"Let us go into that pretty dell, where the fawns are at play, and
gather some of the flowers," said Pepitia. To this they all readily
assented, and ran skipping and singing into the dell. Some pulled long
rushes and sat themselves down to weave little baskets; some gathered
nosegays, some played with the fawns. Presently one of them said, "Oh!
suppose we have a dance."
"Yes, yes, yes, so do," cried a dozen little voices.
"But there's no music," objected the queen, "we can't dance without
music. How I wish we had some!"
"I'll hum a tune," said Sophia; and she immediately began one.
"No, that's so stupid," said Amanda.
"Oh!" screamed a little boy. "Look there!"
"Look where? What's the matter?" cried they all.
"Why, look at that big yellow thing," replied the child, pointing to a
large gourd which lay upon the ground, "it's opening all by itself!"
And sure enough it was slowly opening, as if it were a monster mouth
taking a lazy yawn. The children clustered together and watched it
eagerly, when, to their great amazement, out popped a little figure, not
more than six inches high, dressed in a suit of sky blue velvet with
white lace ruffles at the throat and wrists. The dress was fastened down
the front and at the knees by diamond buttons; diamond buckles were in
its shoes, white silk stockings on its legs, and on its head a crimson
cap with white feather. As soon as this quaint little figure jumped out
of the gourd he was followed by another, and another, and another, till
there were a full score of them, all dressed exactly like the first, and
each carrying a tiny musical instrument in his hand.
As the last jumped out the gourd closed, and the leader of the
Liliputian band stepped a few paces in front of his fellows, and, taking
off his feathered cap, made a low bow to the king and queen, then,
without speaking a word, he sprang on to the foremost branch of a white
Mayflower bush, which was in full blossom, and immediately his little
companions perched themselves on different branches behind him, and
began tuning their tiny instruments.
The children, full of glee, arranged themselves for a dance, the band
struck up "Sir Roger de Coverley," and away they all went, their little
feet keeping time to the music as truly as the leader's tiny baton. They
danced, and they danced, and they danced, till they were too tired to
dance any more, then they flung themselves down to rest; upon which the
little leader of the band jumped down from his perch and placed himself
on a broad smooth leaf, that two of his band spread on the grass
opposite to where sat the king and queen.
He made a low bow to their majesties, the band struck up, and the little
fellow commenced dancing a _pas seul_. If you had seen him prancing and
capering about the leaf, now with his arms akimbo, going jauntily round
and gracefully bending his body from side to side, keeping time to the
music as he did so; now suddenly clasping his hands above his head,
whirl rapidly round and round till he got to the front edge of the leaf,
and then, springing into the air, come down on the very tips of his
pointed shoes; if you had seen all this I think you would have laughed
and shouted as loudly as did Rosetta, Minette, and all the rest of the
little folks. When the droll fellow had finished his dance he flourished
his feathered cap, made a low bow, and backed to where his companions
were standing. The gourd slowly opened again, and each little fellow
making his bow, popped in as quickly as he had popped out; then the
gourd closed, and nothing more was seen of the little musicians that
day.
The children gathered round the gourd and tried to open it; tapped at
it; called to the little musicians to come back; bent down their pretty
heads to listen; but all was useless, no sound came from it, and they
might as well have tried to open the oak tree 'neath which they stood as
it.
Now, for fear you should think that the good fairy had left these little
children to take care of themselves entirely, to cook their own food,
wash their own clothes, make their own beds, and all that sort of
work--for children, you know, cannot do these things for themselves, and
that is why they are always so good and obedient to mammas and papas and
kind aunts, who see to all these things being done for them--I will tell
you what queer, droll little beings she left in the island to attend to
the domestic concerns of the young king and queen and their little
subjects.
Just shut your eyes and fancy you see a little brown figure with small
dark eyes, like black beads, sharp nose, thin lips, and glossy red hair,
combed off the face, plaited into a long tail behind, and tied by a bow
of black ribbon. Then fancy this little figure, with arms so long that
they reach to its knees, dressed in a dark blue smock frock without
sleeves, a red leather belt round its waist, dark red trousers on its
legs, and green morocco shoes on its feet; then call it a Noman, and you
will see precisely the sort of beings which were left to wait on the
young inhabitants of Child Island. They were all alike and all dressed
alike; they used to make their appearance and begin to dust and sweep,
and light fires, and such like, just after cock-crow every morning, and
they all disappeared every night directly the children were safely
tucked in bed. They came all together and they disappeared all together,
but where they came from or where they went to nobody ever knew, so you
must not expect me to tell you.
I daresay you will think these Nomen a strange race, but I am going to
tell you something stranger still concerning them, and that is that none
of them could talk, no--not one!
Was not that odd? They had some way of talking amongst themselves by
means of signs, but the only words they could say to their young masters
and mistresses were, "nob, nob," which meant no, and "yah, yah," which
meant yes. These they uttered very quickly, and nodding their heads at
each sound.
Now, the good fairy had charged these little beings to be very kind and
attentive to the children; to cook their meals and serve them nicely,
and to keep their houses in pretty order.
She also charged the children to be kind and gentle to the Nomen; never
in any way to tease, annoy, or insult them, for if they did, the fairy
said, and she looked very grave as she said it, "some punishment would
immediately follow." This Master Edmund found to be quite true, when one
day he attempted to kick the Noman who was brushing his hair, for as he
raised his leg to kick, an invisible hand pulled the other from under
him, and Master Edmund measured his length on the floor. So, also, Miss
Sophia, who said one day, whilst looking in the glass, admiring herself
and sneering at the Noman who was fastening her frock, "What a fright
you are with your squiny eyes and red hair! I shouldn't like to be such
a fright as you are." Upon which she immediately felt a sharp prick on
her nose, whereon a large red pimple, as big as a cherry, made its
appearance; her frock was torn to tatters, and on going to her wardrobe
for another she found it quite empty, so she had to wear her rags all
that day, as it was not until the next that the clothes came back to her
wardrobe, and the pimple left her nose. I warrant me she will never be
saucy to the Nomen again!
Master King Philip had a lesson of the same kind once, at his dinner
table, when all his court were dining with him. Calling to one of the
Nomen who were waiting, "Make haste, you brown rascal, and fill me a
glass of wine!" the words were scarcely out of his mouth than he got a
smart sounding slap on his face, and his elbow was violently jerked, so
that he spilt all his wine, whereupon the little lords and ladies
tittered, and some were so uncourtly as to laugh outright, and say it
"served him right," which made Master King Philip wish he had not been
so bounceable.
One evening, after they had been some weeks on the island, the king told
his courtiers to prepare for a butterfly hunt, which he intended to have
the next day. Early on the morrow they all assembled at the palace,
attired in green and white, and each carrying an ivory rod, at the end
of which was a green net, with which to catch the butterflies. On
reaching the top of the staircase the little lords went to the
dressing-room of the king, and the little ladies to that of the queen.
Her majesty was dressed in white satin trimmed with green.
"Won't you wear your crown?" asked Rosetta.
"Well, I don't know," said the queen, in an undecided tone of voice.
"Ought I? Won't it be too heavy for the chase?"
"Oh, but kings and queens always wear their crowns when they go
out--don't they?" said Rosetta, appealing to her companions.
"Yes, yes; to be sure they do. Wear the crown--do wear the crown!" they
all cried, clapping their hands.
Pepitia did not require much persuasion on the subject, as she dearly
liked to be finely dressed. And, indeed, when she had put it on, and
also her velvet train lined with satin and trimmed with ermine, I must
confess she did look a charming young queen. The little Dorinda was so
struck with her appearance that she screwed up her face into a comical
expression of surprise, and, holding up both her hands, exclaimed--
"Oh, my! Aren't you smart!"
"But I don't like the way your hair is done," said Amanda, who was
disposed to be quizzical.
"Don't you?" rejoined the queen, tartly. "Then you needn't."
Amanda was on the point of making an equally tart reply, when
fortunately the king appeared at the door, and so interrupted the
threatened dispute. He also wore his crown and train, and, moreover, he
carried the ball and sceptre in his hand; for this little monarch was
not disposed to part with any of the insignia of royalty, and thought he
might as well not be a king if he did not wear the grand trappings
belonging to his office.
Then the whole party went down into the hall to be marshalled into
proper order by Alphonse, who always took upon himself to be master of
the ceremonies whenever he could get a chance. This was not effected
without a vast deal of chattering and confusion; and report says that
one or two sounds like "Shan't!" "Shall!" were distinctly heard,
followed by what sounded like, and probably was, a slap.
The little train-bearers were especially difficult to manage, owing to
their constantly wanting to speak to one or other of their companions in
the rear, which inclination occasioned their majesties several
unmajestic jerks from behind, and, of course, called forth a sharp
reprimand from the majesty so pulled; the only effect of which was a
vast deal of giggling amongst the little girls, and the making of droll
faces by the little boys.
"Please, queen, Edmund's making a face!" cried a little lady-in-waiting,
looking at the culprit and speaking to the queen.
"Oh, you story-teller!" cried Edmund, indignantly. "I ain't."
"I'll box your ears if you do so again, you rude boy," said the queen,
turning sharp round on the guilty Edmund. At this threat the urchin made
a queer grimace, and then pretended to cry, sobbing out, "Oh, please,
queen, don't!"
[Illustration]
At length all were got into their proper places, and the procession set
out. The king and queen, with their train-bearers, marched first, then
strode consequential Master Alphonse, and the rest of the party
followed, two and two, all singing a jingling rhyme as they marched, and
swinging their nets to the tune. This is what they sang:--
"Bring your nets and make haste;
Come away to the butterfly chase,
Up the meadow and through the dell,
By the path we know so well;
Shout loud, jump high,
And haste to catch the butterfly."
When they came to the dell where most butterflies were to be found they
all separated and got their nets ready, whilst Alphonse took a thin
switch and gently beat amongst the flowers, which grew in great
profusion.
Presently a cloud of large, brilliant butterflies flew up, and the
children, shouting, started off in chase of them. The train-bearers were
not proof against the excitement of the moment, and, quite forgetting
their post of honour, scampered off pell-mell with the rest, leaving
their majesties looking rather foolish.
"The rude little things, to run off in that manner!" cried the queen.
"Here, I say, you Alphonse!" shouted the king, forgetting his dignity,
"come back! I shan't play if you're going off like that. Come back."
But Alphonse was too busy chasing a brown and gold butterfly to heed
King Philip or anybody else.
Just then there flew past an immense butterfly with wings of crimson,
black, and gold. Philip immediately forgot all about being a king; away
went ball and sceptre, and off he started in full chase. Now the queen
loved butterflies no less than the king, so no sooner did she see him
take to his heels than she started off in pursuit of the same butterfly.
Away they both went, their trains flying behind them, over hillocks and
through bushes, quite regardless of their fine clothing.
The butterfly led them a fine dance; many a time they thought they had
got it, but it always managed to fly off just as the extended thumb and
finger were about to close upon it. Philip and Pepitia were tired,
though by no means inclined to give up the chase, when the butterfly
burrowed itself deep into a convolvulus flower that grew on the top of a
not very high bank.
"Now we shall have him," cried Philip, as they both scrambled up the
bank. But, alack and alas! Pepitia's foot got caught in her long train
just as she got to the top of the bank, and down she fell, roly-poly, to
the bottom.
Poor Pepitia! she quite forgot she was a queen, and began to cry most
lustily, not the less because she could not use her arms to raise
herself, for in her tumble she had got so rolled round and round in her
train that she could not move her limbs.
Philip ran quickly to her assistance, and soon extricated her from her
embarrassment, but as she still continued to cry, he tenderly, for he
was a tender-hearted boy, sat her down on a grassy mound and tried to
console her.
"What is the matter? Have you hurt yourself, dear?"
But Pepitia only sobbed and sobbed instead of answering, partly because
she was hurt, and partly because she was vexed, and the poor little king
began to fear she would never leave off crying.
"I wish that Alphonse and the rest would come back," said he, feeling
disposed to pick a quarrel with "that" Alphonse when he did come.
(_To be concluded._)