted to perform a great many brave deeds +and to enjoy a great deal of happiness in this bright and beautiful +world. + +So disconsolate did these thoughts make him, that Perseus could not +bear to tell his mother what he had undertaken to do. He therefore took +his shield, girded on his sword, and crossed over from the island to +the mainland, where he sat down in a solitary place, and hardly +refrained from shedding tears. + +But, while he was in this sorrowful mood, he heard a voice close beside +him. + +"Perseus," said the voice, "why are you so sad?" + +He lifted his head from his hands, in which he had hidden it, and, +behold! all alone as Perseus had supposed himself to be, there was a +stranger in the solitary place. It was a brisk, intelligent, and +remarkably shrewd-looking young man, with a cloak over his shoulders, +an odd sort of cap on his head, a strangely twisted staff in his hand, +and a short and very crooked sword hanging by his side. He was +exceeding light and active in his figure, like a person much accustomed +to gymnastic exercises, and well able to leap or run. Above all, the +stranger had such a cheerful, knowing, and helpful aspect (though it +was certainly a little mischievous, into the bargain), that Perseus +could not help feeling his spirits grow livelier, as he gazed at him. +Besides, being really a courageous youth, he felt greatly ashamed that +anybody should have found him with tears in his eyes, like a timid +little schoolboy, when, after all, there might be no occasion for +despair. So Perseus wiped his eyes, and answered the stranger pretty +briskly, putting on as brave a look as he could. + +"I am not so very sad," said he; "only thoughtful about an adventure +that I have undertaken." + +"Oho!" answered the stranger. "Well, tell me all about it, and possibly +I may be of service to you. I have helped a good many young men through +adventures that looked difficult enough beforehand. Perhaps you may +have heard of me. I have more names than one; but the name of +Quicksilver suits me as well as any other. Tell me what your trouble +is, and we will talk the matter over and see what can be done." + +The stranger's words and manner put Perseus into quite a different mood +from his former one. He resolved to tell Quicksilver all his +difficulties, since he could not easily be worse off than he already +was, and, very possibly, his new friend might give him some advice that +would turn out well in the end. So he let the stranger know, in few +words, precisely what the case was;--how that King Polydectes wanted +the head of Medusa with the snaky locks as a bridal gift for the +beautiful Princess Hippodamia, and how that he had undertaken to get it +for him, but was afraid of being turned into stone. + +"And that would be a great pity," said Quicksilver, with his +mischievous smile. "You would make a very handsome marble statue, it is +true, and it would be a considerable number of centuries before you +crumbled away; but, on the whole, one would rather be a young man for a +few years, than a stone image for a great many." + +"Oh, far rather!" exclaimed Perseus, with the tears again standing in +his eyes. "And, besides, what would my dear mother do, if her beloved +son were turned into a stone?" + +"Well, well; let us hope that the affair will not turn out so very +badly," replied Quicksilver, in an encouraging tone. "I am the very +person to help you, if anybody can. My sister and myself will do our +utmost to bring you safe through the adventure, ugly as it now looks." + +"Your sister?" repeated Perseus. + +"Yes, my sister," said the stranger. "She is very wise, I promise you; +and as for myself, I generally have all my wits about me, such as they +are. If you show yourself bold and cautious, and follow our advice, you +need not fear being a stone image yet awhile. But, first of all, you +must polish your shield, till you can see your face in it as distinctly +as in a mirror." + +This seemed to Perseus rather an odd beginning of the adventure; for he +thought it of far more consequence that the shield should be strong +enough to defend him from the Gorgon's brazen claws than that it should +be bright enough to show him the reflection of his face. + +However, concluding that Quicksilver knew better than himself, he +immediately set to work and scrubbed the shield with so much diligence +and good will, that it very quickly shone like the moon at harvest +time. Quicksilver looked at it with a smile, and nodded his +approbation. Then, taking off his own short and crooked sword, he +girded it about Perseus instead of the one which he had before worn. + +"No sword but mine will answer your purpose," observed he: "the blade +has a most excellent temper, and will cut through iron and brass as +easily as through the slenderest twig. And now we will set out. The +next thing is to find the Three Gray Women, who will tell us where to +find the Nymphs." + +"The Three Gray Women!" cried Perseus, to whom this seemed only a new +difficulty in the path of his adventure; "pray, who may the Three Gray +Women be? I never heard of them before." + +"They are three very strange old ladies," said Quicksilver, laughing. +"They have but one eye among them, and only one tooth. Moreover, you +must find them out by starlight or in the dusk of the evening; for they +never show themselves by the light either of the sun or moon." + +"But," said Perseus, "why should I waste my time with these Three Gray +Women? Would it not be better to set out at once in search of the +terrible Gorgons?" + +"No, no," answered his friend. "There are other things to be done, +before you can find your way to the Gorgons. There is nothing for it, +but to hunt up these old ladies; and when we meet with them, you may be +sure that the Gorgons are not a great ways off. Come, let us be +stirring!" + +Perseus, by this time, felt so much confidence in his companion's +sagacity, that he made no more objections, and professed himself ready +to begin the adventure immediately. They accordingly set out, and +walked at a pretty brisk pace; so brisk, indeed, that Perseus found it +rather difficult to keep up with his nimble friend Quicksilver. To say +the truth, he had a singular idea that Quicksilver was furnished with a +pair of winged shoes, which, of course, helped him along marvelously. +And then, too, when Perseus looked sideways at him, out of the corner +of his eye, he seemed to see wings on the side of his head; although, +if he turned a full gaze, there were no such things to be perceived, +but only an odd kind of cap. But, at all events, the twisted staff was +evidently a great convenience to Quicksilver, and enabled him to +proceed so fast, that Perseus, though a remarkably active young man, +began to be out of breath. + +"Here!" cried Quicksilver at last--for he knew well enough, rogue that +he was, how hard Perseus found it to keep pace with him--"take you the +staff, for you need it a great deal more than I. Are there no better +walkers than yourself in the island of Seriphus?" + +"I could walk pretty well," said Perseus, glancing slyly at his +companion's feet, "if I had only a pair of winged shoes." + +"We must see about getting you a pair," answered Quicksilver. + +But the staff helped Perseus along so bravely, that he no longer felt +the slightest weariness. In fact, the stick seemed to be alive in his +hand, and to lend some of its life to Perseus. He and Quicksilver now +walked onward at their ease, talking very sociably together; and +Quicksilver told so many pleasant stories about his former adventures, +and how well his wits had served him on various occasions, that Perseus +began to think him a very wonderful person. He evidently knew the +world; and nobody is so charming to a young man as a friend who has +that kind of knowledge. Perseus listened the more eagerly, in the hope +of brightening his own wits by what he heard. + +At last he happened to recollect that Quicksilver had spoken of a +sister, who was to lend her assistance in the adventure which they were +now bound upon. + +"Where is she?" he inquired. "Shall we not meet her soon?" + +"All at the proper time," said his companion. "But this sister of mine, +you must understand, is quite a different sort of character from +myself. She is very grave and prudent, seldom smiles, never laughs, and +makes it a rule not to utter a word unless she has something +particularly profound to say. Neither will she listen to any but the +wisest conversation." + +"Dear me!" ejaculated Perseus; "I shall be afraid to say a syllable." + +"She is a very accomplished person, I assure you," continued +Quicksilver, "and has all the arts and sciences at her fingers' ends. +In short, she is so immoderately wise, that many people call her wisdom +personified. But, to tell you the truth, she has hardly vivacity enough +for my taste; and I think you would scarcely find her so pleasant a +traveling companion as myself. She has her good points, nevertheless; +and you will find the benefit of them, in your encounter with the +Gorgons." + +By this time it had grown quite dusk. They were now come to a very wild +and desert place, overgrown with shaggy bushes, and so silent and +solitary that nobody seemed ever to have dwelt or journeyed there. All +was waste and desolate, in the gray twilight, which grew every moment +more obscure. Perseus looked about him rather disconsolately, and asked +Quicksilver whether they had a great deal farther to go. + +"Hist! hist!" whispered his companion. "Make no noise. This is just the +time and place to meet the Three Gray Women. Be careful that they do +not see you before you see them, for, though they have but a single eye +among the three, it is as sharp-sighted as half a dozen common eyes." + +"But what must I do," asked Perseus, "when we meet them?" + +Quicksilver explained to Perseus how the Three Gray Women managed with +their one eye. They were in the habit, it seems, of changing it from +one to another, as if it had been a pair of spectacles or--which would +have suited them better--a quizzing-glass. When one of the three had +kept the eye a certain time, she took it out of the socket and passed +it to one of her sisters, whose turn it might happen to be, and who +immediately clapped it into her own head and enjoyed a peep at the +visible world. Thus it will easily be understood that only one of the +Three Gray Women could see, while the other two were in utter darkness; +and, moreover, at the instant when the eye was passing from hand to +hand neither of the poor old ladies was able to see a wink. I have +heard of a great many strange things, in my day, and have witnessed not +a few; but none, it seems to me, that can compare with the oddity of +these Three Gray Women, all peeping through a single eye. + +So thought Perseus, likewise, and was so astonished that he almost +fancied his companion was joking with him, and that there were no such +old women in the world. + +"You will soon find whether I tell the truth or no," observed +Quicksilver. "Hark! hush! hist! hist! There they come, now!" + +Perseus looked earnestly through the dusk of the evening, and there, +sure enough, at no great distance off, he descried the Three Gray +Women. The light being so faint, he could not well make out what sort +of figures they were; only he discovered that they had long gray hair; +and, as they came nearer, he saw that two of them had but the empty +socket of an eye, in the middle of their foreheads. But, in the middle +of the third sister's forehead, there was a very large, bright, and +piercing eye, which sparkled like a great diamond in a ring; and so +penetrating did it seem to be, that Perseus could not help thinking it +must possess the gift of seeing in the darkest midnight just as +perfectly as at noonday. The sight of three persons' eyes was melted +and collected into that single one. + +Thus the three old dames got along about as comfortably, upon the +whole, as if they could all see at once. She who chanced to have the +eye in her forehead led the other two by the hands, peeping sharply +about her, all the while, insomuch that Perseus dreaded lest she should +see right through the thick clump of bushes behind which he and +Quicksilver had hidden themselves. My stars! it was positively terrible +to be within reach of so very sharp an eye! + +But before they reached the clump of bushes one of the Three Gray Women +spoke. + +"Sister! Sister Scarecrow!" cried she, "you have had the eye long +enough. It is my turn now!" + +"Let me keep it a moment longer, Sister Nightmare," answered Scarecrow +"I thought I had a glimpse of something behind that thick bush." + +"Well, and what of that?" retorted Nightmare, peevishly. "Can't I see +into a thick bush as easily as yourself? The eye is mine, as well as +yours, and I know the use of it as well as you, or maybe a little +better. I insist upon taking a peep immediately." + +But here the third sister, whose name was Shakejoint, began to +complain, and said that it was her turn to have the eye, and that +Scarecrow and Nightmare wanted to keep it all to themselves. To end the +dispute, old Dame Scarecrow took the eye out of her forehead and held +it forth in her hand. + +"Take it, one of you," cried she, "and quit this foolish quarreling. +For my part, I shall be glad of a little thick darkness. Take it +quickly, however, or I must clap it into my own head again!" + +Accordingly, both Nightmare and Shakejoint stretched out their hands, +groping eagerly to snatch the eye out of the hand of Scarecrow. But, +being both alike blind, they could not easily find where Scarecrow's +hand was; and Scarecrow, being now just as much in the dark as +Shakejoint and Nightmare, could not at once meet either of their hands, +in order to put the eye into it. Thus (as you will see, with half an +eye, my wise little auditors) these good old dames had fallen into a +strange perplexity. For, though the eye shone and glistened like a +star, as Scarecrow held it out, yet the Gray Women caught not the least +glimpse of its light, and were all three in utter darkness, from too +impatient a desire to see. + +Quicksilver was so much tickled at beholding Shakejoint and Nightmare +both groping for the eye, and each finding fault with Scarecrow and one +another, that he could scarcely help laughing aloud. + +"Now is your time!" he whispered to Perseus. "Quick, quick! before they +can clap the eye into either of their heads. Rush out upon the old +ladies, and snatch it from Scarecrow's hand!" + +In an instant, while the Three Gray Women were still scolding each +other, Perseus leaped from behind the clump of bushes, and made himself +master of the prize. The marvelous eye, as he held it in his hand, +shone very brightly, and seemed to look up into his face with a knowing +air, and an expression as if it would have winked, had it been provided +with a pair of eyelids for that purpose. But the Gray Women knew +nothing of what had happened; and, each supposing that one of her +sisters was in possession of the eye, they began their quarrel anew. At +last, as Perseus did not wish to put these respectable dames to greater +inconvenience than was really necessary, he thought it right to explain +the matter. + +"My good ladies," said he, "pray do not be angry with one another. If +anybody is in fault, it is myself; for I have the honor to hold your +very brilliant and excellent eye in my own hand." + +"You! you have our eye! And who are you?" screamed the Three Gray Women +all in a breath, for they were terribly frightened, of course, at +hearing a strange voice, and discovering that their eyesight had got +into the hands of they could not guess whom. "Oh, what shall we do, +sisters? what shall we do? We are all in the dark! Give us our eye! +Give us our one, precious, solitary eye! You have two of your own! Give +us our eye!" + +"Tell them," whispered Quicksilver to Perseus, "that they shall have +back the eye as soon as they direct you where to find the Nymphs who +have the flying slippers, the magic wallet, and the helmet of +darkness." + +"My dear, good, admirable old ladies," said Perseus, addressing the +Gray Women, "there is no occasion for putting yourselves into such a +fright. I am by no means a bad young man. You shall have back your eye, +safe and sound, and as bright as ever, the moment you tell me where to +find the Nymphs." + +"The Nymphs! Goodness me! sisters, what Nymphs does he mean?" screamed +Scarecrow. "There are a great many Nymphs, people say; some that go +a-hunting in the woods, and some that live inside of trees, and some that +have a comfortable home in fountains of water. We know nothing at all +about them. We are three unfortunate old souls, that go wandering about +in the dusk, and never had but one eye amongst us, and that one you +have stolen away. Oh, give it back, good stranger!--whoever you are, +give it back!" + +All this while, the Three Gray Women were groping with their +outstretched hands, and trying their utmost to get hold of Perseus. But +he took good care to keep out of their reach. + +"My respectable dames," said he--for his mother had taught him always +to use the greatest civility--"I hold your eye fast in my hand, and +shall keep it safely for you, until you please to tell me where to find +these Nymphs. The Nymphs, I mean, who keep the enchanted wallet, the +flying slippers, and the what is it?--the helmet of invisibility." + +"Mercy on us, sisters! what is the young man talking about?" exclaimed +Scarecrow, Nightmare, and Shakejoint one to another, with great +appearance of astonishment. "A pair of flying slippers, quoth he! His +heels would quickly fly higher than his head, if he were silly enough +to put them on. And a helmet of invisibility! How could a helmet make +him invisible, unless it were big enough for him to hide under it? And +an enchanted wallet! What sort of a contrivance may that be, I wonder? +No, no, good stranger! we can tell you nothing of these marvelous +things. You have two eyes of your own, and we have but a single one +amongst us three. You can find out such wonders better than three blind +old creatures like us." + +Perseus, hearing them talk in this way, began really to think that the +Gray Women knew nothing of the matter; and, as it grieved him to have +put them to so much trouble, he was just on the point of restoring +their eye and asking pardon for his rudeness in snatching it away. But +Quicksilver caught his hand. + +"Don't let them make a fool of you," said he. "These Three Gray Women +are the only persons in the world that can tell you where to find the +Nymphs; and, unless you get that information, you will never succeed in +cutting off the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. Keep fast hold of +the eye, and all will go well." + +As it turned out, Quicksilver was in the right. There are but few +things that people prize so much as they do their eyesight; and the +Gray Women valued their single eye as highly as if it had been half a +dozen, which was the number they ought to have had. Finding that there +was no other way of recovering it, they at last told Perseus what he +wanted to know. No sooner had they done so, than he immediately, and +with the utmost respect, clapped the eye into the vacant socket in one +of their foreheads, thanked them for their kindness, and bade them +farewell. Before the young man was out of hearing, however, they had +got into a new dispute, because he happened to have given the eye to +Scarecrow, who had already taken her turn of it when their trouble with +Perseus commenced. + +It is greatly to be feared that the Three Gray Women were very much in +the habit of disturbing their mutual harmony by bickerings of this +sort; which was the more pity, as they could not conveniently do +without one another, and were evidently intended to be inseparable +companions. As a general rule, I would advise all people, whether +sisters or brothers, old or young, who chance to have but one eye +amongst them, to cultivate forbearance, and not all insist upon peeping +through it at once. + +Quicksilver and Perseus in the meantime were making the best of their +way in quest of the Nymphs. The old dames had given them such +particular directions, that they were not long in finding them out. +They proved to be very different persons from Nightmare, Shakejoint, +and Scarecrow; for, instead of being old, they were young and +beautiful; and instead of one eye amongst the sisterhood, each Nymph +had two exceedingly bright eyes of her own, with which she looked very +kindly at Perseus. They seemed to be acquainted with Quicksilver; and +when he told them the adventure which Perseus had undertaken, they made +no difficulty about giving him the valuable articles that were in their +custody. In the first place, they brought out what appeared to be a +small purse, made of deerskin, and curiously embroidered, and bade him +be sure and keep it safe. This was the magic wallet. The Nymphs next +produced a pair of shoes, or slippers, or sandals, with a nice little +pair of wings at the heel of each. + +"Put them on, Perseus," said Quicksilver. "You will find yourself as +light-heeled as you can desire for the remainder of our journey." + +So Perseus proceeded to put one of the slippers on, while he laid the +other on the ground by his side. Unexpectedly, however, this other +slipper spread its wings, fluttered up off the ground, and would +probably have flown away, if Quicksilver had not made a leap, and +luckily caught it in the air. + +"Be more careful," said he, as he gave it back to Perseus. "It would +frighten the birds, up aloft, if they should see a flying slipper +amongst them." + +When Perseus had got on both of these wonderful slippers, he was +altogether too buoyant to tread on earth. Making a step or two, lo and +behold! upward he popt into the air, high above the heads of +Quicksilver and the Nymphs, and found it very difficult to clamber down +again. Winged slippers, and all such high-flying contrivances, are +seldom quite easy to manage, until one grows a little accustomed to +them. Quicksilver laughed at his companion's involuntary activity, and +told him that he must--not be in so desperate a hurry, but must wait +for the invisible helmet. + +The good-natured Nymphs had the helmet, with its dark tuft of waving +plumes, all in readiness to put upon his head. And now there happened +about as wonderful an incident as anything that I have yet told you. +The instant before the helmet was put on, there stood Perseus, a +beautiful young man, with golden ringlets and rosy cheeks, the crooked +sword by his side, and the brightly polished shield upon his arm,--a +figure that seemed all made up of courage, sprightliness, and glorious +light. But when the helmet hid descended over his white brow there was +no longer any Perseus to be seen! Nothing but empty air! Even the +helmet that covered him with its invisibility, had vanished! + +"Where are you, Perseus?" asked Quicksilver. + +"Why, here, to be sure!" answered Perseus very quietly, although his +voice seemed to come out of the transparent atmosphere. "Just where I +was a moment ago. Don't you see me?" + +"No, indeed!" answered his friend. "You are hidden under the helmet. +But if I cannot see you, neither can the Gorgons. Follow me therefore, +and we will try your dexterity in using the winged slippers." + +With these words Quicksilver's cap spread its wings, as if his head +were about to fly away from his shoulders; but his whole figure rose +lightly into the air, and Perseus followed. By the time they had +ascended a few hundred feet, the young man began to feel what a +delightful thing it was to leave the dull earth so far beneath him, and +to be able to flit about like a bird. + +It was now deep night. Perseus looked upward, and saw the round, +bright, silvery moon, and thought that he should desire nothing better +than to soar up thither, and spend his life there. Then he looked +downward again, and saw the earth, with its seas, and lakes, and the +silver courses of its rivers, and its snowy mountain peaks, and the +breadth of its fields, and the dark cluster of its woods, and its +cities of white marble; and, with the moonshine sleeping over the whole +scene, it was as beautiful as the moon or any star could be. And, among +other objects, he saw the island of Seriphus, where his dear mother +was. Sometimes, he and Quicksilver approached a cloud, that, at a +distance, looked as if it were made of fleecy silver; although, when +they plunged into it, they found themselves chilled and moistened with +gray mist. So swift was their flight, however, that, in an instant, +they emerged from the cloud into the moonlight again. Once, a high- +soaring eagle flew right against the invisible Perseus. The bravest +sights were the meteors, that gleamed suddenly out, as if a bonfire had +been kindled in the sky, and made the moonshine pale for as much as a +hundred miles around them. + +As the two companions flew onward, Perseus fancied that he could hear +the rustle of a garment close by his side; and it was on the side +opposite to the one where he beheld Quicksilver, yet only Quicksilver +was visible. + +"Whose garment is this," inquired Perseus, "that keeps rustling close +beside me, in the breeze?" + +"Oh, it is my sister's!" answered Quicksilver. "She is coming along +with us, as I told you she would. We could do nothing without the help +of my sister. You have no idea how wise she is. She has such eyes, too! +Why, she can see you, at this moment, just as distinctly as if you were +not invisible; and I'll venture to say, she will be the first to +discover the Gorgons." + +By this time, in their swift voyage through the air, they had come +within sight of the great ocean, and were soon flying over it. Far +beneath them, the waves tossed themselves tumultuously in midsea, or +rolled a white surf-line upon the long beaches, or foamed against the +rocky cliffs with a roar that was thunderous, in the lower world; +although it became a gentle murmur, like the voice of a baby half +asleep, before it reached the ears of Perseus. Just then a voice spoke +in the air close by him. It seemed to be a woman's voice, and was +melodious, though not exactly what might be called sweet, but grave and +mild. + +"Perseus," said the voice, "there are the Gorgons." + +"Where?" exclaimed Perseus. "I cannot see them." + +"On the shore of that island beneath you," replied the voice. "A +pebble, dropped from your hand, would strike in the midst of them." + +"I told you she would be the first to discover them," said Quicksilver +to Perseus. "And there they are!" + +Straight downward, two or three thousand feet below him, Perseus +perceived a small island, with the sea breaking into white foam all +around its rocky shore, except on one side, where there was a beach of +snowy sand. He descended towards it, and, looking earnestly at a +cluster or heap of brightness, at the foot of a precipice of black +rocks, behold, there were the terrible Gorgons! They lay fast asleep, +soothed by the thunder of the sea; for it required a tumult that would +have deafened everybody else to lull such fierce creatures into +slumber. The moonlight glistened on their steely scales, and on their +golden wings, which drooped idly over the sand. Their brazen claws, +horrible to look at, were thrust out, and clutched the wave-beaten +fragments of rock, while the sleeping Gorgons dreamed of tearing some +poor mortal all to pieces. The snakes, that served them instead of +hair, seemed likewise to be asleep; although, now and then, one would +writhe, and lift its head, and thrust out its forked tongue, emitting a +drowsy hiss, and then let itself subside among its sister snakes. + +The Gorgons were more like an awful, gigantic kind of insect--immense, +golden-winged beetles, or dragon-flies, or things of that sort,--at +once ugly and beautiful,--than like anything else; only that they were +a thousand and a million times as big. And, with all this, there was +something partly human about them, too. Luckily for Perseus, their +faces were completely hidden from him by the posture in which they lay; +for, had he but looked one instant at them, he would have fallen +heavily out of the air, an image of senseless stone. + +"Now," whispered Quicksilver as he hovered by the side of Perseus,-- +"now is your time to do the deed! Be quick, for, if one of the Gorgons +should awake, you are too late." + +"Which shall I strike at?" asked Perseus, drawing his sword and +descending a little lower. "They all three look alike. All three have +snaky locks. Which of the three is Medusa?" + +It must be understood that Medusa was the only one of these dragon- +monsters whose head Perseus could possibly cut off. As for the other +two, let him have the sharpest sword that ever was forged, and he might +have hacked away by the hour together, without doing them the least +harm. + +"Be cautious," said the calm voice which had before spoken to him. "One +of the Gorgons is stirring in her sleep, and is just about to turn +over. That is Medusa. Do not look at her. The sight would turn you to +stone. Look at the reflection of her face and figure in the bright +mirror of your shield." + +Perseus now understood Quicksilver's motive for so earnestly exhorting +him to polish his shield. In its surface, he could safely look at the +reflection of the Gorgon's face. And there it was,--that terrible +countenance,--mirrored in the brightness of the shield, with the +moonlight falling over it, and displaying all its horror. The snakes, +whose venomous natures could not altogether sleep, kept twisting +themselves over the forehead. It was the fiercest and most horrible +face that ever was seen or imagined, and yet with a strange, fearful, +and savage kind of beauty in it. The eyes were closed, and the Gorgon +was still in a deep slumber; but there was an unquiet expression +disturbing her features, as if the monster was troubled with an ugly +dream. She gnashed her white tusks, and dug into the sand with her +brazen claws. + +The snakes, too, seemed to feel Medusa's dream, and to be made more +restless by it. They twined themselves into tumultuous knots, writhed +fiercely, and uplifted a hundred hissing heads, without opening their +eyes. + +"Now, now!" whispered Quicksilver, who was growing impatient. "Make a +dash at the monster!" + +"But be calm," said the grave, melodious voice, at the young man's +side. "Look in your shield, as you fly downward, and take care that you +do not miss your first stroke." + +Perseus flew cautiously downward, still keeping his eyes on Medusa's +face, as reflected in his shield. The nearer he came, the more terrible +did the snaky visage and metallic body of the monster grow. At last, +when he found himself hovering over her within arm's length, Perseus +uplifted his sword, while, at the same instant, each separate snake +upon the Gorgon's head stretched threateningly upward, and Medusa +unclosed her eyes. But she awoke too late. The sword was sharp; the +stroke fell like a lightning flash; and the head of the wicked Medusa +tumbled from her body! + +"Admirably done!" cried Quicksilver. "Make haste, and clap the head +into your magic wallet." + +To the astonishment of Perseus, the small, embroidered wallet, which he +had hung about his neck, and which had hitherto been no bigger than a +purse, grew all at once large enough to contain Medusa's head. As quick +as thought, he snatched it up, with the snakes still writhing upon it, +and thrust it in. + +"Your task is done," said the calm voice. "Now fly; for the other +Gorgons will do their utmost to take vengeance for Medusa's death." + +It was indeed necessary to take flight; for Perseus had not done the +deed so quietly but that the clash of his sword, and the hissing of the +snakes, and the thump of Medusa's head as it tumbled upon the sea- +beaten sand, awoke the other two monsters. There they sat, for an +instant, sleepily rubbing their eyes with their brazen fingers, while +all the snakes on their heads reared themselves on end with surprise, +and with venomous malice against they knew not what. But when the +Gorgons saw the scaly carcass of Medusa, headless, and her golden wings +all ruffled, and half spread out on the sand, it was really awful to +hear what yells and screeches they set up. And then the snakes! They +sent forth a hundred-fold hiss, with one consent, and Medusa's snakes +answered them, out of the magic wallet. + +No sooner were the Gorgons broad awake, than they hurtled upward into +the air, brandishing their brass talons, gnashing their horrible tusks, +and flapping their huge wings so wildly, that some of the golden +feathers were shaken out, and floated down upon the shore. And there, +perhaps, those very feathers lie scattered, till this day. Up rose the +Gorgons, as I tell you, staring horribly about, in hopes of turning +somebody to stone. Had Perseus looked them in the face, or had he +fallen into their clutches, his poor mother would never have kissed her +boy again! But he took good care to turn his eyes another way; and, as +he wore the helmet of invisibility, the Gorgons knew not in what +direction to follow him; nor did he fail to make the best use of the +winged slippers, by soaring upward a perpendicular mile or so. At that +height, when the screams of those abominable creatures sounded faintly +beneath him, he made a straight course for the island of Seriphus, in +order to carry Medusa's head to King Polydectes. + +I have no time to tell you of several marvelous things that befell +Perseus, on his way homeward; such as his killing a hideous sea- +monster, just as it was on the point of devouring a beautiful maiden; +nor how he changed an enormous giant into a mountain of stone, merely +by showing him the head of the Gorgon. If you doubt this latter story, +you may make a voyage to Africa, some day or other, and see the very +mountain, which is still known by the ancient giant's name. + +Finally, our brave Perseus arrived at the island, where he expected to +see his dear mother. But, during his absence, the wicked king had +treated Danaë so very ill, that she was compelled to make her escape, +and had taken refuge in a temple, where some good old priests were +extremely kind to her. These praiseworthy priests, and the kind-hearted +fisherman, who had first shown hospitality to Danaë and little Perseus +when he found them afloat in the chest, seem to have been the only +persons on the island who cared about doing right. All the rest of the +people, as well as King Polydectes himself, were remarkably ill-behaved, +and deserved no better destiny than that which was now to happen. + +Not finding his mother at home, Perseus went straight to the palace, +and was immediately ushered into the presence of the king. Polydectes +was by no means rejoiced to see him, for he had felt almost certain, in +his own evil mind, that the Gorgons would have torn the poor young man +to pieces, and have eaten him up, out of the way. However, seeing him +safely returned, he put the best face he could upon the matter and +asked Perseus how he had succeeded. + +"Have you performed your promise?" inquired he. "Have you brought me +the head of Medusa with the snaky locks? If not, young man, it will +cost you dear; for I must have a bridal present for the beautiful +Princess Hippodamia, and there is nothing else that she would admire so +much." + +"Yes, please your Majesty," answered Perseus, in a quiet way, as if it +were no very wonderful deed for such a young man as he to perform. "I +have brought you the Gorgon's head, snaky locks and all." + +"Indeed! Pray let me see it," quoth King Polydectes. "It must be a very +curious spectacle, if all that travelers tell about it be true." + +"Your Majesty is in the right," replied Perseus. "It is really an +object that will be pretty certain to fix the regards of all who look +at it. And, if your Majesty think fit, I would suggest that a holiday +be proclaimed, and that all your Majesty's subjects be summoned to +behold this wonderful curiosity. Few of them, I imagine, have seen a +Gorgon's head before, and perhaps never may again!" + +The king well knew that his subjects were an idle set of reprobates, +and very fond of sight-seeing, as idle persons usually are. So he took +the young man's advice, and sent out heralds and messengers, in all +directions, to blow the trumpet at the street corners, and in the +market-places, and wherever two roads met, and summon everybody to +court. Thither, accordingly, came a great multitude of good-for-nothing +vagabonds, all of whom, out of pure love of mischief, would have been +glad if Perseus had met with some ill-hap, in his encounter with the +Gorgons. If there were any better people in the island (as I really +hope there may have been, although the story tells nothing about any +such), they stayed quietly at home, minding their own business, and +taking care of their little children. Most of the inhabitants, at all +events, ran as fast as they could to the palace, and shoved, and +pushed, and elbowed one another, in their eagerness to get near a +balcony, on which Perseus showed himself, holding the embroidered +wallet in his hand. + +On a platform, within full view of the balcony, sat the mighty King +Polydectes, amid his evil counselors, and with his flattering courtiers +in a semicircle round about him. Monarch, counselors, courtiers, and +subjects, all gazed eagerly toward Perseus. + +"Show us the head! Show us the head!" shouted the people; and there was +a fierceness in their cry, as if they would tear Perseus to pieces, +unless he should satisfy them with what he had to show. "Show us the +head of Medusa with the snaky locks!" + +A feeling of sorrow and pity came over the youthful Perseus. + +"O King Polydectes," cried he, "and ye many people, I am very loath to +show you the Gorgon's head." + +"Ah, the villain and coward!" yelled the people, more fiercely than +before. "He is making game of us! He has no Gorgon's head! Show us the +head, if you have it, or we will take your own head for a football!" + +The evil counselors whispered bad advice in the king's ear; the +courtiers murmured, with one consent, that Perseus had shown disrespect +to their royal lord and master; and the great King Polydectes himself +waved his hand and ordered him, with the stern, deep voice of +authority, on his peril, to produce the head. + +"Show me the Gorgon's head, or I will cut off your own!" + +And Perseus sighed. + +"This instant," repeated Polydectes, "or you die!" + +"Behold it, then!" cried Perseus, in a voice like the blast of a +trumpet. + +And, suddenly holding up the head, not an eyelid had time to wink +before the wicked King Polydectes, his evil counselors, and all his +fierce subjects, were no longer anything but the mere images of a +monarch and his people. They were all fixed, forever, in the look and +attitude of that moment! At the first glimpse of the terrible head of +Medusa, they whitened into marble! And Perseus thrust the head back +into his wallet, and went to tell his dear mother that she need no +longer be afraid of the wicked King Polydectes. + + + +THESEUS Charles Kingsley + + + +PART I + +HOW THESEUS LIFTED THE STONE + +Once upon a time there was a princess in Troezene, Aithra, the +daughter of Pittheus the king. She had one fair son, named Theseus, the +bravest lad in all the land; and Aithra never smiled but when she +looked at him, for her husband had forgotten her, and lived far away. +And she used to go up to the mountain above Troezene, to the temple of +Poseidon, and sit there all day looking out across the bay, over +Methana, to the purple peaks of AEgina and the Attic shore beyond. And +when Theseus was full fifteen years old she took him up with her to the +temple, and into the thickets of the grove which grew in the temple +yard. And she led him to a tall plane tree, beneath whose shade grew +arbutus, and lentisk, and purple heather bushes. And there she sighed, +and said, "Theseus, my son, go into that thicket, and you will find at +the plane tree foot a great flat stone; lift it, and bring me what lies +underneath." + +Then Theseus pushed his way in through the thick bushes, and saw that +they had not been moved for many a year. And searching among their +roots he found a great flat stone, all overgrown with ivy, and +acanthus, and moss. He tried to lift it, but he could not. And he tried +till the sweat ran down his brow from heat, and the tears from his eyes +for shame: but all was of no avail. And at last he came back to his +mother, and said, "I have found the stone, but I cannot lift it; nor do +I think that any man could in all Troezene." + +Then she sighed, and said, "The gods wait long; but they are just at +last. Let it be for another year. The day may come when you will be a +stronger man than lives in all Troezene." + +Then she took him by the hand, and went into the temple and prayed, and +came down again with Theseus to her home. + +And when a full year was past, she led Theseus up again to the temple, +and bade him lift the stone: but he could not. + +Then she sighed, and said the same words again, and went down, and came +again the next year; but Theseus could not lift the stone then, nor the +year after; and he wanted to ask his mother the meaning of that stone, +and what might lie underneath it; but her face was so sad that he had +not the heart to ask. + +So he said to himself, "The day shall surely come when I will lift that +stone, though no man in Troezene can." And in order to grow strong he +spent all his days in wrestling, and boxing, and hurling, and taming +horses, and hunting the boar and the bull, and coursing goats and deer +among the rocks; till upon all the mountains there was no hunter so +swift as Theseus; and he killed Phaia the wild sow of Crommyon, which +wasted all the land; till all the people said, "Surely the Gods are +with the lad." + +And when his eighteenth year was past, Aithra led him up again to the +temple, and said, "Theseus, lift the stone this day, or never know who +you are." And Theseus went into the thicket, and stood over the stone, +and tugged at it; and it moved. Then his spirit swelled within him, and +he said, "If I break my heart in my body, it shall up." And he tugged +at it once more, and lifted it, and rolled it over with a shout. + +And when he looked beneath it, on the ground lay a sword of bronze, +with a hilt of glittering gold, and by it a pair of golden sandals; and +he caught them up, and burst through the bushes like a wild boar, and +leapt to his mother, holding them high above his head. + +But when she saw them she wept long in silence, hiding her fair face in +her shawl: and Theseus stood by her wondering, and wept also, he knew +not why. And when she was tired of weeping, she lifted up her head, and +laid her finger on her lips, and said, "Hide them in your bosom, +Theseus my son, and come with me where we can look down upon the sea." + +Then they went outside the sacred wall, and looked down over the bright +blue sea; and Aithra said,-- + +"Do you see this land at our feet?" + +And he said, "Yes, this is Troezene, where I was born and bred." + +And she said, "It is but a little land, barren and rocky, and looks +toward the bleak north-east. Do you see that land beyond?" + +"Yes; that is Attica, where the Athenian people dwell." + +"That is a fair land and large, Theseus my son; and it looks toward the +sunny south; a land of olive oil and honey, the joy of gods and men. +For the gods have girdled it with mountains, whose veins are of pure +silver, and their bones of marble white as snow; and there the hills +are sweet with thyme and basil, and the meadows with violet and +asphodel, and the nightingales sing all day in the thickets, by the +side of ever-flowing streams. There are twelve towns well peopled, the +homes of an ancient race, the children of Kecrops the serpent-king, the +son of Mother Earth, who wear gold cicalas among the tresses of their +golden hair; for like the cicalas they sprang from the earth, and like +the cicalas they sing all day, rejoicing in the genial sun. What would +you do, son Theseus, if you were king of such a land?" + +Then Theseus stood astonished, as he looked across the broad bright +sea, and saw the fair Attic shore, from Sunium to Hymettus and +Pentelicus, and all the mountain peaks which girdle Athens round. But +Athens itself he could not see, for purple Ægina stood before it, +midway across the sea. + +Then his heart grew great within him, and he said, "If I were king of +such a land I would rule it wisely and well in wisdom and in might, +that when I died all men might weep over my tomb, and cry, 'Alas for +the shepherd of his people!'" + +And Aithra smiled, and said, "Take, then, the sword and the sandals, +and go to Ægeus, king of Athens, who lives on Pallas' hill; and say to +him, 'The stone is lifted, but whose is the pledge beneath it?' Then +show him the sword and the sandals, and take what the Gods shall send." + +But Theseus wept, "Shall I leave you, O my mother?" + +But she answered, "Weep not for me. That which is fated must be; and +grief is easy to those who do naught but grieve. Full of sorrow was my +youth, and full of sorrow my womanhood. Full of sorrow was my youth for +Bellerophon the slayer of the Chimæra, whom my father drove away by +treason; and full of sorrow my womanhood, for thy treacherous father +and for thee; and full of sorrow my old age will be (for I see my fate +in dreams), when the sons of the Swan shall carry me captive to the +hollow vale of Eurotas, till I sail across the seas a slave, the +handmaid of the pest of Greece. Yet shall I be avenged, when the +golden-haired heroes sail against Troy, and sack the palaces of Ilium; +then my son shall set me free from thralldom, and I shall hear the tale +of Theseus's fame. Yet beyond that I see new sorrows; but I can bear +them as I have borne the past." + +Then she kissed Theseus, and wept over him; and went into the temple, +and Theseus saw her no more. + + + + +PART II + +HOW THESEUS SLEW THE DEVOURERS OF MEN + + + +So Theseus stood there alone, with his mind full of many hopes. +And first he thought of going down to the harbor and hiring a swift +ship, and sailing across the bay to Athens; but even that seemed too +slow for him, and he longed for wings to fly across the sea, and find +his father. But after a while his heart began to fail him; and he +sighed, and said within himself-- + +"What if my father has other sons about him whom he loves? +What if he will not receive me? And what have I done that he +should receive me? He has forgotten me ever since I was born: why +should he welcome me now?" + +Then he thought a long while sadly; and at the last he cried +aloud, "Yes! I will make him love me; for I will prove myself +worthy of his love. I will win honor and renown, and do such +deeds that Ægeus shall be proud of me, though he had fifty other +sons! Did not Heracles win himself honor though he was opprest, +and the slave of Eurystheus? Did he not kill all robbers and evil +beasts, and drain great lakes and marshes, breaking the hills +through with his club? Therefore it was that all men honored +him, because he rid them of their miseries, and made life pleasant to +them and their children after them. Where can I go, to do as +Heracles has done? Where can I find strange adventures, robbers, +and monsters, and the children of hell, the enemies of men? I will +go by land, and into the mountains, and round by the way of the +Isthmus. Perhaps there I may hear of brave adventures, and do +something which shall win my father's love." + +So he went by land, and away into the mountains, with his father's +sword upon his thigh, till he came to the Spider Mountains, which +hang over Epidaurus and the sea, where the glens run downward +from one peak in the midst, as the rays spread in the spider's +web. + +And he went up into the gloomy glens, between the furrowed +marble walls, till the lowland grew blue beneath his feet, and the +clouds drove damp about his head. + +But he went up and up forever, through the spider's web of glens, +till he could see the narrow gulfs spread below him, north and +south, and east and west; black cracks half-choked with mists, and +above all a dreary down. + +But over that down he must go, for there was no road right or +left; so he toiled on through bog and brake, till he came to a +pile of stones. + +And on the stones a man was sitting, wrapt in a bearskin cloak. +The head of the bear served him for a cap, and its teeth grinned +white around his brows; and the feet were tied about his throat, and +their claws shone white upon his chest. And when he saw Theseus +he rose, and laughed till the glens rattled. + +"And who art thou, fair fly, who hast walked into the spider's +web?" But Theseus walked on steadily, and made no answer: but +he thought, "Is this some robber? and has an adventure come +already to me?" But the strange man laughed louder than ever, +and said,-- + +"Bold fly, know you not that these glens are the web from which +no fly ever finds his way out again, and this down the spider's house, +and I the spider who suck the flies? Come hither, and let me feast +upon you, for it is of no use to run away, so cunning a web has my +father Hephaistus spread for me, when he made these clefts in the +mountains, through which no man finds his way home." + +But Theseus came on steadily, and asked,-- + +"And what is your name among men, bold spider? and where +are your spider's fangs?" + +Then the strange man laughed again,-- + +"My name is Periphetes, the son of Hephaistus and Anticleia the +mountain nymph. But men call me Corynetes the club-bearer; and +here is my spider's fang." + +And he lifted from off the stones at his side a mighty club of +bronze. + +"This my father gave me, and forged it himself in the roots of the +mountain; and with it I pound all proud flies till they give out their +fatness and their sweetness. So give me up that gay sword of yours, +and your mantle, and your golden sandals, lest I pound you, and +by ill luck you die." + +But Theseus wrapt his mantle round his left arm quickly in +hard folds, from his shoulder to his hand, and drew his sword, and +rushed upon the club-bearer, and the club-bearer rushed on him. + +Thrice he struck at Theseus, and made him bend under the blows +like a sapling; but Theseus guarded his head with his left arm, +and the mantle which was wrapped around it. + +And thrice Theseus sprang upright after the blow, like a sapling +when the storm is past; and he stabbed at the club-bearer with his +sword, but the loose folds of the bearskin saved him. + +Then Theseus grew mad, and closed with him, and caught him by +the throat, and they fell and rolled over together; but when Theseus +rose up from the ground the club-bearer lay still at his feet. + +Then Theseus took his club and his bearskin, and left him to the +kites and crows, and went upon his journey down the glens on the +further slope, till he came to a broad green valley, and saw flocks +and herds sleeping beneath the trees. + +And by the side of a pleasant fountain, under the shade of rocks +and trees, were nymphs and shepherds dancing; but no one piped to +them while they danced. + +And when they saw Theseus they shrieked; and the shepherds ran +off, and drove away their flocks; while the nymphs dived into the +fountain like coots, and vanished. + +Theseus wondered and laughed: "What strange fancies have +folks here who run away from strangers, and have no music when +they dance!" But he was tired, and dusty, and thirsty; so he +thought no more of them, but drank and bathed in the clear pool, +and then lay down in the shade under a plane tree, while the +water sang him to sleep as it tinkled down from stone to stone. + +And when he woke he heard a whispering, and saw the nymphs +peeping at him across the fountain from the dark mouth of a cave, +where they sat on green cushions of moss. And one said, "Surely +he is not Periphetes;" and another, "He looks like no robber, but +a fair and gentle youth." + +Then Theseus smiled and called them: "Fair nymphs, I am not +Periphetes. He sleeps among the kites and crows: but I have +brought away his bearskin and his club." + +Then they leapt across the pool, and came to him, and called the +shepherds back. And he told them how he had slain the club-bearer: +and the shepherds kissed his feet, and sang, "Now we shall +feed our flocks in peace, and not be afraid to have music when we +dance; for the cruel club-bearer has met his match, and he will +listen for our pipes no more." + +Then they brought him kid's flesh and wine, and the nymphs +brought him honey from the rocks; and he ate, and drank, and slept +again, while the nymphs and shepherds danced and sang. And when +he woke, they begged him to stay; but he would not. "I have a +great work to do," he said; "I must be away toward the Isthmus, +that I may go to Athens." + +But the shepherds said, "Will you go alone toward Athens? +None travel that way now, except in armed troops." + +"As for arms, I have enough, as you see. And as for troops, an +honest man is good enough company for himself. Why should I not +go alone toward Athens?" + +"If you do, you must look warily about you on the Isthmus, +lest you meet Sinis the robber, whom men call Pituocamptes the +pine-bender; for he bends down two pine trees, and binds all travelers +hand and foot between them; and when he lets the trees go +again, their bodies are torn in sunder." + +"And after that," said another, "you must go inland, and not +dare to pass over the cliffs of Sciron; for on the left hand are the +mountains, and on the right the sea, so that you have no escape +but must needs meet Sciron the robber, who will make you wash +his feet; and while you are washing them he will kick you over +the cliff, to the tortoise who lives below, and feeds upon the bodies +of the dead." + +And before Theseus could answer, another cried, "And after +that is a worse danger still, unless you go inland always, and leave +Eleusis far on your right. For in Eleusis rules Kerkuon the cruel +king, the terror of all mortals, who killed his own daughter Alope in +prison. But she was changed into a fair fountain; and her child +he cast out upon the mountains; but the wild mares gave it milk. +And now he challenges all comers to wrestle with him; for he is +the best wrestler in all Attica, and overthrows all who come; and +those whom he overthrows he murders miserably, and his palace-court +is full of their bones." + +Then Theseus frowned, and said, "This seems indeed an ill-ruled +land, and adventures enough in it to be tried. But if I am the heir +of it, I will rule it and right it, and here is my royal scepter." And +he shook his club of bronze, while the nymphs and shepherds +clung round him, and entreated him not to go. + +But on he went nevertheless, till he could see both the seas, and +the citadel of Corinth towering high above all the land. And he past +swiftly along the Isthmus, for his heart burned to meet that cruel +Sinis; and in a pine-wood at last he met him, where the Isthmus was +narrowest and the road ran between high rocks. There he sat, upon +a stone by the wayside, with a young fir tree for a club across his +knees, and a cord laid ready by his side; and over his head, upon +the fir tops, hung the bones of murdered men. + +Then Theseus shouted to him, "Holla, thou valiant pine-bender, +hast thou two fir trees left for me?" + +And Sinis leapt to his feet, and answered, pointing to the bones +above his head, "My larder has grown empty lately, so I have two +fir trees ready for thee." And he rushed on Theseus, lifting his +club, and Theseus rushed upon him. + +Then they hammered together till the greenwoods rang; but the +metal was tougher than the pine; and Sinis' club broke right across, +as the bronze came down upon it. Then Theseus heaved up another +mighty stroke, and smote Sinis down upon his face; and knelt +upon his back, and bound him with his own cord, and said, "As +thou hast done to others, so shall it be done to thee." Then he +bent down two young fir trees, and bound Sinis between them, for +all his struggling and his prayers; and let them go, and ended +Sinis, and went on, leaving him to the hawks and crows. + +Then he went over the hills toward Megara, keeping close along +the Saronic Sea, till he came to the cliffs of Sciron, and the narrow +path between the mountain and the sea. + +And there he saw Sciron sitting by a fountain at the edge of the +cliff. On his knees was a mighty club; and he had barred the +path with stones, so that every one must stop who came up. + +Then Theseus shouted to him, and said, "Holla, thou tortoise-feeder, +do thy feet need washing today?" + +And Sciron leapt to his feet, and answered-- + +"My tortoise is empty and hungry, and my feet need washing +today." And he stood before his barrier, and lifted up his club +in both hands. + +Then Theseus rushed upon him; and sore was the battle upon the +cliff; for when Sciron felt the weight of the bronze club, he dropt +his own, and closed with Theseus, and tried to hurl him by main +force over the cliff. But Theseus was a wary wrestler, and dropt his +own club, and caught him by the throat and by the knee, and forced +him back against the wall of stones, and crushed him up against +them, till his breath was almost gone. And Sciron cried panting, +"Loose me, and I will let thee pass." But Theseus answered, +"I must not pass till I have made the rough way smooth;" and +forced him back against the wall till it fell, and Sciron rolled +head over heels. + +Then Theseus lifted him up all bruised, and said, "Come hither +and wash my feet." And he drew his sword, and sat down by the +well, and said, "Wash my feet, or I cut you piecemeal." + +And Sciron washed his feet trembling; and when it was done, +Theseus rose and cried, "As thou hast done to others, so shall it be +done to thee. Go feed thy tortoise thyself;" and he kicked him +over the cliff into the sea. + +And whether the tortoise ate him I know not; for some say that +earth and sea both disdained to take his body, so foul it was with +sin. So the sea cast it out upon the shore, and the shore cast it +back into the sea, and at last the waves hurled it high into the air, +in anger; and it hung there long without a grave, till it was changed +into a desolate rock, which stands there in the surge until this day. + +This at least is true, which Pausanias tells, that in the royal porch +at Athens he saw the figure of Theseus modeled in clay, and by him +Sciron the robber, falling headlong into the sea. + +Then he went a long day's journey, past Megara, into the Attic +land, and high before him rose the snow-peaks of Cithaeron, all +cold above the black pine woods, where haunt the Furies, and the +raving Bacchae, and the nymphs who drive men wild, far aloft upon +the dreary mountains, where the storms howl all day long. And +on his right hand was the sea always, and Salamis, with its island +cliffs, and the sacred strait of the sea-fight, where afterwards the +Persians fled before the Greeks. So he went all day, until the evening, +till he saw the Thriasian plain, and the sacred city of Eleusis, +where the Earth-mother's temple stands. For there she met Triptolemus, +when all the land lay waste, Demeter the kind Earth-mother, +and in her hands a sheaf of corn. And she taught him to +plow the fallows, and to yoke the lazy kine; and she taught him to +sow the seed-fields, and to reap the golden grain; and sent him +forth to teach all nations, and give corn to laboring men. So at +Eleusis all men honor her, whosoever tills the land; her and +Triptolemus her beloved, who gave corn to laboring men. + +And he went along the plain into Eleusis, and stood in the +marketplace, and cried-- + +"Where is Kerkuon, the king of the city? I must wrestle a fall +with him today." + +Then all the people crowded round him, and cried, "Fair youth, +why will you die? Hasten out of the city, before the cruel king +hears that a stranger is here." + +But Theseus went up through the town, while the people wept and +prayed, and through the gates of the palace-yard, and through the +piles of bones and skulls, till he came to the door of Kerkuon's +hall, the terror of all mortal men. + +And there he saw Kerkuon sitting at the table in the hall alone; +and before him was a whole sheep roasted, and beside him a whole +jar of wine. And Theseus stood and called him, "Holla, thou +valiant wrestler, wilt thou wrestle a fall today?" + +And Kerkuon looked up and laughed, and answered, "I will +wrestle a fall today; but come in, for I am lonely and thou weary, +and eat and drink before thou die." + +Then Theseus went up boldly, and sat down before Kerkuon at the +board: and he ate his fill of the sheep's flesh, and drank his +fill of the wine; and Theseus ate enough for three men, but Kerkuon +ate enough for seven. + +But neither spoke a word to the other, though they looked across +the table by stealth; and each said in his heart, "He has broad +shoulders; but I trust mine are as broad as his." + +At last, when the sheep was eaten and the jar of wine drained +dry, King Kerkuon rose, and cried, "Let us wrestle a fall before we +sleep." + +So they tossed off all their garments, and went forth into the +palace-yard, and Kerkuon bade strew fresh sand in an open space +between the bones. And there the heroes stood face to face, while +their eyes glared like wild bulls'; and all the people crowded at the +gates, to see what would befall. + +And there they stood and wrestled, till the stars shone out above +their heads; up and down and round, till the sand was stamped hard +beneath their feet. And their eyes flashed like stars in the darkness, +and their breath went up like smoke in the night air; but neither took +nor gave a footstep, and the people watched silent at the gates. + +But at last Kerkuon grew angry, and caught Theseus round the +neck, and shook him as a mastiff shakes a rat; but he could not shake +him off his feet. + +But Theseus was quick and wary, and clasped Kerkuon round the +waist, and slipped his loin quickly underneath him, while he caught +him by the wrist; and then he hove a mighty heave, a heave which +would have stirred an oak, and lifted Kerkuon, and pitched him, +right over his shoulder on the ground. + +Then he leapt on him, and called, "Yield, or I kill thee!" but +Kerkuon said no word, for his heart was burst within him, with the +fall, and the meat, and the wine. + +Then Theseus opened the gates, and called in all the people; and +they cried, "You have slain our evil king; be you now our king, and +rule us well." + +"I will be your king in Eleusis, and I will rule you right and +well; for this cause I have slain all evil-doers, Sinis, and Sciron, +and this man last of all." + +Then an aged man stepped forth, and said, "Young hero, hast +thou slain Sinis? Beware then of Ægeus, king of Athens, to whom +thou goest, for he is near of kin to Sinis." + +"Then I have slain my own kinsman," said Theseus, "though well +he deserved to die. Who will purge me from his death, for rightfully +I slew him, unrighteous and accursed as he was?" + +And the old man answered-- + +"That will the heroes do, the sons of Phytalus, who dwell beneath +the elm tree in Aphidnai, by the bank of silver Cephisus; for they +know the mysteries of the Gods. Thither you shall go and be purified, +and after you shall be our king." + +So he took an oath of the people of Eleusis, that they would serve +him as their king, and went away next morning across the Thriasian +plain, and over the hills toward Aphidnai, that he might find the +sons of Phytalus. + +And as he was skirting the Vale of Cephisus, along the foot of +lofty Parnes, a very tall and strong man came down to meet him, +dressed in rich garments. On his arms were golden bracelets, and +round his neck a collar of jewels; and he came forward, bowing +courteously, and held out both his hands, and spoke,-- + +"Welcome, fair youth, to these mountains; happy am I to have +met you! For what greater pleasure to a good man than to entertain +strangers? But I see that you are weary. Come up to my castle, and +rest yourself awhile." + +"I give you thanks," said Theseus; "but I am in haste to go +up the valley, and to reach Aphidnai, in the Vale of Cephisus." + +"Alas! you have wandered far from the right way, and you cannot +reach Aphidnai tonight; for there are many miles of mountain +between you and it, and steep passes, and cliffs dangerous after +nightfall. It is well for you that I met you; for my whole joy is to +find strangers, and to feast them at my castle, and hear tales from +them of foreign lands. Come up with me, and eat the best of venison, +and drink the rich red wine; and sleep upon my famous bed, +of which all travelers say that they never saw the like. For whatsoever +the stature of my guest, however tall or short, that bed fits +him to a hair, and he sleeps on it as he never slept before." And he +laid hold on Theseus's hands, and would, not let him go. + +Theseus wished to go forwards, but he was ashamed to seem +churlish to so hospitable a man; and he was curious to see that +wondrous bed; and, besides, he was hungry and weary; yet he shrank +from the man, he knew not why; for though his voice was gentle +and fawning, it was dry and husky like a toad's; and though his +eyes were gentle, they were dull and cold like stones. But he +consented, and went with the man up a glen which led from the +road toward the peaks of Parnes, under the dark shadow of the +cliffs. + +And as they went up, the glen grew narrower, and the cliffs higher +and darker, and beneath them a torrent roared, half seen between +bare limestone crags. And around them was neither tree nor bush, +while from the white peaks of Parnes the snow-blasts swept down +the glen, cutting and chilling, till a horror fell on Theseus as he +looked round at that doleful place. And he asked at last, "Your +castle stands, it seems, in a dreary region." + +"Yes; but once within it, hospitality makes all things cheerful. +But who are these?" and he looked back, and Theseus also; and +far below along the road which they had left, came a string of laden +asses, and merchants walking by them, watching their ware. + +"Ah, poor souls!" said the stranger. "Well for them that I +looked back and saw them! And well for me too, for I shall have +the more guests at my feast. Wait awhile till I go down and call +them, and we will eat and drink together the live-long night. Happy +am I, to whom Heaven sends so many guests at once!" + +And he ran back down the hill, waving his hand and shouting to +the merchants, while Theseus went slowly up the steep pass. + +But as he went up he met an aged man, who had been gathering +driftwood in the torrent-bed. He had laid down his fagot in the +road, and was trying to lift it again to his shoulder. And when he +saw Theseus, he called to him, and said-- + +"O fair youth, help me up with my burden, for my limbs are stiff +and weak with years." + +Then Theseus lifted the burden on his back. And the old man +blest him, and then looked earnestly upon him, and said-- + +"Who are you, fair youth, and wherefore travel you this doleful +road?" + +"Who I am my parents know: but I travel this doleful road because +I have been invited by a hospitable man, who promises to +feast me, and to make me sleep upon I know not what wondrous +bed." + +Then the old man clapped his hands together, and cried,-- + +"O house of Hades, man-devouring! will thy maw never be full? +Know, fair youth, that you are going to torment and to death; for +he who met you (I will requite your kindness to another) is a robber +and a murderer of men. Whatsoever stranger he meets he entices +him hither to death; and as for this bed of which he speaks, truly it +fits all comers, yet none ever rose alive off it save me." + +"Why?" asked Theseus, astonished. + +"Because, if a man be too tall for it, he lops his limbs till they be +short enough, and if he be too short, he stretches his limbs till they +be long enough: but me only he spared, seven weary years agone; +for I alone of all fitted his bed exactly; so he spared me, and made +me his slave. And once I was a wealthy merchant, and dwelt in +brazen-gated Thebes; but now I hew wood and draw water for him, +the torment of all mortal men." + +Then Theseus said nothing; but he ground his teeth together. + +"Escape then," said the old man, "for he will have no pity on thy +youth. But yesterday he brought up hither a young man and a +maiden, and fitted them upon his bed: and the young man's hands +and feet he cut off; but the maiden's limbs he stretched until she +died, and so both perished miserably--but I am tired of weeping +over the slain. And therefore he is called Procrustes the stretcher, +though his father called him Damastes. Flee from him: yet whither +will you flee? The cliffs are steep, and who can climb them? and +there is no other road." + +But Theseus laid his hand upon the old man's mouth, and said, +"There is no need to flee;" and he turned to go down the pass. + +"Do not tell him that I have warned you, or he will kill me by +some evil death;" and the old man screamed after him down the +glen; but Theseus strode on in his wrath. + +And he said to himself, "This is an ill-ruled land; when shall I +have done ridding it of monsters?" And as he spoke, Procrustes +came up the hill and all the merchants with him, smiling and talking +gayly. And when he saw Theseus, he cried, "Ah, fair young guest, +have I kept you too long waiting?" + +But Theseus answered, "The man who stretches his guests upon +a bed and hews off their hands and feet, what shall be done to him, +when right is done throughout the land?" + +Then Procrustes' countenance changed, and his cheeks grew as +green as a lizard, and he felt for his sword in haste; but Theseus +leapt on him, and cried-- + +"Is this true, my host, or is it false?" and he clasped Procrustes +round waist and elbow, so that he could not draw his sword. + +"Is this true, my host, or is it false?" But Procrustes answered +never a word. + +Then Theseus flung him from him, and lifted up his dreadful +club; and, before Procrustes could strike him, he had struck, and +felled him to the ground. + +And once again he struck him; and his evil soul fled forth, and +went down to Hades squeaking, like a bat into the darkness of a +cave. + +Then Theseus stript him of his gold ornaments, and went up to his +house, and found there great wealth and treasure, which he had +stolen from the passers-by. And he called the people of the country, +whom Procrustes had spoiled a long time, and parted the spoil +among them, and went down the mountains, and away. + +And he went down the glens of Parnes, through mist, and cloud, +and rain, down the slopes of oak, and lentisk, and arbutus, and +fragrant bay, till he came to the Vale of Cephisus, and the pleasant +town of Aphidnai, and the home of the Phytalid heroes, where they +dwelt beneath a mighty elm. + +And there they built an altar, and bade him bathe in Cephisus, +and offer a yearling ram, and purified him from the blood of Sinis, +and sent him away in peace. + +And he went down the valley by Acharnai, and by the silver-swirling +stream, while all the people blessed him; for the fame of his prowess +had spread wide, till he saw the plain of Athens, and the hill where +Athené dwells. + +So Theseus went up through Athens, and all the people ran out +to see him; for his fame had gone before him, and every one knew +of his mighty deeds. And all cried, "Here comes the hero who +slew Sinis, and Phaia the wild sow of Crommyon, and conquered +Kerkuon in wrestling, and slew Procrustes the pitiless." But Theseus +went on sadly and steadfastly, for his heart yearned after his +father; and he said, "How shall I deliver him from these leeches +who suck his blood?" + +So he went up the holy stairs, and into the Acropolis, where +Ægeus' palace stood; and he went straight into Ægeus' hall, and +stood upon the threshold, and looked round. + +And there he saw his cousins sitting about the table at the wine: +many a son of Pallas, but no Ægeus among them. There they sat +and feasted, and laughed, and passed the wine-cup round; while +harpers harped, and slave girls sang, and the tumblers showed their +tricks. + +Loud laughed the sons of Pallas, and fast went the wine-cup round; +but Theseus frowned, and said under his breath, "No wonder that +the land is full of robbers, while such as these bear rule." + +Then the Pallantids saw him, and called to him, half-drunk with +wine, "Holla, tall stranger at the door, what is your will today?" + +"I come hither to ask for hospitality." + +"Then take it, and welcome. You look like a hero and a bold +warrior; and we like such to drink with us." + +"I ask no hospitality of you; I ask it of Ægeus the king, the master +of this house." + +At that some growled, and some laughed, and shouted, "Heyday! +we are all masters here." + +"Then I am master as much as the rest of you," said Theseus, and +he strode past the table up the hall, and looked around for Ægeus; +but he was nowhere to be seen. + +The Pallantids looked at him, and then at each other; and each +whispered to the man next him, "This is a forward fellow; he +ought to be thrust out at the door." But each man's neighbor +whispered in return, "His shoulders are broad; will you rise and +put him out?" So they all sat still where they were. + +Then Theseus called to the servants, and said, "Go tell King +Ægeus, your master, that Theseus of Troezene is here, and asks to be +his guest awhile." + +A servant ran and told Ægeus, where he sat in his chamber within, +by Medeia the dark witch-woman, watching her eye and hand. And +when Ægeus heard of Troezene, he turned pale and red again, and +rose from his seat trembling, while Medeia watched him like a +snake. + +"What is Troezene to you?" she asked. But he said hastily, "Do +you not know who this Theseus is? The hero who has cleared the +country from all monsters; but that he came from Troezene, I never +heard before. I must go out and welcome him." + +So Ægeus came out into the hall; and when Theseus saw him, his +heart leapt into his mouth, and he longed to fall on his neck and +welcome him; but he controlled himself, and said, "My father may +not wish for me, after all. I will try him before I discover myself;" +and he bowed low before Ægeus, and said, "I have delivered the +king's realm from many monsters; therefore I am come to ask a +reward of the king." + +And old Ægeus looked on him, and loved him, as what fond heart +would not have done? But he only sighed, and said,-- + +"It is little that I can give you, noble lad, and nothing that is +worthy of you; for surely you are no mortal man, or at least no +mortal's son." + +"All that I ask," said Theseus, "is to eat and drink at your table." + +"That I can give you," said Ægeus, "if at least I am master in +my own hall." + +Then he bade them put a seat for Theseus, and set before him the +best of the feast; and Theseus sat and ate so much, that all the +company wondered at him: but always he kept his club by his +side. + +But Medeia the dark witch-woman had been watching him all the +while. She saw how Ægeus turned red and pale, when the lad said +that he came from Troezene. She saw, too, how his heart was opened +toward Theseus; and how Theseus bore himself before all the sons +of Pallas, like a lion among a pack of curs. And she said to herself, +"This youth will be master here; perhaps he is nearer to +Ægeus already than mere fancy. At least the Pallantids will have +no chance by the side of such as he." + +Then she went back into her chamber modestly, while Theseus ate +and drank; and all the servants whispered, "This, then, is the man +who killed the monsters! How noble are his looks, and how huge +his size. Ah, would that he were our master's son." + +But presently Medeia came forth, decked in all her jewels, and +her rich Eastern robes, and looking more beautiful than the day; +so that all the guests could look at nothing else. And in her right +hand she held a golden cup, and in her left a flask of gold; and she +came up to Theseus, and spoke in a sweet, soft, winning voice,-- + +"Hail to the hero, the conqueror, the unconquered, the destroyer +of all evil things! Drink, hero, of my charmed cup, which gives +rest after every toil, which heals all wounds, and pours new life +into the veins. Drink of my cup, for in it sparkles the wine of the +East, and Nepenthe, the comfort of the Immortals." + +And as she spoke, she poured the flask into the cup; and the +fragrance of the wine spread through the hall, like the scent of +thyme and roses. + +And Theseus looked up in her fair face, and into her deep dark +eyes. And as he looked, he shrank and shuddered; for they were +dry like the eyes of a snake. And he rose and said, "The wine is +rich and fragrant, and the wine-bearer as fair as the Immortals; but +let her pledge me first herself in the cup, that the wine may be +the sweeter from her lips." + +Then Medeia turned pale, and stammered, "Forgive me, fair +hero; but I am ill, and dare drink no wine." + +And Theseus looked again into her eyes, and cried, "Thou shalt +pledge me in that cup, or die." And he lifted up his brazen club, +while all the guests looked on aghast. + +Medeia shrieked a fearful shriek, and dashed the cup to the +ground, and fled; and where the wine flowed over the marble pavement +the stone bubbled, and crumbled, and hissed, under the fierce +venom of the draught. + +But Medeia called her dragon chariot, and sprang into it and fled +aloft, away over land and sea; and no man saw her more. + +And Ægeus cried, "What hast thou done?" But Theseus pointed +to the stone,--"I have rid the land of an enchantment: now I will +rid it of one more." + +And he came close to Ægeus, and drew from his bosom the sword +and the sandals, and said the words which his mother bade him. + +And Ægeus stepped back a pace, and looked at the lad till his +eyes grew dim; and then he cast himself on his neck, and wept; +and Theseus wept on his neck, till they had no strength left to +weep more. + +Then Ægeus turned to all the people, and cried, "Behold my son, +children of Kecrops, a better man than his father was before him." + +Who then were mad but the Pallantids, though they had been +mad enough before? And one shouted, "Shall we make room for +an upstart, a pretender, who comes from we know not where?" +And another, "If he be one, we are more than one; and the stronger +can hold his own." And one shouted one thing, and one another, +for they were hot and wild with wine; but all caught swords and +lances off the wall, where the weapons hung around, and sprang +forward to Theseus; and Theseus sprang forward to them. + +And he cried, "Go in peace, if you will, my cousins; but if not, +your blood be on your own heads." But they rushed at him; and +then stopped short and railed him, as curs stop and bark when they +rouse a lion from his lair. + +But one hurled a lance from the rear rank, which past close by +Theseus' head; and at that Theseus rushed forward, and the fight +began indeed. Twenty against one they fought, and yet Theseus +beat them all; and those who were left fled down into the town, +where the people set on them, and drove them out, till Theseus was +left alone in the palace, with Ægeus his new-found father. But +before nightfall all the town came up, with victims, and dances, and +songs; and they offered sacrifices to Athené, and rejoiced all the +night long, because their king had found a noble son, and an heir to +his royal house. + +So Theseus stayed with his father all the winter; and when the +spring equinox drew near, all the Athenians grew sad and silent, and +Theseus saw it, and asked the reason; but no one would answer +him a word. + +Then he went to his father, and asked him: but Ægeus turned +away his face and wept. + +"Do not ask, my son, beforehand, about evils which must happen: +it is enough to have to face them when they come." + +And when the spring equinox came, a herald came to Athens, and +stood in the market, and cried, "O people and King of Athens, where +is your yearly tribute?" Then a great lamentation arose throughout +the city. But Theseus stood up to the herald, and cried,-- + +"And who are you, dog-faced, who dare demand tribute here? +If I did not reverence your herald's staff, I would brain you with +this club." + +And the herald answered proudly, for he was a grave and ancient +man,-- + +"Fair youth, I am not dog-faced or shameless; but I do my master's +bidding, Minos the King of hundred-citied Crete, the wisest +of all kings on earth. And you must be surely a stranger here, or +you would know why I come, and that I come by right." + +"I am a stranger here. Tell me, then, why you come." + +"To fetch the tribute which King Ægeus promised to Minos, and +confirmed his promise with an oath. For Minos conquered all this +land, and Megara which lies to the east, when he came hither with +a great fleet of ships, enraged about the murder of his son. For his +son Androgeos came hither to the Panathenaic games, and overcame +all the Greeks in the sports, so that the people honored him as +a hero. But when Ægeus saw his valor, he envied him, and feared +lest he should join the sons of Pallas, and take away the scepter from +him. So he plotted against his life, and slew him basely, no man +knows how or where. Some say that he waylaid him by noe, on +the road which goes to Thebes; and some that he sent him against +the bull of Marathon, that the beast might kill him. But Ægeus says +that the young men killed him from envy, because he had conquered +them in the games. So Minos came hither and avenged him, and +would not depart till this land had promised him tribute, seven +youths and seven maidens every year, who go with me in a black-sailed +ship, till they come to hundred-citied Crete." + +And Theseus ground his teeth together, and said, "Wert thou not +a herald I would kill thee, for saying such things of my father; +but I will go to him, and know the truth." So he went to his father, +and asked him; but he turned away his head and wept, and said, +"Blood was shed in the land unjustly, and by blood it is avenged. +Break not my heart by questions; it is enough to endure in silence." + +Then Theseus groaned inwardly, and said, "I will go myself +with these youths and maidens, and kill Minos upon his royal +throne." + +And Ægeus shrieked, and cried, "You shall not go, my son, the +light of my old age, to whom alone I look to rule this people, after +I am dead and gone. You shall not go, to die horribly, as those +youths and maidens die; for Minos thrusts them into a labyrinth, +which Daidalos made for him among the rocks,--Daidalos the +renegade, the accursed, the pest of this his native land. From that +labyrinth no one can escape, entangled in its winding ways, before +they meet the Minotaur, the monster, who feeds upon the flesh of +men. There he devours them horribly, and they never see this land +again." + +Then Theseus grew red, and his ears tingled, and his heart beat +loud in his bosom. And he stood awhile like a tall stone pillar on +the cliffs above some hero's grave; and at last he spoke,-- + +"Therefore all the more I will go with them, and slay the +accursed beast. Have I not slain all evil-doers and monsters, that +I might free this land? Where are Periphetes, and Sinis, and Kerkuon, +and Phaia the wild sow? Where are the fifty sons of Pallas? +And this Minotaur shall go on the road which they have gone; and +Minos himself, if he dare stay me." + +"But how will you slay him, my son? For you must leave your +club and your armor behind, and be cast to the monster, defenseless +and naked like the rest." + +And Theseus said: "Are there no stones in that labyrinth; and +have I not fists and teeth? Did I need my club to kill Kerkuon, the +terror of all mortal men?" + +Then Ægeus clung to his knees, but he would not hear: and at last +he let him go, weeping bitterly, and said only this one word,-- + +"Promise me but this, if you return in peace, though that may +hardly be: take down the black sail of the ship (for I shall watch +for it all day upon the cliffs) and hoist instead a white sail, that +I may know afar off that you are safe." + +And Theseus promised, and went out, and to the market-place +where the herald stood, while they drew lots for the youths and +maidens who were to sail in that doleful crew. And the people stood +wailing and weeping, as the lot fell on this one and on that; but +Theseus strode into the midst, and cried,-- + +"Here is a youth who needs no lot. I myself will be one of the +seven." + +And the herald asked in wonder, "Fair youth, know you whither +you are going?" + +And Theseus said, "I know. Let us go down to the black-sailed +ship." + +So they went down to the black-sailed ship, seven maidens and +seven youths, and Theseus before them all, and the people following +them lamenting. But Theseus whispered to his companions, +"Have hope, for the monster is not immortal. Where are Periphetes, +and Sinis, and Sciron, and all whom I have slain?" Then +their hearts were comforted a little; but they wept as they went +on board, and the cliffs of Sunium rang, and all the isles of the +Ægean Sea, with the voice of their lamentation, as they sailed on +toward their deaths in Crete. + + + +PART III + +HOW THESEUS SLEW THE MINOTAUR + + +And at last they came to Crete, and to Cnossus, beneath the peaks +of Ida, and to the palace of Minos the great king, to whom Zeus +himself taught laws. So he was the wisest of all mortal kings, +and conquered all the Ægean isles; and his ships were as many +as the sea-gulls, and his palace like a marble hill. And he sat among +the pillars of the hall, upon his throne of beaten gold, and around +him stood the speaking statues which Daidalos had made by his +skill. For Daidalos was the most cunning of all Athenians, and he +first invented the plumb-line, and the auger, and glue, and many a +tool with which wood is wrought. And he first set up masts in +ships, and yards, and his son made sails for them: but Perdix his +nephew excelled him; for he first invented the saw and its teeth, +copying it from the back-bone of a fish; and invented, too, the +chisel, and the compasses, and the potter's wheel which molds the +clay. Therefore Daidalos envied him, and hurled him headlong +from the temple of Athené; but the Goddess pitied him (for she loves +the wise) and changed him into a partridge, which flits forever about +the hills. And Daidalos fled to Crete, to Minos, and worked for +him many a year, till he did a shameful deed, at which the sun hid +his face on high. + +Then he fled from the anger of Minos,--he and Icarus, his son, +having made themselves wings of feathers, and fixed the feathers +with wax. So they flew over the sea toward Sicily; but Icarus flew +too near the sun; and the wax of his wings was melted, and he fell +into the Icarian Sea. But Daidalos came safe to Sicily, and there +wrought many a wondrous work: for he made for King Cocalus a +reservoir, from which a great river watered all the land, and a castle +and a treasury on a mountain, which the giants themselves could not +have stormed; and in Selinos he took the steam which comes up from +the fires of AEtna and made of it a warm bath of vapor, to cure the +pains of mortal men; and he made a honeycomb of gold, in which +the bees came and stored their honey; and in Egypt he made the +fore-court of the temple of Hephaistus, in Memphis, and a statue of +himself within it, and many another wondrous work. And for Minos +he made statues which spoke and moved, and the temple of Britomartis, +and the dancing-hall of Ariadne, which he carved of fair +white stone. And in Sardinia he worked for Iölaos; and in many +a land beside, wandering up and down forever with his cunning, +unlovely and accursed by men. + +But Theseus stood before Minos, and they looked each other in +the face. And Minos bade take them to prison, and cast them to the +monster one by one, that the death of Androgeos might be avenged. +Then Theseus cried-- + +"A boon, O Minos! Let me be thrown first to the beast. For +I came hither for that very purpose, of my own will, and not by lot." + +"Who art thou, then, brave youth?" + +"I am the son of him whom of all men thou hatest most, Ægeus +the king of Athens, and I am come here to end this matter." + +And Minos pondered awhile, looking steadfastly at him, and he +thought, "The lad means to atone by his own death for his father's +sin;" and he answered at last mildly-- + +"Go back in peace, my son. It is a pity that one so brave should +die." + +But Theseus said, "I have sworn that I will not go back till I +have seen the monster face to face." + +And at that Minos frowned, and said, "Then thou shalt see +him; take the madman away." + +And they led Theseus away into the prison, with the other youths +and maids. + +But Ariadne, Minos's daughter, saw him, as she came out of her +white stone hall; and she loved him for his courage and his majesty, +and said, "Shame that such a youth should die!" And by night +she went down to the prison, and told him all her heart, and said,-- + +"Flee down to your ship at once, for I have bribed the guards +before the door. Flee, you and all your friends, and go back in +peace to Greece; and take me, take me with you! for I dare not stay +after you are gone; for my father will kill me miserably, if he +knows what I have done." + +And Theseus stood silent awhile; for he was astonished and confounded +by her beauty: but at last he said, "I cannot go home in +peace, till I have seen and slain this Minotaur, and avenged the +deaths of the youths and maidens, and put an end to the terrors of +my land." + +"And will you kill the Minotaur? How, then?" + +"I know not, nor do I care: but he must be strong if he be too +strong for me." + +Then she loved him all the more, and said, "But when you have +killed him, how will you find your way out of the labyrinth?" + +"I know not, neither do I care: but it must be a strange road, +if I do not find it out before I have eaten up the monster's carcase." + +Then she loved him all the more, and said,-- + +"Fair youth, you are too bold; but I can help you, weak as I am. +I will give you a sword, and with that, perhaps, you may slay the +beast; and a clue of thread, and by that, perhaps, you may find your +way out again. Only promise me, that if you escape safe, you will +take me home with you to Greece; for my father will surely kill me, +if he knows what I have done." + +Then Theseus laughed, and said, "Am I not safe enough now?" +And he hid the sword in his bosom, and rolled up the clue in his +hand; and then he swore to Ariadne, and fell down before her, +and kissed her hands and her feet; and she wept over him a long +while, and then went away; and Theseus lay down and slept sweetly. + +And when the evening came, the guards came in and led him away +to the labyrinth. + +And he went down into that doleful gulf, through winding paths +among the rocks, under caverns, and arches, and galleries, and over +heaps of fallen stone. And he turned on the left hand, and on the +right hand, and went up and down till his head was dizzy; but all the +while he held his clue. For when he went in he had fastened it to +a stone, and left it to unroll out of his hand as he went on; and it +lasted him till he met the Minotaur, in a narrow chasm between +black cliffs. + +And when he saw him he stopped awhile, for he had never seen +so strange a beast. His body was a man's: but his head was the head +of a bull; and his teeth were the teeth of a lion, and with them he tore +his prey. And when he saw Theseus he roared, and put his head +down, and rushed right at him. + +But Theseus stept aside nimbly, and as he passed by, cut him in +the knee; and ere he could turn in the narrow path, he followed +him, and stabbed him again and again from behind, till the monster +fled bellowing wildly; for he never before had felt a wound. And +Theseus followed him at full speed, holding the clue of thread in his +left hand. + +Then on, through cavern after cavern, under dark ribs of sounding +stone, and up rough glens and torrent-beds, among the sunless roots +of Ida, and to the edge of the eternal snow, went they, the hunter and +hunted, while the hills bellowed to the monster's bellow. + +And at last Theseus came up with him, where he lay panting on +a slab among the snow, and caught him by the horns, and forced +his head back, and drove the keen sword through his throat. + +Then he turned, and went back limping and weary, feeling his +way down by the clue of thread, till he came to the mouth of that +doleful place; and saw waiting for him, whom but Ariadne! + +And he whispered, "It is done!" and showed her the sword; and +she laid her finger on her lips, and led him to the prison, and opened +the doors, and set all the prisoners free, while the guards lay sleeping +heavily; for she had silenced them with wine. + +Then they fled to their ship together, and leapt on board, and +hoisted up the sail; and the night lay dark around them, so that +they past through Minos's ships, and escaped all safe to Naxos; and +there Ariadne became Theseus's wife. + + + +PART IV + +HOW THESEUS FELL BY HIS PRIDE + + +But that fair Ariadne never came to Athens with her husband. Some say +that Theseus left her sleeping on Naxos among the Cyclades; and that +Dionusos the wine-king found her, and took her up into the sky, as you +shall see some day in a painting of old Titian's, one of the most +glorious pictures upon earth. And some say that Dionusos drove away +Theseus, and took Ariadne from him by force: but however that may be, +in his haste or in his grief, Theseus forgot to put up the white sail. +Now Ægeus his father sat and watched on Sunium day after day, and +strained his old eyes across the sea to see the ship afar. And when he +saw the black sail, and not the white one, he gave up Theseus for dead, +and in his grief he fell into the sea, and died; so it is called the +Ægean to this day. + +And now Theseus was king of Athens, and he guarded it and ruled it well. + +For he killed the bull of Marathon, which had killed Androgeos, Minos's +son; and he drove back the famous Amazons, the warlike women of the East, +when they came from Asia, and conquered all Hellas, and broke into Athens +itself. But Theseus stopped them there, and conquered them, and took +Hippolyte their queen to be his wife. Then he went out to fight against +the Lapithai, and Peirithoos their famous king: but when the two heroes +came face to face they loved each other, and embraced, and became noble +friends; so that the friendship of Theseus and Peirithoos is a proverb +even now. And he gathered (so the Athenians say) all the boroughs of the +land together, and knit them into one strong people, while before they +were all parted and weak: and many another wise thing he did, so that +his people honored him after he was dead, for many a hundred years, as +the father of their freedom and their laws. And six hundred years after +his death, in the famous fight at Marathon, men said that they saw the +ghost of Theseus, with his mighty brazen club, fighting in the van of +battle against the invading Persians, for the country which he loved. +And twenty years after Marathon, his bones (they say) were found in +Scuros, an isle beyond the sea; and they were bigger than the bones of +mortal man So the Athenians brought them home in triumph; and all the +people came out to welcome them; and they built over them a noble +temple, and adorned it with sculptures and paintings; in which were +told all the noble deeds of Theseus, and the Centaurs, and the Lapithai +and the Amazons; and the ruins of it are standing still. + +But why did they find his bones in Scuros? Why did he not die in peace +at Athens, and sleep by his father's side? Because, after his triumph he +grew proud, and broke the laws of God and man. And one thing worst of +all he did, which brought him to his grave with sorrow. For he went down +(they say beneath the earth) with that bold Peirithoos his friend, to +help him to carry off Persephone, the queen of the world below. But +Peirithoos was killed miserably, in the dark fire-kingdoms underground; +and Theseus was chained to a rock in everlasting pain. And there he sat +for years, till Heracles the mighty came down to bring up the three- +headed dog who sits at Pluto's gate. So Heracles loosed him from his +chain, and brought him up to the light once more. + +But when he came back his people had forgotten him, and Castor and +Poludeuces, the sons of the wondrous Swan, had invaded his land, and +carried off his mother Aithra for a slave, in revenge for a grievous +wrong. + +So the fair land of Athens was wasted, and another king ruled it, who +drove out Theseus shamefully, and he fled across the sea to Scuros. And +there he lived in sadness, in the house of Lucomedes the king, till +Lucomedes killed him by treachery, and there was an end of all his +labors. + +So it is still, my children, and so it will be to the end. In those old +Greeks, and in us also, all strength and virtue come from God. But if +men grow proud and self-willed, and misuse God's fair gifts, He lets +them go their own ways, and fall pitifully, that the glory may be His +alone. God help us all, and give us wisdom, and courage to do noble +deeds! but God keep pride from us when we have done them, lest we fall, +and come to shame! + + + + + +Germanic + + + + +THOR GOES A-FISHING + +Hamilton Wright Mabie + + + +Midway between Niflheim and Muspelheim lay Midgard, the home +of men, its round disk everywhere encircled by the ocean, which perpetually +rushed upon it, gently in still summer afternoons, but with +a terrible uproar in winter. Ages ago, when the Midgard-serpent +had grown so vast that even the gods were afraid of him, Odin cast +him into the sea, and he lay flat at the bottom of the ocean, grown +to such monstrous size that his scaly length encircled the whole +world. Holding the end of his tail in his mouth, he sometimes lay +motionless for weeks at a time, and looking across the water no one +would have dreamed that such a monster was asleep in its depths. +But when the Midgard-serpent was aroused his wrath was terrible +to behold. He lashed the ocean into great sheets of foam, he piled +the waves mountain high, he dashed the spray into the very heavens, +and woe to the galleys that were sailing homeward. + +It happened once that the gods were feasting with Æger, the +sea-god, and the ale gave out, and Æger had no kettle in which to +brew a new supply. + +"Thor," said. Æger, after he had thought a moment, "will you +get me a kettle?" + +Thor was always ready for any hard or dangerous thing. + +"Of course I will," was his quick reply, "only tell me where +to get one." + +That, however, was no easy thing to do. Kettles big enough to +brew ale for Asgard were not to be picked up at a moment's notice. +Everybody wanted more ale, but nobody could tell Thor where to +find a kettle, until Tyr, the god of courage, spoke up: "East of +the river Elivagar lives my father, Hymer, who has a kettle mar-velously +strong and one mile deep." + +That was large enough even for the gods. + +"Do you think we can get it?" asked Thor, who always wanted +to succeed in his undertakings. + +"If we cannot get it by force, we can by stratagem," answered +Tyr, and they started off at once, Thor taking the disguise of a +young man. The goats drew them swiftly to Egil, with whom Thor +left them while he and Tyr pushed on to finish the journey afoot. +It was rough and perilous traveling, but they reached Hymer's hall +without accident, and there Tyr found his grandmother, a frightfully +ugly giantess, and his mother, a wonderfully beautiful woman, with +fair hair, and a face so radiant that the sun seemed to be always +shining upon it. The latter advised them to hide under the great +kettles in the hall, because when Hymer came home in bad temper +he was sometimes cruel to strangers. + +Late in the evening Hymer came home from his fishing. A cold +wind swept through the hall as he entered, his eyes were piercing +as the stars on a winter's night, and his beard was white with frost. + +"I welcome you home," said Tyr's beautiful mother; "our son, +for whom we have been looking so long, has come home, bringing +with him the enemy of giants and the protector of Asgard. See how +they hide themselves behind that pillar yonder." + +She pointed to a pillar at the farther end of the hall. Hymer +turned, and looked at it with his piercing, icy glance, and in an +instant it snapped into a thousand pieces; the beam overhead broke, +and eight kettles fell with a crash on the stone floor. Only one out +of the eight remained unbroken, and from it Thor and Tyr came +forth. Hymer was not glad to see Thor standing there under his +own roof, but he could not turn him out, so he made the best of it +and ordered three oxen to be served for supper. Thor had traveled +a long distance and was very hungry, and ate two of the oxen before +he was satisfied. + +"If you eat like that," said Hymer, "we will have to live on fish +tomorrow." + +Early the next morning, before the sun was up, Thor heard Hymer +getting ready for a day of fishing. He dressed himself quickly and +went out to the giant. "Good morning, Hymer," he said pleasantly. +"I am fond of fishing; let me row out to sea with you." + +"Oho," answered the giant scornfully, not at all pleased with the +idea of having his powerful enemy in the boat with him, "such a +puny young fellow can be of no use to me, and if I go as far out to +sea as I generally do, and stay as long, you will catch a cold that +will be the death of you." + +Thor was so angry at this insult that he wanted to let his hammer +ring on the giant's head, but he wisely kept his temper. + +"I will row as far from the land as you care to go," was his +answer, "and it is by no means certain that I shall be the first to +want to put in again. What do you bait with?" + +"Find a bait for yourself," was the giant's surly reply. + +Thor ran up to a herd of Hymer's cattle, seized the largest bull, +wrung off its head without any trouble, and put it in the boat. Then +they both pushed off and were soon rowing seaward. Hymer could +pull a strong oar, but he had never seen such a stroke as Thor's +before. The boat fairly trembled under the force of it. In a few +moments they reached Hymer's fishing-ground, and he called out +to Thor to stop. + +"Oh, no, not yet," said Thor, bending steadily over his oars; "we +must go a good distance beyond this." + +Thor pulled with such tremendous power that they were soon far +out to sea, and Hymer began to be frightened. "If you don't stop," +he called out, "we shall be over the Midgard-serpent." + +Thor paid no attention, but rowed on until they were far out of +sight of land and about where he thought the great snake was coiled +in the bottom of the sea; then he laid down the oars, as fresh and +strong apparently as when he got into the boat. It was the strangest +fishing party the world ever saw, and the most wonderful fishing. +No sooner had Hymer's bait touched the water than it was seized +by two whales. Thor smiled quietly at the giant's luck, took out +a fishing-line, made with wonderful skill, and so strong that it +could not be broken, fastened the bull's head upon the hook and cast +it into the sea. The Midgard-serpent instantly seized it, and in a +second the hook was fast in its palate. Then came a furious struggle +between the strong god and the terrible monster which was the dread +of the whole earth. + +Stung by the pain, the serpent writhed and pulled so hard that +Thor had to brace himself against the side of the boat. When he +found that the snake had taken his hook his wrath rose, and his +divine strength came upon him. He pulled the line with such +tremendous force that his feet went straight through the bottom of +the boat, and he stood on the bed of the ocean while he drew the +snake up to the side of the boat. The monster, convulsed with pain, +reared its terrible head out of the water, its glittering eyes +flashing, its whole vast body writhing and churning the ocean into a +whirlpool of eddying foam. Thor's eyes blazed with wrath, and he +held the serpent in a grasp like a vise. The uproar was like a +terrible storm, and the boat, the fishers, and the snake were hidden +by columns of foam that rose in the air. No one can tell what the end +would have been if Hymer, trembling with fright and seeing the +boat about to sink, had not sprung forward and cut the line just as +Thor was raising his hammer to crush the serpent's head. The +snake sank at once to the bottom of the sea, and Thor, turning upon +the giant, struck him such a blow under the ear that he fell headlong +into the water. The giant got back to the boat, however, and +they rowed to land, taking the two whales with them. + +When they reached shore Thor was still filled with rage at the +meddlesome giant, because he had lost him the serpent, but he +quietly picked up the boat and carried it home, Hymer taking the +whales. Once more under his own roof, the giant's courage returned, +and he challenged Thor to show his strength by breaking +his drinking-cup. Thor sat down and, taking the cup, hurled it +against a pillar. It flew through the air, crashed against the stone, +bounded back, and was picked up as whole and perfect as when it +came into Thor's hands. He was puzzled, but Tyr's beautiful +fair-haired mother whispered to him, "Throw it at Hymer's forehead; +it is harder than any drinking-cup." + +Thor drew in all his godlike strength and dashed the cup with a +terrific effort at Hymer. The forehead was unharmed, but the cup +was scattered in a thousand pieces over the floor. Hymer had lost a +great treasure by the experiment, but he only said, "That drink was +too hot. Perhaps you will take the kettle off now," he added with +a sneer. + +Tyr immediately laid hands on the kettle, but he could not move +it an inch. Then Thor took the great pot in his hands and drew +it up with such a mighty effort that his feet went through the +stone floor of the hall, but he lifted it and, placing it on his head +like a mighty helmet, walked off, the rings of the kettle clanging +about his feet. The two gods walked swiftly away from the hall +where so many troubles and labors had awaited them, and it was +a long time before Thor turned to look back. When he did, it +was not a moment too soon, for Hymer was close behind, with a +multitude of many-headed giants, in hot pursuit. + +In one minute Thor had lifted the kettle off his head and put it +on the ground, in another he was swinging the hammer among the +giants, and in another, when the lightnings had gone out and the +thunder had died in awful echoes among the hills, Tyr and Thor +were alone on the field. + +They went on to Egil, mounted the chariot and drove the goats +swiftly on to Æger's, where the gods were impatiently waiting for +the kettle. There was straightway a mighty brewing of ale, Thor +told the story of his adventures in search of the kettle, and the feast +went merrily on. + + + + +BALDUR + +Annie and Eliza Keary + + + +PART I + +THE DREAM + + +Upon a summer's afternoon it happened that Baldur the Bright +and Bold, beloved of men and Æsir, found himself alone in his +palace of Broadblink. Thor was walking low down among the +valleys, his brow heavy with summer heat; Frey and Gerda sported +on still waters in their cloud-leaf ship; Odin, for once, slept on the +top of Air Throne; a noonday stillness pervaded the whole earth; +and Baldur in Broadblink, the wide-glancing, most sunlit of palaces, +dreamed a dream. + +The dream of Baldur was troubled. He knew not whence nor +why; but when he awoke he found that a new and weighty care was +within him. It was so heavy that Baldur could scarcely carry it, +and yet he pressed it closely to his heart and said, "Lie there, and +do not fall on any one but me." Then he rose up and walked out +from the splendor of his hall, that he might seek his own mother, +Frigga, and tell her what had happened to him. He found her in +her crystal saloon, calm and kind, waiting to listen, and ready to +sympathize; so he walked up to her, his hands pressed closely on +his heart, and lay down at her feet, sighing. + +"What is the matter, dear Baldur?" asked Frigga, gently. + +"I do not know, mother," answered he. "I do not know what +the matter is; but I have a shadow in my heart." + +"Take it out, then, my son, and let me look at it," replied Frigga. + +"But I fear, mother, that if I do it will cover the whole earth." + +Then Frigga laid her hand upon the heart of her son that she +might feel the shadow's shape. Her brow became clouded as she +felt it; her parted lips grew pale, and she cried out, "Oh! Baldur, +my beloved son! the shadow is the shadow of death!" + +Then said Baldur, "I will die bravely, my mother." + +But Frigga answered, "You shall not die at all; for I will not +sleep tonight until everything on earth has sworn to me that it will +neither kill nor harm you." + +So Frigga stood up, and called to her everything on earth that had +power to hurt or slay. First she called all metals to her; and heavy +iron-ore came lumbering up the hill into the crystal hall, brass and +gold, copper, silver, lead, and steel, and stood before the Queen, +who lifted her right hand high in the air, saying, "Swear to me +that you will not injure Baldur"; and they all swore, and went. +Then she called to her all stones; and huge granite came, with +crumbling sandstones and white lime, and the round, smooth stones +of the seashore, and Frigga raised her arm, saying, "Swear that +you will not injure Baldur"; and they swore, and went. Then +Frigga called to her the trees; and wide-spreading oak trees, with +tall ash and somber firs, came rushing up the hill, and Frigga raised +her hand, and said, "Swear that you will not hurt Baldur"; and +they said, "We swear," and went. After this Frigga called to her +the diseases, who came blown by poisonous winds on wings of pain, +and to the sound of moaning. Frigga said to them, "Swear"; and +they sighed, "We swear," then flew away. Then Frigga called to +her all beasts, birds, and venomous snakes, who came to her and +swore, and disappeared. After this she stretched out her hand to +Baldur, whilst a smile spread over her face, saying, "And now, my +son, you cannot die." + +But just then Odin came in, and when he had heard from Frigga +the whole story, he looked even more mournful than she had done; +neither did the cloud pass from his face when he was told of the +oaths that had been taken. + +"Why do you still look so grave, my lord?" demanded Frigga +at last. "Baldur cannot now die." + +But Odin asked very gravely, "Is the shadow gone out of our +son's heart, or is it still there?" + +"It cannot be there," said Frigga, turning away her head resolutely, +and folding her hands before her. + +But Odin looked at Baldur, and saw how it was, the hands +pressed to the heavy heart, the beautiful brow grown dim. Then +immediately he rose, saddled Sleipnir, his eight-footed steed, +mounted him, and, turning to Frigga said, "I know of a dead Vala, +Frigga, who, when she was alive, could tell what was going to +happen; her grave lies on the east side of Helheim, and I am going +there to awake her, and ask whether any terrible grief is really +coming upon us." + +So saying, Odin shook the bridle in his hand, and the Eight-footed, +with a bound, leaped forth, rushed like a whirlwind down the mountain +of Asgard, and then dashed into a narrow defile between rocks. + +Sleipnir went on through the defile a long way, until he came +to a place where the earth opened her mouth. There Odin rode in +and down a broad, steep, slanting road which led him to the cavern +Gnipa, and the mouth of the cavern Gnipa yawned upon Niflheim. +Then thought Odin to himself, "My journey is already done." +But just as Sleipnir was about to leap through the jaws of the pit, +Garm, the voracious dog who was chained to the rock, sprang forward, +and tried to fasten himself upon Odin. Three times Odin +shook him off, and still Garm, as fierce as ever, went on with the +fight. At last Sleipnir leaped, and Odin thrust just at the same +moment; then horse and rider cleared the entrance, and turned +eastward towards the dead Vala's grave, dripping blood along the +road as they went; while the beaten Garm stood baying in the +cavern's mouth. + +When Odin came to the grave he got off his horse, and stood with +his face northward, looking through barred inclosures into the city +of Helheim itself. The servants of Hela were very busy there making +preparations for some new guest--hanging gilded couches with +curtains of anguish and splendid misery upon the walls. Then +Odin's heart died within him, and he began to repeat mournful runes +in a low tone to himself. + +The dead Vala turned heavily in her grave at the sound of his voice, +and, as he went on, sat bolt upright. "What man is this," she asked, +"who dares disturb my sleep?" + +Then Odin, for the first time in his life, said what was not true; +the shadow of Baldur dead fell upon his lips, and he made answer, +"My name is Vegtam, the son of Valtam." + +"And what do you want from me?" asked the Vala. + +"I want to know," replied Odin, "for whom Hela is making ready that +gilded couch in Helheim?" + +"That is for Baldur the Beloved," answered the dead Vala. +"Now go away and let me sleep again, for my eyes are heavy." + +But Odin said: "Only one word more. Is Baldur going to Helheim?" + +"Yes, I've told you that he is," answered the Vala. + +"Will he never come back to Asgard again?" + +"If everything on earth should weep for him," answered she, +"he will go back; if not, he will remain in Helheim." + +Then Odin covered his face with his hands and looked into +darkness. + +"Do go away," said the Vala, "I'm so sleepy; I cannot keep my +eyes open any longer." + +But Odin raised his head and said again: "Only tell me this one +thing. Just now, as I looked into darkness, it seemed to me as if +I saw one on earth who would not weep for Baldur. Who was it?" + +At this the Vala grew very angry and said: "How couldst thou +see in darkness? I know of only one who, by giving away his eye, +gained light. No Vegtam art thou, but Odin, chief of men." + +At her angry words Odin became angry, too, and called out as +loudly as ever he could, "No Vala art thou, nor wise woman, but +rather the mother of three giants!" + +"Go, go!" answered the Vala, falling back in her grave; "no +man shall waken me again until Loki have burst his chains and +Ragnarok be come." After this Odin mounted the Eight-footed +once more and rode thoughtfully towards home. + + + +PART II + +THE PEACESTEAD + + +When Odin came back to Asgard, Hermod took the bridle from +his father's hand and told him that the rest of the Aesir were gone +to the Peacestead--a broad, green plain which lay just outside +the city. This was the playground of the Aesir, where they practiced +trials of skill one with another, and held tournaments and +sham fights. These last were always conducted in the gentlest and +most honorable manner; for the strongest law of the Peacestead was, +that no angry blow should be struck, or spiteful word spoken, +upon the sacred field; and for this reason some have thought it +might be well if children also had a Peacestead to play in. + +Odin was too much tired by his journey from Helheim to go to +the Peacestead that afternoon; so he turned away and shut himself +up in his palace of Gladsheim. But when he was gone, Loki came +into the city by another way, and hearing from Hermod where the +Aesir were, set off to join them. + +When he got to the Peacestead, Loki found that the Aesir were +standing round in a circle shooting at something, and he peeped +between the shoulders of two of them to find out what it was. To +his surprise he saw Baldur standing in the midst, erect and calm, +whilst his friends and brothers were aiming their weapons at him. +Some hewed at him with their swords,--others threw stones at him, +--some shot arrows pointed with steel, and Thor continually swung +Miolnir at his head. "Well," said Loki to himself, "if this is the +sport of Asgard, what must that of Jotunheim be? I wonder what +Father Odin and Mother Frigga would say if they were here?" + +But as Loki still looked, he became even more surprised, for the +sport went on, and Baldur was not hurt. Arrows aimed at his very +heart glanced back again untinged with blood. The stones fell +down from his broad, bright brow, and left no bruises there. +Swords clave, but did not wound him; Miölnir struck him, and he +was not crushed. At this Loki grew perfectly furious with envy and +hatred. "And why is Baldur to be so honored," said he, "that even +steel and stone shall not hurt him?" Then Loki changed himself +into a little, dark, bent old woman, with a stick in his hand, and +hobbled away from the Peacestead to Frigga's cool saloon. At +the door he knocked with his stick. + +"Come in!" said the kind voice of Frigga, and Loki lifted the +latch. + +Now when Frigga saw, from the other end of the hall, a little, +bent, crippled old woman come hobbling up her crystal floor, she +got up with true queenliness and met her halfway, holding out her +hand and saying in the kindest manner, "Pray sit down, my poor +old friend; for it seems to me that you have come from a great +way off." + +"That I have, indeed," answered Loki in a tremulous, squeaking +voice. + +"And did you happen to see anything of the Æsir," asked Frigga, +"as you came?" + +"Just now I passed by the Peacestead and saw them at play." + +"What were they doing?" + +"Shooting at Baldur." + +Then Frigga bent over her work with a pleased smile on her +face. "And nothing hurt him?" she said. + +"Nothing," answered Loki, looking keenly at her. + +"No, nothing," murmured Frigga, still looking down and speaking +half musingly to herself; "for all things have sworn to me that +they will not." + +"Sworn!" exclaimed Loki, eagerly; "what is that you say? +Has everything sworn then?" + +"Everything," answered she, "excepting, indeed, the little shrub +mistletoe, which grows, you know, on the west side of Valhalla, and +to which I said nothing, because I thought it was too young to swear." + +"Excellent!" thought Loki, and then he got up. + +"You're not going yet, are you?" said Frigga, stretching out her +hand and looking up at last into the eyes of the old woman. + +"I'm quite rested now, thank you," answered Loki in his squeaky +voice, and then he hobbled out at the door, which clapped after +him, and sent a cold gust into the room. Frigga shuddered, and +thought that a serpent was gliding down the back of her neck. + +When Loki had left the presence of Frigga, he changed himself +back to his proper shape and went straight to the west side of +Valhalla, where the mistletoe grew. Then he opened his knife and +cut off a large branch, saying these words, "Too young for Frigga's +oaths, but not too weak for Loki's work." After which he set off +for the Peacestead once more, the mistletoe in his hand. When he +got there he found that the AEsir were still at their sport, +standing round, taking aim, and talking eagerly, and Baldur did +not seem tired. + +But there was one who stood alone, leaning against a tree, and +who took no part in what was going on. This was Hodur, Baldur's +blind twin-brother; he stood with his head bent downwards, silent +whilst the others were speaking, doing nothing when they were most +eager; and Loki thought that there was a discontented expression +on his face, just as if he were saying to himself, "Nobody takes any +notice of me." So Loki went up to him and put his hand upon his +shoulder. + +"And why are you standing here all alone, my brave friend?" +said he. "Why don't you throw something at Baldur? Hew at +him with a sword, or show him some attention of that sort." + +"I haven't a sword," answered Hodur, with an impatient gesture; +"and you know as well as I do, Loki, that Father Odin does not +approve of my wearing warlike weapons, or joining in sham fights, +because I am blind." + +"Oh! is that it?" said Loki. "Well, I only know I shouldn't +like to be left out of everything. However, I've got a twig of +mistletoe here which I'll lend you if you like; a harmless little +twig enough, but I shall be happy to guide your arm if you would +like to throw it, and Baldur might take it as a compliment from +his twin-brother." + +"Let me feel it," said Hodur, stretching out his uncertain hands. + +"This way, this way, my dear friend," said Loki, giving him the +twig. "Now, as hard as ever you can, to do him honor; throw!" + +Hodur threw--Baldur fell, and the shadow of death covered +the whole earth. + + + +PART III + +BALDUR DEAD + + +One after another they turned and left the Peacestead, those +friends and brothers of the slain. One after another they turned +and went towards the city; crushed hearts, heavy footsteps, no word +amongst them, a shadow upon all. The shadow was in Asgard, too +--had walked through Frigga's hall and seated itself upon the +threshold of Gladsheim. Odin had just come out to look at it, and +Frigga stood by in mute despair as the Æsir came up. + +"Loki did it! Loki did it!" they said at last in confused, hoarse +whispers, and they looked from one to another,--upon Odin, upon +Frigga, upon the shadow which they saw before them, and which +they felt within. "Loki did it! Loki, Loki!" they went on saying; +but it was no use repeating the name of Loki over and over +again when there was another name they were too sad to utter +which yet filled all their hearts--Baldur. Frigga said it first, +and then they all went to look at him lying down so peacefully on the +grass--dead, dead. + +"Carry him to the funeral pyre!" said Odin, at length; and four +of the Æsir stooped down and lifted their dead brother. + +With scarcely any sound they carried the body tenderly to the +seashore and laid it upon the deck of that majestic ship called +Ringhorn, which had been _his_. Then they stood round waiting to +see who would come to the funeral. Odin came, and on his shoulder? +sat his two ravens, whose croaking drew clouds down over the +Asa's face, for Thought and Memory sang one sad song that day. +Frigga came,--Frey, Gerda, Freyja, Thor, Hnir, Bragi, and +Iduna. Heimdall came sweeping over the tops of the mountains on +Golden Mane, his swift, bright steed. Ægir the Old groaned from +under the deep, and sent his daughters up to mourn around the +dead. Frost-giants and mountain-giants came crowding round the +rimy shores of Jotunheim to look across the sea upon the funeral +of an Asa. Nanna came, Baldur's fair young wife; but when she +saw the dead body of her husband, her own heart broke with grief, +and the Æsir laid her beside him on the stately ship. After this +Odin stepped forward and placed a ring on the breast of his son, +whispering something at the same time in his ear; but when he and +the rest of the Æsir tried to push Ringhorn into the sea before +setting fire to it, they found that their hearts were so heavy they +could lift nothing. So they beckoned to the giantess Hyrrokin to +come over from Jötunheim and help them. She, with a single +push, set the ship floating, and then, whilst Thor stood up holding +Miölnir high in the air, Odin lighted the funeral pile of Baldur and +of Nanna. + +So Ringhorn went out floating towards the deep, and the funeral +fire burnt on. Its broad red flame burst forth towards heaven; but +when the smoke would have gone upward too, the winds came +sobbing and carried it away. + + + +PART IV + +HELHEIM + + +When at last the ship Ringhorn had floated out so far to sea that +it looked like a dull red lamp on the horizon, Frigga turned round +and said, "Does any one of you, my children, wish to perform a +noble action and win my love forever?" + +"I do," cried Hermod, before any one else had time to open his +lips. + +"Go then, Hermod," answered Frigga, "saddle Sleipnir with all +speed and ride down to Helheim; there seek out Hela, the stern +mistress of the dead, and entreat her to send our beloved back to us +once more." + +Hermod was gone in the twinkling of an eye, not in at the mouth +of the earth and through the steep cavern down which Odin went +to the dead Vala's grave; he chose another way, though not a better +one; for, go to Helheim how you will, the best is but a downward +road, and so Hermod found it--downward, slanting, slippery, dark, +and very cold. At last he came to the Giallar Bru--that sounding +river which flows between the living and the dead, and the bridge +over which is paved with stones of glittering gold. Hermod was +surprised to see gold in such a place; but as he rode over the bridge, +and looked down carefully at the stones, he saw that they were only +tears which had been shed round the beds of the dying--only tears, +and yet they made the way seem brighter. But when Hermod +reached the other end of the bridge, he found the courageous woman +who, for ages and ages, had been sitting there to watch the dead go +by, and she stopped him, saying: + +"What a noise you make! Who are you? Yesterday five troops +of dead men went over the Giallar Bridge and did not shake it +so much as you have done. Besides," she added, looking more +closely at Hermod, "you are not a dead man at all. Your lips are +neither cold not blue. Why, then, do you ride on the way to +Helheim?" + +"I seek Baldur," answered Hermod. "Tell me, have you seen +him pass?" + +"Baldur," she said, "has ridden over the bridge; but there below, +towards the north, lies the way to the Abodes of Death." + +So Hermod went on the way until he came to the barred gates +of Helheim itself. There he alighted, tightened his saddle-girths, +remounted, clapped both spurs to his horse, and cleared the gate by +one tremendous leap. Then Hermod found himself in a place where +no living man had ever been before--the City of the Dead. Perhaps +you think there is a great silence there, but you are mistaken. +Hermod thought he had never in his life heard so much noise; for +the echoes of all words were speaking together--words, some newly +uttered and some ages old; but the dead men did not hear who flitted +up and down the dark streets, for their ears had been stunned +and become cold long since. Hermod rode on through the city until +he came to the palace of Hela, which stood in the midst. Precipice +was its threshold, the entrance hall, Wide Storm, and yet Hermod +was not too much afraid to seek the innermost rooms; so he went +on to the banqueting hall, where Hela sat at the head of her table +and served her newest guests. Baldur, alas! sat at her right hand, +and on her left his pale young wife. When Hela saw Hermod coming +up the hall she smiled grimly, but beckoned to him at the same +time to sit down, and told him that he might sup that night with +her. It was a strange supper for a living man to sit down to. +Hunger was the table; Starvation, Hela's knife; Delay, her man; +Slowness, her maid; and Burning Thirst, her wine. After supper +Hela led the way to the sleeping apartments. "You see," she said, +turning to Hermod, "I am very anxious about the comfort of my +guests. Here are beds of unrest provided for all, hung with curtains +of weariness, and look how all the walls are furnished with +despair." + +So saying she strode away, leaving Hermod and Baldur together. +The whole night they sat on those unquiet couches and talked. +Hermod could speak of nothing but the past, and as he looked +anxiously round the room his eyes became dim with tears. But +Baldur seemed to see a light far off, and he spoke of what was to +come. + +The next morning Hermod went to Hela, and entreated her to let +Baldur return to Asgard. He even offered to take his place in Helhelm +if she pleased; but Hela only laughed at this and said: "You talk a +great deal about Baldur, and boast how much every one loves him; I +will prove now if what you have told me be true. Let everything on +earth, living or dead, weep for Baldur, and he shall go home again; +but if one thing only refuse to weep, then let Helheim hold its own; +he shall not go." + +"Every one will weep willingly," said Hermod, as he mounted +Sleipnir and rode towards the entrance of the city. Baldur went +with him as far as the gate and began to send messages to all his +friends in Asgard, but Hermod would not listen to many of them. + +"You will so soon come back to us," he said, "there is no use +in sending messages." + +So Hermod darted homewards, and Baldur watched him through +the bars of Helheim's gateway as he flew along. + +"Not soon, not soon," said the dead Asa; but still he saw the light +far off, and thought of what was to come. + + + +PART V + +WEEPING + + +"Well, Hermod, what did she say?" asked the AEsir from the +top of the hill as they saw him coming; "make haste and tell us +what she said." And Hermod came up. + +"Oh! is that all?" they cried, as soon as he had delivered his +message. "Nothing can be more easy," and then they all hurried +off to tell Frigga. She was weeping already, and in five minutes +there was not a tearless eye in Asgard. + +"But this is not enough," said Odin; "the whole earth must +know of our grief that it may weep with us." + +Then the father of the AEsir called to him his messenger maidens +--the beautiful Valkyrior--and sent them out into all worlds with +these three words on their lips, "Baldur is dead!" But the words +were so dreadful that at first the messenger maidens could only +whisper them in low tones as they went along, "Baldur is dead!" +The dull, sad sounds flowed back on Asgard like a new river of +grief, and it seemed to the AEsir as if they now wept for the first +time-"Baldur is dead!" + +"What is that the Valkyrior are saying?" asked the men and +women in all the country round, and when they heard rightly, men +left their labor and lay down to weep--women dropped the buckets +they were carrying to the well, and, leaning their faces over them, +filled them with tears. The children crowded upon the doorsteps, +or sat down at the corners of the streets, crying as if their own +mothers were dead. + +The Valkyrior passed on. "Baldur is dead!" they said to the +empty fields; and straightway the grass and the wild field-flowers +shed tears. + +"Baldur is dead!" said the messenger maidens to the rocks and +stones; and the very stones began to weep. "Baldur is dead!" the +Valkyrior cried; and even the old mammoth's bones, which had lain +for centuries under the hills, burst into tears, so that small rivers +gushed forth from every mountain's side. "Baldur is dead!" said +the messenger maidens as they swept over silent sands; and all the +shells wept pearls. "Baldur is dead!" they cried to the sea, and +to Jotunheim across the sea; and when the giants understood it, +even they wept, whilst the sea rained spray to heaven. After this +the Valkyrior stepped from one stone to another until they reached +a rock that stood alone in the middle of the sea; then, all together, +they bent forward over the edge of it, stooped down and peeped +over, that they might tell the monsters of the deep. "Baldur is +dead!" they said, and the sea monsters and the fish wept. Then the +messenger maidens looked at one another and said, "Surely our +work is done." So they twined their arms round one another's +waists, and set forth on the downward road to Helheim, there to +claim Baldur from among the dead. + +After he had sent forth his messenger maidens, Odin had seated +himself on the top of Air Throne that he might see how the earth +received his message. At first he watched the Valkyrior as they +stepped forth north and south, and east and west; but soon the whole +earth's steaming tears rose up like a great cloud and hid everything +from him. Then he looked down through the cloud and said, "Are +you all weeping?" The Valkyrior heard the sound of his voice +as they went all together down the slippery road, and they turned +round, stretching out their arms towards Air Throne, their long hair +falling back, whilst, with choked voices and streaming eyes, they +answered, "The world weeps, Father Odin; the world and we." + +After this they went on their way until they came to the end of +the cave Gnipa, where Garm was chained, and which yawned over +Niflheim. "The world weeps," they said one to another by way +of encouragement, for here the road was so dreadful; but just as +they were about to pass through the mouth of Gnipa they came +upon a haggard witch named Thaukt, who sat in the entrance with +her back to them, and her face toward the abyss. "Baldur is dead! +Weep, weep!" said the messenger maidens, as they tried to pass +her; but Thaukt made answer: + + "What she doth hold, + Let Hela keep; + For naught care I, + Though the world weep, + O'er Baldur's bale. + Live he or die + With tearless eye, + Old Thaukt shall wail." + +And with these words leaped into Niflheim with a yell of triumph. + +"Surely that cry was the cry of Loki," said one of the maidens; +but another pointed towards the city of Helheim, and there they +saw the stern face of Hela looking over the wall. + +"One has not wept," said the grim Queen, "and Helheim holds +its own." So saying she motioned the maidens away with her long, +cold hand. + +Then the Valkyrior turned and fled up the steep way to the foot +of Odin's throne, like a pale snowdrift that flies before the storm. + + + + +THE HERO STORY + + + + +SIR WILLIAM WALLACE + +Walter Scott + + + +I told you, my dear Hugh, that Edward I of England had reduced Scotland +almost entirely to the condition of a conquered country, although he +had obtained possession of the kingdom less by his bravery, than by +cunningly taking advantage of the disputes and divisions that followed +amongst the Scots themselves after the death of Alexander III. + +The English, however, had in point of fact obtained possession of the +country, and governed it with much rigor. The Lord High Justice Ormesby +called all men to account, who would not take the oath of allegiance to +King Edward. Many of the Scots refused this, as what the English king +had no right to demand from them. Such persons were called into the +courts of justice, fined, deprived of their estates, and otherwise +severely punished. Then Hugh Cressingham, the English treasurer, +tormented the Scottish nation, by collecting money from them under +various pretexts. The Scots were always a poor people, and their native +kings had treated them with much kindness, and seldom required them to +pay any taxes. They were, therefore, extremely enraged at finding +themselves obliged to pay to the English treasurer much larger sums of +money than their own good kings had ever demanded from them; and they +became exceedingly dissatisfied. + +Besides these modes of oppression, the English soldiers, who, I told +you, had been placed in garrison in the different castles of Scotland, +thought themselves masters of the country, treated the Scots with great +contempt, took from them by main force whatever they had a fancy to, +and if the owners offered to resist, abused them, beat and wounded, and +sometimes killed them; for which acts of violence the English officers +did not check or punish their soldiers. Scotland was, therefore, in +great distress, and the inhabitants, exceedingly enraged, only wanted +some leader to command them, to rise up in a body against the English +or _Southern_ men, as they called them, and recover the liberty +and independence of their country, which had been destroyed by Edward +the First. + +Such a leader arose in the person of WILLIAM WALLACE, whose name is +still so often mentioned in Scotland. It is a great pity we do not know +exactly the history of this brave man; for at the time when he lived, +every one was so busy fighting, that there was no person to write down +the history of what took place; and afterwards, when there was more +leisure for composition, the truths that were collected were greatly +mingled with falsehood. What I shall tell you of him is generally +believed to be true. + +William Wallace was none of the high nobles of Scotland, but the son of +a private gentleman, called Wallace of Ellerslie, in Renfrewshire, near +Paisley. He was very tall and handsome, and one of the strongest and +bravest men that ever lived. He had a very fine countenance, with a +quantity of fair hair, and was particularly dexterous in the use of all +weapons which were then employed in battle. Wallace, like all Scotsmen +of high spirit, had looked with great indignation upon the usurpation +of the crown by Edward, and upon the insolencies which the English +soldiers committed on his countrymen. It is said, that when he was very +young, he went a-fishing for sport in the river of Irvine, near Ayr. He +had caught a good many trouts, which were carried by a boy, who +attended him with a fishing-basket, as is usual with anglers. Two or +three English soldiers, who belonged to the garrison of Ayr, came up to +Wallace, and insisted, with their usual insolence, on taking the fish +from the boy. Wallace was contented to allow them a part of the trouts, +but he refused to part with the whole basketful. The soldiers insisted, +and from words came to blows. Wallace had no better weapon than the +butt-end of his fishing-rod; but he struck the foremost of the +Englishmen so hard under the ear with it that he killed him on the spot; +and getting possession of the slain man's sword, he fought with so much +fury that he put the others to flight, and brought home his fish safe +and sound. The English governor of Ayr sought for him, to punish him +with death for this action; but Wallace lay concealed among the hills +and great woods till the matter was forgotten, and then appeared in +another part of the country. He is said to have had other adventures of +the same kind, in which he gallantly defended himself, sometimes when +alone, sometimes with very few companions, against superior numbers of +the English, until at last his name became generally known as a terror +to them. + +But the action which occasioned his finally rising in arms, is believed +to have happened in the town of Lanark. Wallace was at this time married +to a lady of that place, and residing there with his wife. It chanced, +as he walked in the market place, dressed in a green garment, with a +rich dagger by his side, that an Englishman came up and insulted him on +account of his finery, saying, a Scotsman had no business to wear so +gay a dress, or carry so handsome a weapon. It soon came to a quarrel, +as on many former occasions; and Wallace, having killed the Englishman, +fled to his own house, which was speedily assaulted by all the English +soldiers. While they were endeavoring to force their way in at the +front of the house, Wallace escaped by a back door, and got in safety +to a rugged and rocky glen, near Lanark, called the Cartland crags, all +covered with bushes and trees, and full of high precipices, where he +knew he should be safe from the pursuit of the English soldiers. +[Footnote: In the western face of the chasm of Cartland Crags, a few +yards above the new bridge, a cave in the rock is pointed out by +tradition as having been the hiding-place of Wallace.] In the meantime, +the governor of Lanark, whose name was Hazelrigg, burned Wallace's +house, and put his wife and servants to death; and by committing this +cruelty increased to the highest pitch, as you may well believe, the +hatred which the champion had always borne against the English usurper. +Hazelrigg also proclaimed Wallace an outlaw, and offered a reward to +any one who should bring him to an English garrison, alive or dead. + +On the other hand, Wallace soon collected a body of men, outlawed like +himself, or willing to become so, rather than any longer endure the +oppression of the English. One of his earliest expeditions was directed +against Hazelrigg, whom he killed, and thus avenged the death of his +wife. He fought skirmishes with the soldiers who were sent against him, +and often defeated them; and in time became so well known and so +formidable, that multitudes began to resort to his standard, until at +length he was at the head of a considerable army, with which he +proposed to restore his country to independence. + +About this time is said to have taken place a memorable event, which +the Scottish people called the "Barns of Ayr." It is alleged that the +English governor of Ayr had invited the greater part of the Scottish +nobility and gentry in the western parts to meet him at some large +buildings called the Barns of Ayr, for the purpose of friendly +conference upon the affairs of the nation. But the English earl +entertained the treacherous purpose of putting the Scottish gentlemen +to death. The English soldiers had halters with running nooses ready +prepared, and hung upon the beams which supported the roof; and, as the +Scottish gentlemen were admitted by two and two at a time, the nooses +were thrown over their heads, and they were pulled up by the neck, and +thus hanged or strangled to death. Among those who were slain in this +base and treacherous manner was, it is said, Sir Reginald Crawford, +Sheriff of the county of Ayr, and uncle to William Wallace. + +When Wallace heard of what had befallen he was dreadfully enraged, and +collecting his men in a wood near the town of Ayr, he resolved to be +revenged on the authors of this great crime. The English in the +meanwhile made much feasting, and when they had eaten and drunk +plentifully, they lay down to sleep in the same large barns in which +they had murdered the Scottish gentlemen. But Wallace, learning that +they kept no guard or watch, not suspecting there were any enemies so +near them, directed a woman who knew the place, to mark with chalk the +doors of the lodgings where the Englishmen lay. Then he sent a party of +men, who, with strong ropes, made all the doors so fast on the outside, +that those within could not open them. On the outside the Scots had +prepared heaps of straw, to which they set fire, and the barns of Ayr, +being themselves made of wood, were soon burning in a bright flame. +Then the English were awakened, and endeavored to get out to save their +lives. But the doors, as I told you, were secured on the outside, and +bound fast with ropes; and, besides, the blazing houses were surrounded +by the Scots, who forced those who got out to run back into the fire, +or else put them to death on the spot; and thus great numbers perished +miserably. Many of the English were lodged in a convent, but they had +no better fortune than the others; for the prior of the convent caused +all the friars to arm themselves, and, attacking the English guests, +they put most of them to the sword. This was called the "Friar of Ayr's +blessing." We cannot tell if this story of the "Barns of Ayr" be +exactly true; but it is probable there is some foundation for it, as it +is universally believed in that country. + +Thus Wallace's party grew daily stronger and stronger, and many of the +Scottish nobles joined with him. Among these were Sir William Douglas, +the Lord of Douglas-dale, and the head of a great family often +mentioned in Scottish history. There was also Sir John the Grahame, +who became Wallace's bosom friend and greatest confidant. Many of +these great noblemen, however, deserted the cause of the country on +the approach of John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, the English +governor, at the head of a numerous and well-appointed army. They +thought that Wallace would be unable to withstand the attack of so +many disciplined soldiers, and hastened to submit themselves to the +English, for fear of losing their estates. Wallace, however, remained +undismayed, and at the head of a considerable army. He had taken up +his camp upon the northern side of the river Forth, near the town of +Stirling. The river was there crossed by a long wooden bridge, about +a mile above the spot where the present bridge is situated. + +The English general approached the banks of the river on the southern +side. He sent two clergymen to offer a pardon to Wallace and his +followers, on condition that they should lay down their arms. But such +was not the purpose of the high-minded champion of Scotland. + +"Go back to Warenne," said Wallace, "and tell him we value not the +pardon of the king of England. We are not here for the purpose of +treating of peace, but of abiding battle, and restoring freedom to our +country. Let the English come on;--we defy them to their very beards!" + +The English, upon hearing this haughty answer, called loudly to be led +to the attack. Their leader, Sir Richard Lundin, a Scottish knight, +who had gone over to the enemy at Irvine, hesitated, for he was a +skillful soldier, and he saw that, to approach the Scottish army, his +troops must pass over the long, narrow wooden bridge; so that those +who should get over first might be attacked by Wallace with all his +forces, before those who remained behind could possibly come to their +assistance. He therefore inclined to delay the battle. But Cressingham +the treasurer, who was ignorant and presumptuous, insisted that it was +their duty to fight, and put an end to the war at once; and Lundin +gave way to his opinion, although Cressingham, being a churchman, +could not be so good a judge of what was fitting as he himself, an +experienced officer. + +The English army began to cross the bridge, Cressingham leading the +van, or foremost division of the army; for, in those military days, +even clergymen wore armor and fought in battle. That took place which +Lundin had foreseen. Wallace suffered a considerable part of the +English army to pass the bridge, without offering any opposition; but +when about one half were over, and the bridge was crowded with those +who were following, he charged those who had crossed with his whole +strength, slew a very great number, and drove the rest into the river +Forth, where the greater part were drowned. The remainder of the +English army, who were left on the southern bank of the river, fled in +great confusion, having first set fire to the wooden bridge that the +Scots might not pursue them. Cressingham was killed in the very +beginning of the battle; and the Scots detested him so much, that they +flayed the skin from his dead body, and kept pieces of it, in memory +of the revenge they had taken upon the English treasurer. Some say +they made saddle girths of this same skin; a purpose for which I do +not think it could be very fit. It must be owned to have been a +dishonorable thing of the Scots to insult thus the dead body of their +enemy, and shows that they must have been then a ferocious and +barbarous people. + +The remains of Surrey's great army fled out of Scotland after this +defeat; and the Scots, taking arms on all sides, attacked the castles +in which the English soldiers continued to shelter themselves, and +took most of them by force or stratagem. Many wonderful stories are +told of Wallace's exploits on these occasions; some of which are no +doubt true, while others are either invented, or very much +exaggerated. It seems certain, however, that he defeated the English +in several combats, chased them almost entirely out of Scotland, +regained the towns and castles of which they had possessed themselves, +and recovered for a time the complete freedom of the country. He even +marched into England, and laid Cumberland and Northumberland waste, +where the Scottish soldiers, in revenge for the mischief which the +English had done in their country, committed great cruelties. Wallace +did not approve of their killing the people who were not in arms, and +he endeavored to protect the clergymen and others, who were not able +to defend themselves. "Remain with me," he said to the priests of +Hexham, a large town in Northumberland, "for I cannot protect you from +my soldiers when you are out of my presence." The troops who followed +Wallace received no pay, because he had no money to give them; and +that was one great reason why he could not keep them under restraint, +or prevent their doing much harm to the defenseless country people. He +remained in England more than three weeks, and did a great deal of +mischief to the country. + +Indeed, it appears that, though Wallace disapproved of slaying +priests, women, and children, he partook of the ferocity of the times +so much, as to put to death without quarter all whom he found in arms. +In the north of Scotland the English had placed a garrison in the +strong Castle of Dunnottar, which, built on a large and precipitous +rock, overhangs the raging sea. Though the place is almost +inaccessible, Wallace and his followers found their way into the +castle, while the garrison in great terror fled into the church or +chapel, which was built on the very verge of the precipice. This did +not save them, for Wallace caused the church to be set on fire. The +terrified garrison, involved in the flames, ran some of them upon the +points of the Scottish swords, while others threw themselves from the +precipice into the sea and swam along to the cliffs, where they hung +like sea-fowl, screaming in vain for mercy and assistance. + +The followers of Wallace were frightened at this dreadful scene, and +falling on their knees before the priests who chanced to be in the +army, they asked forgiveness for having committed so much slaughter +within the limits of a church dedicated to the service of God. But +Wallace had so deep a sense of the injuries which the English had done +to his country that he only laughed at the contrition of his soldiers. +"I will absolve you all myself," he said. "Are you Scottish soldiers, +and do you repent for a trifle like this, which is not half what the +invaders deserved at our hands?" So deep-seated was Wallace's feeling +of national resentment that it seems to have overcome, in such +instances, the scruples of a temper which was naturally humane. + +Edward I was in Flanders when all these events took place. You may +suppose he was very angry when he learned that Scotland, which he +thought completely subdued, had risen into a great insurrection +against him, defeated his armies, killed his treasurer, chased his +soldiers out of their country, and invaded England with a great force. +He came back from Flanders in a mighty rage, and determined not to +leave that rebellious country until it was finally conquered, for +which purpose he assembled a very fine army, and marched into +Scotland. + +In the meantime the Scots prepared to defend themselves, and chose +Wallace to be Governor, or Protector, of the kingdom, because they had +no king at the time. He was now titled Sir William Wallace, Protector, +or Governor, of the Scottish nation. But although Wallace, as we have +seen, was the best soldier and bravest man in Scotland, and therefore +the most fit to be placed in command at this critical period, when the +king of England was coming against them with such great forces, yet +the nobles of Scotland envied him this important situation, because he +was not a man born in high rank, or enjoying a large estate. So great +was their jealousy of Sir William Wallace, that many of these great +barons did not seem very willing to bring forward their forces, or +fight against the English, because they would not have a man of +inferior condition to be general. This was base and mean conduct, and +it was attended with great disasters to Scotland. [Footnote: "These +mean and selfish jealousies were increased by the terror, of Edward's +military renown, and in many by the fear of losing their English +estates; so that at the very time when an honest love of liberty, and +a simultaneous spirit of resistance, could alone have saved Scotland, +its nobility deserted it at its utmost need, and refused to act with +the only man whose military talents and prosperity were equal to the +emergency."--TYTLER'S _History of Scotland._] Yet, +notwithstanding this unwillingness of the great nobility to support +him, Wallace assembled a large army; for the middling, but especially +the lower classes, were very much attached to him. He marched boldly +against the King of England, and met him near the town of Falkirk. +Most of the Scottish army were on foot, because, as I already told +you, in those days only the nobility and great men of Scotland fought +on horseback. The English king, on the contrary, had a very large body +of the finest cavalry in the world, Normans and English, all clothed +in complete armor. He had also the celebrated archers of England, each +of whom was said to carry twelve Scotsmen's lives under his girdle; +because every archer had twelve arrows stuck in his belt, and was +expected to kill a man with every arrow. + +The Scots had some good archers from the Forest of Ettrick, who fought +under command of Sir John Stewart of Bonkill; but they were not nearly +equal in number to the English. The greater part of the Scottish army +were on foot, armed with long spears; they were placed thick and close +together, and laid all their spears so close, point over point, that +it seemed as difficult to break through them, as through the wall of a +strong castle. When the two armies were drawn up facing each other, +Wallace said to his soldiers, "I have brought you to the ring, let me +see how you can dance;" meaning, I have brought you to the decisive +field of battle, let me see how bravely you can fight. + +The English made the attack. King Edward, though he saw the close +ranks, and undaunted appearance, of the Scottish infantry, resolved +nevertheless to try whether he could not ride them down with his fine +cavalry. He therefore gave his horsemen orders to advance. They +charged accordingly, at full gallop. It must have been a terrible +thing to have seen these fine horses riding as hard as they could +against the long lances, which were held out by the Scots to keep them +back; and a dreadful cry arose when they came against each other. + +The first line of cavalry was commanded by the Earl Marshal of +England, whose progress was checked by a morass. The second line of +English horse was commanded by Antony Beck, the Bishop of Durham, who, +nevertheless, wore armor, and fought like a lay baron. He wheeled +round the morass; but when he saw the deep and firm order of the +Scots, his heart failed, and he proposed to Sir Ralph Basset of +Drayton, who commanded under him, to halt till Edward himself brought +up the reserve. "Go say your mass, bishop," answered Basset +contemptuously, and advanced at full gallop with the second line. +However, the Scots stood their ground with their long spears; many of +the foremost of the English horses were thrown down, and the riders +were killed as they lay rolling, unable to rise, owing to the weight +of their heavy armor. But the Scottish horse did not come to the +assistance of their infantry, but on the contrary, fled away from the +battle. It is supposed that this was owing to the treachery or ill- +will of the nobility, who were jealous of Wallace. But it must be +considered that the Scottish cavalry were few in number; and that they +had much worse arms, and weaker horses, than their enemies. The +English cavalry attempted again and again to disperse the deep and +solid ranks in which Wallace had stationed his foot soldiers. But they +were repeatedly beaten off with loss, nor could they make their way +through that wood of spears, as it is called by one of the English +historians. King Edward then commanded his archers to advance; and +these approaching within arrow-shot of the Scottish ranks, poured on +them such close and dreadful volleys of arrows, that it was impossible +to sustain the discharge. It happened at the same time, that Sir John +Stewart was killed by a fall from his horse; and the archers of +Ettrick Forest, whom he was bringing forward to oppose those of King +Edward, were slain in great numbers around him. Their bodies were +afterwards distinguished among the slain, as being the tallest and +handsomest men of the army. + +The Scottish spearmen being thus thrown into some degree of confusion, +by the loss of those who were slain by the arrows of the English, the +heavy cavalry of Edward again charged with more success than formerly, +and broke through the ranks, which were already disordered. Sir John +Grahame, Wallace's great friend and companion, was slain, with many +other brave soldiers; and the Scots, having lost a very great number +of men, were at length obliged to take to flight. + +This fatal battle was fought upon the 22d of July, 1298: Sir John the +Grahame lies buried in the churchyard of Falkirk. A tombstone was laid +over him, which has been three times renewed since his death. The +inscription bears, "That Sir John the Grahame, equally remarkable for +wisdom and courage, and the faithful friend of Wallace, being slain in +battle by the English, lies buried in this place." A large oak tree in +the adjoining forests was long shown as marking the spot where Wallace +slept before the battle, or, as others said, in which he hid himself +after the defeat. Nearly forty years ago, Grandpa saw some of its +roots; but the body of the tree was even then entirely decayed, and +there is not now, and has not been for many years, the least vestige +of it to be seen. + +After this fatal defeat of Falkirk, Sir William Wallace seems to have +resigned his office of Governor of Scotland. Several nobles were named +guardians in his place, and continued to make resistance to the +English armies; and they gained some advantages, particularly near +Roslin, where a body of Scots, commanded by John Comyn of Badenoch, +who was one of the guardians of the kingdom, and another distinguished +commander, called Simon Fraser, defeated three armies, or detachments, +of English in one day. + +Nevertheless, the king of England possessed so much wealth, and so +many means of raising soldiers, that he sent army after army into the +poor oppressed country of Scotland, and obliged all its nobles and +great men, one after another, to submit themselves once more to his +yoke. Sir William Wallace, alone, or with a very small band of +followers, refused either to acknowledge the usurper Edward, or to lay +down his arms. He continued to maintain himself among the woods and +mountains of his native country for no less than seven years after his +defeat at Falkirk, and for more than one year after all the other +defenders of Scottish liberty had laid down their arms. Many +proclamations were sent out against him by the English, and a great +reward was set upon his head; for Edward did not think he could have +any secure possession of his usurped kingdom of Scotland while Wallace +lived. At length he was taken prisoner; and, shame it is to say, a +Scotsman, called Sir John Menteith, was the person by whom he was +seized and delivered to the English. It is generally said that he was +made prisoner at Robroyston, near Glasgow; and the tradition of the +country bears, that the signal made for rushing upon him and taking +him at unawares, was, when one of his pretended friends, who betrayed +him, should turn a loaf, which was placed upon the table, with its +bottom or flat side uppermost. And in after times it was reckoned ill- +breeding to turn a loaf in that manner, if there was a person named +Menteith in company; since it was as much as to remind him, that his +namesake had betrayed Sir William Wallace, the Champion of Scotland. + +Whether Sir John Menteith was actually the person by whom Wallace was +betrayed, is not perfectly certain. He was, however, the individual by +whom the patriot was made prisoner, and delivered up to the English, +for which his name and his memory have been long loaded with disgrace. + +Edward, having thus obtained possession of the person whom he +considered as the greatest obstacle to his complete conquest of +Scotland, resolved to make Wallace an example to all Scottish patriots +who should in future venture to oppose his ambitious projects. He +caused this gallant defender of his country to be brought to trial in +Westminster hall, before the English judges, and produced him there, +crowned in mockery, with a green garland, because they said he had +been king of outlaws and robbers among the Scottish woods. Wallace was +accused of having been a traitor to the English crown; to which he +answered, "I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his +subject." He was then charged with having taken and burnt towns and +castles, with having killed many men and done much violence. He +replied, with the same calm resolution, "that it was true he had +killed very many Englishmen, but it was because they had come to +subdue and oppress his native country of Scotland; and far from +repenting what he had done, he declared he was only sorry that he had +not put to death many more of them." + +Notwithstanding that Wallace's defense was a good one, both in law and +in common sense, (for surely every one has not only a right to fight +in defense of his native country, but is bound in duty to do so,) the +English judges condemned him to be executed. So this brave patriot was +dragged upon a sledge to the place of execution, where his head was +struck off, and his body divided into four quarters, which, according +to the cruel custom of the time, were exposed upon spikes of iron on +London Bridge, and were termed the limbs of a traitor. + +No doubt King Edward thought, that by exercising this great severity +towards so distinguished a patriot as Sir William Wallace, he should +terrify all the Scots into obedience, and so be able in future to +reign over their country without resistance. But though Edward was a +powerful, a brave, and a wise king, and though he took the most +cautious, as well as the most strict measures, to preserve the +obedience of Scotland, yet his claim being founded on injustice and +usurpation, was not permitted by Providence to be lished in security +or peace. Sir William Wallace, that immortal supporter of the +independence of his country, was no sooner deprived of his life, in +the cruel and unjust manner I have told you, than other patriots arose +to assert the cause of Scottish liberty. + + + + +THE REPRODUCTION + + +THE TEMPEST + +Charles and Mary Lamb + + + +There was a certain island in the sea, the only inhabitants of +which were an old man, whose name was Prospero, and his daughter +Miranda, a very beautiful young lady. She came to this island +so young, that she had no memory of having seen any other human +face than her father's. + +They lived in a cave or cell, made out of a rock; it was divided +into several apartments, one of which Prospero called his study; +there he kept his books, which chiefly treated of magic, a study +at that time much affected by all learned men; and the knowledge of +this art he found very useful to him; for being thrown by a strange +chance upon this island, which had been enchanted by a witch +called Sycorax, who died there a short time before his arrival, +Prospero, by virtue of his art, released many good spirits that +Sycorax had imprisoned in the bodies of large trees, because they +had refused to execute her wicked demands. These gentle spirits +were ever after obedient to the will of Prospero. Of these Ariel was +the chief. + +The lively little sprite Ariel had nothing mischievous in his +nature, except that he took rather too much pleasure in tormenting +an ugly monster called Caliban, for he owed him a grudge, +because he was the son of his old enemy Sycorax. This Caliban, +Prospero found in the woods, a strange misshapen thing, far less +human in form than an ape; he took him home to his cell, and +taught him to speak; and Prospero would have been very kind to +him, but the bad nature which Caliban inherited from his mother +Sycorax would not let him learn anything good or useful: therefore +he was employed like a slave, to fetch wood and do the most laborious +offices; and Ariel had the charge of compelling him to these +services. + +When Caliban was lazy and neglected his work, Ariel (who was invisible +to all eyes but Prospero's) would come slyly and pinch him, +and sometimes tumble him down in the mire; and then Ariel, in the +likeness of an ape, would make mouths at him. Then swiftly changing +his shape, in the likeness of a hedgehog, he would lie tumbling +in Caliban's way, who feared the hedgehog's sharp quills would +prick his bare feet. With a variety of such like vexatious tricks +Ariel would often torment him, whenever Caliban neglected the work +which Prospero commanded him to do. + +Having these powerful spirits obedient to his will, Prospero could +by their means command the winds, and the waves of the sea. By his +orders they raised a violent storm, in the midst of which, and +struggling with the wild sea-waves that every moment threatened +to swallow it up, he showed his daughter a fine large ship, which +he told her was full of living beings like themselves. "O my dear +father," said she, "if by your art you have raised this dreadful +storm, have pity on their sad distress. See! the vessel will be +dashed to pieces. Poor souls! they will all perish. If I had power, +I would sink the ship beneath the earth, rather than the good ship +should be destroyed, with all the precious souls within her. + +"Be not so amazed, daughter Miranda," said Prospero; "there is +no harm done. I have so ordered it that no person in the ship shall +receive any hurt. What I have done has been in care of you, my +dear child. You are ignorant who you are, or where you came from, +and you know no more of me, but that I am your father, and live +in this poor cave. Can you remember a time before you came to +this cell? I think you cannot, for you were not then three years of +age." + +"Certainly I can, sir," replied Miranda. + +"By what?" asked Prospero; "by any other house or person? +Tell me what you can remember, my child." + +Miranda said, "It seems to me like the recollection of a dream. +But had I not once four or five women who attended upon me?" + +Prospero answered, "You had, and more. How is it that this still +lives in your mind? Do you remember how you came here?" + +"No, sir," said Miranda, "I remember nothing more." + +"Twelve years ago, Miranda," continued Prospero, "I was duke +of Milan, and you were a princess, and my only heir. I had a +younger brother, whose name was Antonio, to whom I trusted +everything; and as I was fond of retirement and deep study, I +commonly left the management of my state affairs to your uncle, +my false brother (for so indeed he proved). I, neglecting all +worldly ends, buried among my books, did dedicate my whole time +to the bettering of my mind. My brother Antonio being thus in +possession of my power, began to think himself the duke indeed. +The opportunity I gave him of making himself popular among my +subjects awakened in his bad nature a proud ambition to deprive +me of my dukedom: this he soon effected with the aid of the king +of Naples, a powerful prince, who was my enemy." + +"Wherefore," said Miranda, "did they not that hour destroy us?" + +"My child," answered her father, "they durst not, so dear +was the love that my people bore me. Antonio carried us on board +a ship, and when we were some leagues out at sea he forced us +into a small boat, without either tackle, sail, or mast; there +he left us, as he thought, to perish. But a kind lord of my +court, one Gonzalo, who loved me, had privately placed in the +boat, water, provisions, apparel, and some books which I prize +above my dukedom." + +"O my father," said Miranda, "what a trouble must I have been +to you then!" + +"No, my love," said Prospero, "you were a little cherub that did +preserve me. Your innocent smiles made me to bear up against my +misfortunes. Our food lasted until we landed on this desert +island, since which time my chief delight has been in teaching +you, Miranda, and well have you profited by my instructions." + +"Heaven thank you, my dear father," said Miranda. "Now +pray tell me, sir, your reason for raising this sea storm!" + +"Know then," said her father, "that by means of this storm, my +enemies, the king of Naples and my cruel brother, are cast ashore +upon this island." + +Having so said, Prospero gently touched his daughter with his +magic wand, and she fell fast asleep; for the spirit Ariel just +then presented himself before his master, to give an account of +the tempest, and how he had disposed of the ship's company; and +though the spirits were always invisible to Miranda, Prospero did +not choose that she should hear him holding converse (as would +seem to her) with the empty air. + +"Well, my brave spirit," said Prospero to Ariel, "how have you +performed your task?" + +Ariel gave a lively description of the storm, and of the terrors +of the mariners; and how the king's son, Ferdinand, was the first +who leaped into the sea; and his father thought he saw this dear +son swallowed up by the waves and lost. "But he is safe," said +Ariel, "in a corner of the isle, sitting with his arms folded, +sadly lamenting the loss of the king his father, whom he concludes +drowned. Not a hair of his head is injured, and his princely +garments, though drenched in the sea-waves, look fresher than +before." + +"That's my delicate Ariel," said Prospero. "Bring him hither: my +daughter must see this young prince. Where is the king, and my +brother?" + +"I left them," answered Ariel, "searching for Ferdinand, whom +they have little hopes of finding, thinking they saw him perish. Of +the ship's crew, not one is missing; though each one thinks himself +the only one saved: and the ship, though invisible to them, is safe in +the harbor." + +"Ariel," said Prospero, "thy charge is faithfully performed: but +there is more work yet." + +"Is there more work?" said Ariel. "Let me remind you, master, +you have promised me my liberty. I pray, remember, I have +done you worthy service, told you no lies, made no mistakes, +served you without grudge or grumbling." + +"How now!" said Prospero. "You do not recollect what a +torment I freed you from. Have you forgot the wicked witch Sycorax, +who with age and envy was almost bent double? Where was +she born? Speak; tell me." + +"Sir, in Algiers," said Ariel. + +"O was she so?" said Prospero. "I must recount what you +have been, which I find you do not remember. This bad witch, +Sycorax, for her witchcrafts, too terrible to enter human hearing, +was banished from Algiers, and here left by sailors; and because +you were a spirit too delicate to execute her wicked commands, she +shut you up in a tree, where I found you howling. This torment, +remember, I did free you from." + +"Pardon me, dear master," said Ariel, ashamed to seem ungrateful; +"I will obey your commands." + +"Do so," said Prospero, "and I will set you free." He then +gave orders what further he would have him do; and away went +Ariel, first to where he had left Ferdinand, and found him still +sitting on the grass in the same melancholy position. + +"O my young gentleman!" said Ariel, when he saw him, "I +will soon move you. You must be brought, I find, for the Lady +Miranda to have a sight of your pretty person. Come, sir, follow +me." + +He then began singing,-- + + "Full fathom five thy father lies; + Of his bones are coral made; + Those are pearls that were his eyes: + Nothing of him that doth fade, + But doth suffer a sea-change + Into something rich and strange, + Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: + Hark, now I hear them, ding-dong-bell." + +This strange news of his lost father soon roused the prince from +the stupid fit into which he had fallen. He followed in amazement +the sound of Ariel's voice, till it led him to Prospero and Miranda, +who were sitting under the shade of a large tree. Now Miranda +had never seen a man before, except her own father. + +"Miranda," said Prospero, "tell me what you are looking at yonder." + +"O father!" said Miranda, in a strange surprise, "surely that +is a spirit. Lord! how it looks about! Believe me sir, it is a +beautiful creature. Is it not a spirit?" + +"No, girl," answered the father; "it eats, and sleeps, and has +senses such as we have. This young man you see was in the ship. +He is somewhat altered by grief, or you might call him a handsome +person. He has lost his companions, and is wandering about to find +them." + +Miranda, who thought all men had grave faces and gray beards +like her father, was delighted with the appearance of this beautiful +young prince; and Ferdinand, seeing such a lovely lady in this desert +place, and from the strange sounds he had heard, expecting nothing +but wonders, thought he was upon an enchanted island, and that +Miranda was the goddess of the place, and as such he began to +address her. + +She timidly answered she was no goddess, but a simple maid, and +was going to give him an account of herself, when Prospero interrupted +her. He was well pleased to find they admired each other, +for he plainly perceived they had (as we say) fallen in love at first +sight; but to try Ferdinand's constancy, he resolved to throw some +difficulties in their way; therefore, advancing forward, he addressed +the prince with a stern air, telling him, he came to the island as a +spy, to take it from him who was the lord of it. "Follow me," said +he, "I will tie you neck and feet together. You shall drink seawater; +shell-fish, withered roots, and husks of acorns shall be your +food." "No," said Ferdinand, "I will resist such entertainment, +till I see a more powerful enemy," and drew his sword; but Prospero, +waving his magic wand, fixed him to the spot where he stood, so that +he had no power to move. + +Miranda hung upon her father, saying, "Why are you so ungentle? +Have pity, sir; I will be his surety. This is the second man +I ever saw, and to me he seems a true one." + +"Silence," said the father, "one word more will make me chide +you, girl! What! an advocate for an impostor! You think there +are no more such fine men, having seen only him and Caliban. +I tell you, foolish girl, most men as far excel this as he does +Caliban." This he said to prove his daughter's constancy; and she +replied," My affections are most humble. I have no wish to see +a goodlier man." + +"Come on, young man," said Prospero to the prince, "you have +no power to disobey me." + +"I have not, indeed," answered Ferdinand; and not knowing that +it was by magic that he was deprived of all power of resistance, he +was astonished to find himself so strangely compelled to follow +Prospero: looking back on Miranda as long as he could see her, he said, +as he went after Prospero into the cave, "My spirits are all bound +up, as if I were in a dream; but this man's threats, and the weakness +which I feel, would seem light to me if from my prison I +might once a day behold this fair maid." + +Prospero kept Ferdinand not long confined within his cell: he +soon brought out his prisoner, and set him a severe task to perform, +taking care to let his daughter know the hard labor he had imposed +on him, and then pretending to go into his study, he secretly +watched them both. + +Prospero had commanded Ferdinand to pile up some heavy logs +of wood. King's sons not being much used to laborious work, +Miranda soon after found her lover almost dying with fatigue. +"Alas!" said she, "do not work so hard; my father is at his +studies, he is safe for these three hours; pray rest yourself." + +"O my dear lady!" said Ferdinand, "I dare not. I must finish +my task before I take any rest." + +"If you will sit down," said Miranda, "I will carry your logs the +while." But this Ferdinand would by no means agree to. Instead +of a help Miranda became a hindrance, for they began a long +conversation, so that the business of log-carrying went on very +slowly. + +Prospero, who had enjoined Ferdinand this task merely as a trial +of his love, was not at his books, as his daughter supposed, but +was standing by them invisible, to overhear what they said. + +Ferdinand inquired her name, which she told, saying it was +against her father's express command she did so. + +Prospero only smiled, at this first instance of his daughter's +disobedience, for having by his magic art caused his daughter to +fall in love so suddenly, he was not angry that she showed her +love by forgetting to obey his commands. And he listened well +pleased to a long speech of Ferdinand's, in which he professed +to love her above all the ladies he ever saw. + +In answer to his praises of her beauty, which he said exceeded all +the women in the world, she replied, "I do not remember the face +of any woman, nor have I seen any more men than you, my good +friend, and my dear father. How features are abroad, I know not; +but, believe me, sir, I would not wish any companion in the world +but you, nor can my imagination form any shape but yours that I +could like. But, sir, I fear I talk to you too freely, and that +my father's precepts I forget." + +At this Prospero smiled, and nodded his head, as much as to +say, "This goes on exactly as I could wish; my girl will be queen +of Naples." + +And then Ferdinand, in another fine long speech (for young +princes speak in courtly phrases), told the innocent Miranda he was +heir to the crown of Naples, and that she should be his queen. + +"Ah! sir," said she, "I am a fool to weep at what I am glad of. +I will answer you in plain and holy innocence. I am your wife if +you will marry me." + +Prospero prevented Ferdinand's thanks by appearing visible before +them. + +"Fear nothing, my child," said he, "I have overheard and +approve of all you have said. And, Ferdinand, if I have too severely +used you, I will make you rich amends by giving you my daughter. +All your vexations were but trials of your love, and you have +nobly stood the test. Then as my gift, which your true love has +worthily purchased, take my daughter, and do not smile that I boast +she is above all praise." He then, telling them that he had business +that required his presence, desired that they would sit down and +talk together until he returned; and this command Miranda seemed +not at all disposed to disobey. + +When Prospero left them, he called his spirit Ariel, who quickly +appeared before him, eager to relate what he had done with Prospero's +brother and the king of Naples. Ariel said he had left them +almost out of their senses with fear, at the strange things he had +caused them to see and hear. When fatigued with wandering about, +and famished for want of food, he had suddenly set before them +a delicious banquet, and then, just as they were going to eat, he +appeared visible before them in the shape of a harpy, a voracious +monster with wings, and the feast vanished away. Then, to their +utter amazement, this seeming harpy spoke to them, reminding them +of their cruelty in driving Prospero from his dukedom, and leaving +him and his infant daughter to perish in the sea, saying, that +for this cause these terrors were suffered to afflict them. + +The king of Naples and Antonio the false brother repented +the injustice they had done to Prospero; and Ariel told his master +that he was certain their penitence was sincere, and that he, though +a spirit, could not but pity them. + +"Then bring them hither, Ariel," said Prospero: "if you, who +are but a spirit, feel for their distress, shall not I, who am a +human being like themselves, have compassion on them? Bring them +quickly, my dainty Ariel." + +Ariel soon returned with the king, Antonio, and old Gonzalo in +their train, who had followed him, wondering at the wild music +he played in the air to draw them on to his master's presence. +This Gonzalo was the same who had so kindly provided Prospero +formerly with books and provisions, when his wicked brother left +him, as he thought, to perish in an open boat in the sea. + +Grief and terror had so stupefied their senses that they did not +know Prospero. He first discovered himself to the good old Gonzalo, +calling him the preserver of his life; and then his brother and +the king knew that he was the injured Prospero. + +Antonio, with tears and sad words of sorrow and true repentance, +implored his brother's forgiveness; and the king expressed his +sincere remorse for having assisted Antonio to depose his brother, +and Prospero forgave them; and, upon their engaging to restore his +dukedom, he said to the king of Naples, "I have a gift in store +for you, too;" and opening a door, showed him his son Ferdinand +playing at chess with Miranda. + +Nothing could exceed the joy of the father and the son at this +unexpected meeting, for they each thought the other drowned in +the storm. + +"O wonder!" said Miranda, "what noble creatures these are! +It must surely be a brave world that has such people in it." + +The king of Naples was almost as much astonished at the beauty +and excellent graces of the young Miranda as his son had been. +"Who is this maid?" said he; "she seems the goddess that has +parted us, and brought us thus together." "No, sir," answered +Ferdinand, smiling to find his father had fallen into the same +mistake that he had done when he first saw Miranda, "she is a mortal, +but by immortal Providence she is mine; I chose her when I could +not ask you, my father, for your consent, not thinking you were +alive. She is the daughter to this Prospero, who is the famous duke +of Milan, of whose renown I have heard so much, but never saw him +till now; of him I have received a new life; he has made himself +to me a second father, giving me this dear lady." + +"Then I must be her father," said the king; "but oh! how oddly +will it sound, that I must ask my child forgiveness." + +"No more of that," said Prospero: "let us not remember our +troubles past, since they so happily have ended." And then Prospero +embraced his brother, and again assured him of his forgiveness; +and said that a wise, overruling Providence had permitted that +he should be driven from his poor dukedom of Milan, that his +daughter might inherit the crown of Naples, for that by their +meeting in this desert island, it had happened that the king's son +had loved Miranda. + +These kind words which Prospero spoke, meaning to comfort his +brother, so rilled Antonio with shame and remorse that he wept +and was unable to speak; and the kind old Gonzalo wept to see +this joyful reconciliation, and prayed for blessings on the young +couple. + +Prospero now told them that their ship was safe in the harbor, +and the sailors all on board her, and that he and his daughter +would accompany them home the next morning. "In the meantime," +says he, "partake of such refreshments as my poor cave affords; +and for your evening's entertainment I will relate the history +of my life from my first landing in this desert island." He then +called for Caliban to prepare some food, and set the cave in order; +and the company were astonished at the uncouth form and the savage +appearance of this ugly monster, who (Prospero said) was the +only attendant he had to wait upon him. + +Before Prospero left the island, he dismissed Ariel from his service, +to the great joy of that lively little spirit, who, though he had +been a faithful servant to his master, was always longing to enjoy +his free liberty, to wander uncontrolled in the air, like a wild bird, +under green trees, among pleasant fruits and sweet-smelling flowers. +"My quaint Ariel," said Prospero to the little sprite when he +made him free, "I shall miss you; yet you shall have your freedom." +"Thank you, my dear master," said Ariel; "but give me leave to attend +your ship home with prosperous gales, before you bid farewell to the +assistance of your faithful spirit; and then, master, when I am free, +how merrily shall I live!" Here Ariel sung this pretty song: + + "Where the bee sucks, there sack I; + In a cowslip's bell I lie; + There I couch when owls do cry. + On the bat's back I do fly + After summer merrily. + Merrily, merrily shall I live now, + Under the blossom that hangs on the bough." + +Prospero then buried deep in the earth his magical books and +wand, for he was resolved never more to make use of the magic +art And having thus overcome his enemies, and being reconciled +to his brother and the king of Naples, nothing now remained to +complete his happiness but to revisit his native land, to take possession +of his dukedom, and to witness the happy nuptials of his +daughter Miranda and Prince Ferdinand, which the king said should +be instantly celebrated with great splendor on their return to Naples. +At which place, under the safe convoy of the spirit Ariel, they, after +a pleasant voyage, soon arrived. + + + + + +DIDACTIC STORIES + + + + +THE PURPLE JAR + +Maria Edgeworth + + + +Rosamond, a little girl of about seven years old, was walking with +her mother in the streets of London. As she passed along, she +looked in at the windows of several shops, and she saw a great +variety of different sorts of things, of which she did not know the +use, or even the names. She wished to stop to look at them; but +there was a great number of people in the streets, and a great many +carts and carriages and wheelbarrows, and she was afraid to let go +her mother's hand. + +"Oh! mother, how happy I should be," said she, as she passed a +toy-shop, "if I had all these pretty things!" + +"What, all! Do you wish for them all, Rosamond?" + +"Yes, mamma, all." + +As she spoke, they came to a milliner's shop; the windows were +hung with ribbons, and lace, and festoons of artificial flowers. + +"Oh! mamma, what beautiful roses! Won't you buy some of +them?" + +"No, my dear." + +"Why?" + +"Because I don't want them, my dear." + +They went a little farther, and they came to another shop, which +caught Rosamond's eye. It was a jeweler's shop; and there were a +great many pretty baubles, ranged in drawers behind glass. + +"Mamma, you'll buy some of these?" + +"Which of them, Rosamond?" + +"Which? I don't know which; but any of them, for they are all +pretty." + +"Yes, they are all pretty; but of what use would they be to +me?" + +"Use! Oh, I'm sure you could find some use or other, if you +would only buy them first." + +"But I would rather find out the use first." + +Rosamond was very sorry that her mother wanted nothing. Presently, +however, they came to a shop, which appeared to her far +more beautiful than the rest. It was a chemist's shop; but she did +not know that. + +"Oh, mother! oh!" cried she, pulling her mother's hand. +"Look! look! blue, green, red, yellow, and purple! Oh, mamma, +what beautiful things! Won't you buy some of these?" + +Still her mother answered as before, "What use would they be to +me, Rosamond?" + +"You might put flowers in them, mamma, and they would look +so pretty on the chimney-piece. I wish I had one of them." + +"You have a flower-vase," said her mother; "and that is not for +flowers." + +"But I could use it for a flower-vase, mamma, you know." + +"Perhaps if you were to see it nearer, if you were to examine it, +you might be disappointed." + +"No, indeed; I'm sure I should not. I should like it exceedingly." + +Rosamond kept her head turned to look at the purple vase till she +could see it no longer. + +"Then, mother," said she, after a pause, "perhaps you have no +money." + +"Yes, I have." + +"Dear me! if I had money, I would buy roses, and boxes, and +purple flower-pots, and everything." Rosamond was obliged to +pause in the midst of her speech. + +"Oh, mamma, would you stop a minute for me? I have got a +stone in my shoe; it hurts me very much." + +"How comes there to be a stone in your shoe?" + +"Because of this great hole, mamma--it comes in there: my +shoes are quite worn out; I wish you'd be so very good as to give me +another pair." + +"Nay, Rosamond, but I have not money enough to buy shoes, +and flower-pots, and boxes, and everything." + +Rosamond thought that was a great pity. But now her foot, which +had been hurt by the stone, began to give her so much pain that she +was obliged to hop every other step, and she could think of nothing +else. They came to a shoemaker's shop soon afterwards. + +"There! there! mamma, there are shoes--there are little shoes +that would just fit me; and you know shoes would be really of use +to me." + +"Yes, so they would, Rosamond. Come in." + +She followed her mother into the shop. + +Mr. Sole, the shoemaker, had a great many customers, and his +shop was full, so they were obliged to wait. + +"Well, Rosamond," said her mother, "you don't think this shop +so pretty as the rest?" + +"No, not nearly; it's black and dark, and there are nothing but +shoes all round; and besides, there's a very disagreeable smell." + +"That smell is the smell of new leather." + +"Is it? Oh!" said Rosamond, looking round, "there is a pair +of little shoes; they'll just fit me, I'm sure." + +"Perhaps they might, but you cannot be sure till you have tried +them on, any more than you can be quite sure that you should like +the purple vase _exceedingly_, till you have examined it more +attentively." + +"Why, I don't know about the shoes, certainly, till I've tried; but, +mamma, I'm quite sure I should like the flower-pot." + +"Well, which would you rather have, that jar, or a pair of shoes? +I will buy either for you." + +"Dear mamma, thank you--but if you could buy both?" + +"No, not both." + +"Then the jar, if you please." + +"But I should tell you that I shall not give you another pair of +shoes this month." + +"This month! that's a very long time indeed. You can't think +how these hurt me. I believe I'd better have the new shoes--but +yet, that purple flower-pot--Oh, indeed, mamma, these shoes are +not so very, very bad; I think I might wear them a little longer; +and the month will soon be over: I can make them last to the end of +the month, can't I? Don't you think so, mamma?" + +"Nay, my dear, I want you to think for yourself: you will have +time enough to consider about it whilst I speak to Mr. Sole about my +boots." + +Mr. Sole was by this time at leisure; and whilst her mother was +speaking to him, Rosamond stood in profound meditation, with one +shoe on, and the other in her hand. + +"Well, my dear, have you decided?" + +"Mamma!--yes--I believe. If you please--I should like the +flower-pot; that is, if you won't think me very silly, mamma." + +"Why, as to that, I can't promise you, Rosamond; but when you +are to judge for yourself, you should choose what will make you the +happiest; and then it would not signify who thought you silly." + +"Then, mamma, if that's all, I'm sure the flower-pot would make +me the happiest," said she, putting on her old shoe again; "so I +choose the flower-pot." + +"Very well, you shall have it: clasp your shoe and come home." + +Rosamond clasped her shoe, and ran after her mother: it was not +long before the shoe came down at the heel, and many times was she +obliged to stop, to take the stones out of her shoe, and often was +she obliged to hop with pain; but still the thoughts of the purple +flower-pot prevailed, and she persisted in her choice. + +When they came to the shop with the large window, Rosamond +felt her joy redouble, upon hearing her mother desire the servant, +who was with them, to buy the purple jar, and bring it home. He +had other commissions, so he did not return with them. Rosamond, +as soon as she got in, ran to gather all her own flowers, which she +had in a corner of her mother's garden. + +"I'm afraid they'll be dead before the flower-pot comes, Rosamond," +said her mother to her, when she was coming in with the +flowers in her lap. + +"No, indeed, mamma, it will come home very soon, I dare say; +and shan't I be very happy putting them into the purple flower-pot?" + +"I hope so, my dear." + +The servant was much longer returning home than Rosamond had expected; +but at length he came, and brought with him the long-wished-for jar. +The moment it was set down upon the table, Rosamond ran up with an +exclamation of joy. + +"I may have it now, mamma?" + +"Yes, my dear, it is yours." + +Rosamond poured the flowers from her lap upon the carpet, and +seized the purple flower-pot. "Oh, dear mother!" cried she, as +soon as she had taken off the top, "but there's something dark in it +--it smells very disagreeable: what is in it? I didn't want this +black stuff." + +"Nor I neither, my dear." + +"But what shall I do with it, mamma?" + +"That I cannot tell." + +"But it will be of no use to me, mamma." + +"That I can't help." + +"But I must pour it out, and fill the flower-pot with water." + +"That's as you please, my dear." + +"Will you lend me a bowl to pour it into, mamma?" + +"That was more than I promised you, my dear; but I will lend +you a bowl." + +The bowl was produced, and Rosamond proceeded to empty the +purple vase. But what was her surprise and disappointment, when it +was entirely empty, to find that it was no longer a _purple_ vase! +It was a plain white glass jar, which had appeared to have that +beautiful color merely from the liquor with which it had been filled. + +Little Rosamond burst into tears. + +"Why should you cry, my dear?" said her mother; "it will be +of as much use to you now as ever for a flower-vase." + +"But it won't look so pretty on the chimney-piece. I am sure, if I +had known that it was not really purple, I should not have wished +to have it so much." + +"But didn't I tell you that you had not examined it, and that +perhaps you would be disappointed?" + +"And so I am disappointed indeed. I wish I had believed you +beforehand. Now I had much rather have the shoes, for I shall not +be able to walk all this month: even walking home that little way +hurt me exceedingly. Mamma, I'll give you the flower-pot back +again, and that purple stuff and all, if you'll only give me the +shoes." + +"No, Rosamond, you must abide by your own choice; and now the +best thing you can possibly do is to bear your disappointment with +good-humor." + +"I will bear it as well as I can," said Rosamond, wiping her eyes, +and she began slowly and sorrowfully to fill the vase with flowers. + +But Rosamond's disappointment did not end here: many were the +difficulties and distresses into which her imprudent choice brought +her before the end of the month. Every day her shoes grew worse +and worse, till at last she could neither run, dance, jump, nor walk +in them. Whenever Rosamond was called to see anything, she was +pulling up her shoes at the heels, and was sure to be too late. Whenever +her mother was going out to walk, she could not take Rosamond +with her, for Rosamond had no soles to her shoes; and at +length, on the very last day of the month, it happened that her father +proposed to take her and her brother to a glass-house which she had +long wished to see. She was very happy; but, when she was quite +ready, had her hat and gloves on, and was making haste downstairs +to her brother and father, who were waiting at the hall door for her, +the shoe dropped off; she put it on again in a great hurry; but, as +she was going across the hall, her father turned round. + +"Why are you walking slipshod? no one must walk slipshod with +me. Why, Rosamond," said he, looking at her shoes with disgust, +"I thought that you were always neat. Go, I cannot take you with +me." + +Rosamond colored and retired. "Oh, mamma," said she, as she +took off her hat, "how I wish that I had chosen the shoes! they +would have been of so much more use to me than that jar: however, +I am sure--no, not quite sure--but I hope I shall be wiser another +time." + + + + +DIFFERENCE AND AGREEMENT; OR, SUNDAY MORNING + +Dr. John Aiken and Mrs. Anna Letitia Barbauld + + + +It was Sunday morning. All the bells were ringing for church, +and the streets were filled with people moving in all directions. +Here, numbers of well-dressed persons and a long train of charity +children were thronging in at the wide doors of a large, handsome +church. There, a smaller number, almost equally gay in dress, were +entering an elegant meeting-house. Up one alley, a Roman Catholic +congregation was turning into their retired chapel, every one crossing +himself with a finger dipped in holy water, as he went in. The +opposite side of the street was covered with a train of Quakers, +distinguished by their plain and neat attire and sedate aspect, who +walked without ceremony into a room as plain as themselves, and +took their seats, the men on one side, and the women on the other, +in silence. A spacious building was filled with an overflowing +crowd of Methodists, most of them meanly habited, but decent and +serious in demeanor; while a small society of Baptists in the +neighborhood quietly occupied their humble place of assembly. + +Presently the different services began. The churches resounded +with the solemn organ, and with the indistinct murmurs of a large +body of people following the minister in responsive prayers. From +the meeting were heard the slow psalm, and the single voice of +the leader of their devotions. The Roman Catholic chapel was enlivened +by strains of music, the tinkling of a small bell, and a perpetual +change of service and ceremonial. A profound silence and +unvarying look and posture announced the self-recollection and mental +devotion of the Quakers. + +Mr. Ambrose led his son Edwin round all these different assemblies +as a spectator. Edwin viewed everything with great attention, +and was often impatient to inquire of his father the meaning of +what he saw; but Mr. Ambrose would not suffer him to disturb +any of the congregations even by a whisper. When they had gone +through the whole, Edwin found a great number of questions to put +to his father, who explained everything to him in the best manner +he could. At length says Edwin: + +"But why cannot all these people agree to go to the same place, +and worship God the same way?" + +"And why should they agree?" replied his father. "Do not you +see that people differ in a hundred other things? Do they all dress +alike, and eat and drink alike, and keep the same hours, and use the +same diversions?" + +"Ay--but those are things in which they have a right to do as +they please." + +"And they have a right, too, to worship God as they please. It +is their own business, and concerns none but themselves." + +"But has not God ordered particular ways of worshiping him?" + +"He has directed the mind and spirit with which he is to be worshiped, +but not the particular form and manner. That is left for +every one to choose, according as suits his temper and opinions. All +these people like their own way best, and why should they leave it +for the choice of another? Religion is one of the things in which +_mankind were made to differ_." + +The several congregations now began to be dismissed, and the street was +again overspread with persons of all the different sects, going +promiscuously to their respective homes. It chanced that a poor man +fell down in the street in a fit of apoplexy, and lay for dead. His +wife and children stood round him crying and lamenting in the bitterest +distress. The beholders immediately flocked round, and, with looks and +expressions of the warmest compassion, gave their help. A Churchman +raised the man from the ground by lifting him under the arms, while a +Dissenter held his head and wiped his face with his handkerchief. A +Roman Catholic lady took out her smelling-bottle, and assiduously +applied it to his nose. A Methodist ran for a doctor. A Quaker +supported and comforted the woman; and a Baptist took care of the +children. + +Edwin and his father were among the spectators. "Here," said +Mr. Ambrose, "is a thing in which _mankind were made to agree_." + + + + +EYES, AND NO EYES; OR, THE ART OF SEEING + +Dr. John Aiken and Mrs. Anna Letitia Barbauld + + + +"Well, Robert, where have you been walking this afternoon?" +said Mr. Andrews to one of his pupils at the close of a holiday. + +_R_. I have been, sir, to Broom Heath, and so around by the +windmill upon Camp Mount, and home through the meadows by the +river side. + +_Mr. A_. Well, that's a pleasant round. + +_R_. I thought it very dull, sir; I scarcely met with a single +person. I had rather by half have gone along the turnpike road. + +_Mr. A_. Why, if seeing men and horses is your object, you would, +indeed, be better entertained on the high road. But did you see William? + +_R_. We set out together, but he lagged behind in the lane, so I +walked on, and left him. + +_Mr. A_. That was a pity. He would have been company for +you. + +_R_. O, he is so tedious, always stopping to look at this thing +and that! I had rather walk alone. I dare say he is not got home +yet. + +_Mr. A_. Here he comes. Well, William, where have you been? + +_W_. O, sir, the pleasantest walk! I went all over Broom Heath, +and so up to the mill at the top of the hill, and then down among +the green meadows by the side of the river. + +_Mr. A_. Why, that is just the round Robert has been taking, and +he complains of its dullness, and prefers the high road. + +_W_. I wonder at that. I am sure I hardly took a step that did +not delight me, and I brought home my handkerchief full of +curiosities. + +_Mr. A_. Suppose, then, you give us some account of what amused +you so much. I fancy it will be as new to Robert as to me. + +_W_. I will, sir. The lane leading to the heath, you know, is +close and sandy, so I did not mind it much, but made the best of my +way. However, I spied a curious thing enough in the hedge. It was an +old crab-tree, out of which grew a great bunch of something green, +quite different from the tree itself. Here is a branch of it. + +_Mr. A_. Ah! this is mistletoe, a plant of great fame for the +use made of it by the Druids of old in their religious rites and +incantations. It bears a very slimy white berry, of which birdlime +may be made, whence its Latin name of _viscus_, It is one of +those plants which do not grow in the ground by a root of their own, +but fix themselves upon other plants; whence they have been humorously +styled parasitical, as being hangers-on or dependants. It was the +mistletoe of the oak that the Druids particularly honored. + +_W_. A little further on I saw a green woodpecker fly to a tree, +and run up the trunk like a cat. + +_Mr. A_. That was to seek for insects in the bark, on which they +live. They bore holes with their strong bills for that purpose, and +do much damage to the trees by it. + +_W_. What beautiful birds they are! + +_Mr. A_. Yes; they have been called from their color and size, +the English parrot. + +_W_. When I got upon the open heath, how charming it was! The +air seemed so fresh, and the prospect on every side so free and +unbounded! Then it was all covered with gay flowers, many of which +I had never observed before. There were at least three kinds of +heath (I have got them in my handkerchief here), and gorse, and +broom, and bell-flower, and many others of all colors, that I will +beg you presently to tell me the names of. + +_Mr. A_. That I will readily. + +_W_. I saw, too, several birds that were new to me. There was +a pretty grayish one, of the size of a lark, that was hopping about +some great stones; and when he flew he showed a great deal of white +above his tail. + +_Mr. A_. That was a wheat-ear. They are reckoned very delicious +birds to eat, and frequent the open downs in Sussex, and some other +counties, in great numbers. + +_W_. There was a flock of lapwings upon a marshy part of the +heath, that amused me much. As I came near them, some of them +kept flying round and round just over my head, and crying "pewit" +so distinctly one might almost fancy they spoke. I thought I should +have caught one of them, for he flew as if one of his wings was +broken, and often tumbled close to the ground; but, as I came near, +he always made a shift to get away. + +_Mr. A_. Ha, ha! you were finely taken in, then! This was all an +artifice of the bird's to entice you away from its nest; for they +build upon the bare ground, and their nests would easily be observed, +did they not draw off the attention of intruders by their loud +cries and counterfeit lameness. + +_W_. I wish I had known that, for he led me a long chase, often +over shoes in water. However, it was the cause of my falling in with +an old man and a boy who were cutting and piling up turf for fuel, +and I had a good deal of talk with them about the manner of preparing +the turf, and the price it sells at. They gave me, too, a +creature I never saw before,--a young viper, which they had just +killed, together with its dam. I have seen several common snakes, +but this is thicker in proportion and of a darker color than they are. + +_Mr. A_. True. Vipers frequent those turfy boggy grounds, and I +have known several turf-cutters bitten by them. + +_W_. They are very venomous, are they not? + +_Mr. A_. Enough so to make their wounds painful and dangerous, +though they seldom prove fatal. + +_W_. Well--I then took my course up to the windmill on the +mount. I climbed up the steps of the mill in order to get a better +view of the country round. What an extensive prospect! I counted +fifteen church steeples, and I saw several gentlemen's houses peeping +out from the midst of green woods and plantations; and I could +trace the windings of the river all along the low grounds, till it was +lost behind a ridge of hills. But I'll tell you what I mean to do, +sir, if you will give me leave. + +_Mr. A_. What is that? + +_W_. I will go again, and take with me Carey's county map, by +which I shall probably be able to make out most of the places. + +_Mr. A_. You shall have it, and I will go with you, and take my +pocket spying-glass. + +_W_. I shall be very glad of that. Well--a thought struck me, +that as the hill is called Camp Mount, there might probably be some +remains of ditches and mounds with which I have read that camps +were surrounded. And I really believe I discovered something of +that sort running round one side of the mount. + +_Mr. A_. Very likely you might. I know antiquaries have described +such remains as existing there, which some suppose to be +Roman, others Danish. We will examine them further, when we +go. + +_W_. From the hill I went straight down to the meadows below, +and walked on the side of a brook that runs into the river. It was +all bordered with reeds and flags, and tall flowering plants, quite +different from those I had seen on the heath. As I was getting +down the bank co reach one of them, I heard something plunge into +the water near me. It was a large water-rat, and I saw it swim +over to the other side, and go into its hole. There were a great +many large dragon-flies all about the stream. I caught one of the +finest, and have him here in a leaf. But how I longed to catch a +bird that I saw hovering over the water, and every now and then +darting down into it! It was all over a mixture of the most beautiful +green and blue, with some orange color. It was somewhat less +than a thrush, and had a large head and bill, and a short tail. + +_Mr. A_. I can tell you what that bird was--a kingfisher, the +celebrated halcyon of the ancients, about which so many tales are +told. It lives on fish, which it catches in the manner you saw. It +builds in holes in the banks, and is a shy, retired bird, never to be +seen far from the stream where it inhabits. + +_W_. I must try to get another sight of him, for I never saw a bird +that pleased me so much. Well--I followed this little brook till +it entered the river, and then took the path that runs along the bank. +On the opposite side I observed several little birds running along the +shore, and making a piping noise. They were brown and white, and +about as big as a snipe. + +_Mr. A_. I suppose they were sandpipers, one of the numerous +family of birds that get their living by wading among the shallows, +and picking up worms and insects. + +W. There were a great many swallows, too, sporting upon the +surface of the water, that entertained me with their motions. Sometimes +they dashed into the stream; sometimes they pursued one another +so quick, that the eye could scarcely follow them. In one +place, where a high, steep sandbank rose directly above the river, I +observed many of them go in and out of holes with which the bank +was bored full. + +_Mr. A_. Those were sand martins, the smallest of our species of +swallows. They are of a mouse-color above, and white beneath. +They make their nests and bring up their young in these holes, which +run a great depth, and by their situation are secure from all +plunderers. + +_W_. A little further on I saw a man in a boat, who was catching +eels in an odd way. He had a long pole, with broad iron prongs at +the end, just like Neptune's trident, only there were five instead of +three. This he pushed straight down among the mud, in the deepest +parts of the river, and fetched up the eels, sticking between the +prongs. + +_Mr. A_. I have seen this method. It is called spearing of eels. + +_W_. While I was looking at him, a heron came flying over my +head, with his large flagging wings. He lit at the next turn of the +river, and I crept softly behind the bank to watch his motions. He +had waded into the water as far as his long legs would carry him, +and was standing with his neck drawn in, looking intently on the +stream. Presently he darted his long bill as quick as lightning into +the water, and drew out a fish, which he swallowed. I saw him +catch another in the same manner. He then took alarm at some +noise I made, and flew away slowly to a wood at some distance, +where he alighted. + +_Mr. A_. Probably his nest was there, for herons build upon the +loftiest trees they can find, and sometimes in society together, like +rooks. Formerly, when these birds were valued for the amusement +of hawking, many gentlemen had their heronries, and a few are still +remaining. + +_W_. I think they are the largest wild birds we have. + +_Mr. A_. They are of a great length and spread of wing, but their +bodies are comparatively small. + +_W_. I then turned homeward across the meadows, where I stopped +awhile to look at a large flock of starlings, which kept flying about +at no great distance. I could not tell at first what to make of them; +for they rose all together from the ground as thick as a swarm of +bees, and formed themselves into a kind of black cloud, hovering +over the field. After taking a short round, they settled again, and +presently rose again in the same manner. I dare say there were +hundreds of them. + +_Mr. A_. Perhaps so; for in the fenny countries their flocks are +so numerous, as to break down whole acres of reeds by settling on +them. This disposition of starlings to fly in close swarms was observed +even by Homer, who compares the foe flying from one of his heroes to a +_cloud_ of stares retiring dismayed at the approach of the hawk. + +_W_. After I had left the meadows, I crossed the corn-fields in +the way to our house, and passed close by a deep marle pit. Looking +into it, I saw in one of the sides a cluster of what I took to be +shells; and upon going down, I picked up a clod of marle, which +was quite full of them; but how sea-shells could get there, I cannot +imagine. + +_Mr. A_. I do not wonder at your surprise, since many philosophers +have been much perplexed to account for the same appearance. It is not +uncommon to find great quantities of shells and relics of marine +animals even in the bowels of high mountains, very remote from the sea. +They are certainly proofs that the earth was once in a very different +state from what it is at present; but in what manner and how long ago +these changes took place can only be guessed at. + +_W_. I got to the high field next our house just as the sun was +setting, and I stood looking at it till it was quite lost. What a +glorious sight! The clouds were tinged purple and crimson and +yellow of all shades and hues, and the clear sky varied from blue to +a fine green at the horizon. But how large the sun appears just as it +sets! I think it seems twice as big as when it is overhead. + +_Mr. A_. It does so; and you may probably have observed the +same apparent enlargement of the moon at its rising. + +_W_. I have; but pray what is the reason of this? + +_Mr. A_. It is an optical deception, depending upon principles +which I cannot well explain to you till you know more of that +branch of science. But what a number of new ideas this afternoon's +walk has afforded you! I do not wonder that you found it +amusing; it has been very instructive, too. Did _you_ see nothing +of all these sights, Robert? + +_R_. I saw some of them, but I did not take particular notice of +them. + +_Mr. A_. Why not? + +_R_. I don't know. I did not care about them, and I made the +best of my way home. + +_Mr. A_. That would have been right if you had been sent of a +message; but as you only walked for amusement, it would have been +wiser to have sought out as many sources of it as possible. But so +it is--one man walks through the world with his eyes open, and +another with them shut; and upon this difference depends all the +superiority of knowledge the one acquires above the other. I have +known sailors, who had been in all the quarters of the world, and +could tell you nothing but the signs of the tippling-houses they +frequented in different ports, and the price and quality of the liquor. +On the other hand, a Franklin could not cross the Channel, without +making some observations useful to mankind. While many a vacant, +thoughtless youth is whirled throughout Europe without gaining +a single idea worth crossing a street for, the observing eye and +inquiring mind find matter of improvement and delight in every +ramble in town or country. Do _you_, then, William, continue to +make use of your eyes; and _you_, Robert, learn that eyes were +given you to use. + + + + + +ANIMAL SKETCHES AND STORIES + + + + +RAB AND HIS FRIENDS + +John Brown + + + +Four-and-thirty years ago, Bob Ainslie and I were coming up Infirmary +Street from the High School, our heads together, and our arms +intertwisted, as only lovers and boys know how, or why. + +When we got to the top of the street, and turned north, we espied a +crowd at the Tron Church. "A dog-fight!" shouted Bob, and was off; and +so was I, both of us all but praying that it might not be over before +we got up! And is not this boy-nature? and human nature too? and don't +we all wish a house on fire not to be out before we see it? Dogs like +fighting; old Isaac says they "delight" in it, and for the best of all +reasons; and boys are not cruel because they like to see the fight. +They see three of the great cardinal virtues of dog or man--courage, +endurance, and skill--in intense action. This is very different from a +love of making dogs fight, and enjoying, and aggravating, and making +gain by their pluck. A boy--be he ever so fond himself of fighting, if +he be a good boy, hates and despises all this, but he would have run +off with Bob and me fast enough; it is a natural, and a not wicked +interest, that all boys and men have in witnessing intense energy in +action. + +Does any curious and finely-ignorant woman wish to know how Bob's eye +at a glance announced a dog-fight to his brain? He did not, he could +not see the dogs fighting; it was a flash of an inference, a rapid +induction. The crowd round a couple of dogs fighting, is a crowd +masculine mainly, with an occasional active, compassionate woman +fluttering wildly round the outside, and using her tongue and her hands +freely upon the men, as so many "brutes"; it is a crowd annular, +compact, and mobile; a crowd centripetal, having its eyes and its heads +all bent downwards and inwards, to one common focus. + +Well, Bob and I are up, and find it is not over: a small thoroughbred, +white bull-terrier is busy throttling a large shepherd's dog, +unaccustomed to war, but not to be trifled with. They are hard at it; +the scientific little fellow doing his work in great style, his +pastoral enemy fighting wildly, but with the sharpest of teeth and a +great courage. Science and breeding, however, soon had their own; the +Game Chicken, as the premature Bob called him, working his way up, took +his final grip of poor Yarrow's throat,--and he lay gasping and done +for. His master, a brown, handsome, big young shepherd from Tweedsmuir, +would have liked to have knocked down any man, would "drink up Esil, or +eat a crocodile," for that part, if he had a chance: it was no use +kicking the little dog; that would only make him hold the closer. Many +were the means shouted out in mouthfuls, of the best possible ways of +ending it. "Water!" but there was none near, and many cried for it who +might have got it from the well at Blackfriars Wynd. "Bite the tail!" +and a large, vague, benevolent, middle-aged man, more desirous than +wise, with some struggle got the bushy end of _Yarrow's_ tail into +his ample mouth, and bit it with all his might. This was more than +enough for the much-enduring, much perspiring shepherd, who, with a +gleam of joy over his broad visage, delivered a terrific facer upon our +large, vague, benevolent, middle-aged friend,--who went down like a +shot. + +Still the Chicken holds; death not far off. "Snuff! a pinch of snuff!" +observed a calm, highly-dressed young buck, with an eyeglass in his +eye. "Snuff, indeed!" growled the angry crowd, affronted and glaring. +"Snuff, a pinch of snuff!" again observes the buck, but with more +urgency; whereon were produced several open boxes, and from a mull +which may have been at Culloden, he took a pinch, knelt down, and +presented it to the nose of the Chicken. The laws of physiology and of +snuff take their course; the Chicken sneezes, and Yarrow is free! + +The young pastoral giant stalks off with Yarrow in his arms,-- +comforting him. + +But the Bull Terrier's blood is up, and his soul unsatisfied; he grips +the first dog he meets, and discovering she is not a dog, in Homeric +phrase, he makes a brief sort of amende, and is off. The boys, with Bob +and me at their head, are after him: down Niddry Street he goes, bent +on mischief; up the Cowgate like an arrow--Bob and I, and our small +men, panting behind. + +There, under the single arch of the South Bridge, is a huge mastiff, +sauntering down the middle of the causeway, as if with his hands in his +pockets: he is old, gray, brindled, as big as a little Highland bull, +and has the Shakespearian dewlaps shaking as he goes. + +The Chicken makes straight at him, and fastens on his throat. To our +astonishment, the great creature does nothing but stand still, hold +himself up, and roar--yes, roar; a long, serious, remonstrative roar. +How is this? Bob and I are up to them. _He is muzzled!_ + +The bailies had proclaimed a general muzzling, and his master, studying +strength and economy mainly, had encompassed his huge jaws in a homemade +apparatus, constructed out of the leather of some ancient +_breechin_. His mouth was open as far as it could; his lips curled +up in rage--a sort of terrible grin; his teeth gleaming, ready, from +out the darkness; the strap across his mouth tense as a bowstring; his +whole frame stiff with indignation and surprise; his roar asking us all +round, "Did you ever see the like of this?" He looked a statue of anger +and astonishment, done in Aberdeen granite. + +We soon had a crowd: the Chicken held on. "A knife!" cried Bob; and a +cobbler gave him his knife: you know the kind of knife, worn away +obliquely to a point, and always keen. I put its edge to the tense +leather; it ran before it; and then!--one sudden jerk of that enormous +head, a sort of dirty mist about his mouth, no noise,--and the bright +and fierce little fellow is dropped, limp and dead. A solemn pause: +this was more than any of us had bargained for. I turned the little +fellow over, and saw he was quite dead: the mastiff had taken him by +the small of the back like a rat, and broken it. + +He looked down at his victim appeased, ashamed, and amazed; snuffed him +all over; stared at him, and taking a sudden thought, turned round and +trotted off. Bob took the dead dog up, and said, "John, we'll bury him +after tea." "Yes," said I, and was off after the mastiff. He made up +the Cowgate at a rapid swing; he had forgotten some engagement. He +turned up the Candlemaker Row, and stopped at the Harrow Inn. + +There was a carrier's cart ready to start, and a keen, thin, impatient, +black-a-vised little man, his hand at his gray horse's head, looking +about angrily for something. "Rab, ye thief!" said he, aiming a kick at +my great friend, who drew cringing up, and avoiding the heavy shoe with +more agility than dignity, and watching his master's eye, slunk +dismayed under the cart,--his ears down, and as much as he had of tail +down too. + +What a man this must be--thought I--to whom my tremendous hero turns +tail! The carrier saw the muzzle hanging, cut and useless, from his +neck, and I eagerly told him the story, which Bob and I always thought, +and still think, Homer, or King David, or Sir Walter, alone were worthy +to rehearse. The severe little man was mitigated, and condescended to +say, "Rab, ma man, puir Rabbie,"--whereupon the stump of a tail rose +up, the ears were cocked, the eyes filled, and were comforted; the two +friends were reconciled. "Hupp!" and a stroke of the whip were given to +Jess; and off went the three. + +Bob and I buried the Game Chicken that night (we had not much of a tea) +in the back-green of his house in Melville Street, No. 17, with +considerable gravity and silence; and being at the time in the Iliad, +and, like all boys, Trojans, we of course called him Hector. + + * * * * * + +Six years have passed,--a long time for a boy and a dog: Bob Ainslie is +off to the wars; I am a medical student, and clerk at Minto House +Hospital. + +Rab I saw almost every week, on the Wednesday; and we had much pleasant +intimacy. I found the way to his heart by frequent scratching of his +huge head, and an occasional bone. When I did not notice him he would +plant himself straight before me, and stand wagging that bud of a tail, +and looking up, with his head a little to the one side. His master I +occasionally saw; he used to call me "Maister John," but was laconic as +any Spartan. + +One fine October afternoon, I was leaving the hospital, when I saw the +large gate open, and in walked Rab, with that great and easy saunter of +his. He looked as if taking general possession of the place; like the +Duke of Wellington entering a subdued city, satiated with victory and +peace. After him came Jess, now white from age, with her cart; and in +it a woman carefully wrapped up,--the carrier leading the horse +anxiously, and looking back. When he saw me, James (for his name was +James Noble) made a curt and grotesque "boo," and said, "Maister John, +this is the mistress; she's got a trouble in her breest--some kind o' +an income we're thinkin'." + +By this time I saw the woman's face; she was sitting on a sack filled +with straw, her husband's plaid round her, and his big-coat, with its +large white metal buttons, over her feet. + +I never saw a more unforgetable face--pale, serious, _lonely_ +[Footnote: It is not easy giving this look by one word; it was +expressive of her being so much of her life alone.] delicate, sweet, +without being at all what we call fine. She looked sixty, and had on a +mutch, white as snow, with its black ribbon; her silvery, smooth hair +setting off her dark-gray eyes--eyes such as one sees only twice or +thrice in a lifetime, full of suffering, full also of the overcoming of +it: her eyebrows + + "Black brows, they say, + Become some women best, so that there be not + Too much hair there, _but in a semicircle, + Or a half-moon made with a pen." + --A Winter's Tale_ + +black and delicate, and her mouth firm, patient, and contented, which +few mouths ever are. + +As I have said, I never saw a more beautiful countenance, or one more +subdued to settled quiet. "Ailie," said James, "this is Maister John, +the young doctor; Rab's freend, ye ken. We often speak aboot you, +doctor." She smiled, and made a movement, but said nothing; and +prepared to come down, putting her plaid aside and rising. Had Solomon, +in all his glory, been handing down the Queen of Sheba at his palace +gate, he could not have done it more daintily, more tenderly, more like +a gentleman, than did James the Howgate carrier, when he lifted down +Ailie his wife. The contrast of his small, swarthy, weather-beaten, +keen, worldly face to hers--pale, subdued, and beautiful--was something +wonderful. Rab looked on concerned and puzzled, but ready for anything +that might turn up,--were it to strangle the nurse, the porter, or even +me. Ailie and he seemed great friends. + +"As I was sayin', she's got a kind o' trouble in her breest, doctor; +wull ye tak' a look at it?" We walked into the consulting-room, all +four; Rab grim and comic, willing to be happy and confidential if cause +could be shown, willing also to be the reverse, on the same terms. +Ailie sat down, undid her open gown and her lawn handkerchief round her +neck, and, without a word, showed me her right breast. I looked at and +examined it carefully,--she and James watching me, and Rab eyeing all +three. What could I say? there it was, that had once been so soft, so +shapely, so white, so gracious and bountiful, so "full of all blessed +conditions,"--hard as a stone, a center of horrid pain, making that +pale face, with its gray, lucid, reasonable eyes, and its sweet +resolved mouth, express the full measure of suffering overcome. Why was +that gentle, modest, sweet woman, clean and lovable, condemned by God +to bear such a burden? + +I got her away to bed. "May Rab and me bide?" said James. "_You_ +may; and Rab, if he will behave himself." "I'se warrant he's do that, +doctor"; and in slunk the faithful beast. I wish you could have seen +him. There are no such dogs now. He belonged to a lost tribe. As I have +said, he was brindle, and gray like Rubislaw granite, his hair short, +hard, and close, like a lion's; his body thick set, like a little bull-- +a sort of compressed Hercules of a dog. He must have been ninety +pounds' weight, at the least; he had a large blunt head, his muzzle +black as night, his mouth blacker than any night, a tooth or two--being +all he had--gleaming out of his jaws of darkness. His head was scarred +with the records of old wounds, a sort of series of fields of battle +all over it; one eye out, one ear cropped as close as was Archbishop +Leighton's father's; the remaining eye had the power of two; and above +it, and in constant communication with it, Was a tattered rag of an ear +which was forever unfurling itself, like an old flag; and then that bud +of a tail, about one inch long, if it could in any sense be said to be +long, being as broad as long--the mobility, the instantaneousness of +that bud were very funny and surprising, and its expressive twinklings +and winkings, the intercommunications between the eye, the ear, and it, +were of the oddest and swiftest. + +Rab had the dignity and simplicity of great size; and having fought his +way all along the road to absolute supremacy, he was as mighty in his +own line as Julius Caesar or the Duke of Wellington, and had the +gravity [Footnote: A Highland game-keeper, when asked why a certain +terrier, of singular pluck, was so much more solemn than the other +dogs, said, "Oh, Sir, life's full o' sairiousness to him--he just never +can get enuff o' fechtin'."] of all great fighters. + +You must have often observed the likeness of certain men to certain +animals, and of certain dogs to men. Now, I never looked at Rab without +thinking of the great Baptist preacher, Andrew Fuller. [Footnote: +Fuller was, in early life, when a farmer lad at Soham, famous as a +boxer; not quarrelsome, but not without "the stern delight" a man of +strength and courage feels in their exercise. Dr. Charles Stewart, of +Dunearn, whose rare gifts and graces as a physician, a divine, a +scholar, and a gentleman, live only in the memory of those few who knew +and survive him, liked to tell how Mr. Fuller used to say, that when he +was in the pulpit, and saw a _buirdly_ man come along the passage, +he would instinctively draw himself up, measure his imaginary +antagonist, and forecast how he would deal with him, his hands +meanwhile condensing into fists, and tending to "square." He must have +been a hard hitter if he boxed as he preached--what "The Fancy" would +call "an ugly customer."] The same large, heavy menacing, combative +somber, honest countenance, the same deep inevitable eye, the same +look,--as of thunder asleep, but ready,--neither a dog nor a man to be +trifled with. + +Next day, my master, the surgeon, examined Ailie. There was no doubt it +must kill her, and soon. It could be removed--it might never return--it +would give her speedy relief--she should have it done. She curtsied, +looked at James, and said, "When?" "Tomorrow," said the kind surgeon--a +man of few words. She and James and Rab and I retired. I noticed that +he and she spoke little, but seemed to anticipate everything in each +other. The following day, at noon, the students came in hurrying up the +great stair. At the first landing-place, on a small well-known +blackboard, was a bit of paper fastened by wafers, and many remains of +old wafers beside it. On the paper were the words,--"An operation +today.--J. B. _Clerk_." + +Up ran the youths, eager to secure good places: in they crowded, full +of interest and talk. "What's the case?" "Which side is it?" + +Don't think them heartless; they are neither better nor worse than you +or I; they get over their professional horrors, and into their proper +work; and in them pity, as an _emotion_, ending in itself or at +best in tears and a long-drawn breath, lessens,--while pity as a +_motive_ is quickened, and gains power and purpose. It is well for +poor human nature that it is so. + +The operating theater is crowded; much talk and fun, and all the +cordiality and stir of youth. The surgeon with his staff of assistants +is there. In comes Ailie: one look at her quiets and abates the eager +students. That beautiful old woman is too much for them; they sit down, +and are dumb, and gaze at her. These rough boys feel the power of her +presence. She walks in quickly, but without haste; dressed in her +mutch, her neckerchief, her white dimity short-gown, her black +bombazine petticoat, showing her white worsted stockings and her +carpet-shoes. Behind her was James with Rab. James sat down in the +distance, and took that huge and noble head between his knees. Rab +looked perplexed and dangerous; forever cocking his ear and dropping it +as fast. + +Ailie stepped up on a seat, and laid herself on the table, as her +friend the surgeon told her; arranged herself, gave a rapid look at +James, shut her eyes, rested herself on me, and took my hand. The +operation was at once begun; it was necessarily slow; and chloroform-- +one of God's best gifts to his suffering children--was then unknown. +The surgeon did his work. The pale face showed its pain, but was still +and silent. Rab's soul was working within him; he saw that something +strange was going on,--blood flowing from his mistress, and she +suffering; his ragged ear was up, and importunate; he growled and gave +now and then a sharp impatient yelp; he would have liked to have done +something to that man. But James had him firm, and gave him a +_glower_ from time to time, and an intimation of a possible kick;-- +all the better for James, it kept his eye and his mind off Ailie. + +It is over: she is dressed, steps gently and decently down from the +table, looks for James; then turning to the surgeon and the students, +she curtsies,--and in a low, clear voice, begs their pardon if she has +behaved ill. The students--all of us--wept like children; the surgeon +happed her up carefully,--and, resting on James and me, Ailie went to +her room. Rab following. We put her to bed. James took off his heavy +shoes, crammed with tackets, heel-capt and toe-capt, and put them +carefully under the table, saying, "Maister John, I'm for nane o' yer +strynge nurse bodies for Ailie. I'll be her nurse, and I'll gang aboot +on my stockin' soles as canny as pussy." And so he did; and handy and +clever, and swift and tender as any woman, was that horny-handed, +snell, peremptory little man. Everything she got he gave her: he seldom +slept; and often I saw his small shrewd eyes out of the darkness, fixed +on her. As before, they spoke little. + +Rab behaved well, never moving, showing us how meek and gentle he could +be, and occasionally, in his sleep, letting us know that he was +demolishing some adversary. He took a walk with me every day, generally +to the Candlemaker Row; but he was somber and mild; declined doing +battle, though some fit cases offered, and indeed submitted to sundry +indignities; and was always very ready to turn, and came faster back, +and trotted up the stair with much lightness, and went straight to that +door. + +Jess, the mare, had been sent, with her weather-worn cart, to Howgate, +and had doubtless her own dim and placid meditations and confusions, on +the absence of her master and Rab, and her unnatural freedom from the +road and her cart. + +For some days Ailie did well. The wound healed "by the first +intention"; for as James said, "Oor Ailie's skin's ower clean to beil." +The students came in quiet and anxious, and surrounded her bed. She +said she liked to see their young, honest faces. The surgeon dressed +her, and spoke to her in his own short kind way, pitying her through +his eyes, Rab and James outside the circle,--Rab being now reconciled, +and even cordial, and having made up his mind that as yet nobody +required worrying, but, as you may suppose, _semper paratus_. + +So far well: but, four days after the operation, my patient had a +sudden and long shivering, a "groosin'," as she called it. I saw her +soon after; her eyes were too bright, her cheek colored; she was +restless, and ashamed of being so; the balance was lost; mischief had +begun. On looking at the wound, a blush of red told the secret: her +pulse was rapid, her breathing anxious and quick, she wasn't herself, +as she said, and was vexed at her restlessness. We tried what we could. +James did everything, was everywhere; never in the way, never out of +it; Rab subsided under the table into a dark place, and was motionless, +all but his eye, which followed every one. Ailie got worse; began to +wander in her mind, gently; was more demonstrative in her ways to +James, rapid in her questions, and sharp at times. He was vexed, and +said, "She was never that way afore, no, never." For a time she knew +her head was wrong, and was always asking our pardon--the dear gentle +old woman: then delirium set in strong, without pause. Her brain gave +way, and then came that terrible spectacle, + + "The intellectual power, through words and things, + Went sounding on, a dim and perilous way;" + +she sang bits of old songs and Psalms, stopping suddenly, mingling the +Psalms of David, and the diviner words of his Son and Lord, with homely +odds and ends and scraps of ballads. + +Nothing more touching, or in a sense more strangely beautiful, did I +ever witness. Her tremulous, rapid, affectionate, eager Scotch voice,-- +the swift, aimless, bewildered mind, the baffled utterance, the bright +and perilous eye; some wild words, some household cares, something for +James, the names of the dead, Rab called rapidly and in a "fremyt" +voice, and he starting up, surprised, and slinking off as if he were to +blame somehow, or had been dreaming he heard. Many eager questions and +beseechings which James and I could make nothing of, and on which she +seemed to set her all, and then sink back ununderstood. It was very +sad, but better than many things that are not called sad. James hovered +about, put out and miserable, but active and exact as ever; read to +her, when there was a lull, short bits from the Psalms, prose and +meter, chanting the latter in his own rude and serious way, showing +great knowledge of the fit words, bearing up like a man, and doting +over her as his "ain Ailie." "Ailie, ma woman!" "Ma ain bonnie wee +dawtie!" + +The end was drawing on: the golden bowl was breaking; the silver cord +was fast being loosed--that _animula, blandula, vagula, hospes, +comesque_, was about to flee. The body and the soul--companions +for sixty years--were being sundered, and taking leave. She was +walking, alone, through the valley of that shadow, into which one day +we must all enter,--and yet she was not alone, for we know whose rod +and staff were comforting her. + +One night she had fallen quiet, and as we hoped, asleep; her eyes were +shut. We put down the gas, and sat watching her. Suddenly she sat up in +bed, and taking a bed-gown which was lying on it rolled up, she held it +eagerly to her breast,--to the right side. We could see her eyes bright +with a surprising tenderness and joy, bending over this bundle of +clothes. She held it as a woman holds her sucking child; opening out +her night-gown impatiently, and holding it close, and brooding over it, +and murmuring foolish little words, as over one whom his mother +comforteth, and who sucks and is satisfied. It was pitiful and strange +to see her wasted dying look, keen and yet vague--her immense love. + +"Preserve me!" groaned James, giving way. And then she rocked back and +forward, as if to make it sleep, hushing it, and wasting on it her +infinite fondness. "Wae's me, doctor; I declare she's thinkin' it's +that bairn." "What bairn?" "The only bairn we ever had; our wee Mysie, +and she's in the Kingdom forty years and mair." It was plainly true: +the pain in the breast, telling its urgent story to a bewildered, +ruined brain, was misread and mistaken; it suggested to her the +uneasiness of a breast full of milk, and then the child; and so again +once more they were together, and she had her ain wee Mysie in her +bosom. + +This was the close. She sank rapidly: the delirium left her; but, as +she whispered, she was "clean silly"; it was the lightening before the +final darkness. After having for some time lain still--her eyes shut, +she said, "James!" He came close to her, and lifting up her calm, +clear, beautiful eyes, she gave him a long look, turned to me kindly +but shortly, looked for Rab but could not see him, then turned to her +husband again, as if she would never leave off looking, shut her eyes +and composed herself. She lay for some time breathing quick, and passed +away so gently, that when we thought she was gone, James, in his +old-fashioned way, held the mirror to her face. After a long pause, one +small spot of dimness was breathed out; it vanished away, and never +returned, leaving the blank clear darkness without a stain. "What is +our life? it is even a vapor, which appeareth for a little time, and +then vanisheth away." + +Rab all this time had been full awake and motionless: he came forward +beside us: Ailie's hand which James had held, was hanging down, it was +soaked with his tears; Rab licked it all over carefully, looked at her, +and returned to his place under the table. + +James and I sat, I don't know how long, but for some time,--saying +nothing; he started up abruptly, and with some noise went to the table, +and putting his right fore and middle fingers each into a shoe, pulled +them out, and put them on, breaking one of the leather latchets, and +muttering in anger, "I never did the like o' that fore!" + +I believe he never did; nor after either. "Rab!" he said roughly, and +pointing with his thumb to the bottom of the bed. Rab leapt up, and +settled himself; his head and eye to the dead face. "Maister John, +ye'll wait for me," said the carrier; and disappeared in the darkness, +thundering downstairs in his heavy shoes. I ran to a front window: +there he was, already round the house, and out at the gate, fleeing +like a shadow. + +I was afraid about him, and yet not afraid; so I sat down beside Rab, +and being wearied, fell asleep. I awoke from a sudden noise outside. It +was November, and there had been a heavy fall of snow. Rab was _in +statu quo_; he heard the noise too, and plainly knew it, but never +moved. I looked out; and there, at the gate, in the dim morning--for +the sun was not up, was Jess and the cart,--a cloud of steam rising +from the old mare. I did not see James; he was already at the door, and +came up the stairs and met me. It was less than three hours since he +left, and he must have posted out--who knows how?--to Howgate, full +nine miles off; yoked Jess, and driven her astonished into town. He had +an armful of blankets, and was streaming with perspiration. He nodded +to me, spread out on the floor two pairs of clean old blankets having +at their corners, "A. G., 1794," in large letters in red worsted. These +were the initials of Alison Græme, and James may have looked in at her +from without--himself unseen but not unthought of--when he was "wat, +wat, and weary," and after having walked many a mile over the hills, +may have seen her sitting, while "a' the lave were sleepin'," and by +the firelight working her name on the blankets, for her ain James's +bed. + +He motioned Rab down, and taking his wife in his arms, laid her in the +blankets, and happed her carefully and firmly up, leaving the face +uncovered; and then lifting her, he nodded again sharply to me, and +with a resolved but utterly miserable face, strode along the passage, +and downstairs, followed by Rab. I followed with a light; but he didn't +need it. I went out, holding stupidly the candle in my hand in the calm +frosty air; we were soon at the gate. I could have helped him, but I +saw he was not to be meddled with, and he was strong, and did not need +it. He laid her down as tenderly, as safely, as he had lifted her out +ten days before--as tenderly as when he had her first in his arms when +she was only "A. G."--sorted her, leaving that beautiful sealed face +open to the heavens; and then taking Jess by the head, he moved away. +He did not notice me, neither did Rab, who presided behind the cart. + +I stood till they passed through the long shadow of the College, and +turned up Nicolson Street. I heard the solitary cart sound through the +streets, and die away and come again; and I returned, thinking of that +company going up Libberton Brae, then along Roslin Muir, the morning +light touching the Pentlands, and making them like on-looking ghosts; +then down the hill through Auchindinny woods, past "haunted +Woodhouselee"; and as daybreak came sweeping up the bleak Lammermuirs, +and fell on his own door, the company would stop, and James would take +the key, and lift Ailie up again, laying her on her own bed, and, +having put Jess up, would return with Rab and shut the door. + +James buried his wife, with his neighbors mourning, Rab watching the +proceedings from a distance. It was snow, and that black ragged hole +would look strange in the midst of the swelling spotless cushion of +white. James looked after everything; then rather suddenly fell ill, +and took to bed; was insensible when the doctor came, and soon died. A +sort of low fever was prevailing in the village, and his want of sleep, +his exhaustion, and his misery, made him apt to take it. The grave was +not difficult to reopen. A fresh fall of snow had again made all things +white and smooth. Rab once more looked on, and slunk home to the +stable. + +And what of Rab? I asked for him next week at the new carrier who got +the goodwill of James's business, and was now master of Jess and her +cart. "How's Rab?" He put me off, and said rather rudely, "What's +_your_ business wi' the dowg?" I was not to be so put off. +"Where's Rab?" He, getting confused and red, and intermeddling with his +hair, said, "'Deed, sir, Rab's deid." "Dead! what did he die of?" +"Weel, sir," said he, getting redder, "he didna exactly dee; he was +killed. I had to brain him wi' a rack-pin; there was nae doin' wi' him. +He lay in the treviss wi' the mear, and wadna come oot. I tempit him +wi' kail and meat, but he wad tak' naething, and keepit me frae feedin' +the beast, and he was aye gur gurrin', and grup gruppin' me by the +legs. I was laith to mak' awa wi' the auld dowg, his like wasna atween +this and Thornhill,--but, 'deed, sir, I could do naething else." I +believed him. Fit end for Rab, quick and complete. His teeth and his +friends gone, why should he keep the peace, and be civil? + +He was buried in the braeface, near the burn, the children of the +village, his companions, who used to make very free with him and sit on +his ample stomach, as he lay half asleep at the door in the sun, +watching the solemnity. + + + + + +THE BUSY BLUE JAY + +Olive Thorne Miller + + + +I + + +One of the most interesting birds who ever lived in my Bird Room was a +blue jay named Jakie. He was full of business from morning till night, +scarcely ever a moment still. + +Poor little fellow! He had been stolen from the nest before he could +fly, and reared in a house, long before he was given to me. Of course +he could not be set free, for he did not know how to take care of +himself. + +Jays are very active birds, and being shut up in a room, my blue jay +had to find things to do, to keep himself busy. If he had been allowed +to grow up out of doors, he would have found plenty to do, planting +acorns and nuts, nesting, and bringing up families. + +Sometimes the things he did in the house were what we call mischief +because they annoy us, such as hammering the woodwork to pieces, +tearing bits out of the leaves of books, working holes in chair seats, +or pounding a cardboard box to pieces. But how is a poor little bird to +know what is mischief? + +Many things which Jakie did were very funny. For instance, he made it +his business to clear up the room. When he had more food than he could +eat at the moment, he did not leave it around, but put it away +carefully,--not in the garbage pail, for that was not in the room, but +in some safe nook where it did not offend the eye. Sometimes it was +behind the tray in his cage, or among the books on the shelf. The +places he liked best were about me,--in the fold of a ruffle or the +loop of a bow on my dress, and sometimes in the side of my slipper. The +very choicest place of all was in my loosely bound hair. That of course +I could not allow, and I had to keep a very close watch of him for fear +I might have a bit of bread or meat thrust among my locks. In his +clearing up he always went carefully over the floor, picking up pins or +any little thing he could find, and I often dropped burnt matches, +buttons, and other small things to give him something to do. These he +would pick up and put nicely away. + +Pins, Jakie took lengthwise in his beak, and at first I thought he had +swallowed them, till I saw him hunt up a proper place to hide them. The +place he chose was between the leaves of a book. He would push a pin +far in out of sight, and then go after another. A match he always tried +to put in a crack, under the baseboard, between the breadths of +matting, or under my rockers. He first placed it, and then tried to +hammer it out of sight. He could seldom get it in far enough to suit +him, and this worried him. Then he would take it out and try another +place. + +Once the blue jay found a good match, of the parlor match variety. He +put it between the breadths of matting, and then began to pound on it +as usual. Pretty soon he hit the unburnt end and it went off with a +loud crack, as parlor matches do. Poor Jakie jumped two feet into the +air, nearly frightened out of his wits; and I was frightened, too, for +I feared he might set the house on fire. + +Often when I got up from my chair a shower of the bird's playthings +would fall from his various hiding-places about my dress,-nails, +matches, shoe-buttons, bread-crumbs, and other things. Then he had to +begin his work all over again. + +Jakie liked a small ball or a marble. His game was to give it a hard +peck and see it roll. If it rolled away from him, he ran after it and +pecked again; but sometimes it rolled toward him, and then he bounded +into the air as if he thought it would bite. And what was funny, he was +always offended at this conduct of the ball, and went off sulky for a +while. + +He was a timid little fellow. Wind or storm outside the windows made +him wild. He would fly around the room, squawking at the top of his +voice; and the horrible tin horns the boys liked to blow at +Thanksgiving and Christmas drove him frantic. Once I brought a +Christmas tree into the room to please the birds, and all were +delighted with it except my poor little blue jay, who was much afraid +of it. Think of the sadness of a bird being afraid of a tree! + + + +II + + +Jakie had decided opinions about people who came into the room to see +me, or to see the birds. At some persons he would squawk every moment. +Others he saluted with a queer cry like "Ob-ble! ob-ble! ob-ble!" Once +when a lady came in with a baby, he fixed his eyes on that infant with +a savage look as if he would like to peck it, and jumped back and forth +in his cage, panting, but perfectly quiet. + +Jakie was very devoted to me. He always greeted me with a low, sweet +chatter, with wings quivering, and if he were out of the cage he would +come on the back of my chair and touch my cheek or lips very gently +with his beak, or offer me a bit of food if he had any; and to me +alone, when no one else was near, he sang a low, exquisite song. I +afterwards heard a similar song sung by a wild blue jay to his mate +while she was sitting, and so I knew that my dear little captive had +given me his sweetest--his love song. + +One of Jakie's amusements was dancing across the back of a tall chair, +taking funny little steps, coming down hard, "jouncing" his body, and +whistling as loud as he could. He would keep up this funny performance +as long as anybody would stand before him and pretend to dance, too. + +My jay was fond of a sensation. One of his dearast bits of fun was to +drive the birds into a panic. This he did by flying furiously around +the room, feathers rustling, and squawking as loud as he could. He +usually managed to fly just over the head of each bird, and as he came +like a catapult, every one flew before him, so that in a minute the +room was full of birds flying madly about trying to get out of his way. +This gave him great pleasure. + +Wild blue jays, too, like to stir up their neighbors. A friend told me +of a small party of blue jays that she saw playing this kind of a joke +on a flock of birds of several kinds, robins, catbirds, thrashers, and +others. These birds were gathering the cherries on the top branches of +a big cherry tree. The jays sat quietly on another tree till the cherry +eaters were very busy eating. Then suddenly the mischievous blue rogues +would all rise together and fly at them, as my pet did at the birds in +the room. It had the same effect on the wild birds; they all flew in a +panic. Then the joking jays would return to their tree and wait till +their victims forgot their fear and came straggling back to the +cherries, when they repeated the fun. + +Once a grasshopper got into the Bird Room, probably brought in clinging +to some one's dress in the way grasshoppers do. Jakie was in his cage, +but he noticed the stranger instantly, and I opened the door for him. +He went at once to look at the grasshopper, and when it hopped he was +so startled that he hopped, too. Then he picked the insect up, but he +did not know what to do with it, so he dropped it again. Again the +grasshopper jumped directly up, and again the jay did the same. This +they did over and over, till every one was tired laughing at them. It +looked as if they were trying to see who could jump the higher. + +There was another bird in the room, however, who knew what grasshoppers +were good for. He was an orchard oriole, and after looking on for a +while, he came down and carried off the hopper to eat. The jay did not +like to lose his plaything; he ran after the thief, and stood on the +floor giving low cries and looking on while the oriole on a chair was +eating the dead grasshopper. When the oriole happened to drop it, +Jakie--who had got a new idea of what to do with grasshoppers--snatched +it up and carried it under a chair and finished it. + +I could tell many more stories about my bird, but I have told them +before in one of my "grown-up" books, so I will not repeat them here. + + + + +A CRY IN THE NIGHT + +William J. Long + + + +This is the rest of the story, just as I saw it, of the little fawns +that I found under the mossy log by the brook. There were two of them, +you remember; and though they looked alike at first glance, I soon +found out that there is just as much difference in fawns as there is in +folks. Eyes, faces, dispositions, characters,--in all things they were +as unlike as the virgins of the parable. One of them was wise, and the +other was very foolish. The one was a follower, a learner; he never +forgot his second lesson, to follow the white flag. The other followed +from the first only his own willful head and feet, and discovered too +late that obedience is life. Until the bear found him, I have no doubt +he was thinking, in his own dumb, foolish way, that obedience is only +for the weak and ignorant, and that government is only an unfair +advantage which all the wilderness mothers take to keep little wild +things from doing as they please. + +The wise old mother took them both away when she knew I had found them, +and hid them in a deeper solitude of the big woods, nearer the lake, +where she could the sooner reach them from her feeding grounds. For +days after the wonderful discovery I used to go in the early morning or +the late afternoon, while mother deer are away feeding along the +watercourses, and search the dingle from one end to the other, hoping +to find the little ones again and win their confidence. But they were +not there; and I took to watching instead a family of mink that lived +in a den under a root, and a big owl that always slept in the same +hemlock. Then, one day when a flock of partridges led me out of the +wild berry bushes into a cool green island of the burned lands, I ran +plump upon the deer and her fawns lying all together under a fallen +treetop, dozing away the heat of the day. + +They did not see me, but were only scared into action as a branch, upon +which I stood looking for my partridges, gave way beneath my feet and +let me down with a great crash under the fallen tree. There, looking +out, I could see them perfectly, while Kookooskoos himself could hardly +have seen me. At the first crack they all jumped like Jack-in-a-box +when you touch his spring. The mother put up her white flag--which is +the snowy underside of her useful tail, and shows like a beacon by day +or night--and bounded away with a hoarse _Ka-a-a-a-h!_ of warning. +One of the little ones followed her on the instant, jumping squarely in +his mother's tracks, his own little white flag flying to guide any that +might come after him. But the second fawn ran off at a tangent, and +stopped in a moment to stare and whistle and stamp his tiny, foot in an +odd mixture of curiosity and defiance. The mother had to circle back +twice before he followed her, at last, unwillingly. As she stole back +each time, her tail was down and wiggling nervously--which is the sure +sign, when you see it, that some scent of you is floating off through +the woods and telling its warning into the deer's keen nostrils. But +when she jumped away the white flag was straight up, flashing in the +very face of her foolish fawn, telling him as plain as any language +what sign he must follow if he would escape danger and avoid breaking +his legs in the tangled underbrush. + +I did not understand till long afterwards, when I had watched the fawns +many times, how important is this latter suggestion. One who follows a +frightened deer and sees or hears him go bounding off at breakneck pace +over loose rocks and broken trees and tangled underbrush; rising swift +on one side of a windfall without knowing what lies on the other side +till he is already falling; driving like an arrow over ground where you +must follow like a snail, lest you wrench a foot or break an ankle,-- +finds himself asking with unanswered wonder how any deer can live half +a season in the wilderness without breaking all his legs. And when you +run upon a deer at night and hear him go smashing off in the darkness +at the same reckless speed, over a tangled blow-down, perhaps, through +which you can barely force your way by daylight, then you realize +suddenly that the most wonderful part of a deer's education shows +itself, not in keen eyes or trumpet ears, or in his finely trained +nose, more sensitive a hundred times than any barometer, but in his +forgotten feet, which seem to have eyes and nerves and brains packed +into their hard shells instead of the senseless matter you see there. + +Watch the doe yonder as she bounds away, wig-wagging her heedless +little one to follow. She is thinking only of him; and now you see her +feet free to take care of themselves. As she rises over the big +windfall, they hang from the ankle joints, limp as a glove out of which +the hand has been drawn, yet seeming to wait and watch. One hoof +touches a twig; like lightning it spreads and drops, after running for +the smallest fraction of a second along the obstacle to know whether to +relax or stiffen, or rise or fall to meet it. Just before she strikes +the ground on the down plunge, see the wonderful hind hoofs sweep +themselves forward, surveying the ground by touch, and bracing +themselves, in a fraction of time so small that the eye cannot follow, +for the shock of what lies beneath them, whether rock or rotten wood or +yielding moss. The fore feet have followed the quick eyes above, and +shoot straight and sure to their landing; but the hind hoofs must find +the spot for themselves as they come down and, almost ere they find it, +brace themselves again for the push of the mighty muscles above. + +Once only I found where a fawn with untrained feet had broken its leg; +and once I heard of a wounded buck, driven to death by dogs, that had +fallen in the same way never to rise again. Those were rare cases. The +marvel is that it does not happen to every deer that fear drives +through the wilderness. + +And that is another reason why the fawns must learn to obey a wiser +head than their own. Till their little feet are educated, the mother +must choose the way for them; and a wise fawn will jump squarely in her +tracks. That explains also why deer, even after they are full grown, +will often walk in single file, a half-dozen of them sometimes +following a wise leader, stepping in his tracks and leaving but a +single trail. It is partly, perhaps, to fool their old enemy, the wolf, +and their new enemy, the man, by hiding the weakling's trail in the +stride and hoof mark of a big buck; but it shows also the old habit, +and the training which begins when the fawns first learn to follow the +flag. + +After that second discovery I used to go in the afternoon to a point on +the lake nearest the fawns' hiding-place, and wait in my canoe for the +mother to come out and show me where she had left her little ones. As +they grew, and the drain upon her increased from their feeding, she +seemed always half starved. Waiting in my canoe I would hear the +crackle of brush, as she trotted straight down to the lake almost +heedlessly, and see her plunge through the fringe of bushes that +bordered the water. With scarcely a look or a sniff to be sure the +coast was clear, she would jump for the lily pads. Sometimes the canoe +was in plain sight; but she gave no heed as she tore up the juicy buds +and stems, and swallowed them with the appetite of a famished wolf. +Then I would paddle away and, taking my direction from her trail as she +came, hunt diligently for the fawns until I found them. + +This last happened only two or three times. The little ones were +already wild; they had forgotten all about our first meeting, and when +I showed myself, or cracked a twig too near them, they would promptly +bolt into the brush. One always ran straight away, his white flag +flying to show that he remembered his lesson; the other went off +zigzag, stopping at every angle of his run to look back and question me +with his eyes and ears. + +There was only one way in which such disobedience could end. I saw it +plainly enough one afternoon, when, had I been one of the fierce +prowlers of the wilderness, the little fellow's history would have +stopped short under the paw of Upweekis, the shadowy lynx of the burned +lands. It was late afternoon when I came over a ridge, following a deer +path on my way to the lake, and looked down into a long, narrow valley +filled with berry bushes, and with a few fire-blasted trees standing +here and there to point out the perfect loneliness and desolation of +the place. + +Just below me a deer was feeding hungrily, only her hind quarters +showing out of the underbrush. I watched her awhile, then dropped on +all fours and began to creep towards her, to see how near I could get +and what new trait I might discover. But at the first motion (I had +stood at first like an old stump on the ridge) a fawn that had +evidently been watching me all the time from his hiding sprang into +sight with a sharp whistle of warning. The doe threw up her head, +looking straight at me as if she had understood more from the signal +than I had thought possible. There was not an instant's hesitation or +searching. Her eyes went direct to me, as if the fawn's cry had said: +"Behind you, mother, in the path by the second gray rock!" Then she +jumped away, shooting up the opposite hill over roots and rocks as if +thrown by steel springs, blowing hoarsely at every jump, and followed +in splendid style by her watchful little one. + +At the first snort of danger there was a rush in the underbrush near +where she had stood, and a second fawn sprang into sight. I knew him +instantly--the heedless one--and knew also that he had neglected too +long the matter of following the flag. He was confused, frightened, +chuckle-headed now; he came darting up the deer path in the wrong +direction, straight towards me, to within two jumps, before he noticed +the man kneeling in the path before him and watching him quietly. + +At the startling discovery he stopped short, seeming to shrink smaller +and smaller before my eyes. Then he edged sidewise to a great stump, +hid himself among the roots, and stood stock-still,--a beautiful +picture of innocence and curiosity, framed in the rough brown roots of +the spruce stump. It was his first teaching to hide and be still. Just +as he needed it most, he had forgotten absolutely the second lesson. + +We watched each other full five minutes without moving an eyelash. Then +his first lesson ebbed away. He sidled out into the path again, came +towards me two dainty, halting steps, and stamped prettily with his +left fore foot. He was a young buck, and had that trick of stamping +without any instruction. It is an old, old ruse to make you move, to +startle you by the sound and threatening motion into showing who you +are and what are your intentions. + +But still the man did not move; the fawn grew frightened at his own +boldness and ran away down the path. Far up the opposite hill I heard +the mother calling him. But he heeded not; he wanted to find out things +for himself. There he was in the path again, watching me. I took out my +handkerchief and waved it gently; at which great marvel he trotted +back, stopping anon to look and stamp his little foot, to show me that +he was not afraid. + +"Brave little chap, I like you," I thought, my heart going out to him +as he stood there with his soft eyes and beautiful face, stamping his +little foot. "But what," my thoughts went on, "had happened to you ere +now, had a bear or lucivee lifted his head over the ridge? Next month, +alas! the law will be off; then there will be hunters in these woods, +some of whom leave their hearts, with their wives and children, behind +them. You can't trust them, believe me, little chap. Your mother is +right; you can't trust them." + +The night was coming swiftly. The mother's call, growing ever more +anxious, more insistent, swept over the darkening hillside. "Perhaps," +I thought, with sudden twinges and alarms of conscience, "perhaps I set +you all wrong, little chap, in giving you the taste of salt that day, +and teaching you to trust things that meet you in the wilderness." That +is generally the way when we meddle with Mother Nature, who has her own +good reasons for doing things as she does. "But no! there were two of +you under the old log that day; and the other,--he's up there with his +mother now, where you ought to be,--he knows that old laws are safer +than new thoughts, especially new thoughts in the heads of foolish +youngsters. You are all wrong, little chap, for all your pretty +curiosity, and the stamp of your little foot that quite wins my heart. +Perhaps I am to blame, after all; anyway, I'll teach you better now." + +At the thought I picked up a large stone and sent it crashing, jumping, +tearing down the hillside straight at him. All his bravado vanished +like a wink. Up went his flag, and away he went over the logs and rocks +of the great hillside; where presently I heard his mother running in a +great circle till she found him with her nose, thanks to the wood wires +and the wind's messages, and led him away out of danger. + +One who lives for a few weeks in the wilderness, with eyes and ears +open, soon finds that, instead of the lawlessness and blind chance +which seem to hold sway there, he lives in the midst of law and order-- +an order of things much older than that to which he is accustomed, with +which it is not well to interfere. I was uneasy, following the little +deer path through the twilight stillness; and my uneasiness was not +decreased when I found on a log, within fifty yards of the spot where +the fawn first appeared, the signs of a big lucivee, with plenty of +fawn's hair and fine-cracked bones to tell me what he had eaten for his +midnight dinner. + +Down at the lower end of the same deer path, where it stopped at the +lake to let the wild things drink, was a little brook. Outside the +mouth of this brook, among the rocks, was a deep pool; and in the pool +lived some big trout. I was there one night, some two weeks later, +trying to catch some of the big trout for my next breakfast. + +Those were wise fish. It was of no use to angle for them by day any +more. They knew all the flies in my book; could tell the new Jenny Lind +from the old Bumble Bee before it struck the water; and seemed to know +perfectly, both by instinct and experience, that they were all frauds, +which might as well be called Jenny Bee and Bumble Lind for any sweet +reasonableness that was in them. Besides all this, the water was warm; +the trout were logy and would not rise. + +By night, however, the case was different. A few of the trout would +leave the pool and prowl along the shores in shallow water to see what +tidbits the darkness might bring, in the shape of night bugs and +careless piping frogs and sleepy minnows. Then, if you built a fire on +the beach and cast a white-winged fly across the path of the firelight, +you would sometimes get a big one. + +It was fascinating sport always, whether the trout were rising or not. +One had to fish with his ears, and keep most of his wits in his hand, +ready to strike quick and hard when the moment came, after an hour of +casting. Half the time you would not see your fish at all, but only +hear the savage plunge as he swirled down with your fly. At other +times, as you struck sharply at the plunge, your fly would come back to +you, or tangle itself up in unseen snags; and far out, where the verge +of the firelight rippled away into the darkness, you would see a sharp +wave-wedge shooting away, which told you that your trout was only a +musquash. Swimming quietly by, he had seen you and your fire, and +slapped his tail down hard on the water to make you jump. That is a way +Musquash has in the night, so that he can make up his mind what queer +thing you are and what you are doing. + +All the while, as you fish, the great dark woods stand close about you, +silent, listening. The air is full of scents and odors that steal +abroad only by night, while the air is dew-laden. Strange cries, calls, +squeaks, rustlings run along the hillside, or float in from the water, +or drop down from the air overhead, to make you guess and wonder what +wood folk are abroad at such unseemly hours, and what they are about. +So that it is good to fish by night, as well as by day, and go home +with heart and head full, even though your creel be empty. + +I was standing very still by my fire, waiting for a big trout that had +risen and missed my fly to regain his confidence, when I heard cautious +rustlings in the brush behind me. I turned instantly, and there were +two great glowing spots, the eyes of a deer, flashing out of the dark +woods. A swift rustle, and two more coals glow lower down, flashing and +scintillating with strange colors; and then two more; and I know that +the doe and her fawns are there, stopped and fascinated on their way to +drink by the great wonder of the light, and by the witchery of the +dancing shadows that rush up at timid wild things, as if to frighten +them, but only jump over them and back again, as if inviting them to +join the silent play. + +I knelt down quietly beside my fire, slipping on a great roll of birch +bark which blazed up brightly, filling the woods with light. There, +under a spruce, where a dark shadow had been a moment agone, stood the +mother, her eyes all ablaze with the wonder of the light; now staring +steadfastly into the fire; now starting nervously, with low questioning +snorts, as a troop of shadows ran up to play hop-scotch with the little +ones, which stood close behind her, one on either side. + +A moment only it lasted. Then one fawn--I knew the heedless one, even +in the firelight, by his face and by his bright-dappled Joseph's coat-- +came straight towards me, stopping to stare with flashing eyes when the +fire jumped up, and then to stamp his little foot at the shadows to +show them that he was not afraid. + +The mother called him anxiously; but still he came on, stamping +prettily. She grew uneasy, trotting back and forth in a half circle, +warning, calling, pleading. Then, as he came between her and the fire, +and his little shadow stretched away up the hill where she was, showing +how far away he was from her and how near the light, she broke away +from its fascination with an immense effort: _Ka-a-a-h! ka-a-a-h!_ +the hoarse cry rang through the startled woods like a pistol shot; and +she bounded away, her white flag shining like a wave crest in the night +to guide her little ones. + +The second fawn followed her instantly; but the heedless one barely +swung his head to see where she was going, and then came on towards the +light, staring and stamping in foolish wonder. + +I watched him a little while, fascinated myself by his beauty, his +dainty motions, his soft ears with a bright oval of light about them, +his wonderful eyes glowing like burning rainbows kindled by the +firelight. Far behind him the mother's cry ran back and forth along the +hillside. Suddenly it changed; a danger note leaped into it; and again +I heard the call to follow and the crash of brush as she leaped away. I +remembered the lynx and the sad little history written on the log +above. As the quickest way of saving the foolish youngster, I kicked my +fire to pieces and walked out toward him. Then, as the wonder vanished +in darkness and the scent of the man poured up to him on the lake's +breath, the little fellow bounded away--alas! straight up the deer +path, at right angles to the course his mother had taken a moment +before. + +Five minutes later I heard the mother calling a strange note in the +direction he had taken, and went up the deer path very quietly to +investigate. At the top of the ridge, where the path dropped away into +a dark narrow valley with dense underbrush on either side, I heard the +fawn answering her, below me among the big trees, and knew instantly +that something had happened. He called continuously, a plaintive cry of +distress, in the black darkness of the spruces. The mother ran around +him in a great circle, calling him to come; while he lay helpless in +the same spot, telling her he could not, and that she must come to him. +So the cries went back and forth in the listening night,--_Hoo-wuh_, +"come here." _Bla-a-a, blr-r-t_, "I can't; come here." _Ka-a-a-h, +ka-a-a-h!_ "danger, follow!"--and then the crash of brush as she +rushed away followed by the second fawn, whom she must save, though she +abandoned the heedless one to prowlers of the night. + +It was clear enough what had happened. The cries of the wilderness all +have their meaning, if one but knows how to interpret them. Running +through the dark woods his untrained feet had missed their landing, and +he lay now under some rough windfall, with a broken leg to remind him +of the lesson he had neglected so long. + +I was stealing along towards him, feeling my way among the trees in the +darkness, stopping every moment to listen to his cry to guide me, when +a heavy rustle came creeping down the hill and passed close before me. +Something, perhaps, in the sound--a heavy, though almost noiseless, +onward push which only one creature in the woods can possibly make-- +something, perhaps, in a faint new odor in the moist air told me +instantly that keener ears than mine had heard the cry; that Mooween +the bear had left his blueberry patch, and was stalking the heedless +fawn, whom he knew, by the hearing of his ears, to have become +separated from his watchful mother in the darkness. + +I regained the path silently--though Mooween heeds nothing when his +game is afoot--and ran back to the canoe for my rifle. Ordinarily a +bear is timid as a rabbit; but I had never met one so late at night +before, and knew not how he would act should I take his game away. +Besides, there is everything in the feeling with which one approaches +an animal. If one comes timidly, doubtfully, the animal knows it; and +if one comes swift, silent, resolute, with his power gripped tight, and +the hammer back, and a forefinger resting lightly on the trigger guard, +the animal knows it too, you may depend. Anyway, they always act as if +they knew, and you may safely follow the rule that, whatever your +feeling is, whether fear or doubt or confidence, the large and +dangerous animals will sense it instantly and adopt the opposite +feeling for their rule of action. That is the way I have always found +it in the wilderness. I met a bear once on a narrow path--but I must +tell about that elsewhere. + +The cries had ceased; the woods were all dark and silent when I came +back. I went as swiftly as possible--without heed or caution; for +whatever crackling I made the bear would attribute to the desperate +mother--to the spot where I had turned back. Thence I went on +cautiously, taking my bearings from one great tree on the ridge that +lifted its bulk against the sky; slower and slower, till, just this +side of a great windfall, a twig cracked sharply under my foot. It was +answered instantly by a grunt and a jump beyond the windfall--and then +the crashing rush of a bear up the hill, carrying something that caught +and swished loudly on the bushes as it passed, till the sounds vanished +in a faint rustle far away, and the woods were still again. + +All night long, from my tent over beyond an arm of the big lake, I +heard the mother calling at intervals. She seemed to be running back +and forth along the ridge, above where the tragedy had occurred. Her +nose told her of the bear and the man; but what awful thing they were +doing with her little one she knew not. Fear and questioning were in +the calls that floated down the ridge and across the water to my little +tent. + +At daylight I went back to the spot. I found without trouble where the +fawn had fallen; the moss told mutely of his struggle; and a stain or +two showed where Mooween grabbed him. The rest was a plain trail of +crushed moss and bent grass and stained leaves, and a tuft of soft hair +here and there on the jagged ends of knots in the old windfalls. So the +trail hurried up the hill into a wild rough country where it was of no +use to follow. + +As I climbed the last ridge on my way back to the lake, I heard +rustlings in the underbrush, and then the unmistakable crack of a twig +under a deer's foot. The mother had winded me; she was now following +and circling down wind to find out whether her lost fawn were with me. +As yet she knew not what had happened. The bear had frightened her into +extra care of the one fawn of whom she was sure. The other had simply +vanished into the silence and mystery of the great woods. + +Where the path turned downward, in sight of the lake, I saw her for a +moment plainly, standing half hid in the underbrush, looking intently +at my old canoe. She saw me at the same instant and bounded away, +quartering up the hill in my direction. Near a thicket of evergreen +that I had just passed, she sounded her hoarse _K-a-a-h, k-a-a-h!_ +and threw up her flag. There was a rush within the thicket; a sharp +_K-a-a-h!_ answered hers. Then the second fawn burst out of the +cover where she had hidden him, and darted along the ridge after her, +jumping like a big red fox from rock to rock, rising like a hawk over +the windfalls, hitting her tracks wherever he could, and keeping his +little nose hard down to his one needful lesson of following the white +flag. + + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE BIBLE + + + + +THE STORY OF JOSEPH + + + +And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the +land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being +seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the +lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his +father's wives; and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. +Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the +son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his +brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, +they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. + +And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated +him yet the more. And he said unto them, "Hear, I pray you, this dream +which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the +field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, +your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf." And +his brethren said to him, "Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt +thou indeed have dominion over us?" And they hated him yet the more for +his dreams, and for his words. + +And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, +"Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon +and the eleven stars made obeisance to me." And he told it to his +father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto +him, "What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother +and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the +earth?" And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the +saying. + +And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And +Israel said unto Joseph: "Do not thy brethren feed the flock in +Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them." And he said to him: +"Here am I." And he said to him: "Go, I pray thee, see whether it be +well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word +again." So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to +Shechem. + +And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the +field: and the man asked him, saying, "What seekest thou?" And he said: +"I seek my brethren; tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their +flocks." And the man said: "They are departed hence; for I heard them +say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" And Joseph went after his brethren, and +found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off, even before he +came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they +said one to another: "Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now, therefore, +and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, 'Some +evil beast hath devoured him:' and we shall see what will become of his +dreams." And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, +and said: "Let us not kill him." And Reuben said unto them, "Shed no +blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no +hand upon him "--that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver +him to his father again. + +And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they +stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on +him; and they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, +there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they +lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmaelites +came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, +going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, +"What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, +and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon +him; for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brethren were +content. Then there passed by Midianites, merchant-men; and they drew +and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites +for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. + +And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the +pit; and he rent his clothes. + +And he returned unto his brethren, and said, "The child is not; and I, +whither shall I go?" And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of +the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of +many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, "This have +we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no." And he knew it, +and said, "It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph +is without doubt rent in pieces." And Jacob rent his clothes, and put +sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all +his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused +to be comforted; and he said, "For I will go down into the grave unto +my son mourning." Thus his father wept for him. And the Midianites sold +him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and a captain of +the guard. + + * * * * * + +And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of +Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of +the Ishmaelites, and which had brought him down thither. And the Lord +was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house +of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with +him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And +Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him +overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And +it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his +house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's +house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that +he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in +Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he +did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored. And it came +to pass that his master's wife falsely accused Joseph. And Joseph's +master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's +prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison. + +But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor +in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison +committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; +and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the +prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the +Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. + +And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of +Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. And +Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, and against the chief of +the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in +ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the +place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged +Joseph with them, and he served them; and they continued a season in +ward. + +And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, +each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and +the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And +Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, +behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with +him in the ward of his lord's house, saying: "Wherefore look ye so +sadly today?" And they said unto him: "We have dreamed a dream, and +there is no interpreter of it." And Joseph said unto them, "Do not +interpretations belong to God? Tell me them, I pray you." And the chief +butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, "In my dream, behold +a vine was before me. And in the vine were three branches; and it was +as though it budded and her blossoms shot forth, and the clusters +thereof brought forth ripe grapes. And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; +and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave +the cup into Pharaoh's hand." And Joseph said unto him, "This is the +interpretation of it: the three branches are three days. Yet within +three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy +place; and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the +former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me when it shall +be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make +mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For indeed +I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also have I +done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon." When the chief +baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, "I +also was in my dream, and behold I had three white baskets on my head. +And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for +Pharaoh, and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head." +And Joseph answered and said, "This is the interpretation thereof: the +three baskets are three days. Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift +up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree, and the birds +shall eat thy flesh from off thee." + +And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that +he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the +chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored +the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into +Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had +interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but +forgat him. + +And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed; +and, behold, he stood by the river. And, behold, there came up out of +the river seven well-favored kine and fat-fleshed; and they fed in a +meadow. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the +river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed; and stood by the other kine upon +the brink of the river. And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed kine did +eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. + +And he slept and dreamed the second time; and, behold, seven ears of +corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. And, behold, seven thin +ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. And the seven +thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, +and, behold, it was a dream. + +And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he +sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men +thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could +interpret them unto Pharaoh. + +Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, "I do remember my +faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in +ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker: +and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he: we dreamed each man +according to the interpretation of his dream. And there was there with +us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we +told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to +his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to +us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged." + +Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out +of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and +came in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, "I have dreamed a +dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of +thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it." And Joseph +answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an +answer of peace." And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I +stood upon the bank of the river: and, behold, there came up out of the +river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored; and they fed in a +meadow; and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very +ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of +Egypt for badness; and the lean and the ill-favored kine did eat up the +first seven fat kine; and when they had eaten them up, it could not be +known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at +the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven +ears came up in one stalk, full and good; and, behold, seven ears, +withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them; +and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto +the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me." + +And Joseph said unto Pharaoh: "The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath +showed Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kine are seven +years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. And +the seven thin and ill-favored kine that came up after them are seven +years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be +seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken unto +Pharaoh: what God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there +come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt; and +there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty +shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume +the land; and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of +that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. And for that the +dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is +established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now +therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him +over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint +officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt +in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those +good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and +let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to +the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land +of Egypt; that the land perish not through famine." + +And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all +his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, "Can we find such a +one as this is, a man in whom the spirit of God is?" And Pharaoh said +unto Joseph, "Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none +so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and +according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the +throne will I be greater than thou." And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, +"See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt." And Pharaoh took off +his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him +in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he +made him to ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried +before him, "Bow the knee": and he made him ruler over all the land of +Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without thee +shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." And +Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife +Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah, priest of On. And Joseph went out +over all the land of Egypt. + +And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of +Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went +throughout all the land of Egypt. And in the seven plenteous years the +earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the +seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in +the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, +laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the +sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number. And +unto Joseph were born two sons, befare the years of famine came, which +Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah, priest of On, bare unto him. And +Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: "For God," said he, +"hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house." And the +name of the second called he Ephraim: "For God hath caused me to be +fruitful in the land of my affliction." + +And the seven years of plenteousness that was in the land of Egypt were +ended. And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph +had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt +there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the +people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the +Egyptians, "Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do." And the famine +was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the +storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in +the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to +buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands. + +Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his +sons: "Why do ye look one upon another?" And he said, "Behold, I have +heard that there is corn in Egypt; get you down thither, and buy for us +from thence; that we may live, and not die." + +And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But Benjamin, +Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, "Lest +peradventure mischief befall him." And the sons of Israel came to buy +corn among those that came; for the famine was in the land of Canaan. +And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to +all the people of the land; and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down +themselves before him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his +brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and +spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them: "Whence come ye?" And +they said: "From the land of Canaan to buy food." And Joseph knew his +brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which +he dreamed of them, and said unto them: "Ye are spies; to see the +nakedness of the land ye are come." And they said unto him: "Nay, my +lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons; +we are true men, thy servants are no spies." And he said unto them: +"Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come." And they said: +"Thy servants are twelve brethren, sons of one man in the land of +Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one +is not." And Joseph said unto them: "That is it that I spake unto you, +saying, 'Ye are spies:' hereby ye shall be proved: by the life of +Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come +hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall +be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any +truth in you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies." And +he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto +them the third day: + +"This do, and live; for I fear God: if ye be true men, let one of your +brethren be bound in the house of your prison; go ye, carry corn for +the famine of your houses; but bring your youngest brother unto me; so +shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die." And they did so. + +And they said one to another: "We are verily guilty concerning our +brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, +and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." And +Reuben answered them, saying, "Spake I not unto you, saying, 'Do not +sin against the child;' and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also +his blood is required." And they knew not that Joseph understood them; +for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about +from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with +them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. + +Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore +every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the +way: and thus did he unto them. And they laded their asses with the +corn and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give +his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for behold it was in +his sack's mouth. And he said unto his brethren, "My money is restored; +and, lo, it is even in my sack:" and their heart failed them, and they +were afraid, saying one to another, "What is this that God hath done +unto us?" + +And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told +him all that befell unto them, saying: "The man who is the lord of the +land spoke roughly to us and took us for spies of the country. And we +said unto him, 'We are true men; we are no spies; we be twelve +brethren, sons of our father; one is not and the youngest is this day +with our father in the land of Canaan.' And the man, the lord of the +country, said unto us: 'Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: +leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine +of your households, and be gone; and bring your youngest brother unto +me, then shall I know that ye are no spies but that ye are true men; so +will I deliver you your brother and ye shall traffick in the land.'" + +And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every +man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when both they and their +father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their +father said unto them: "Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is +not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away; all these +things are against me." And Reuben spake unto his father, saying: "Slay +my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; deliver him into my hand, and +I will bring him to thee again." And he said: "My son shall not go down +with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone; if mischief +befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my +gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." + +And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had +eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father +said unto them: "Go again, buy us a little food." And Judah spake unto +him saying: + +"The man did solemnly protest unto us saying, 'Ye shall not see my +face, except your brother be with you.' If thou wilt send our brother +with us, we will go down and buy thee food. But if thou wilt not send +him, we will not go down; for the man said unto us, 'Ye shall not see +my face, except your brother be with you.'" And Israel said: "Wherefore +dealt ye so ill with me as to tell the man whether ye had yet a +brother?" And they said, "The man asked us straitly of our state and of +our kindred, saying, 'Is your father yet alive? Have ye another +brother?' And we told him according to the tenor of these words. Could +we certainly know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down?'" And +Judah said unto Israel his father, "Send the lad with me, and we will +arise and go; that we may live and not die, both we and thou and also +our little ones. I will be surety for him: if I bring him not unto thee +and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever. For except +we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time." And +their father Israel said unto them, "If it must be so now, do this: +take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the +man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, +nuts and almonds; and take double money in your hand; and the money +that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in +your hand; peradventure it was an oversight. Take also your brother, +and arise, go again unto the man; and God Almighty give you mercy +before the man, that he may send away your other brother and Benjamin. +If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." + +And the men took that present, and they took double money in their +hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood +before Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the +ruler of his house, "Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; +for these men shall dine with me at noon." And the man did as Joseph +bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were +afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, +"Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time +are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon +us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses." And they came near to the +steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of +the house, and said, "O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to +buy food; and it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened +our sacks, and, behold; every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, +our money in full weight; and we have brought it again in our hand. And +other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food; we cannot +tell who put our money in our sacks." And he said: "Peace be to you, +fear not; your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure +in your sacks; I had your money." And he brought Simeon out unto them. +And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, +and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. And they +made ready the present against Joseph came at noon; for they heard that +they should eat bread there. + +And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in +their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. +And he asked them of their welfare, and said: "Is your father well, the +old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?" And they answered: "Thy +servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive." And they bowed +down their heads, and made obeisance. And he lifted up his eyes, and +saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said: "Is this your +younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me?" And he said, "God be +gracious unto thee, my son." And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did +yearn upon his brother; and he sought where to weep; and he entered +into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, +and refrained himself, and said, "Set on bread." And they set on for +him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, +which did eat with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians might not +eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the +Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his +birthright, and the youngest according to his youth; and the men +marveled one at another. And he took and sent messes unto them from +before him, but Benjamin's mess was five times as much as any of +theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him. + +And he commanded the steward of his house, saying: "Fill the men's +sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money +in his sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's +mouth of the youngest, and his corn money." And he did according to the +word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men +were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of +the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, "Up, +follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, +'Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my +lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so +doing.'" + +And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. And they +said unto him, "Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that +thy servants should do according to this thing: behold, the money, +which was found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of +the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house +silver or gold? With whosoever of thy servants it be found, both let +him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen." And he said, "Now also +let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be +my servant; and ye shall be blameless." Then they speedily took down +every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And he +searched, and began at the eldest and left at the youngest: and the cup +was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded +every man his ass, and returned to the city. + +And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house, for he was yet +there; and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto +them: "What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man +as I can certainly divine?" And Judah said: "What shall we say unto my +lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath +found out the iniquity of thy servants; behold, we are my lord's +servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found." And he +said: "God forbid that I should do so; but the man in whose hand the +cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in +peace unto your father." + +Then Judah came near unto him, and said: "Oh my lord, let thy servant, +I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger +burn against thy servant, for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked +his servants, saying, 'Have ye a father, or a brother?' And we said +unto my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old +age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his +mother, and his father loveth him.' And thou saidst unto thy servants, +'Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.' And we +said unto my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should +leave his father, his father would die.' And thou saidst unto thy +servants, 'Except your youngest brother came down with you, ye shall +see my face no more.' And it came to pass when we came up unto thy +servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And our father +said, 'Go again, and buy us a little food.' And we said, 'We cannot go +down. If our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; for we +may not see the man's face except our youngest brother be with us!' And +thy servant my father said to us, 'Ye know that my wife bare me two +sons; and the one went out from me, and I said, "Surely he is torn in +pieces," and I saw him not since. And if ye take this also from me and +mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to +the grave.' Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the +lad be not with us, seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life, +it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that +he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy +servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became +surety for the lad unto my father, saying, 'If I bring him not unto +thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever.' Now therefore, +I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my +lord, and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to +my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil +that shall come on my father." + +Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by +him; and he cried, "Cause every man to go out from me." And there stood +no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And +he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. And +Joseph said unto his brethren, "I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?" +And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his +presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, "Come near to me, I pray +you." And they came near. And he said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom +ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with +yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to +preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: +and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be +earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a +posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. +So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God; and he hath made me +a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout +all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto +him, 'Thus said thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: +come down unto me, tarry not: and thou shalt dwell in the land of +Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy +children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou +hast; and there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of +famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to +poverty.' And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother +Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell +my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and +ye shall haste and bring down my father hither." And he fell upon his +brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. +Moreover, he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them, and after +that his brethren talked with him. + +And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, "Joseph's +brethren are come;" and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And +Pharaoh said unto Joseph: "Say unto thy brethren, 'This do ye; lade +your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; and take your +father and your households, and come unto me, and I will give you the +good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.' Now +thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of +Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, +and come.' Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of +Egypt is yours." And the children of Israel did so; and Joseph gave +them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them +provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of +raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and +five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; +ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden +with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. So he sent his +brethren away, and they departed; and he said unto them, "See that ye +fall not out by the way." + +And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto +Jacob their father, and told him, saying, "Joseph is yet alive, and he +is governor over all the land of Egypt." And Jacob's heart fainted, for +he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which +he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent +to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: and Israel +said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him +before I die." + +And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer- +sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God +spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, +Jacob." And he said, "Here am I." And he said, "I am God, the God of +thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of +thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will +also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon +thine eyes." And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel +carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in +the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their +cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, +and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: his sons, and +his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and +all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. + +And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto +Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready +his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and +presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his +neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph: "Now let me die, since +I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive." And Joseph said unto +his brethren, and unto his father's house: "I will go up, and show +Pharaoh, and say unto him, 'My brethren, and my father's house, which +were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; and the men are +shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have +brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.' And it +shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, 'What +is your occupation?' that ye shall say, 'Thy servants' trade hath been +about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our +fathers:' that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd +is an abomination unto the Egyptians." + +Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said: "My father and my +brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, +are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land +of Goshen." And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and +presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren: "What +is your occupation?" And they said unto Pharaoh: "Thy servants are +shepherds, both we, and also our fathers." They said moreover unto +Pharaoh, "For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have +no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of +Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land +of Goshen." And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying: "Thy father and thy +brethren are come unto thee: the land of Egypt is before thee; in the +best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of +Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among +them, then make them rulers over my cattle." And Joseph brought in +Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed +Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, "How old art thou?" And Jacob +said unto Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an +hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my +life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life +of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage." And Jacob blessed +Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. + +And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a +possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land +of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father +and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according +to their families. + +And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, +so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason +of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in +the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they +bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. And when +money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the +Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, "Give us bread, for why should we +die in thy presence? for the money faileth." And Joseph said, "Give +your cattle, and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail." And +they brought their cattle unto Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in +exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the +herds, and for the asses; and he fed them with bread for all their +cattle for that year. When that year was ended, they came unto him the +second year, and said unto him, "We will not hide it from my lord, how +that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there +is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our +lands. Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? +buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants +unto Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the +land be not desolate." + +And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians +sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them. So +the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he removed them to +cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end +thereof. Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests +had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which +Pharaoh gave them. Wherefore they sold not their lands. Then Joseph +said unto the people: "Behold, I have bought you this day and your land +for Pharaoh; lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And +it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth +part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the +field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food +for your little ones." And they said: "Thou hast saved our lives: let +us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's +servants." And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this +day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the +priests only, which became not Pharaoh's. And Israel dwelt in the land +of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, +and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of +Egypt seventeen years; so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty +and seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel must die, and he +called his son Joseph, and said unto him, "If now I have found grace in +thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly +and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt; but I will lie +with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in +their burying-place." And he said, "I will do as thou hast said." And +he said, "Swear unto me." And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed +himself upon the bed's head. + +And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, "Behold, +thy father is sick;" and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and +Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, "Behold, thy son Joseph cometh +unto thee;" and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. And +Jacob said unto Joseph, "God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the +land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me, 'Behold, I will make +thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude +of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an +everlasting possession.' + +"And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee +in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as +Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou +begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the +name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, when I came +from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when +yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her +there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Beth-lehem." And Israel beheld +Joseph's sons, and said, "Who are these?" And Joseph said unto his +father, "They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place." And +he said, "Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them." Now +the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he +brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. And +Israel said unto Joseph, "I had not thought to see thy face, and, lo, +God hath showed me also thy seed." And Joseph brought them out from +between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And +Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left +hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and +brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, +and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand +upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the +firstborn. + +And he blessed Joseph, and said, "God, before whom my fathers Abraham +and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this +day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let +my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; +and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." And when +Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of +Ephraim, it displeased him; and he held up his father's hand, to remove +it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his +father: + +"Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon +his head." And his father refused, and said, "I know it, my son, I know +it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but +truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall +become a multitude of nations." And he blessed them that day, saying, +"In thee shall Israel bless, saying, 'God make thee as Ephraim and as +Manasseh;'" and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel said unto +Joseph, "Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you again +unto the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to thee one +portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite +with my sword and with my bow." + +And Jacob called unto his sons and blessed them; every one according to +his blessing he blessed them. And he charged them, and said unto them: + +"I am to be gathered unto my people. Bury me with my fathers in the +cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in +the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, +which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a +possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his +wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried +Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was +from the children of Heth." + +And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up +his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto +his people. + +And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed +him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his +father; and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were +fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are +embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days. +And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the +house of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found grace in your eyes, +speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 'My father made me +swear, saying, "Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in +the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me." Now therefore let me go +up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.'" And +Pharaoh said, "Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee +swear." + +And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the +servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the +land of Egypt. And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his +father's house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their +herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both +chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company. And they came +to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they +mourned with a great and very sore lamentation; and he made a mourning +for his father seven days. And when the inhabitants of the land, the +Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, "This is +a grievous mourning to the Egyptians;" wherefore the name of it was +called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond Jordan. And his sons did unto him +according as he commanded them; for his sons carried him into the land +of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which +Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of +Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. + +And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went +up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. And +when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, +"Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all +the evil which we did unto him." And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, +saying, "Thy father did command before he died, saying: 'So shall ye +say unto Joseph, "Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy +brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil."' And now, we +pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy +father." And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren +also went and fell down before his face; and they said," Behold, we be +thy servants." And Joseph said unto them, "Fear not; for am I in the +place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant +it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people +alive. Now therefore fear ye not. I will nourish you, and your little +ones." And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. + +And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house; and Joseph lived +an hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the +third generation; the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were +brought up upon Joseph's knees. And Joseph said unto his brethren, "I +die; and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto +the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." And Joseph +took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, "God will surely visit +you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence." So Joseph died, being +an hundred and ten years old. And they embalmed him, and he was put in +a coffin in Egypt. + + + + +THE STORY OF SAMSON + + + +And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child +grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to +move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. + +And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the +daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and +his mother, and said, "I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters +of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife." + +Then his father and his mother said unto him, "Is there never a woman +among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou +goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? "And Samson said +unto his father," Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well." + +But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he +sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the +Philistines had dominion over Israel. + +Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and +came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared +against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he +rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: +but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. And he went +down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. + +And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see +the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and +honey in the carcass of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and +went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, +and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out +of the carcass of the lion. + +So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; +for so used the young men to do. And it came to pass, when they saw +him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. + +And Samson said unto them, "I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if +ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and +find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of +garments: But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty +sheets and thirty change of garments." And they said unto him, "Put +forth thy riddle, that we may hear it." And he said unto them, "Out of +the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." +And they could not in three days expound the riddle. And it came to +pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, "Entice thy +husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and +thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? +is it not so?" And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, "Thou dost +but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the +children of my people, and hast not told it me." And he said unto her, +"Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell +it thee?" And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast +lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, +because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children +of her people. And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day +before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey? and what is +stronger than a lion?" And he said unto them, "If ye had not plowed +with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle." + +And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, +and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of +garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was +kindled, and he went up to his father's house. But Samson's wife was +given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend. + +But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, +that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, "I will go in to +my wife into the chamber." But her father would not suffer him to go +in. And her father said, "I verily thought that thou hadst utterly +hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger +sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her." + +And Samson said concerning them, "Now shall I be more blameless than +the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure." And Samson went and +caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to +tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. And when he +had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of +the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing +corn, with the vineyards and olives. + +Then the Philistines said, "Who hath done this?" And they answered, +"Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, +and given her to his companion." And the Philistines came up, and burnt +her and her father with fire. + +And Samson said unto them, "Though ye have done this, yet will I be +avenged of you, and after that I will cease." And he smote them hip and +thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of +the rock Etam. + +Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread +themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, "Why are ye come up +against us?" And they answered, "To bind Samson are we come up, to do +to him as he hath done to us." Then three thousand men of Judah went to +the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, "Knowest thou not that +the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done +unto us?" And he said unto them, "As they did unto me, so have I done +unto them." And they said unto him, "We are come down to bind thee, +that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines." And Samson +said unto them, "Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me +yourselves." And they spake unto him, saying, "No; but we will bind +thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not +kill thee." And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up +from the rock. + +And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and +the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were +upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands +loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and +put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And +Samson said, "With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the +jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men." And it came to pass, when +he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of +his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi. + +And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, "Thou hast +given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now +shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?" +But God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water +thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: +wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto +this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty +years. + +Then went Samson to Gaza. And it was told the Gazites, saying, "Samson +is come hither." And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all +night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, +"In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him." And Samson lay +till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of +the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and +put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill +that is before Hebron. + +And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of +Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up +unto her, and said unto her, "Entice him, and see wherein his great +strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we +may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us +eleven hundred pieces of silver." + +And Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great +strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee." +And Samson said unto her, "If they bind me with seven green withes that +were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man." Then +the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which +had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now there were men +lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, +"The Philistines be upon thee, Samson." And he brake the withes, as a +thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was +not known. And Delilah said unto Samson, "Behold, thou hast mocked me, +and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be +bound." And he said unto her, "If they bind me fast with new ropes that +never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man." +Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said +unto him, "The Philistines be upon thee, Samson." And there were liers +in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms +like a thread. And Delilah said unto Samson, "Hitherto thou hast mocked +me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound." And he +said unto her," If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the +web." And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him," The +Philistines be upon thee, Samson." And he awaked out of his sleep, and +went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. + +And she said unto him, "How canst thou say, 'I love thee,' when thine +heart is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast +not told me wherein thy great strength lieth." And it came to pass, +when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his +soul was vexed unto death; that he told her all his heart, and said +unto her, "There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been +a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my +strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any +other man." And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, +she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up +this once, for he hath showed me all his heart." Then the lords of the +Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And she +made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused +him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict +him, and his strength went from him. And she said, "The Philistines be +upon thee, Samson." And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, "I will go +out as at other times before, and shake myself." And he wist not that +the Lord was departed from him. + +But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him +down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in +the prison house. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again +after he was shaven. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them +together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to +rejoice: for they said, "Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into +our hand." And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for +they said, "Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the +destroyer of our country, which slew many of us." And it came to pass, +when their hearts were merry, that they said, "Call for Samson, that he +may make us sport." And they called for Samson out of the prison house; +and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. And +Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, "Suffer me that I +may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon +them." Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of +the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three +thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson +called unto the Lord, and said, "O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, +and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at +once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." And Samson took hold +of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it +was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his +left. And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he bowed +himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon +all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his +death were more than they which he slew in his life. Then his brethren +and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought +him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place +of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years. + + + + +SOME PSALMS OF DAVID + + +PSALM 1 + + +Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor +standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. + +But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he +meditate day and night. + +And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that +bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; +and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. + +The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth +away. + +Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in +the congregation of the righteous. + +For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly +shall perish. + + + +PSALM 19 + + +The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his +handiwork. + +Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. + +There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. + +Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the +end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun. + +Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth +as a strong man to run a race. + +His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit +unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. + +The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony +of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. + +The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the +commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. + +The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments +of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. + +More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: +sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. + +Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them +there is great reward. + +Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. + +Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not +have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be +innocent from the great transgression. + +Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be +acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. + + + +PSALM 23 + + +The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. + +He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the +still waters. + +He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for +his name's sake. + +Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will +fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort +me. + +Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou +anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. + +Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and +I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. + + + +CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT + + +And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was +set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught +them, saying: + +Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. +Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are +the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do +hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. +Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the +pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for +they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are +persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of +heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, +and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. +Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for +so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. + +Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, +wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but +to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light +of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do +men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; +and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so +shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your +Father which is in heaven. + +Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not +come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven +and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the +law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of +these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called +the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach +them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I +say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the +righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter +into the kingdom of heaven. + +Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not +kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But +I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a +cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to +his brother, "Raca," shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever +shall say, "Thou fool," shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if +thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy +brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, +and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and +offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in +the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the +judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into +prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, +till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. + +Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou +shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine +oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it +is God's throne: nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by +Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou +swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. +But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is +more than these cometh of evil. + +Ye have heard that it hath been said. An eye for an eye, and a tooth +for a tooth; but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever +shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if +any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have +thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with +him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow +of thee turn not thou away. + +Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and +hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them +that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which +despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of +your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the +evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. +For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even +the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye +more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore +perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. + +Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: +otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. +Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before +thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that +they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their +reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy +right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father +which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. + +And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for +they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the +streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have +their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and +when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; +and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when +ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think +that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore +like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, +before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father +which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will +be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. +And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not +into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, +and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men +their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye +forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your +trespasses. + +Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: +for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. +Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou +fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not +unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy +Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. + +Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust +doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for +yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth +corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where +your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body +is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be +full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full +of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how +great is that darkness! + +No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love +the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye +cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought +for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for +your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and +the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, +neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father +feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking +thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for +raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil +not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in +all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so +clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast +into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? +Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we +drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things +do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have +need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his +righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take +therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought +for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. + +Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye +shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to +you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's +eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt +thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; +and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out +the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast +out the mote out of thy brother's eye. + +Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls +before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again +and rend you. + +Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it +shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he +that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or +what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a +stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, +being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much +more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that +ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to +you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. + +Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the +way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in +thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which +leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. + +Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but +inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. +Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good +tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil +fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt +tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good +fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits +ye shall know them. + +Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the +kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in +heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not +prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in +thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, +I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. + +Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I +will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and +the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat +upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And +every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall +be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and +the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat +upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. + +And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people +were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one having +authority, and not as the scribes. + + + +PAUL'S DISCOURSE ON CHARITY + + +Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not +charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And +though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and +all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove +mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all +my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and +have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. + +Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not, charity +vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, +seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; +rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all +things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. + +Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall +fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be +knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy +in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in +part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I +understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I +put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but +then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as +also I am known. + +And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of +these is charity. + + + + +LETTERS + + + +LEWIS CARROLL TO MISS STANDEN + +THE CHESTNUTS, GUILFORD + + +_August_ 22, 1869 +_My dear Isabel:_ + +[Footnote: Little Miss Isabel Standen, whom Carroll had just met in a +park in Reading.] + +Though I have been acquainted with you only fifteen minutes, yet, as +there is no one else in Reading I have known so long, I hope you will +not mind my writing to you.... A friend of mine, called Mr. Lewis +Carroll, tells me he means to send you a book. He is a _very_ dear +friend of mine. I have known him all my life (we are the same age) and +have _never_ left him. Of course he was with me in the Gardens, not +a yard off, even while I was drawing those puzzles for you. I wonder if +you saw him. + +Your fifteen-minute friend, + +C. L. DODGSON + + + + +THOMAS HOOD TO MISS ELLIOT + + +17, ELM TREE ROAD, ST. JOHN'S WOOD +Monday, _April_, 1844 + +_My dear May_, [Footnote: May Elliot, a little girl Hood had met +during a summer vacation.]-- + +I promised you a letter, and here it is. I was sure to remember it; for +you are as hard to forget, as you are soft to roll down a hill with. +What fun it was! only so prickly, I thought I had a porcupine in one +pocket, and a hedgehog in the other. The next time, before we kiss the +earth, we will have its face shaved well. Did you ever go to Greenwich +Fair? I should like to go there with you, for I get no rolling at St. +John's Wood. Tom and Fanny [Footnote: Hood's son and daughter.] only +like roll and butter, and as for Mrs. Hood, she is for rolling in +money. + +Tell Dunnie that Tom has set his trap in the balcony and has caught a +cold, and tell Jeanie that Fanny has set her foot in the garden, but it +has not come up yet. Oh, how I wish it was the season when "March winds +and April showers bring forth _May_ flowers!" for then of course +you would give me another pretty little nosegay. Besides it is frosty +and foggy weather, which I do not like. The other night, when I came +from Stratford, the cold shriveled me up so, that when I got home, I +thought I was my own child! + +However, I hope we shall all have a merry Christmas; I mean to come in +my most ticklesome waistcoat, and to laugh till I grow fat, or at least +streaky. Fanny is to be allowed a glass of wine, Tom's mouth is to have +a _hole_ holiday, and Mrs. Hood is to sit up for supper! There +will be doings! And then such good things to eat; but, pray, pray, +pray, mind they don't boil the baby by a mistake for a _plump_ +pudding, instead of a plum one. + +Give my love to everybody, from yourself down to Willy, with which and +a kiss, I remain, up hill and down dale, + +Your affectionate lover, + +THOMAS HOOD + + + +CHARLES DICKENS TO MASTER HUGHES + +[Footnote: Master Hughes had written to Dickens about _Nicholas +Nickleby_, protesting against Squeers' school.] + + +DOUGHTY STREET, LONDON + +_Dec_. 12th, 1838 + +_Respected Sir_, + +I have given Squeers one cut on the neck and two on the head, at which +he appeared much surprised and began to cry, which, being a cowardly +thing, is just what I should have expected from him--wouldn't you? + +I have carefully done what you told me in your letter about the lamb +and the two "sheeps" for the little boys. They have also had some good +ale and porter, and some wine. I am sorry you didn't say _what_ +wine you would like them to have. I gave them some sherry, which they +liked very much, except one boy, who was a little sick and choked a +good deal. He was rather greedy, and that's the truth, and I believe it +went the wrong way, which I say served him right, and I hope you will +say so too. + +Nicholas had his roast lamb, as you said he was to, but he could not +eat it all, and says if you do not mind his doing so he should like to +have the rest hashed tomorrow with some greens, which he is very fond +of, and so am I. He said he did not like to have his porter hot, for he +thought it spoilt the flavor, so I let him have it cold. You should +have seen him drink it. I thought he never would have left off. I also +gave him three pounds of money, all in sixpences, to make it seem more, +and he said directly that he should give more than half to his mamma +and sister, and divide the rest with poor Smike. And I say he is a good +fellow for saying so; and if anybody says he isn't I am ready to fight +him whenever they like--there! + +Fanny Squeers shall be attended to, depend upon it. Your drawing of her +is very like, except that I don't think the hair is quite curly enough. +The nose is particularly like hers, and so are the legs. She is a +nasty, disagreeable thing, and I know it will make her very cross when +she sees it; and what I say is that I hope it may. You will say the +same, I know--at least I think you will. + +I meant to have written you a long letter, but I cannot write very fast +when I like the person I am writing to, because that makes me think +about them, and I like you, and so I tell you. Besides, it is just +eight o'clock at night, and I always go to bed at eight o'clock, except +when it is my birthday, and then I sit up to supper. So I will not say +anything more besides this--and that is my love to you and Neptune; and +if you will drink my health every Christmas Day I will drink yours-- +come. + +I am, + +Respected Sir, + +Your affectionate Friend + +P. S.--I don't write my name very plain, but you know what it is, +you know, so never mind. + + + + +TRAITS OF INDIAN CHARACTER + +Washington Irving + + + +"I appeal to any white man if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and +he gave him not to eat; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed +him not." + +_Speech of an Indian Chief_ + +There is something in the character and habits of the North American +savage, taken in connection with the scenery over which he is +accustomed to range,--its vast lakes, boundless forests, majestic +rivers, and trackless plains,--that is to my mind wonderfully striking +and sublime. He is formed for the wilderness, as the Arab is for the +desert. His nature is stern, simple, and enduring; fitted to grapple +with difficulties and to support privations. There seems but little +soil in his heart for the support of the kindly virtues; and yet, if we +would but take the trouble to penetrate through that proud stoicism and +habitual taciturnity which lock up his character from casual +observation, we should find him linked to his fellow man of civilized +life by more of those sympathies and affections than are usually +ascribed to him. + +It has been the lot of the unfortunate aborigines of America, in the +early periods of colonization, to be doubly wronged by the white men: +they have been dispossessed of their hereditary possessions by +mercenary and frequently wanton warfare, and their characters have been +traduced by bigoted and interested writers. The colonist often treated +them like beasts of the forest, and the author has endeavored to +justify him in his outrages. The former found it easier to exterminate +than to civilize, the latter to vilify than to discriminate. The +appellations of "savage" and "pagan" were deemed sufficient to sanction +the hostilities of both; and thus the poor wanderers of the forest were +persecuted and defamed, not because they were guilty, but because they +were ignorant. + +The rights of the savage have seldom been properly appreciated or +respected by the white man. In peace he has too often been the dupe of +artful traffic; in war he has been regarded as a ferocious animal whose +life or death was a question of mere precaution and convenience. Man is +cruelly wasteful of life when his own safety is endangered and he is +sheltered by impunity, and little mercy is to be expected from him when +he feels the sting of the reptile and is conscious of the power to +destroy. + +The same prejudices which were indulged thus early exist in common +circulation at the present day. Certain learned societies have, it is +true, with laudable diligence endeavored to investigate and record the +real characters and manners of the Indian tribes; the American +government, too, has wisely and humanely exerted itself to inculcate a +friendly and forbearing spirit towards them, and to protect them from +fraud and injustice. [Footnote: The American government has been +indefatigable in its exertions to ameliorate the situation of the +Indians, and to introduce among them the arts of civilization and civil +and religious knowledge. To protect them from the frauds of the white +traders, no purchase of land from them by individuals is permitted; nor +is any person allowed to receive lands from them as a present, without +the express sanction of government. These precautions are strictly +enforced.] The current opinion of the Indian character, however, is too +apt to be formed from the miserable hordes which infest the frontiers +and hang on the skirts of the settlements. These are too commonly +composed of degenerate beings, corrupted and enfeebled by the vices of +society, without being benefited by its civilization. That proud +independence which formed the main pillar of savage virtue has been +shaken down, and the whole moral fabric lies in ruins. Their spirits +are humiliated and debased by a sense of inferiority, and their native +courage cowed and daunted by the superior knowledge and power of their +enlightened neighbors. Society has advanced upon them like one of those +withering airs that will sometimes breed desolation over a whole region +of fertility. It has enervated their strength, multiplied their +diseases, and superinduced upon their original barbarity the low vices +of artificial life. It has given them a thousand superfluous wants, +whilst it has diminished their means of mere existence. It has driven +before it the animals of the chase, who fly from the sound of the ax +and the smoke of the settlement, and seek refuge in the depths of +remoter forests and yet untrodden wilds. Thus do we too often find the +Indians on our frontiers to be the mere wrecks and remnants of once +powerful tribes, who have lingered in the vicinity of the settlements, +and sunk into a precarious and vagabond existence. Poverty, repining +and hopeless poverty, a canker of the mind unknown in savage life, +corrodes their spirits and blights every free and noble quality of +their natures. They become drunken, indolent, feeble, thievish, and +pusillanimous. They loiter like vagrants about the settlements, among +spacious dwellings replete with elaborate comforts which only render +them sensible of the comparative wretchedness of their own condition. +Luxury spreads its ample board before their eyes, but they are excluded +from the banquet. Plenty revels over the fields; but they are starving +in the midst of its abundance; the whole wilderness has blossomed into +a garden, but they feel as reptiles that infest it. + +How different was their state while yet the undisputed lords of the +soil! Their wants were few, and the means of gratification within their +reach. They saw every one around them sharing the same lot, enduring +the same hardships, feeding on the same aliments, arrayed in the same +rude garments. No roof then rose but was open to the homeless stranger; +no smoke curled among the trees but he was welcome to sit down by its +fire and join the hunter in his repast. "For," says an old historian of +New England, "their life is so void of care, and they are so loving +also, that they make use of those things they enjoy as common goods, +and are therein so compassionate that rather than one should starve +through want, they would starve all; thus they pass their time merrily, +not regarding our pomp, but are better content with their own, which +some men esteem so meanly of." Such were the Indians whilst in the +pride and energy of their primitive natures; they resembled those wild +plants which thrive best in the shades of the forest, but shrink from +the hand of cultivation and perish beneath the influence of the sun. + +In discussing the savage character, writers have been too prone to +indulge in vulgar prejudice and passionate exaggeration, instead of the +candid temper of true philosophy. They have not sufficiently considered +the peculiar circumstances in which the Indians have been placed, and +the peculiar principles under which they have been educated. No being +acts more rigidly from rule than the Indian. His whole conduct is +regulated according to some general maxims early implanted in his mind. +The moral laws that govern him are, to be sure, but few--but then he +conforms to them all; the white man abounds in laws of religion, +morals, and manners--but how many does he violate? + +A frequent ground of accusation against the Indians is their disregard +of treaties, and the treachery and wantonness with which, in time of +apparent peace, they will suddenly fly to hostilities. The intercourse +of the white men with the Indians, however, is too apt to be cold, +distrustful, oppressive, and insulting. They seldom treat them with +that confidence and frankness which are indispensable to real +friendship, nor is sufficient caution observed not to offend against +those feelings of pride or superstition which often prompt the Indian +to hostility quicker than mere considerations of interest. The solitary +savage feels silently, but acutely. His sensibilities are not diffused +over so wide a surface as those of the white man, but they run in +steadier and deeper channels. His pride, his affections, his +superstitions, are all directed towards fewer objects; but the wounds +inflicted on them are proportionately severe, and furnish motives of +hostility which we cannot sufficiently appreciate. Where a community is +also limited in number, and forms one great patriarchal family, as in +an Indian tribe, the injury of an individual is the injury of the +whole, and the sentiment of vengeance is almost instantaneously +diffused. One council fire is sufficient for the discussion and +arrangement of a plan of hostilities. Here all the fighting men and +sages assemble. Eloquence and superstition combine to inflame the minds +of the warriors. The orator awakens their martial ardor, and they are +wrought up to a kind of religious desperation by the visions of the +prophet and the dreamer. + +An instance of one of those sudden exasperations, arising from a +motive peculiar to the Indian character, is extant in an old record of +the early settlement of Massachusetts. The planters of Plymouth had +defaced the monuments of the dead at Passonagessit, and had plundered +the grave of the sachem's mother of some skins with which it had been +decorated. The Indians are remarkable for the reverence which they +entertain for the sepulchers of their kindred. Tribes that have passed +generations exiled from the abodes of their ancestors, when by chance +they have been traveling in the vicinity, have been known to turn aside +from the highway, and guided by wonderfully accurate tradition have +crossed the country for miles to some tumulus, buried perhaps in woods, +where the bones of their tribe were anciently deposited, and there have +passed hours in silent meditation. Influenced by this sublime and holy +feeling, the sachem whose mother's tomb had been violated gathered his +men together and addressed them in the following beautifully simple and +pathetic harangue--a curious specimen of Indian eloquence, and an +affecting instance of filial piety in a savage:-- + +"When last the glorious light of all the sky was underneath this globe, +and birds grew silent, I began to settle, as my custom is, to take +repose. Before mine eyes were fast closed, methought I saw a vision, at +which my spirit was much troubled; and trembling at that doleful sight, +a spirit cried aloud: 'Behold, my son, whom I have cherished, see the +breasts that gave thee suck, the hands that lapped thee warm, and fed +thee oft. Canst thou forget to take revenge of those wild people who +have defaced my monument in a despiteful manner, disdaining our +antiquities and honorable customs? See now the sachem's grave lies like +the common people, defaced by an ignoble race. Thy mother doth +complain, and implores thy aid against this thievish people who have +newly intruded on our land. If this be suffered, I shall not rest quiet +in my everlasting habitation.' This said, the spirit vanished, and I, +all in a sweat, not able scarce to speak, began to get some strength +and recollect my spirits that were fled, and determined to demand your +counsel and assistance." + +I have adduced this anecdote at some length, as it tends to show how +these sudden acts of hostility, which have been attributed to caprice +and perfidy, may often arise from deep and generous motives which our +inattention to Indian character and customs prevents our properly +appreciating. + +Another ground of violent outcry against the Indians is their barbarity +to the vanquished. This had its origin partly in policy and partly in +superstition. The tribes, though sometimes called nations, were never +so formidable in their numbers but the loss of several warriors was +sensibly felt. This was particularly the case when they had frequently +been engaged in warfare; and many an instance occurs in Indian history, +where a tribe that had long been formidable to its neighbors has been +broken up and driven away by the capture and massacre of its principal +fighting men. There was a strong temptation, therefore, to the victor +to be merciless; not so much to gratify any cruel revenge, as to +provide for future security. The Indians had also the superstitious +belief, frequent among barbarous nations and prevalent also among the +ancients, that the manes of their friends who had fallen in battle were +soothed by the blood of the captives. The prisoners, however, who are +not thus sacrificed, are adopted into their families in the place of +the slain, and are treated with the confidence and affection of +relatives and friends; nay, so hospitable and tender is their +entertainment, that when the alternative is offered them, they will +often prefer to remain with their adopted brethren rather than return +to the home and the friends of their youth. + +The cruelty of the Indians toward their prisoners has been heightened +since the colonization of the whites. What was formerly a compliance +with policy and superstition has been exasperated into a gratification +of vengeance. They cannot but be sensible that the white men are the +usurpers of their ancient dominion, the cause of their degradation, and +the gradual destroyers of their race. They go forth to battle smarting +with injuries and indignities which they have individually suffered, +and they are driven to madness and despair by the wide-spreading +desolation and the overwhelming ruin of European warfare. The whites +have too frequently set them an example of violence, by burning their +villages and laying waste their slender means of subsistence; and yet +they wonder that savages do not show moderation and magnanimity towards +those who have left them nothing but mere existence and wretchedness. + +We stigmatize the Indians, also, as cowardly and treacherous, because +they use stratagem in warfare in preference to open force; but in this +they are fully justified by their rude code of honor. They are early +taught that stratagem is praiseworthy. The bravest warrior thinks it no +disgrace to lurk in silence and take every avantage of his foe; he +triumphs in the superior craft and sagacity by which he has been +enabled to surprise and destroy an enemy. Indeed, man is naturally more +prone to subtility than open valor, owing to his physical weakness in +comparison with other animals. They are endowed with natural weapons of +defense--with horns, with tusks, with hoofs, and talons; but man has to +depend on his superior sagacity. In all his encounters with these, his +proper enemies, he resorts to stratagem; and when he perversely turns +his hostility against his fellow man, he at first continues the same +subtle mode of warfare. + +The natural principle of war is to do the most harm to our enemy with +the least harm to ourselves; and this, of course, is to be effected by +stratagem. That chivalrous courage which induces us to despise the +suggestions of prudence and to rush in the face of certain danger is +the offspring of society, and produced by education. It is honorable, +because it is in fact the triumph of lofty sentiment over an +instinctive repugnance to pain, and over those yearnings after personal +ease and security which society has condemned as ignoble. It is kept +alive by pride and the fear of shame, and thus the dread of real evil +is overcome by the superior dread of an evil which exists but in the +imagination. It has been cherished and stimulated also by various +means. It has been the theme of spirit-stirring song and chivalrous +story. The poet and minstrel have delighted to shed round it the +splendors of fiction, and even the historian as forgotten the sober +gravity of narration, and broken forth into enthusiasm and rhapsody in +its praise. Triumphs and gorgeous pageants have been its reward; +monuments on which art has exhausted its skill, and opulence its +treasures, have been erected to perpetuate a nation's gratitude and +admiration. Thus artificially excited, courage has risen to an +extraordinary and factitious degree of heroism; and arrayed in all the +glorious "pomp and circumstance of war," this turbulent quality has +even been able to eclipse many of those quiet but invaluable virtues +which silently ennoble the human character and swell the tide of human +happiness. + +But if courage intrinsically consists in the defiance of danger and +pain, the life of the Indian is a continual exhibition of it. He lives +in a state of perpetual hostility and risk. Peril and adventure are +congenial to his nature, or rather seem necessary to arouse his +faculties and to give an interest to his existence. Surrounded by +hostile tribes whose mode of warfare is by ambush and surprisal, he is +always prepared for fight, and lives with his weapons in his hands. As +the ship careers in fearful singleness through the solitudes of ocean, +as the bird mingles among clouds and storms, and wings its way, a mere +speck, across the pathless fields of air, so the Indian holds his +course, silent, solitary, but undaunted, through the boundless bosom of +the wilderness. His expeditions may vie in distance and danger with the +pilgrimage of the devotee or the crusade of the knight-errant. He +traverses vast forests, exposed to the hazards of lonely sickness, of +lurking enemies, and pining famine. Stormy lakes, those great inland +seas, are no obstacles to his wanderings; in his light canoe of bark he +sports like a feather on their waves, and darts with the swiftness of +an arrow down the roaring rapids of the rivers. His very subsistence is +snatched from the midst of toil and peril. He gains his food by the +hardships and dangers of the chase; he wraps himself in the spoils of +the bear, the panther, and the buffalo, and sleeps among the thunders +of the cataract. + +No hero of ancient or modern days can surpass the Indian in his lofty +contempt of death and the fortitude with which he sustains its cruelest +infliction. Indeed, we here behold him rising superior to the white man +in consequence of his peculiar education. The latter rushes to glorious +death at the cannon's mouth; the former calmly contemplates its +approach, and triumphantly endures it, amidst the varied torments of +surrounding foes and the protracted agonies of fire. He even takes a +pride in taunting his persecutors and provoking their ingenuity of +torture; and as the devouring flames prey on his very vitals and the +flesh shrinks from the sinews he raises his last song of triumph, +breathing the defiance of an unconquered heart and invoking the spirits +of his fathers to witness that he dies without a groan. + +Notwithstanding the obloquy with which the early historians have +overshadowed the characters of the unfortunate natives, some bright +gleams occasionally break through which throw a degree of melancholy +luster on their memories. Facts are occasionally to be met with in the +rude annals of the eastern provinces, which, though recorded with the +coloring of prejudice and bigotry, yet speak for themselves, and will +be dwelt on with applause and sympathy when prejudice shall have passed +away. + +In one of the homely narratives of the Indian wars in New England, +there is a touching account of the desolation carried into the tribe of +the Pequod Indians. Humanity shrinks from the coldblooded detail of +indiscriminate butchery. In one place we read of the surprisal of an +Indian fort in the night, when the wigwams were wrapped in flames, and +the miserable inhabitants shot down and slain in attempting to escape, +"all being dispatched and ended in the course of an hour." After a +series of similar transactions, "our soldiers," as the historian +piously observes, "being resolved by God's assistance to make a final +destruction of them," the unhappy savages being hunted from their homes +and fortresses and pursued with fire and sword, a scanty but gallant +band, the sad remnant of the Pequod warriors, with their wives and +children, took refuge in a swamp. + +Burning with indignation and rendered sullen by despair, with hearts +bursting with grief at the destruction of their tribe and spirits +galled and sore at the fancied ignominy of their defeat, they refused +to ask their lives at the hands of an insulting foe, and preferred +death to submission. + +As the night drew on they were surrounded in their dismal retreat so as +to render escape impracticable. Thus situated, their enemy "plied them +with shot all the time, by which means many were killed and buried in +the mire." In the darkness and fog that preceded the dawn of day some +few broke through the besiegers and escaped into the woods; "the rest +were left to the conquerors, of which many were killed in the swamp, +like sullen dogs who would rather, in their self-willedness and +madness, sit still and be shot through or cut to pieces," than implore +for mercy. When the day broke upon this handful of forlorn but +dauntless spirits, the soldiers, we are told, entering the swamp, "saw +several heaps of them sitting close together, upon whom they discharged +their pieces laden with ten or twelve pistol bullets at a time, putting +the muzzles of the pieces under the boughs within a few yards of them; +so as, besides those that were found dead, many more were killed and +sunk into the mire, and never were minded more by friend or foe." + +Can any one read this plain, unvarnished tale without admiring the +stern resolution, the unbending pride, the loftiness of spirit that +seemed to nerve the hearts of these self-taught heroes and to raise +them above the instinctive feelings of human nature? When the Gauls +laid waste the city of Rome, they found the senators clothed in their +robes and seated with stern tranquillity in their curule chairs; in +this manner they suffered death without resistance or even +supplication. Such conduct was, in them, applauded as noble and +magnanimous; in the hapless Indian it was reviled as obstinate and +sullen! How truly are we the dupes of show and circumstance! How +different is virtue clothed in purple and enthroned in state from +virtue naked and destitute and perishing obscurely in a wilderness! + +But I forbear to dwell on these gloomy pictures. The Eastern tribes +have long since disappeared; the forests that sheltered them have been +laid low, and scarce any traces remain of them in the thickly settled +states of New England, excepting here and there the Indian name of a +village or a stream. And such must, sooner or later, be the fate of +those other tribes which skirt the frontiers, and have occasionally +been inveigled from their forests to mingle in the wars of white men. +In a little while, and they will go the way that their brethren have +gone before. The few hordes which still linger about the shores of +Huron and Superior and the tributary streams of the Mississippi will +share the fate of those tribes that once spread over Massachusetts and +Connecticut and lorded it along the proud banks of the Hudson, of that +gigantic race said to have existed on the borders of the Susquehanna, +and of those various nations that flourished about the Potomac and the +Rappahannock, and that peopled the forests of the vast valley of +Shenandoah. They will vanish like a vapor from the face of the earth, +their very history will be lost in forgetfulness, and "the places that +now know them will know them no more forever." Or if, perchance, some +dubious memorial of them should survive, it may be in the romantic +dreams of the poet, to people in imagination his glades and groves, +like the fauns and satyrs and sylvan deities of antiquity. But should +he venture upon the dark story of their wrongs and wretchedness; should +he tell how they were invaded, corrupted, despoiled, driven from their +native abodes and the sepulchers of their fathers; hunted like wild +beasts about the earth, and sent down with violence and butchery to the +grave, posterity will either turn with horror and incredulity from the +tale, or blush with indignation at the inhumanity of their forefathers. +"We are driven back," said an old warrior, "until we can retreat no +farther; our hatchets are broken, our bows are snapped, our fires are +nearly extinguished; a little longer, and the white man will cease to +persecute us--for we shall cease to exist!" + + + + +OF STUDIES + +Francis Bacon + + + +Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief +use for delight is in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in +discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of +business. For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, +one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshaling of +affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time +in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament is affectation; +to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar. They +perfect nature, and are perfected by experience; for natural abilities +are like natural plants, that need proyning by study; and studies +themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be +bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies; simple men admire +them; and wise men use them: for they teach not their own use; but that +is a wisdom without them and above them, won by observation. Read not +to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to +find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider. Some books are to +be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and +digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to +be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with +diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and +extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less +important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books +are like common distilled waters, flashy things. Reading maketh a full +man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, +if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer +little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had +need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories +make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy +deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. _Abeunt studia +in mores_. Nay, there is no stond or impediment in the wit, but may +be wrought out by fit studies: like as diseases of the body may have +appropriate exercises. Bowling is for the stone and reins; shouting for +the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the +head; and the like. So if a man's wit be wandering, let him study the +mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so +little, he must begin again: if his wit be not apt to distinguish or +find differences, let him study the schoolmen; for they are _cymini +sectores:_ if he be not apt to beat over matters, and to call one +thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers' +cases: so every defect of the mind may have a special receipt. + + + + +THE AMERICAN BOY + +Theodore Roosevelt + + + +Of course what we have a right to expect of the American boy is that he +shall turn out to be a good American man. Now, the chances are strong +that he won't be much of a man unless he is a good deal of a boy. He +must not be a coward or a weakling, a bully, a shirk, or a prig. He +must work hard and play hard. He must be clean-minded and clean-lived, +and able to hold his own under all circumstances and against all +comers. It is only on these conditions that he will grow into the kind +of American man of whom America can be really proud. + +There are always in life countless tendencies for good and for evil, +and each succeeding generation sees some of these tendencies +strengthened and some weakened; nor is it by any means always, alas! +that the tendencies for evil are weakened and those for good +strengthened. But during the last few decades there certainly have been +some notable changes for good in boy life. The great growth in the love +of athletic sports, for instance, while fraught with danger if it +becomes one-sided and unhealthy, has beyond all question had an +excellent effect in increased manliness. Forty or fifty years ago the +writer on American morals was sure to deplore the effeminacy and luxury +of young Americans who were born of rich parents. The boy who was +well off then, especially in the big Eastern cities, lived too +luxuriously, took to billiards as his chief innocent recreation, and +felt small shame in his inability to take part in rough pastimes and +field-sports. Nowadays, whatever other faults the son of rich parents +may tend to develop, he is at least forced by the opinion of all his +associates of his own age to bear himself well in manly exercises and +to develop his body--and therefore, to a certain extent, his character-- +in the rough sports which call for pluck, endurance, and physical +address. + +Of course boys who live under such fortunate conditions that they have +to do either a good deal of outdoor work or a good deal of what might +be called natural outdoor play do not need the athletic development. In +the Civil War the soldiers who came from the prairie and the backwoods +and the rugged farms where stumps still dotted the clearings, and who +had learned to ride in their infancy, to shoot as soon as they could +handle a rifle, and to camp out whenever they got the chance, were +better fitted for military work than any set of mere school or college +athletes could possibly be. Moreover, to mis-estimate athletics is +equally bad whether their importance is magnified or minimized. The +Greeks were famous athletes, and as long as their athletic training had +a normal place in their lives, it was a good thing. But it was a very +bad thing when they kept up their athletic games while letting the +stern qualities of soldiership and statesmanship sink into disuse. Some +of the younger readers of this book will certainly sometime read the +famous letters of the younger Pliny, a Roman who wrote, with what seems +to us a curiously modern touch, in the first century of the present +era. His correspondence with the Emperor Trajan is particularly +interesting; and not the least noteworthy thing in it is the tone of +contempt with which he speaks of the Greek athletic sports, treating +them as the diversions of an unwarlike people which it was safe to +encourage in order to keep the Greeks from turning into anything +formidable. So at one time the Persian kings had to forbid polo, +because soldiers neglected their proper duties for the fascinations of +the game. We cannot expect the best work from soldiers who have carried +to an unhealthy extreme the sports and pastimes which would be healthy +if indulged in with moderation, and have neglected to learn as they +should the business of their profession. A soldier needs to know how to +shoot and take cover and shift for himself--not to box or to play +football. There is, of course, always the risk of thus mistaking means +for ends. Fox-hunting is a first-class sport; but one of the most +absurd things in real life is to note the bated breath which certain +excellent fox-hunters, otherwise quite healthy minds, speak of this +admirable, but not over-important pastime. They tend to make it almost +as much of a fetich as, in the last century, the French and German +nobles made the chase of the stag, when they carried hunting and game- +preserving to a point which was ruinous to the national life. Fox- +hunting is very good as a pastime, but it is about as poor a business +as can be followed by any man of intelligence. Certain writers about it +are fond of quoting the anecdote of the fox-hunter who, in the days of +the English civil war, was discovered pursuing his favorite sport just +before a great battle between the Cavaliers and the Puritans, and right +between their lines as they came together. These writers apparently +consider it a merit in this man that when his country was in a death- +grapple, instead of taking arms and hurrying to the defense of the +cause he believed right, he should have placidly gone about his usual +sports. Of course, in reality the chief serious use of fox-hunting is +to encourage manliness and vigor, and to keep men hardy, so that at +need they can show themselves fit to take part in work or strife for +their native land. When a man so far confuses ends and means as to +think that fox-hunting, or polo, or football, or whatever else the +sport may be, is to be itself taken as the end, instead of the mere +means of preparation to do work that counts when the time arises, when +the occasion calls--why, that man had better abandon sport altogether. + +No boy can afford to neglect his work, and with a boy work, as a rule, +means study. Of course there are occasionally brilliant successes in +life where a man has been worthless as a student when a boy. To take +these exceptions as examples would be as unsafe as it would be to +advocate blindness because some blind men have won undying honor by +triumphing over their physical infirmity and accomplishing great +results in the world. I am no advocate of senseless and excessive +cramming in studies, but a boy should work, and should work hard, at +his lessons--in the first place, for the sake of what he will learn and +in the next place, for the sake of the effect upon his own character of +resolutely settling down to learn it. Shiftlessness, slackness, +indifference in studying, are almost certain to mean inability to get +on in other walks of life. Of course, as a boy grows older it is a good +thing if he can shape his studies in the direction toward which he has +a natural bent; but whether he can do this or not, he must put his +whole heart into them. I do not believe in mischief-doing in school +hours, or in the kind of animal spirits that results in making bad +scholars; and I believe that these boys who take part in rough, hard +play outside of school will not find any need for horse-play in school. +While they study they should study just as hard as they play football +in a match game. It is wise to obey the homely old adage, "Work while +you work; play while you play." + +A boy needs both physical and moral courage. Neither can take the place +of the other. When boys become men they will find out that there are +some soldiers very brave in the field who have proved timid and +worthless as politicians, and some politicians who show an entire +readiness to take chances and assume responsibilities in civil affairs, +but who lack the fighting edge when opposed to physical danger. In each +case, with soldiers and politicians alike, there is but half a virtue. +The possession of the courage of the soldier does not excuse the lack +of courage in the statesman, and even less does the possession of the +courage of the statesman excuse shrinking on the field of battle. Now, +this is all just as true of boys. A coward who will take a blow without +returning it is a contemptible creature; but after all, he is hardly as +contemptible as the boy who does not stand up for what he deems right +against the sneers of his companions who are themselves wrong. Ridicule +is one of the favorite weapons of wickedness, and it is sometimes +incomprehensible how good and brave boys will be influenced for evil by +the jeers of associates who have no one quality that calls for respect, +but who affect to laugh at the very traits which ought to be peculiarly +the cause for pride. + +There is no need to be a prig. There is no need for a boy to preach +about his own conduct and virtue. If he does he will make himself +offensive and ridiculous. But there is urgent need that he should +practice decency; that he should be clean and straight, honest and +truthful, gentle and tender, as well as brave. If he can once get to a +proper understanding of things, he will have a far more hearty contempt +for the boy who has begun a course of feeble dissipation, or who is +untruthful, or mean, or dishonest, or cruel, than this boy and his +fellows can possibly, in return, feel for him. The very fact that the +boy should be manly and able to hold his own, that he should be ashamed +to submit to bullying without instant retaliation, should, in return, +make him abhor any form of bullying, cruelty, or brutality. + +There are two delightful books, Thomas Hughes's "Tom Brown at Rugby" +and Aldrich's "Story of a Bad Boy," which I hope every boy still reads; +and I think American boys will always feel more in sympathy with +Aldrich's story, because there is in it none of the fagging, and the +bullying which goes with fagging, the account of which, and the +acceptance of which, always puzzles an American admirer of Tom Brown. + +There is the same contrast between two stories of Kipling's. One, +called "Captains Courageous," describes in the liveliest way just what +a boy should be and do. The hero is painted in the beginning as the +spoiled, over-indulged child of wealthy parents, of a type which we do +sometimes unfortunately see, and than which there exist few things more +objectionable on the face of the broad earth. This boy is afterward +thrown on his own resources, amid wholesome surroundings, and is forced +to work hard among boys and men who are real boys and real men doing +real work. The effect is invaluable. On the other hand, if one wishes +to find types of boys to be avoided with utter dislike, one will find +them in another story by Kipling, called "Stalky & Co.," a story which +ought never to have been written, for there is hardly a single form of +meanness which it does not seem to extol, or of school mismanagement +which it does not seem to applaud. Bullies do not make brave men; and +boys or men of foul life cannot become good citizens, good Americans, +until they change; and even after the change scars will be left on +their souls. + +The boy can best become a good man by being a good boy--not a goody- +goody boy, but just a plain good boy. I do not mean that he must love +only the negative virtues; I mean he must love the positive virtues +also. "Good," in the largest sense, should include whatever is fine, +straightforward, clean, brave, and manly. The best boys I know--the +best men I know--are good at their studies or their business, fearless +and stalwart, hated and feared by all that is wicked and depraved, +incapable of submitting to wrongdoing, and equally incapable of being +aught but tender to the weak and helpless. A healthy-minded boy should +feel hearty contempt for the coward, and even more hearty indignation +for the boy who bullies girls or small boys, or tortures animals. One +prime reason for abhorring cowards is because every good boy should +have it in him to thrash the objectionable boy as the need arises. + +Of course the effect that a thoroughly manly, thoroughly straight and +upright boy can have upon the companions of his own age, and upon those +who are younger, is incalculable. If he is not thoroughly manly, +then they will not respect him, and his good qualities will count for +but little; while, of course, if he is mean, cruel, or wicked, then his +physical strength and force of mind merely make him so much the more +objectionable a member of society. He cannot do good work if he is not +strong and does not try with his whole heart and soul to count in any +contest; and his strength will be a curse to himself and to every one +else if he does not have thorough command over himself and over his own +evil passions, and if he does not use his strength on the side of +decency, justice, and fair dealing. + +In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: +Hit the line hard; don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the line hard! + + + + + +ORATIONS + + + + +GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH + +Patrick Henry + + + +Mr. President: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, +as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just +addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject in +different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought +disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do, opinions of +a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments +freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question +before this house is one of awful moment to the country. For my own +part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or +slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be +the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to +arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to +God and to our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, +through fear of giving offense, I would consider myself as guilty of +treason toward my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the +Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. + +Mr. President, It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of +hope. We are apt to shut our eye's against a painful truth, and listen +to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this +the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for +liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, +see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern +their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it +may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and +to provide for it. + +I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp +of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the +past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in +the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify +those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves +and the house. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has +been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your +feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves +how this gracious re--ception of our petition comports with those +warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are +fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have +we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be +called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. +These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to +which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial +array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen +assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy in +this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies +and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be +meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those +chains which the British Ministry have been so long forging. And what +have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been +trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon +the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of +which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to +entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find, which have +not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive +ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to +avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have +remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before +the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the +tyrannical hands of the Ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have +been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and +insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been +spurned with contempt from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these +things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There +is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free--if we mean to +preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been +so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle +in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged +ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest +shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An +appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us! + +They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable +an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, +or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a +British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather +strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of +effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the +delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand +and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means +which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of +people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as +that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can +send against us. Besides, we shall not fight our battles alone. There +is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will +raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not +to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. +Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, +it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but +in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be +heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! +I repeat it, sir, LET IT COME! + +It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry peace, +peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale +that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of +resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we +here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is +life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of +chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course +others may take; but, as for me, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH! + + + + +SUPPOSED SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS + +Daniel Webster + + + +Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my +heart to this vote. It is true, indeed, that, in the beginning, we +aimed not at independence. But + + There's a divinity which shapes our ends. + +The injustice of England has driven us to arms; and, blinded to her own +interest for our good, she has obstinately persisted, till independence +is now within our grasp. We have but to reach forth to it, and it is +ours. Why, then, should we defer the Declaration? + +Is any man so weak as now to hope for a reconciliation with England, +which shall leave either safety to the country and its liberties, or +safety to his own life or his own honor? Are not you, Sir, who sit in +that chair, is not he, our venerable colleague near you, are you not +both already the proscribed and predestined objects of punishment and +vengeance? Cut off from all hope of royal clemency, what are you, what +can you be, while the power of England remains, but outlaws? If we +postpone independence, do we mean to carry on, or give up, the war? Do +we mean to submit to the measures of Parliament, Boston Port Bill and +all? Do we mean to submit, and consent that we ourselves shall be +ground to powder, and our country and its rights trodden down in the +dust? I know we do not mean to submit. We never shall submit. Do we +intend to violate that most solemn obligation ever entered into by men, +that plighting, before God, of our sacred honor to Washington, when, +putting him forth to incur the dangers of war, as well as the political +hazards of the times, we promised to adhere to him, in every extremity, +with our fortunes and our lives? I know there is not a man here, who +would not rather see a general conflagration sweep over the land, or an +earthquake sink it, than one jot or tittle of that plighted faith fall +to the ground. For myself, having, twelve months ago, in this place, +moved you that George Washington be appointed commander of the forces +raised, or to be raised, for the defense of American liberty, may my +right hand forget her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof my +mouth, if I hesitate or waver in the support I give him. + +The war, then, must go on. We must fight it through. And if the war +must go on, why put off longer the Declaration of Independence? That +measure will strengthen us. It will give us character abroad. The +nations will then treat with us, which they never can do while we +acknowledge ourselves subjects, in arms against our sovereign. Nay, I +maintain that England herself will sooner treat for peace with us on +the footing of independence, than consent, by repealing her acts, to +acknowledge that her whole conduct toward us has been a course of +injustice and oppression. Her pride will be less wounded by submitting +to that course of things which now predestinates our independence, than +by yielding the points in controversy to her rebellious subjects. The +former she would regard as the result of fortune; the latter, she would +feel as her own deep disgrace. Why then, why then, Sir, do we not as +soon as possible change this from a civil to a national war? And since +we must fight it through, why not put ourselves in a state to enjoy all +the benefits of victory, if we gain the victory? + +If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail. The cause +will raise up armies; the cause will create navies. The people, the +people, if we are true to them, will carry us, and will carry +themselves, gloriously, through this struggle. I care not how fickle +other people have been found. I know the people of these Colonies, and +I know that resistance to British aggression is deep and settled in +their hearts, and cannot be eradicated. Every Colony, indeed, has +expressed its willingness to follow, if we but take the lead. Sir, the +Declaration will inspire the people with increased courage. Instead of +a long and bloody war for the restoration of privileges, for redress of +grievances, for chartered immunities, held under a British king, set +before them the glorious object of entire independence, and it will +breathe into them anew the spirit of life. Read this Declaration at the +head of the army; every sword will be drawn, and the solemn vow +uttered, to maintain it, or perish on the bed of honor. Publish it from +the pulpit; religion will approve it, and the love of religious liberty +will cling around it, resolved to stand with it, or fall with it. Send +it to the public halls; proclaim it there; let them hear it who heard +the first roar of the enemy's cannon; let them see it who saw their +brothers and their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill and in the +streets of Lexington and Concord, and the very walls will cry out in +its support. + +Sir, I know the uncertainty of human affairs, but I see, I see clearly +through this day's business. You and I, indeed, may rue it. We may not +live to see the time when this Declaration shall be made good. We may +die; die colonists; die slaves; die, it may be, ignominiously and on +the scaffold. Be it so. Be it so. If it be the pleasure of Heaven that +my country shall require the poor offering of my life, the victim shall +be ready at the appointed hour of sacrifice, come when that hour may. +But while I do live, let me have a country, or at least the hope of a +country, and that a free country. + +But whatever may be our fate, be assured, be assured that this +Declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood; +but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. Through the +thick gloom of the present I see the brightness of the future, as the +sun in heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an immortal day. When we +are in our graves, our children will honor it. They will celebrate it +with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires, and illuminations. On +its annual return they will shed tears, copious, gushing tears, not of +subjection and slavery, not of agony and distress, but of exultation, +of gratitude, and of joy. Sir, before God, I believe the hour is come. +My judgment approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All +that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope, in this life, I am +now ready here to stake upon it; and I leave off as I began, that, live +or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living +sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment; +independence _now_, and INDEPENDENCE FOREVER. + + + + +ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG + +Abraham Lincoln + + + +Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this +continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the +proposition that all men are created equal. + +Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, +or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are +met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a +portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave +their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and +proper that we should do this. + +But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not consecrate--we +can not hallow--this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who +struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or +detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say +here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the +living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they +who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to +be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us,--that from +these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which +they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly +resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, +under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of +the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the +earth. + + + + + +APPENDIX + + + +In this Appendix are given lists of masterpieces of children's +literature which, for reasons stated in the Preface, could not be +included in this collection. The editor has attempted to limit the lists +of books to those which, in his judgment, are undoubted masterpieces, +yet at the same time to include the books in the different types with +which students in normal school and college classes in children's +literature need to be familiar. These books should be in the reference +library at the disposal of the students, and reports and conferences on +them should form a part of the course in children's literature. + +A brief bibliography of books dealing with literature for children +is appended. The teacher of the class in children's literature should +know some of these books, and perhaps use one as a text to guide +his work. + + + +COLLECTIONS OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE + + +ELIOT, C. W. _The Junior Classics_. 8 vols. P. F. Collier & Sons, +New York. + +SCUDDER, H. E. _The Children's Book_. 1 vol. Houghton Mifflin +Company, Boston. + +TAPPAN, E. M. The Children's Hour. 10 vols. Houghton Mifflin Company, +Boston. + +Among school readers, the _Heart of Oak_ series, edited by Charles +Eliot Norton (D. C. Heath & Co., New York), is the most profuse in +literary masterpieces. + + + +COLLECTIONS OF MOTHER GOOSE VERSES + + +HALLIWELL, J. O. _The Nursery Rhymes of England_. Frederick Warne +& Co., New York. + +LANG, A. _The Nursery Rhyme Book_. Frederick Warne & Co., New York. + +SAINTSBURY, G. E. B. _National Rhymes of the Nursery_. Frederick A. +Stokes Company, New York. + +WELSH, C. _Mother Goose: A Book of Nursery Rhymes_. D. C. Heath & +Co., New York. + +WHEELER, W. _A. Mother Goose's Melodies_. Houghton Mifflin Company, +Boston. + + + +CHILDREN'S POETS + + +In addition to the children's poets represented on pages 13-36, the +following books of children's poems should be in the school library: + +BROWN, A. F. _A Pocketful of Posies_. Houghton Mifflin Company, +Boston. + +GARY, A. and P. _Poems for Children_. Houghton Mifflin Company, +Boston, (In _Cary's Poetical Works_.) + +DODGE, M. _Rhymes and Jingles._ Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. + +DOWD. _The Owl and the Bobolink._ Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. + +EARLS, M. _Ballads of Childhood._ Benziger Brothers, New York. + +FIELD, E. _Songs of Childhood._ Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. + +LAMB, C. _Poetry for Children._ E. P. Button & Co., New York. +(Volume 8 of Works of Charles Lamb.) + +PEABODY, J. P. _The Book of the Little Past._ Houghton Mifflin +Company, Boston. + +RICHARDS, L. E. _In My Nursery._ Little, Brown & Co., Boston. + +RILEY, J. W. _Rhymes of Childhood._ Bobbs-Merjill Company, +Indianapolis. + +SHERMAN, F. D. _Little-Folk Lyrics._ Houghton Mifflin Company, +Boston. + +TAGORE, R. _The Crescent Moon._ Macmillan Company, New York. + +WELLS, C. _The Jingle Book._ Macmillan Company, New York. + + + +ANTHOLOGIES OF CHILDREN'S POETRY + + +CHISHOLM, L. _The Golden Staircase._ G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. + +HAZARD, B. _Three Years with the Poets._ Houghton Mifflin Company, +Boston. + +HENLEY, W. E. _Lyra Heroica._ Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. + +LUCAS, E. V. _A Book of Verses for Children._ Henry Holt & Co., +New York. + +PALGRAVE, F. _Children's Treasury of English Song._ Macmillan +Company, New York. + +REPPLIER, A. _A Book of Famous Verse._ Houghton Mifflin Company, +Boston. + +STEVENSON, B. _The Home Book of Verse for Young Folks._ Henry Holt +& Co., New York. + +THACHER, L. W. _The Listening Child._ Macmillan Company, New York. + +WIGGIN, K. D., and SMITH, N. A. _Golden Numbers._ McClure Company, +New York. + +ANONYMOUS. _Our Children's Songs._ Harper and Brothers, New York. + + + +FAIRY STORIES + +In addition to the collections of fairy stories mentioned in the notes, +the following collections contain first-rate material: + + +Folk Tales + +JACOBS, J. _More English Fairy Tales and Celtic Fairy Tales._ G. P. +Putnam's Sons, New York. + +LANG, A. _The Blue Fairy Book and The Green Fairy Book._ Longmans, +Green & Co., New York. + +RHYS, E. _The English Fairy Book._ Frederick A. Stokes Company, New +York. + +SCUDDER, H. E. _Book of Fables and Folk Stories._ Houghton Mifflin +Company, Boston. + +WIGGIN, K. D., and SMITH, N. A. _The Fairy Ring._ McClure Company, +New York, + + + +NEGRO FOLK TALES + + +HARRIS, J. C. _Nights with Uncle Remus_ and _Uncle Remus and His +Friends_. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. + + + +MODERN FAIRY TALES + + +BARRIE, J. M. _Peter Pan_. Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston. + +CARROLL, L. _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ and _Through the +Looking-Glass_. Macmillan Company, New York. + +COLLODI, C. _Adventures of Pinocchio_. Ginn & Co., Boston. + +INGELOW, J. _Mopsa the Fairy_. J. B. Lippincott Company, +Philadelphia. _Three Fairy Tales_. D. C. Heath & Co., New York. + +KINGSLEY, C. _Water Babies_. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York. + +LANG, A. _Prince Prigio_. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York. + +MAETERLINCK, M. _The Blue Bird for Children_. Silver, Burdett & +Co., Boston. + +MACDONALD, G. _The Princess and the Goblin_. J. B. Lippincott +Company, Philadelphia. + +ROSTAND, E. _The Story of Chanticleer_. Frederick A. Stokes +Company, New York. + +STOCKTON, F. R. _Fanciful Tales and The Floating Prince_. Charles +Scribner's Sons, New York. + +THACKERAY, W. M. _The Rose and the Ring_. D. C. Heath & Co., New +York. + + + +HOMERIC STORIES + + +No selection from the classic stories of Homer have been included in the +present collection, having been ruled out by the principle that nothing +but complete units must be presented. But every child must be exposed to +the charm of the wonderful story-teller of Greece. If the child prefers +verse--and Homer's stories are at their best in good verse--Bryant's +translation should be used (Students' Edition, 2 vols. Houghton Mifflin +Company, Boston). Perhaps the best prose translation is that of Palmer +(Houghton Mifflin Company). + + + +MYTHS + + +In addition to the Kingsley and Hawthorne stories of the Greek myths and +legends, the child's library should contain Mrs. Peabody's _Old Greek +Folk Stories_ (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston). + + + +HERO STORIES + + +Preeminent among the stories in which the chief element of interest is +that which arises from the deeds of heroic characters, are the Robin +Hood and the King Arthur stories. The Robin Hood tales contain material +unusually interesting and valuable for children; but, though they have +been told and retold times without number, there is but one version that +may properly be called a "masterpiece." This is the Howard Pyle version, +_Merry Adventures of Robin Hood_ (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York). +A less expensive edition is called _Some Merry Adventures of Robin +Hood_. + +The King Arthur cycle is at its best in the Malory version (_Le Morte +d'Arthur_, by Sir Thomas Malory. _Everyman's_ series. E. P. Dutton +& Co., New York). This, however, is somewhat too diffuse and too +difficult for any child but a bookish one. Sidney Lanier's version of +the stories (_The Boy's King Arthur_, Charles Scribner's Sons, New +York) is a masterpiece of narration for youthful readers, and it is +faithful to the atmosphere and spirit of the Malory stories. + +The hero stories in Plutarch are among the choicest of stories in this +type. Edwin Ginn's edition (Ginn & Co., Boston) is an admirable one. It +is based on the Clough translation, which was based, in turn, on the +so-called Dryden version. + + + +ANIMAL AND NATURE STORIES AND SKETCHES + + +BURROUGHS, J. _Wake Robin_. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. + +KIPLING, R. _Jungle Book_ and _Just-So Stories_. Century +Company, New York. + +LONG, W. J. _A Little Brother to the Bear_. Ginn & Co., Boston. + +MILLER, J. _True Bear Stories_. Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago. + +Mum, J. _Stickeen._ Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. A most +charming and thrilling story of a dog. + +ROBERTS, C. G. D. _Kindred of the Wild_. Grosset & Dunlap, New +York. + +SEGUR, S. Story of a Donkey. D. C. Heath & Co., New York. + +SETON THOMPSON, E. _Wild Animals I Have Known_. Charles Scribner's +Sons, New York. + + + +MISCELLANEOUS STORIES + +(Chiefly Fiction) + + +ALCOTT, L. M. _Little Men and Little Women_. Little, Brown & Co., +Boston. + +ALDRICH, T. B. _Story of a Bad Boy_. Houghton Mifflin Company, +Boston. + +BLACKMORE, R. D. _Lorna Doone_. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New +York. + +BUNYAN, J. _Pilgrim's Progress_. Ginn & Co., Boston. + +CLEMENS, S. L. _Tom Sawyer_, _Huckleberry Finn_, and _The +Prince and the Pauper_. Harper and Brothers, New York. + +COOPER, J. F. _Deerslayer_ and _Last of the Mohicans_. G. P. +Putnam's Sons, New York. + +DEFOE, D. _Robinson Crusoe_. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. + +FRANKLIN, B. _Autobiography_. D. C. Heath & Co., New York. + +HALE, E. E. _The Man Without a Country_. Ginn & Co., Boston. + +HALE, L. _Peterkin Papers_. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. + +HUGHES, T. _Tom Brown's School Days_. Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago. + +SCOTT, W. _Quentin Durward and Ivanhoe_. Dana Estes & Co., Boston. + +STEVENSON, R. L. _Treasure Island_. Charles Scribner's Sons, New +York. + +SWIFT, J. _Gulliver's Travels_. D. C. Heath & Co., New York. + + + +BOOKS ON CHILDREN'S LITERATURE + + +BARNES, W. _English in the Country School_. Row, Peterson & Co., +Chicago. + +CARPENTER, BAKER, and SCOTT. _The Teaching of English_. Longmans, +Green & Co., New York. + +CHUBB, P. _Teaching of English_ (elementary school edition). +Macmillan Company, New York. + +COLBY, J. R. _Literature and Life in the School_. Houghton Mifflin +Company, Boston. + +COX, J. H. _Literature in the Common Schools_. Little, Brown & Co., +Boston. + +FIELD, W. T. _Fingerposts to Children's Reading_. A. C. McClurg & +Co., Chicago. + +HUNT. _What Shall We Read to the Children_? Houghton Mifflin +Company, Boston. + +LEE, G. S. _The Child and the Book_. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New +York. + +LOWE. _Literature for Children_. Macmillan Company, New York. + +MACCLINTOCK, P. L. _Literature in the Elementary School_. +University of Chicago Press, Chicago. + +OLCOTT, F. J. _The Children's Reading_. Houghton Mifflin Company, +Boston. + + + + +NOTES + + + +Page 1. Attention is directed to the classification of the Nursery +Jingles as indicated in the Contents. Several classifications of the +Jingles, from one standpoint or another, have been made, that by J. O. +Halliwell being the most elaborate, and that by the late Charles Welsh +being, perhaps, the most logical. The present classification is to +indicate more clearly the content, the source, the point, the +"intrinsic motive" of the Jingles. It is hoped that this new +classification will at least make conspicuous the scope and variety, +and the widely varying sources and themes, of the verses that children +have been selecting and scholars have been collecting under the generic +name of Nursery Jingles or Mother Goose Verses. + +There are, of course, different versions of the Jingles, as there are +of any truly "popular" form of literature. Of not many Jingles can it +be said that any version is the oldest, the authoritative, the real +version. The editor, therefore, despairing of finding the most accurate +version, has endeavored to find the best. In many instances the best +seemed the one he had heard in childhood rather than the one printed in +any of the collections. The collection found most useful is Lang's +_The Nursery Rhyme Book_ (Frederick Warne & Co., London, 1897). +The editor has tried to select those specimens that would give teacher +and class as many characteristic Mother Goose elements, touches, +rhythms, and styles as possible. Many of the Jingles in this collection +have not been printed before--at least, not to the editor's knowledge. +He believes, however, that they are all genuine Folk Jingles, and he +hopes that their quaintness and novelty will justify their appearance +here. + +Page 13. The poems from Blake are from _Poetical Works_ (George +Bell & Sons, London, 1909). The three poems are from the series called +_Songs of Innocence_. + +Page 15. Christina Rossetti's poems are from _Sing-Song_ +(Macmillan & Co., London, 1907). The poems are not given titles in +this, the authoritative edition. + +Page 17. Stevenson's poems are from _Complete Poems_ (Charles +Scribner's Sons, New York, 1912). The poems reprinted here are all from +the series called _A Child's Garden of Verses_. There are many +good editions of the _Child's Garden_, the Scribner edition being +one of the most beautiful. + +Page 20. The Lucy Larcom pieces are from _Childhood Songs_ +(Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1874), and are here used by +permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. + +Page 22. The four poems of the Taylors' are from E. V. Lucas's edition +of _The Original Poems and Others_ (Wells, Gardner, Darton & Co., +London, 1903). The readings given here follow the last revision by Ann +Taylor, some years after the death of Jane. In the case of "The Star" +the more familiar version seemed, to the present editor, the better, +but he felt that he should conform to the reading that seems to have +the strongest authority. No attempt is made to discriminate between the +poems of the two sisters; all the poems are here ascribed to them +jointly. + +Page 26. The first two poems of Watts' are from _Divine Songs for +Children_; the third poem, from _Moral Songs_, or, to give it +its full title, _A Slight Specimen of Moral Songs, such as I wish +some happy and condescending genius would undertake for the use of +children, and perform much better_. The two collections of poems for +children are to be found in Watts's _Horæ Lyricæ_ (Little, Brown & +Co., Boston, 1864). The advertisement to this edition states that "the +volume is reprinted, with many corrections," from the quarto edition of +Watts's entire works, published in 1753. Stanzas 5-10 and stanzas 12 +and 14 have been omitted from the text of "A Cradle Hymn." They are +given here, that the student may have before him an illustration of how +necessary it is occasionally to expurgate material set before children. + +5. Blessed babe! what glorious features, + Spotless fair, divinely bright! + Must he dwell with brutal creatures? + How could angels bear the sight! + +6. Was there nothing but a manger + Cursed sinners could afford, + To receive the heavenly Stranger? + Did they thus affront their Lord? + +7. Soft, my child; I did not chide thee, + Though my song might sound too hard; + 'Tis thy mother sits beside thee, + And her arms shall be thy guard. + +8. Yet to read the shameful story, + How the Jews abus'd their King, + How they serv'd the Lord of Glory, + Makes me angry while I sing. + +9. See the kinder shepherds round him, + Telling wonders from the sky; + There they sought him, there they found him, + With his virgin mother by. + +10. See the lovely babe a-dressing; + Lovely infant, how he smil'd! + When he wept, the mother's blessing + Sooth'd and hush'd the holy child. + +12. 'Twas to save thee, child, from dying, + Save my dear from burning flame, + Bitter groans and endless crying, + That thy blest Redeemer came. + +14. I could give thee thousand kisses, + Hoping what I most desire; + Not a mother's fondest wishes + Can to greater joys aspire. + +Page 28. Lewis Carroll's poems reprinted here are from _The Hunting +of the Snark, and Other Poems_ (Harper & Brothers, New York, 1903). +"Father William" is from _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_; the +others are from _Through the Looking-Glass_. All three poems are +much better fun when read in their original setting. + +Page 33. Edward Lear's poems are from _Nonsense Books_ (Little, +Brown & Co., Boston, 1888). This includes all four of the Nonsense +books by Lear: _Book of Nonsense_, 1846; _Nonsense Songs, +Stories, etc._, 1871; _More Nonsense Pictures_, etc., 1872; +and _Laughable Lyrics: A Fresh Book of Nonsense, etc._, 1877. + +Page 37. The ballad of "Bonny Barbara Allan" is from Percy's _Reliques +of Ancient English Poetry_ (Frederick Warne & Co., New York, 1880). +The spelling is modernized. Stanzas 5-8 have been inserted. They were +discovered in Buchanan County, Virginia, by Professor C. Alphonso +Smith, of the University of Virginia, and printed in his monograph, +_Ballads Surviving in the United States_ (G. Schirmer, New York, +1916). This and dozens of other "popular" ballads are still sung in +the mountains of the Southern states; undoubtedly they have been +transmitted orally for generations. + +Page 38. "Sir Patrick Spence" is from Percy's _Reliques_, the +edition above mentioned. In the editor's opinion, this is the most +effective of the several versions of this beautiful ballad. + +Page 40. This version of "Robin Hood and Allin a Dale" is from +Sargent and Kittredge's _English and Scottish Popular Ballads_ +(Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1904). + +Page 43. "Kinmont Willie" is from _The Poetical Works of Sir Walter +Scott, together with The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_ (J. B. +Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1880). Sir Walter, in his +introduction to the ballad, states that because the piece had been +"much mangled by reciters," "some conjectural emendations have been +absolutely necessary to render it intelligible." As no other version of +the ballad has ever been discovered, no one knows just how many +"conjectural emendations" Sir Walter made. It is safe to say, however, +that the poet's taste and antiquarian interests would prevent his +taking unwarrantable liberties with the original. In its present form +it is one of the finest of the ballads, whatever change it may have +suffered in passing through Scott's hands. + +Page 49. This poem of Longfellow's and "A Psalm of Life," page 83, are +from _Complete Poetical Works_ (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, +1893). They are used by permission. + +Page 52. "La Belle Dame sans Merci" and the Keats poem on page 75 are +from _Complete Poetical Works and Letters_ (Houghton Mifflin +Company, Boston, 1899). Lord Houghton's version, as given in _Life, +Letters, and Literary Remains_, has some important variant readings. + +Page 53. The Campbell poem is taken from the _Complete Poetical +Works_ (Phillips, Samson & Co., Boston, 1857). + +Page 55. "Lochinvar" comes from the _Poetical Works_ (Thomas Y. +Crowell Company, New York, 1894). + +Page 56. This spirited poem of Browning's is from the _Complete +Poetic and Dramatic Works_ (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1895). + +Page 58. The three poems by Tennyson in this collection are from +_Poetic and Dramatic Works_ (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. +1898). + +Page 63. This version of "America" is from the facsimile reproduction +of the hymn in the author's handwriting found in _A History of +Newton, Massachusetts_, by S. F. Smith, D.D. (published, 1880, by +The American Logotype Company, Boston). The original copy of "America," +according to all the evidence, is the one in Dr. Smith's handwriting +contained on a slip of waste paper which is now kept in the treasure +room of the Harvard Library. In this original version the two notable +points of difference from that given here are the reading "breathes" +for "breathe" in the third stanza, and "Our God" for "Great God" in the +fourth stanza. + +Page 64. This well-known passage is the first stanza of Canto VI of +Scott's _The Lay of the Last Minstrel_ (_Poetical Works_ +above described). + +Page 64. Miller's "Columbus" is from the Bear Edition of Miller's poems +(Harr Wagner Publishing Company, San Francisco, 1909). + +Page 65. Mrs. Hemans' poem is from _Complete Works_ (D. Appleton & +Co., New York, 1847). + +Page 67. The "Concord Hymn" and "The Rhodora," page 74, are from the +_Poems_ (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1899). + +Page 67. This poem of Holmes' and "The Chambered Nautilus," page 77, +are from the _Poetical Works_ (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, +1895). The latter poem appeared originally in _The Autocrat of the +Breakfast Table_. + +Page 68. "O Captain! My Captain!" is from _Leaves of Grass_ (David +McKay, Philadelphia, 1900). + +Page 70. "To Lucasta" is from _Epodes, Odes, Sonnets, Songs, etc., +etc., to which is added Aramantha, a Pastoral, by Richard Lovelace, +Esq. A New Edition_ (Chiswick: from the Press of C. Whittingham, +1817). + +Page 70. Byron's poem is from _Hebrew Melodies_ (London, printed +for John Murray, 1815). + +Page 71. "A Red, Red Rose" is from _Complete Poetical Works_ +(Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1897). + +Page 72. "The Greenwood Tree" is from _As You Like It_ (New +Variorum Edition, 1890). + +Page 72. This well-known sea song by Cunningham is from _The Songs of +Scotland, Ancient and Modern_, Vol. IV (printed for John Taylor, +London, 1825). + +Page 73. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", or "The Daffodils," as it is +often called, is from _Complete Poetical Works_ (Thomas Y. Crowell +Company, New York, n. d.). The text is that of the edition of 1857. + +Page 74. "To the Fringed Gentian" is from _Poetical Works_ (D. +Appleton & Co., New York, 1909). "To a Waterfowl," page 76, is from the +same. + +Page 79. "The Noble Nature" is from the volume of Ben Jonson's poems in +_The Canterbury Poets_, edited by William Sharp (published by the +Walter Scott Publishing Company, London and Newcastle, n. d.). + +Page 79. This poem of Wotton's is from _Reliquæ Wottoniæ_, etc., +London, (printed by Thomas Maxey for R. Marriot, G. Bedel, and T. +Garthwait, 1651). The meaning of the third stanza is obscure. In this +edition it runs as follows: + + Who envies none that Chance doth raise, + Nor Vice hath ever understood; + How deepest wounds are given by praise, + Nor rules of State, but rules of good. + +Page 80. This inspiring poem by Clough is found in _Poetical +Works_ (George Routledge & Sons, London, n. d.). + +Page 80. "For A' That an' A' That" is from _The Edinburgh Book of +Scottish Verse_ (Meiklejohn and Holden, London, 1910). + +Page 82. The poem by Henley is from _Echoes_ (published by David +Nutt, London, 1908). This poem is the fourth of the forty-seven poems +in _Echoes._ The title "Invictus" is not in the original. + +Page 82. "Opportunity" is from _Poems by Edward Rowland Sill_ +(Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1888). + +Pages 85-86. These six fables are from _The Fables of Æsop_, +translated into English by Samuel Croxall, with new applications, +morals, etc., by the Rev. George Fyler Townsend (Frederick Warne & Co., +London, 1869). This is the second edition. There are, of course, scores +of versions of the Æsopian fables. The one selected is approved by +Greek scholars for the fidelity of the translation, while its literary +value is unusually high. The tagged-on morals and applications have +been pruned away from the text. + +Pages 87-88. The two fables of Bidpai are to be found in _The +Tortoise and the Geese, and Other Fables of Bidpai_, retold by Maude +Barrows Dutton (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1908). They are +reprinted here by permission of the publishers. + +Page 89. These two metrical fables are from _Fables of La +Fontaine,_ translated by Elizur Wright, Jr. (Worthington Company, +New York, 1889). The French writer's fables, though usually not +original in content, are clever and keen and shrewd, and this +translation represents faithfully their thought and spirit. + +Page 91. Both "The Old Woman and Her Pig" and "The Three Little Pigs" +are from _English Fairy Tales_, third edition (G. P. Putnam's +Sons, New York, 1910). The stories are from Halliwell's _Nursery +Rhymes and Tales_, but are retold by Jacobs, who, as usual, improves +the original without sinning against the mood and spirit of the +"popular" story. + +Page 95. "Hans in Luck" and "The Frog-Prince," are from the translation +of Edgar Taylor, London, 1823. This, so far as the editor could +determine, was the first translation into English, and it remains one +of the best. + +Page 98. "The Valiant Little Tailor" and "The Elves," are from +_Grimms Household Tales_, translated by Margaret Hunt (George Bell +& Sons, London, 1913). The two volumes of Miss Hunt's translation are, +together with her notes and Andrew Lang's introduction, an important +contribution to the folklore of the "popular" Fairy Story and Nursery +Tale. + +Page 105. "Cinderella" and "Blue Beard," are from _The Tales of +Mother Goose_, translated from the French by Charles Welsh (D. C. +Heath & Co., New York, 1901). They are reprinted in this collection by +permission of the publishers. _The Tales of Mother Goose_ were +published in 1697. There have been dozens of translations, but Welsh's +version is perhaps the most satisfactory. + +Page 110. This version of "Whittington" is from _Amusing Prose Chap- +Books, chiefly of Last Century_, edited by Robert Hays Cunningham +(Hamilton, Adams & Co., London, 1889). The version is strikingly +similar to the one given by Jacobs in _English Fairy Tales_, +which, Jacobs says, was "cobbled up out of three chapbook versions." + +Page 117. "The Ugly Duckling" is from _Fairy Tales and Stories_, +translated by H. W. Dulcken (Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago, n. d.). The +Dulcken translation published by A. L. Burt Company, New York, n. d., +contains the same stories as the Rand-McNally translation, and eleven +more. + +Page 125. "The Flax" is from the translation of Caroline Peachey, +_Danish Fairy Legends and Tales_ (George Bell & Sons, London, +1881). This is the "third edition, enlarged." It contains fifty-seven +stories. + +Neither of the Andersen stories used for this collection is a folk +story--though, for tradition's sake, they are here placed with genuine +folk stories. Of the fifty-seven stories in the Peachey translation, +all but ten are entirely original with Andersen, and all of these ten +he worked over to suit his purpose. Andersen, then, unlike Grimm, +Jacobs, Lang, and others, is not a collector and teller of fairy +stories, but a maker of fairy stories--if, indeed, they should be +called fairy stories at all. In spirit and purpose and method Andersen +belongs with the modern writers of fairy stories--with Macdonald, +Stockton, Ingelow, and Barrie, rather than with the "dealers in the +genuine article." + +Page 133. This version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" is from Jacobs' +_English Fairy Tales_ above cited. Jacobs states that this telling +came from Australia. It is the best version known to the editor--in +fact, the only possible change to be desired is in the flippant ending, +"The ogre fell down and broke his crown." This is too serious a matter +for such lightness! + +Page 142. The only story of Asbjornsen reprinted in this collection is +from _Fairy Tales from the Far North_ (A. L. Burt Company, New +York, n. d.). The translator is H. L. Braekstad. Asbjornsen's stories +are sterling folk tales, but somewhat too gross and crude for the +delicate stomach of the modern child. + +Page 146. This Negro folk tale is from _Told by Uncle Remus_ +(Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1905. Copyright 1903-1904-1905 by Joel +Chandler Harris). Reproduced here by courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co. + +Page 155. Mrs. Craik's story is the first tale in _The Adventures of +a Brownie_ (Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago, 1911); it is printed here +by permission of the publishers. The text, according to the editor, +agrees with the standard text (Samson, Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, +London, 1872). + +Page 161. The text of "The King of the Golden River" is that found in +_Ruskin's Works_ (American Publishers Corporation, New York, n. +d.). The versions commonly found in readers have been sadly mangled by +editors--largely on the theory, it would seem, that children cannot +understand the meaning of a word of more than two syllables. + +Page 183. "Aladdin" is from _The Arabian Nights Entertainments_, +translated by Jonathan Scott (printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & +Brown, London, 1811). The translation is based on Galland's French +translation, the first translation into any European language; but Dr. +Scott states that the stories are "carefully revised and occasionally +corrected from the Arabic." Of the many editions of _The Arabian +Nights_--several of them excellent--this has always seemed, to the +editor, the best. + +The name in Scott's edition is spelled "Alla ad Deen," but the editor +has thought it best to use the name most familiar to the English +translations. The story has been altered slightly in that part which +relates the circumstances following the marriage of the princess and +the vizier's son. Quotation marks have been inserted throughout. + +Page 267. "The Gorgon's Head" is from _The Wonder Book_ (Houghton +Mifflin Company, Boston, 1881). + +Page 286. "Theseus" is from _The Heroes_ (_Kingsley's Works_, +Macmillan & Co., London, 1879). One obvious blunder in spelling has +been corrected. + +Page 311. "Thor Goes a-Fishing" is from Mabie's _Norse Stories_ +(Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago, 1902. Copyright, 1900, 1901, by Dodd, +Mead & Co.). It is printed here through special arrangement with the +holders of the copyright. + +Page 315. "Baldur" is Chapter VI of _The Heroes of Asgard_, +revised and abridged by Charles H. Morss (Macmillan Company, New York, +1909). The preface states that "this volume is really an abridgment of +Keary's _The Heroes of Asgard_, adapting it to classroom use for +pupils of about the fourth and fifth grades." The selection is +presented here as a splendid specimen of "made-over" literature, as +well as, in its own right, a masterpiece of story-telling for children. + +Page 327. The story of William Wallace is from _The Tales of a +Grandfather_ (Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh, 1889). This edition +is "reprinted from the latest edition published in the lifetime of Mr. +Lockhart, and probably under his immediate supervision." + +Page 339. "The Tempest" is from _Tales from Shakespeare_, with +introductions and additions by F. J. Furnivall (Raphael Tuck & Sons, +London, 1901). The "Tales" are very uneven in merit, the Comedies being +superior, in the editor's opinion, to the Tragedies, and "The Tempest" +being considerably the best of the Comedies. It is generally understood +that it was Mary Lamb who told the Comedies and Charles who had charge +of the Tragedies. + +Page 349. "The Purple Jar" is from "Rosamond" in a volume entitled +_Frank, Rosamond, Harry, and Lucy_ (Frederick Warne & Co., London, +n. d.). This is an inexpensive volume containing all of Miss +Edgeworth's good stories except those in _The Parent's Assistant_. +One may not care for tales of this sort; but they have their value, +both as morality and literature, and "The Purple Jar" is one of the +most effective specimens of its kind. + +Pages 354, 356. The two didactic stories by Aiken and Barbauld are from +_Evenings at Home; or, the Juvenile Budget opened: consisting of a +variety of miscellaneous pieces for the instruction and amusement of +young persons_ (Henry Washbourne, London, 1847). This edition is +described as "newly arranged." "Eyes and No Eyes" has been admired and +praised by thousands of readers of past generations, among whom Oliver +Wendell Holmes and Charles Kingsley are preeminent. + +Page 363. "Rab and His Friends" is the first sketch in _Horæ +Subsecivæ_, First Series (Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York, +1893). An accurate and inexpensive edition is that in the Canterbury +Classics (Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago). It is one of the most pathetic +stories in all literature, conforming precisely to Ruskin's theory that +a child's story should be "sad and sweet." + +Page 375. Mrs. Miller's story of the blue jay is one of the most +charming of the stories in _True Bird Stories_ (Houghton Mifflin +Company, Boston, 1903). It is reprinted in this collection with the +permission of the publishers. + +Page 378. "A Cry in the Night" is the second story in _Wood Folk at +School_ (Ginn & Co., Boston, 1903). It is printed here by special +arrangement with the publishers. Mr. Long's studies of wild animal life +are among the few distinctive contributions to children's literature +within this generation. + +Page 389. The selections from the Bible are from the King James +Version. The verse divisions in this version have been ignored in this +reprint, as having little literary significance, and the paragraphs +indicated by the paragraph marks in the original have been used as the +natural units of thought--though the paragraphing does not always +represent the thought divisions. Quotation marks have been inserted +throughout. + +From the story of Joseph, Genesis 37-50, it has been thought best to +omit the following: all of Chapter 38, Chapter 39: 7-19; Chapter 46: 8- +27; Chapter 49; 1-28. From the story of Samson, Judges 13:24 to end of +Chapter 17, one clause in the first verse of Chapter 16 has been +omitted. From the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:1-7:29, verses 27-32 +from Chapter 5 have been omitted. The discourse of Paul on Charity, +First Corinthians, Chapter 13, has been separated into paragraphs. + +Page 421. The letter of Lewis Carroll is from _Life and Letters of +Lewis Carroll_, by S. Dodgson Collingwood (T. Fisher Unwin, London, +1898). Hood's letter is from _Thomas Hood: His Life and Times_ +(London, 1907). Dickens's letter is from _Letters of Charles +Dickens_ (London, 1880). + +Page 425. Irving's essay on "Indian Character" is reprinted from _The +Sketch Book_, Author's Revised Edition (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New +York, 1888). + +Page 434. "Of Studies" is from _The Essays of Francis Bacon_ +(Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1907). The text is that of Aldis +Wright, but the spelling and punctuation have been modernized. + +Page 435. Theodore Roosevelt's spirited and characteristic essay on +"The American Boy" is to be found among the essays and addresses in +_The Strenuous Life_ (Century Company, New York, 1911), and is +here used by permission of author and publisher. + +Page 441. Patrick Henry's celebrated oration is from _Sketches of the +Life of Patrick Henry_, by William Wirt, third edition, corrected by +the author, Philadelphia, 1818, which is the first printed version of +the speech. No one really knows how much of it is Henry's, how much is +Wirt's. Wirt gives much of the oration in the third person, with many +"he said's." It is here given in the first person, following almost +precisely the version given in Tyler's _Patrick Henry_ (Houghton +Mifflin Company, Boston, 1898), which, of course, is based on Wirt's +version. All the evidence bears out the contention that Wirt's account +of the oration is authentic. + +Page 443. The "Supposed Speech of John Adams" is taken from the +_Works of Daniel Webster_ (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1853). The +speech is really a portion of Webster's oration on Adams and Jefferson, +delivered in Faneuil Hall, Boston, August 2, 1826, less than a month +after the death of Adams and Jefferson. The "Supposed Speech" is +Webster's conception of how Adams might have answered a speaker who had +argued against the passing of the Declaration of Independence. + +Page 446. This reading of the "Gettysburg Address" is taken, +punctuation and all, from the autographed copy of the address written +for the Baltimore Fair and signed November 19, 1863. The facsimile +lithographed copy of this is to be found in _Autograph Leaves of Our +Country's Authors_ (Cushings & Bailey, Baltimore, 1864). A full and +accurate account of the three versions of the address is found in the +_Century_ magazine for February, 1894. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Types of Children's Literature +by Edited by Walter Barnes + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TYPES OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE *** + +This file should be named 6588-8.txt or 6588-8.zip + +Produced by Curtis Weyant, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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