boat and suddenly looking up, I beheld a beautiful albatross sailing in
the sky above me. No sooner did the graceful creature catch sight of the
head of the sprat than it swooped down upon the tin that contained it,
snatching it from my hands, and flew off with it as speedily as
possible. Now it happened I had not let go my hold on the line, the
other end of which was still fastened to the tin, so that in a very few
minutes I felt myself lifted bodily up and whirled through the air and
out to sea at a great speed. Dangling many feet beneath the great bird,
on and on I was carried over the tops of the waves, in the greatest
anxiety lest the marauding fowl should take a lower flight, in which
case I should inevitably have been plunged into the sea and drowned.
'How many miles we travelled thus it would be impossible for me to tell,
but at length my arms grew tired of holding on and supporting my weight,
and I began to fear every moment that I should slip off into the sea,
when I beheld a fishing-boat in the distance, right in our course.
Hoping that we should reach it before my strength gave out I anxiously
watched the vessel as we gradually drew near. At last I found myself
directly over the boat, and shutting my eyes, I let go my hold on the
line, and dropped down right on to a pile of fish in the middle of the
deck, sending them flying in all directions amongst the astonished
fisherman.
[Illustration: I FISHED AND FISHED AND FISHED]
'My remarkable appearance amongst them had the most astonishing effect
upon the fishermen. They one and all leapt into the sea, and
notwithstanding my endeavours to entice them back to the boat, and to
explain to them my sudden descent upon their vessel, the affrighted
creatures swam off to the distant shore, which, let us hope, they
reached in safety.
'Looking around me I now discovered, to my great joy, that the boat was
full of the finest fish, so, seizing the oars, I turned her head towards
home, where I arrived with my prize on the following morning, after a
hard night's work, rowing the heavily-laden craft to shore.
'The rejoicings were great, as you may well imagine, when my good
parents and brothers and sisters beheld me again, for all had given me
up for lost, our old boat having been washed ashore the previous
evening. A great meal of fish was prepared as soon as possible, at which
we all ate heartily after so long a fast, and the old gentleman's
condition was greatly improved by the meal.
'Long before the large supply of food had been consumed, the good living
and comfort had restored our dad's health, and he was able to resume his
fishing. Being now so much better equipped with the fine boat in which I
had returned, and with the splendid tackle we discovered therein, good
luck always attended his fishing and we never wanted any more.
'In the course of time it became necessary that their children should
all leave them and seek their fortunes, and only yesterday morning, with
many tears, we bade adieu to our kind-hearted parents and started on our
journey.'
The young strangers were now all thoroughly refreshed by their
breakfast, and learning the nature of the campaign upon which the King
and his army were engaged, willingly offered their assistance as
camp-followers, or in any other way that they might be useful. The King
very gratefully accepted their services, and before resuming the march
the whole army went out of their way and visited the kindly fisherman.
The King was pleased to confer many honours on the old fellow, and,
before leaving him, promised to look after his numerous family, and in
the future to provide for all their wants.
[Illustration: tailpiece]
[Illustration: vignette]
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE SIEGE OF TROY]
[Illustration: headpiece]
THE SIEGE OF TROY
Early one fine morning, before the soldiers had arisen, the King, in a
very excited state, called his general to his bedside and, pointing
through the opening of his tent, said:--
'Bill, can you see, far away upon the horizon, that little point of
light?' And Bill, straining his eyes in the direction indicated, was
indeed able to detect a little flash, as though the sun were shining
upon a cucumber frame many miles away.
'Well,' said the old man, 'that is the reflection of the sun upon the
dome of my palace in Troy.'
Bill, delighted that at last they were nearing their journey's end, went
off and awakened the camp with the glad news, and all came running out
and gazed in the direction of Troy; and so heartened were the brave
fellows at the sight that they gave three resounding cheers.
Their eagerness to be off was so great that there was no breakfast that
morning, and soon performing a hurried toilet, and speedily packing up
their sticks, they were on the move once more. The King's excitement
knew no bounds and, after distributing amongst his followers the
contents of his pocket, he insisted on climbing out of his chariot, and
giving each of his officers in turn a ride therein. Having travelled
some little way, the King suddenly called a halt, and held up his hand
for silence, and then, in the clear air, could be heard the bells of
Troy! More excited than ever, the King now took off his crown, and
removing some of the jewels with the pen-knife which Bill had presented
to him on his birthday, gave one to each of his chief officers.
In a little time the towers of Troy came into view, on the further edge
of the great plain they were crossing, and the elated King, quite beside
himself with joy and expectation at this glorious sight, stood upon the
seat of his chariot and danced, much to the alarm of Boadicea, who was
wheeling him. He then sat down again, and, taking off his slippers, he
threw them, one by one, as high into the air as he could, and caught
them as they descended. As they came nearer and nearer to their goal the
old fellow's spirits rose to such a pitch that something really had to
be done, so the musician was told-off to play soothing tunes to him, and
in time the excitable creature calmed down, only, however, to break out
again when they halted that night before the walls of Troy. At last, to
keep him quiet once and for all, and out of everybody's way, they put
him to bed with a soothing-draught made up by the doctor.
The approach of the gallant fellows had been closely observed from the
watch-towers of the city, and, in consequence, they found the gates fast
closed when they halted before them. And, as nothing could be done that
night, they fixed up their camp and retired to rest.
On the following morning, Bill sent the merchant's wife as an
ambassadress into the city, to demand its instant surrender, and very
gladly she undertook the task.
[Illustration: Closely observed from the watch towers]
'This is quite in my line,' said she, as she knocked for admittance at
the gate, through which she was admitted after a little delay. Bill
waited anxiously for her reappearance, hoping that the King of Persia
would be wise enough to give up the city without further trouble, but
suddenly a great roar resounded from the other side of the walls, and
almost immediately afterwards the ambassadress, with tufts of the
Persian King's hair held between her clenched fingers, was thrown out of
the gates.
'There's nothing for it now,' thought Bill, 'but to lay siege to the
place,' and he at once proceeded to walk round the city and examine the
nature of the ground; after which he mustered his whole force before
him, and disposed them according to the accompanying plan:--
[Illustration: PLAN OF SIEGE]
In this way Bill completely surrounded the city, allowing no provisions
of any kind to enter, and prepared to wait until the inhabitants had
exhausted all their stores, and could hold out no longer.
These were the instructions of General Bill to his army, to be
faithfully carried out during the siege:--
1. That the King was not to be allowed out of his tent on any
account, in spite of his impatience.
2. That, with the exception of the general and the scout, no warrior
was allowed, without his officers permission, to leave his post, day
or night, during the siege, and if any one were discovered sleeping
without one eye open, his allowance of sugar for porridge next
morning was to be stopped.
3. That the scout was to be continually on the move.
4. That Boadicea was to prepare all the meals, and that at each meal
time she was to take the food she had cooked to the soldiers (an
extra large portion being always reserved for the King).
5. That every morning, with breakfast, she was to take to each his
boots brightly polished, a bowl of hot water to wash in, and a comb,
and that every evening she should bring them their slippers and
their night-shirts.
For three years the siege went on, in quite a peaceful and, at times,
even a pleasant way, with no sign at all of the Trojans feeling any
discomfort; in fact, since the Merchant's Wife had been turned from the
city, not a sound had been heard from within the walls.
Now it happened one morning, about this time, that the gates, to every
one's surprise, were thrown open, and a messenger, with a flag of truce,
came forth. The poor fellow looked hungry enough, indeed, yet the
Merchant's Wife roughly seized upon the famished creature, much to his
annoyance, and brought him to the general. Bill, hoping that he had come
with an offer from the King of Persia to surrender the city, joyfully
handed the young man a chair and a biscuit, and, before allowing him to
speak, insisted on his eating a bowl of hot porridge. When he had
hungrily demolished the food, Bill kindly invited him to deliver his
message, which, in a hesitating manner, he thus proceeded to do:--
'The King of Persia sends greetings to his dear old friend, the King of
Troy, and wishes to assure him that he bears no ill-will towards him. On
the contrary, his happiest moments are spent in recalling those far-off
times when, as young children, they played the livelong day together, in
good-will and friendliness. He also begs him, for a few minutes, to
allow his natural kindness to overcome his enmity, and send his old
friend, now faint with hunger, enough suet to make just a little pudding
for himself.'
Bill, a trifle disappointed, took the message to the King of Troy, who
seemed very much affected on hearing it.
[Illustration: THESE PARCELS WERE NOW LABELLED]
'Give the old fellow a cracknel,' roared he, 'and tell him that if he
surrenders the city at once, he can have as nice a snack of dinner as he
could wish.'
The messenger returned to the city with the message and the cracknel,
and Bill waited all through the day and night, but no word came from the
city.
After breakfast next morning, when, as Bill thought, the King of Persia
would be feeling hungry, he called to him the nine stout sons of Crispin
and Chloe and then summoned to him the Merchant's Wife and the Sicilian
Char-woman, and between them they managed to wrap up each of the brave
lads in brown paper, properly secured with strong string, making nine
very neat parcels. The general had previously instructed the brave
fellows how to act at the right moment, and in the meantime to remain
perfectly still. These parcels were now labelled severally lemon cheese
cake, fairy cakes, rock cakes, Jumbles, raspberry noyeau, mince pies,
Pontefract cakes and peppermint cushions, and then all neatly piled upon
the King's wheeling-chair, which Bill had borrowed for the purpose.
Solemnly preceded by Bill, the Merchant's Wife and the Char-woman (being
the two strongest people in the forces) now wheeled the chair up to the
gates, in front of which they emptied its contents.
The hungry Trojans had observed their approach, from the walls above
which could now be seen innumerable heads popping up and down, and no
sooner did they see what the chair was supposed to contain than they
climbed down, and without any hesitation opened the gates. Bill then
spoke to the Trojans in the following words:--
'The King of Troy sends greetings to the King of Persia and hearing that
his stores are exhausted, and, although at war with him, not wishing
that he should suffer any serious discomfort, begs his acceptance of
these provisions.' Bill and the two ladies now retired with the empty
wheeling-chair and took up their position before the walls once more.
In the meanwhile the parcels were taken into the city and presented to
the King of Persia who was then sitting, with the whole of his court,
hungrily wondering what was going to happen next. The parcels were
heaped up before him, and he could hardly conceal his delight and
eagerness to begin on the victuals at once. All his courtiers too seemed
quite inclined to forget their manners and help themselves before they
were asked. The King now took up the largest parcel, labelled Pontefract
cakes, which happened to contain Hannibal, when at a given signal each
one of the courageous young fellows broke from his confinement and at
once set on those around him. Hannibal and Noah seized the Persian King
and bound him securely with some of the string from the parcels; each of
the other brave sons of Crispin bound some minister or courtier in the
same way, and the rest of the court fled from the palace in abject
terror.
The nine lads now gave chase, and the panic which possessed the
affrighted courtiers spread, in no time, through the city, and the whole
of the inhabitants were soon fleeing before the infuriated fellows.
Possessed with the idea that their pursuers were in much greater force
than they really were, the scared wretches made for the gates of the
city, out of which they ran as hard as they could. Bill, the General,
wisely allowed them to pass through his lines, which they did in the
maddest terror, and then fled far away over the plain, as the besieging
forces once more closed in around the city.
Seeing that the gates still remained open, Bill now marshalled his
gallant army, and in one grand procession led them into the city.
[Illustration: AND PACKED HIM OFF TO PERSIA]
In front of all solemnly marched the General; then the Real Soldier;
then the Merchant's Wife; then the Sicilian Char-woman, proudly waving
her flag; then followed a number of Bill's charges, the Ancient
Mariner, the Doctor, Camp-followers, the Musician playing triumphant
music on his concertina, more Camp-followers, the Respectable Gentleman,
the Scout, the Wild Man, yet more Camp-followers, the Merchant, and,
last of all, preceded by the graceful Triplets, came the proud and glad
old King himself, wheeled in great state by the faithful Boadicea, and
guarded by the principal policeman of Troutpeg. The nine stout sons of
Crispin, together with the remaining children, formed a guard of honour,
extending from the city gates as far as the front door of the Palace,
into which the excited and Royal old creature entered at last amid the
cheers of his gallant followers.
His first act was to release the King of Persia, and after accepting
very graciously his humble and sincere apologies for his unkindness, the
clement old fellow gave him a good breakfast and packed him off to
Persia. In a like kindly manner he treated the courtiers, after they had
all suitably begged his pardon; and the inhabitants, who came trooping
back as soon as they heard how graciously the rightful King was
behaving, one and all clamoured to shake the delighted old monarch by
the hand and pay their homage to him.
Thus, after all his trials and privations, this Royal and kindly
creature was restored to his throne. The crown was done up and
beautifully polished, and the old King once more crowned in great state.
To show his gratitude to his brave and faithful followers he appointed
them all (with the exception of the Triplets, who soon returned to
Blowdripping) to places of honour in his court. Thus:--
[Illustration: TROY BECAME THE HAPPIEST TOWN]
BILL, Commander-in-chief of the Army.
THE REAL SOLDIER, General under Bill.
THE SCOUT, Officer of the Army.
NINE SONS OF CRISPIN, Bodyguard to the King.
THE CAMP-FOLLOWERS
AND OTHERS, The Army.
BOADICEA, Royal Housekeeper.
ANCIENT MARINER, Admiral of the Fleet.
SICILIAN CHAR-WOMAN, Head Char-woman to Royal Household.
THE MERCHANT'S WIFE, Superintendent of the Prison.
THE DOCTOR, Court Physician.
PTOLEMY JENKINSON, King's Valet.
RESPECTABLE GENTLEMAN, Master of Good Behaviour to the
Royal Household.
LONG MAN, Hall Porter at Royal Palace.
MUSICIAN, Court Musician.
WILD MAN, Park Keeper.
POLICEMAN, Preserver of the Peace.
With such a gallant court and brave army around him the dear old man was
saved from further troubles in his State during the remainder of his
long and happy reign. In fact Troy became the very happiest town in the
world, and the old King's noble followers were so contented with their
lot that they never again left the city of Troy.
[Illustration: THE END]
[Illustration: vignette]
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes
Illustrations have been moved, when they interrupted paragraphs in the
original. The list of illustrations has retained the page references in
the original book.
The only intentional changes to the text are the following corrections
to typographical or printer's errors:
Page 25 deleted hyphen in 'cocoa-nut' (the slabs of cocoanut ice)
Page 149 added missing quotation mark at end of the paragraph (...my
great courage and astute generalship.')
Page 247: Missing closing single quote added (to make just a little
pudding for himself.')