THE PANTOMIME.
The evening arrived. We drove into town rather earlier than usual.
My mother let me peep through a little slit in the curtain to see if
the house was full. The play commenced, and was as follows: First,
there came a most beautiful fairy, and said, "Elements, I beg your
aid; come forward! and be not afraid." Immediately a water-fall that
was pouring over some rocks divided, and a most beautiful fairy came
out, and said, "Queen, I come at thy command, what would'st thou
have?" "Be patient, spirit." Then the Fairy of Air appeared, and said,
"Queen, what would'st thou?" "Be patient." Then the Fairy of Earth
came right out of the floor, and said, "O Queen, I come at thy call."
"Be patient." Then the Spirit of Fire came forth out of a rock with a
loud hissing noise, and said "What would ye have me do? I'll burn down
houses and land, nor deal with a partial hand." "Stop," said the Queen,
"none of this! Instead of hurting, I want you all to befriend, a poor
young man, who goes to get the talismanic wand, which will put him
in possession of the most beautiful princess in the world. Therefore
I request that you shall aid him." Then they all answered, "Whatever
is thy will, we do." The next scene was a wood, where this young man
passes through, and is attacked by demons, snakes, bears, and all sorts
of bad things. At length he goes to sleep, and I appear to him in a
sun, and hold a scroll, which says on it, "Persevere! the fairies,
thy guardians, are ever near." Then the scene changes to a demon's
place of resort. Here all is fire and demons, with square faces, and
some with hump-backs and goggle-eyes, claws, wings, and tails. The king
then said, "Ye devils of lower regions, come forward!" And instantly a
whole troop of devils, of all shapes and sizes, came forward. He then
told them that he wanted them to exert themselves, and try to keep that
young man from getting the wand, so that he could not get the princess.
Then one of the devils said that he would go and misguide him; and so
he dressed up as a handsome young man, and went and met this man that
was going to get the wand, and said, "Friend, where goest thou?" "I
go to seek the wand." "You do! why then you have got the wrong path."
"I have! why 'twas only a minute ago that an old man said that I had
the right path, if I went to seek the wand." "Do not believe him; he
lies; that is the way which lies open before. Take that path there.
Adieu!" The young man that was to seek the wand, said, "How lucky that
I met that man; for if I had not I should have gone the wrong way, and
missed the princess for ever." Then there was a clashing sound, and I
appeared in the sun, and held another scroll, which said, "That young
man is a demon disguised, and has led you into the wrong path. Take
this ball and throw it before you, and wherever it rolls, you follow."
I threw him down a ball. He then followed the ball, and disappeared.
The next scene was, where the "Fairies" were, and they sung splendidly.
Presently the Queen came through the air, riding in a chariot, drawn
by peacocks. She said, "Listen, Fairies." Then the fairies said, "We
will." The Queen said, "The young man will soon reach the palace where
the wand is kept. I wish you to help him across the 'Golden Lake.' Now
disperse." Then all the fairies disappeared. The next scene was, where
the demons were, again; and the demons screamed horribly, and the King
came through the air, in a coach, drawn by serpents, and said, "Hark,
Demons;" and the demons said, "We will." The King said, "The young
man, who will soon be at the palace in spite of our endeavors, is to
cross the 'Golden Lake;' and I wish you to do all in your power to
prevent him from getting the wand. Now go;" and all the devils went.
The next scene was the palace, where the wand was kept, and the young
man got the wand in spite of all the devils and bats, owls, serpents,
dragons, and ghosts. As soon as he had got the wand in his hands, the
devils all uttered a scream, and went through the floor, and a chariot
came through the air with the "Princess," (who was my mother) and the
"Fairy Queen." The scene changed to a most beautiful garden, with the
palace of the sun at the back, and the sun over it, and I in it. All
the performers were on the stage at once, and danced a "Fancy Dance."
This ended the pantomime, or rather spectacle, for nearly all spoke.
After the performance, a little girl came in the dressing-room, and her
father and mother. My mother saw that she cast longing eyes at me, and
so she stepped up, and said, "Will you be so kind as to accept of this
Doll?" The little girl said she would.
[Illustration: _The Pantomime P 60_]