golden cloak was read at the court, which had long been awaiting the
return of Anjah and his suite, and when his fine person, and the helmet
with the snowy plumes, were described, his subjects and friends, of
course, felt very sure that it was no other than their own prince, and,
as the country was not far distant, a cavalcade was dispatched to make
certain of the truth, and to attend him to his home. The King was not
yet dead, but illness had so impaired his intellect that he had become
perfectly imbecile and unfit to govern, and, in the absence of any
acknowledged head, the affairs of the State were getting into sad
confusion. When the messengers arrived, and were shown into the presence
of Balzebar, although at first surprised to find that he could not speak
one word to them, yet the moment he arose and displayed his glittering
cloak before their eyes they felt ready to fall down at his feet, and
acknowledge him their prince. Besides, the royal helmet and the white
plumes, would, of itself, have been sufficient to convince them, if
there had been no other proof; so, sending a herald before them with the
joyful news that it was indeed the long-absent one, they prepared to
escort him to his kingdom. The Queen could not leave the palace, on
account of the weak state of the King, her husband, but the prime
minister and all the courtiers, with crowds of the common people, went
to the very outskirts of the kingdom to meet the Prince, and, sending
her love and kind messages by him, the Queen sat herself down to await
as patiently as possible the arrival of her son. When the prime minister
was shown into the presence of Balzebar he started back in astonishment,
“Could this be Prince Anjah, this stunted being?” yet here truly was his
helmet and his snowy plumes, and then here, too, was his cloak of gold
with which the rest of the courtiers were so blinded that they never
thought for a moment of doubting that this was their prince indeed, but
were as loud and instant in praise of his fine person and noble mien as
all others had been before them. Disgusted with their shortsightedness,
the prime minister, who was wiser than the rest, and never for a moment
supposed that a noble youth like Anjah could have become this deformed
and withered thing, whose ugliness no cloak of gold could conceal from
him, turned to address the unconscious cause of so much error; instead
of an answer came a low, indistinct muttering and mystical signs. The
truth flashed upon the mind of the prime minister--this was Balzebar,
the poor little idiot mute, and, peering beneath the helmet, which, with
the plumes, concealed his countenance, almost as much as the golden
cloak did his person, recognised the dull, unmeaning eyes and the
expressionless mouth of the poor dwarf. Keeping his discovery in his own
breast, and pretending to share in the delusion of the rest, he prepared
to join in the procession which was to attend Balzebar to the palace,
but, before reaching the gates of the city, under pretence of hastening
home to prepare for the better reception of the Prince, he obtained
leave to arrive at the palace before the rest, in reality to reveal his
discovery to the Queen, and to prepare her mind for the great
disappointment that she must feel, in not being able to welcome her son
to his home. She wept bitter tears when he told his tale, and she
thought of the probable fate of Anjah; but she was a high-souled woman,
and bore herself in her misfortunes like a queen. She agreed with the
minister that it was far better to encourage the infatuation of the
people till such time as the fate of Anjah should be decided, than to
allow a person of more energy and address to get the present possession
of the throne, from whom it would be impossible to wrest it, if he
should still be alive. But their consultation was interrupted by the
noisy shouts from without, which warned her of the approach of the
procession. She instantly recognised Balzebar, whom she received as if
he were indeed her son, and he was installed at once in the Prince’s
apartments in the palace, where all did him homage; and as, day by day,
he used to show himself in his golden cloak on the balconies, his
subjects became more enthusiastic than ever, and would greet him with
shouts that rent the very skies. Preparations were immediately made for
the ceremony of the coronation of the Prince (for the King seemed to be
past all hope of recovering his reason), which, owing to the liberality
of the people, who loved to honor their idol, was to be on a larger
scale than any ever before known, and the whole kingdom seemed united in
a desire to do homage to so great a prince.
About this time one morning a vessel hove in sight, and was spoken, and
from the replies it was gathered that in it was the Prince Anjah, with
his bride the Princess Merea; that the former had been shipwrecked, and
was now returning, with all his train, to his native land. The news
spread like wild-fire; great crowds came down to see the vessel; but it
was at once determined on all hands that the new comer was an impostor,
and that he should not be allowed to land; indeed, so great was the
indignation manifested, they fired upon the ship, which hastily withdrew
from the harbor out of their reach. What must have been the feelings of
Anjah, who, after years of absence and escape from so many dangers, was
thus greeted on coming in sight of his native shore, which he had left
years before, followed by the blessings of the people. One thing was
very certain; it was folly to attempt to land while there was such a
feeling of opposition abroad, so they removed out of harm’s way, and the
vessel was anchored at a distance, but not out of the view of all, for
from the towers of the palace the mother of Anjah was watching the
ship, for she, as well as the prime minister, had heard of the arrival
of the stranger, and all day had been maturing their plans to restore
Anjah to his home and his rights, and were only waiting for the night to
seek the vessel, and bring him, his bride, and his companions on shore.
Accordingly, as soon as it was dark, one or two devoted servants of the
Queen, who were entrusted with the secret, went out in boats till they
reached the ship, and there revealed to the Prince the state of things
at home, and prevailed on him and his followers to return with them.
They were landed as secretly as possible, and gained the palace without
detection. Here they were met by the Queen and the prime minister; the
former embraced her long-lost son and his bride with the most fervent
affection, and they recounted to each other all the trials and dangers
to which both had been subjected. It seems that Anjah had remained in
the kingdom of Merea’s father till a vessel had been fitted up for him,
and, fearing to be again parted from Merea, after the shipwreck, which
had so nearly sundered them for ever, Anjah had determined, ere his
departure, to make her his wife, so that she might accompany him to his
home. When the ship was in readiness the nuptials had been celebrated,
and they had set sail. Anjah recounted to his mother and the minister
the history of the shipwreck, of the loss of Balzebar, the royal helmet
and plumes, and of the golden cloak. The Queen and the minister, in
their turn, related to Anjah the subsequent history of Balzebar, the
infatuation of the people, and that on the morrow he was to be crowned
King with great pomp. They all tried to devise some plan which, if
adopted, might bring all things to their true and proper position. At
last Anjah thought of a way of revealing himself to Balzebar, for upon a
public recognition of him by the poor dwarf himself seemed to hang his
only chance of being acknowledged. The night was spent in revolving this
scheme, which was heartily approved by all.
On the morrow, early in the morning, a great crowd was assembled before
the palace, each striving to be foremost to get a place where they
might witness so august a ceremony. All things were prepared on the most
magnificent scale; music resounded in peals to the skies; trains of
cavalry and infantry, with their glittering arms flashing in the sun,
were filling in the courts; in the midst was a platform under an awning,
on which was placed a throne prepared for Balzebar, and when all was in
readiness he was led forth. As the shouts of admiration went up, the
dwarf lolled idly in his seat, and toyed with the golden sceptre that
was presented to him; his dull eye wandering without expression over the
assembly. Anjah, in disguise, placed himself in front of him, and
presently, when directly in his line of vision, raised the cap that
shaded his brow, and gave him a full view of his countenance, at the
same time fixing on him his eye. Balzebar was transfixed with
astonishment for an instant; then, with a cry of joy, rushing forward,
tore off the royal helmet and the golden cloak, and threw them, with
himself, at the feet of Anjah. A low murmur arose from the crowd as the
well known and despised dwarf, Balzebar, was before them, revealed in
all his natural hideousness. At this moment the prime minister, who
stood near at hand, threw the cloak of gold over the shoulders of Anjah,
and placed the helmet with the white plumes upon his lofty brow, and, as
they knew their true prince, a shout so triumphant arose from the
assembled multitude that it seemed like the breaking of thunder.
No farther notice was taken of Balzebar, but the crown was placed on the
head of Anjah, who now brought forward the Princess Merea, and presented
her as his spouse, and their future Queen. The whole procession returned
to the palace, in which Anjah was received as the reigning prince. The
King, though he recovered sufficiently to recognise his son, remained
still too weak in mind to admit of his assuming the reins of government,
which he quietly resigned to his heir, and passed a quiet and peaceful
old age, cheered by the kind attentions of his Queen and his
daughter-in-law, the Princess Merea, to whom he became tenderly
attached. As for Balzebar, he returned to private life with a much
better grace than many others who have been thrown down from a less
exalted position. He was ever an intimate of the palace, and was
appointed by the King as “Keeper of the Royal Helmet and Golden Cloak,”
a post for which he had before showed himself particularly fitted, and
to which he thenceforth, as before, remained faithful. He lived long
enough to follow the son and daughter of the Prince and Princess as he
had done their father and mother before them. As for Anjah and Merea,
they ever retained the good opinion and admiration of their subjects,
and bequeathed a prosperous and peaceful kingdom to their heirs.
VIII.
THE WONDERFUL BIRD.
Once upon a time an old man felt himself to be dying, and, calling his
family (consisting of three sons, named Obed, Mozam, and Sadoc) to his
bedside, took leave of them one by one, according to the fashion of the
east, and, after recommending to their joint protection an aged uncle,
who had long been unable to take care of himself, and bidding them be
honest and industrious, he addressed them thus:--“My sons, I leave you
in possession of this cottage, its furniture, and a small amount of
treasure in gold, the fruits of many years’ labor, and I wish you to
remain here like brothers, and work together in amity till the death of
your uncle, so that he will not be a burden upon either of you; besides
this, I am able, by means of the power which has latterly been given me,
to foresee future events, and to predict that to one of you will come
good fortune through the means of a wonderful bird, who is to be the
cause of this great wealth. To which of you it is to come I cannot
determine, nor is it of much importance that you should know; it is only
required of you each to do his duty, and leave all the rest to
Providence.” Obed and Mozam were delighted to hear this good news, each
one secretly thinking himself the fortunate one; but poor Sadoc, who was
the youngest, and the most dutiful of the three, was so grieved at the
prospect of parting with his dear father, who had always been so kind
and indulgent to him, that he thought little about this prophecy, as he
sat by the bedside, and closed the eyes that should never again look
upon him with the light of life and love.
After his father was dead he sat by his corpse till, overcome by
weariness (the result of previous long watching), he fell asleep. His
brothers had retired to rest early in the evening, and he had supposed
them slumbering for hours before; but about midnight the eldest, Obed,
who had not undressed himself, hearing the deep, regular breathing of
Sadoc, which assured him that he would not easily awaken, stole softly
into the room, and, finding the keys, took the box of money from under
the bed, and unlocking it, secreted all the gold that he could find in
his pockets, and, taking a small bundle of clothes in his hand, started
off as rapidly as possible, leaving the body of his father still
unburied in the house.
The next morning, when it was discovered that Obed had gone, and that
the strong box had been robbed of all its treasure, the second son,
Mozam, was loud in his exclamations against the wickedness and
ingratitude of his elder brother; but Sadoc felt so disgraced by his
conduct he said hardly a word in his grief, but silently went on with
the preparations for his father’s funeral, and had him interred with all
the appearance of decency and respect possible, in the absence of the
first-born son, he who should have been the principal mourner, and at
night retired to rest less sad, from feeling the happy consciousness of
having done his duty.
And now it was shown that Mozam was in reality no better than his
brother Obed, for no sooner was Sadoc fast asleep in his own bed than
the second brother arose and let into the door several men who had been
waiting outside, and, with their assistance, loaded a cart with all the
effects of the cottage that were movable, and drove off with them to the
pawnbrokers, who advanced on them a sum of money, with which he made
off, as his brother had done before him. When Sadoc arose in the morning
he found every article of furniture missing, with the exception of his
own and his uncle’s bed, and a few old worthless pots and pans; and his
aged relative was seated in the chimney-corner on an old settle, gazing
around with a stare of dismay on the scene of devastation. While Sadoc
remained shocked, speechless, he heard a sort of chuckling noise, and,
looking to see from whence it proceeded, found that an old speckled hen
had stolen a nest in some wool that lay under the seat of his uncle, and
was there sitting upon a large number of eggs. Here, thought poor
Sadoc, is another mouth to feed, and, going into the granary, picked up
a few grains of corn and some seeds which he threw to the hen. He then
sat down sadly to devise a plan by which he could get bread for himself
and his helpless dependent. Had he been alone there would have been no
difficulty; the wide world would have been before him, and, with his
energy and perseverance, he could soon have achieved a fortune without
the intervention of any wonderful bird, and he must now give up any
hopes he might have had of finding it. He felt that his father’s last
injunction, to take care of his poor idiot brother, was, now that his
elders had both proved themselves unworthy of their trusts, doubly
binding upon him, so he went out and hired himself to the first master
that he could find, as a common laborer, and toiled hard all day for a
few scanty pennies, which bought just bread enough to keep himself and
his uncle from actual starvation, and a few crumbs for his old hen.
After going on a week or two in this way, he came home one night and
found the hen had brought out a large brood of chickens. He had now to
work harder to procure them a little food also, on which they seemed to
thrive; and as spring advanced, and the warm weather came, the old man
used to let them out of the coop, and wandered with them about the
meadows, where they picked up worms, grasshoppers, and such seeds as
they could find, and they grew through the summer so well, that by the
time of the Christmas market, they were as plump as partridges, and half
of them sold for quite a little sum of money, which he laid by, and sold
the eggs of the remaining ones for enough to pay for their food during
winter. In the spring, most of them bringing out large broods, he had
quite a lot of chickens for the fall market, and eggs to sell all the
summer, so that he found after several seasons that he had money
enough--the proceeds of his eggs and chickens--to purchase a little spot
of rocky ground close beside his cottage, where he meant his uncle
should amuse himself, in picking up stones, and planting a few turnips
and cabbages. Now we leave him happy and contented, though in poverty
so deep, and see what has become of his brothers, who went off to seek
the wonderful bird.
On the night that Obed had stolen away with the gold, when he had
reached an eminence just beyond, he looked back on the little cottage,
where his father’s body lay, and where his brothers were so peacefully
sleeping, and his conscience smote him for a moment, for the wrong which
he was doing them; but quickly stifling the voice within, he said to
himself, “It is now too late to return and replace the money; I should
probably be discovered, while doing it, and then the disgrace would be
the same; besides I shall, no doubt, be soon able to give them back ten
times the value of that I have taken with me; for when I obtain this
wonderful bird, which is to make the fortune of one of us, and as I am
the oldest, I feel certain that it is my own, I shall come back again,
and enrich them all. I should really do them a greater injustice if I
staid at home till this money should be spent, and deprived myself of
the means of finding it, than by going now, and making a certainty of
securing it.” And thus having succeeded in quieting all scruples, he
went on as fast as he was able, till after several days, having gone a
long distance, he began to proceed on his course more leisurely, without
fear of pursuit. And now his mind began to be more and more upon the
wonderful bird, and he listened to all the tales of travelers of the
birds of Paradise, and of the desert bird, of the owls that hooted
dismally through the woods, and the nightingales that cheered the
darkness with their melody. Great flocks of birds passed over his head,
eastward, and westward, and southward; some of the most beautiful
plumage, but none ever stopped in their flight to point him to the
treasure that he longed for, but they soared away out of his sight. At
last, after a long time, he heard of a bird, which had been known to do
many wonderful things. It was said to have it in its power to foretell
future events; had pointed out to many persons the places where they
found lost money and goods, and was in all respects a most remarkable
fowl. “Now,” thought Obed, when stories of its superior powers were
recounted to him, “I am coming at last to the object of my desires; this
is the bird by whose means I am to realize the great prediction made by
my father, and now I can congratulate myself upon the wisdom of the
course which I have pursued, in putting myself in a way to find this
marvelous creature. I might have staid at home all my lifetime, and have
been no richer, though all this fortune (the secret of which this bird
no doubt possesses,) stands waiting for me.” So losing not a single
moment, he set off to the place where it was being exhibited. He reached
an inn at the town that same night, and made so many inquiries
concerning it, as to awaken the attention of all present. Among the
rest, stopping at the tavern were two men, who seemed disposed to be
very sociable with him. They treated him to drink, and professed to feel
a great and sudden friendship for him; they threw him completely off his
guard, and before he retired to bed he had told them all about the
prophecy of his father, and was silly enough to reveal to them that he
carried a bag of money with him. After he left the room, they sat
whispering together, and laughing about him, and then calling him a
great fool, as he was to be sure, they followed him to bed likewise. Now
these two very men belonged to the company that were exhibiting the
bird, and were stationed at the inn on purpose to gain all the
information that they could about the people in the town, so that they
could by means of the bird, convey to them such a knowledge of their own
private affairs, as to surprise the credulous at once into a belief of
its supernatural powers. They had got all the information they wanted
concerning Obed, and early in the morning left the inn, to get the
conjurer who managed the bird, in readiness to receive him, while he lay
dreaming of being in a world where every thing was turned into gold.
As soon as the hour appointed for the performance of its magical tricks
had come, Obed presented himself before the bird. It was a macaw, with
brilliant plumage; under its feet was a plate, marked like the dial of a
clock; it would walk three times around this, and presently, with one
of its toes, point to a particular mark, which the exhibiter pretended
to interpret and explain. When Obed stood before it, it began to flutter
its wings, and showed great signs of agitation, which was said to be
because it was going to predict some great fortune to him. This at the
offset so prejudiced Obed in its favor, that he was prepared to believe
every word that followed. The bird then walked round the dial three
times and pointed to a mark; the exhibiter commenced explaining it. At
first, he repeated as much of Obed’s plans and history as the two men
had picked up the night before, which gave him, in the course of fifteen
minutes, such confidence in its ability, that had the bird told him to
go to the bottom of the sea in search of the treasure, he would have
been almost stupid enough to have done it; but they told him no such
thing, for they were not at all desirous of putting him out of the way
till they had got possession of his bag of money.
They told him to wait till night came, and then to go alone to a cave,
which they pointed out to him, about half a mile distant from the town,
through the woods, where he would find an old hermit, who would meet
him, and show him where he could find an immense, treasure. They then
dismissed him.
Obed was so impatient to come into possession of his wealth, he scarcely
ate or drank all day, and as soon as it was dark, set off in search of
the cave. After groping about for a long while, and falling down several
times, he came at last upon it, and was rather surprised at not finding
the hermit in waiting for him; but seeing a torch approach, concluded
that it must be he; but was soon much surprised at seeing instead three
men, two of whom he recognized as the same who had been the night before
at the tavern. They came upon him, and suddenly seizing him, gave him a
most unmerciful beating. They then bound him hand and foot, and took
from him his money; and after making themselves merry for a while at his
expense, left him lying upon the ground half dead, telling him that no
doubt the hermit would come and show him the treasure before morning.
There he lay all night, moaning and crying, and then came to his mind
thoughts of his own undutiful conduct, in leaving his brothers
unprovided for, and he felt that he was only justly punished for all his
wickedness. He was not only half frozen with the cold, but was in a
fright lest some beast of prey should come upon him in this helpless
state, all bound as he was, and mangle or devour him; but he was
relieved from the worst of his fears in the morning; for a company of
sailors passing that way going to their vessel, found him in this
pitiable condition; they helped him up on one of their mules, and
bearing him to the inn, from whence he had come, made inquiries,
concerning the two men, and the owners of the bird, but found they had
gone off early the evening preceding; and though great exertions were
made by the people of the town, almost all of whom had been in some way
or other deceived by them, no traces of them could be found.
Now poor Obed knew not what course to pursue; he had no money, to return
to his native home; and even if he had, shame would have prevented his
doing so; he therefore accepted the offer of the sailors, that he
should join them, and go on board the ship; and while he is passing a
life of toil and hardship upon the perilous ocean, let us go back and
trace out the history of his second brother, Mozam.