By the RT. HON. W. M. HUGHES, P.C., M.P.
Formerly Prime Minister of Australia.
War and Science between them have played havoc with the old order.
Ancient landmarks have been swept away; cherished superstitions
exposed. The World has changed, but man remains the same. His faith in
Kings may have gone, but his belief in Fairies remains. In childhood,
he lives to-day as he has lived throughout the ages, in a world which
knows not change, and where the cold, hard light of science can never
penetrate. A wonderful world, inhabited by glorious beings with
shimmering wings and glittering diadems and wands; to whom nothing is
impossible; for whom neither time nor space exist, save at their will.
“Where is this wonderful world?” sneers Mr. Gradgrind; “I cannot see
it—it does not exist!” No, not for you, my dear Sir! You are one of
those who are not privileged to pass its magic portals. But it is a
very real world for all that. It may indeed turn out to be no less real
than this, which is the only one you deem worth knowing, and which it
is very obvious you do not know at all.
It is the world in which the children of all the world live: the world
of Bogies and Dragons, Fairy Princes and Princesses, Giants and Giant
Killers. It is the world we knew so well when we, too, walked with
fearful joy amid its mystic, thrilling groves. To dull and prosaic
souls it does not exist, for, lacking imagination, they walk in outer
darkness. Those fairy forms—so real to the vivid mind—are to them but
the shadows of trees in the flickering light of the moon.
Hitherto, the Fairies we have known, though very delightful beings,
have had their habitat in far-off lands. Thanks to the researches of
Mr. Hume Cook, we are now able to wander through the enchanted Bush
with real Australian Fairy Princes and Princesses; share in the thrills
of their amazing adventures; rejoice in the triumph of virtue; and be
glad at the downfall of vice.
The dwellers in Australian Fairy Land, although akin to those of other
climes, have a distinct character of their own. Even the wicked Desert
Fairies endear themselves to us. Although they do not vomit fire, as
did the dreadful dragon of our childhood, one feels that, given a
sporting chance, they would make that boastful beast curl up like a
salted worm.
As for the other Fairies, everybody will love them. The stories are
well told, and the book is beautifully illustrated. Mr. Hume Cook’s
book is, in very truth, a really and truly Fairy Story Book, which
Australian children of all ages will read with avid interest and take
to their hearts.
W. M. Hughes.