Fergus Hume

“ There was no light in the room, except the red glimmer of the fire that flickered and flared on the wide hearth, roaring up the great chimney, as if it was grumbling to itself at having to go out into the cold, cold night.
Now, I am very fond of the firelight in a dark room at such an hour, for it casts strange shadows, which put strange fancies into my head, and I tell these strange fancies to good children, which pleases them very much. For the children I tell them to are very wise, and believe in these strange fancies, calling them faery tales, as indeed they are. ”

“ Then he found a third, a fourth, a fifth castle, all deserted and in ruins. It seemed as though all the giants were dead, and Gillydrop, in despair at the sight of such desolation, was about to fly back to Faeryland, when he suddenly thought of the voice which had said:
“Never more come back you need,
Till you’ve done some kindly deed.” Poor Gillydrop was now in a dreadful plight, and, folding his weary wings, he dropped to the ground, where he sat in the hollow of a buttercup, which was like a large golden basin, and wept bitterly. ”

“ Much to Duldy’s surprise, at the first kiss the foam bracelet seemed to grow loose, at the second it fell off his wrist and lay on the floor like a white ring, and at the third it vanished with a loud noise.
Duldy was overjoyed that he was now free from the power of the enchantress, and led the Princess out on to the balcony which overlooked the river. It was a beautiful night, and Duldy saw the great white peak of Kel shining against the dark blue sky, and the heaving waters of the river at his feet. Just as he kissed the lips of his Princess, a confused noise sounded from the city below. ”

“ The trees around were now tall slender pillars of white marble, and between them hung long curtains of emerald velvet. The pool was still in the centre, with its broad white water-lilies asleep on its breast, but it was now encircled by a rim of white marble, and reflected, not the blue sky, but an azure ceiling, upon which fantastic patterns in gold reminded me somewhat of the intricate traceries of the trees. High up in the oval ceiling, in place of the moon, there hung a large opaque globe, from whence a soft, cool light radiated through the apartment. ”

“ He seemed to be in the centre of a wide plain, over which hung a pale white mist, through which glimmered the soft light. The shadows were all gliding about this plain; some thin, some fat, some tall, others short; they all appeared to have business to do, and each appeared to be intent only on his own concerns. Tom’s own shadow kept close to him, and whispered constantly in his ear of strange doings.
“These are the shadows of the past and of the future,” it sighed; “all the shadows of human beings and their doings are here; see, there is a funeral.” ”

“ Everything that human beings most desire was given to this lucky baby, on whom the name of Lanis was now bestowed by the universal voice of all the faeries present.
“All these are beautiful gifts,” said Eldina, weeping, although she half smiled through her tears, “but they do not bring happiness.”
“They bring happiness if wisely used,” cried Titania.
“Then give him the power to use them wisely,” pleaded the poor mother.
“We cannot—we cannot,” sighed the faeries; “the power rests with himself.”
“Will he never find happiness?” cried Eldina in despair. ”

“ Duldy turned, and saw the tall column of flame still glowing fiercely red. Afterwards it changed to a beautiful rose colour, and out of it there stepped a handsome youth of his own height and age, dressed in a short red tunic, with golden sandals, and a flashing band of jewels bound round his head. His face was as bright as the sun, and under his skin Duldy could see a rosy flushing, as though fire was burning inside him, while under his feet were the dull red embers and flickering flames. ”

“ A splendid hall it was, all of white marble, with a roof of fretted gold, and rich curtains of pale blue velvet hanging between the slender pillars. The throne of solid gold flashed like a jewel, and Duldy’s feet sank in the soft velvet carpets as he stood before the King, a royal-looking man with a crown of silver, for in Aurea silver was thought to be much more precious than gold. ”

“ At last, after many years of weary travel, when he had grown a white-haired old man, with bent form and sad heart, he found himself on the shore of a great sea, beyond which he knew lay the most wonderful countries. A boat was rocking on the waves near the shore, so Lanis determined to sail over this mysterious ocean, and thought that perhaps far away in the darkness he might find the Kingdom of Shadows, for which he had sought so long and ardently. ”

“ The King and Queen were much taller than their subjects, and Oberon was dressed in a green hunting-suit, with a crown of dewdrops on his head and a silver wand in his hand; while Titania wore a delicate pink robe made entirely of rose leaves, and her golden hair streamed from under a wreath of lilies of the valley, a spray of the same flowers being in her tiny hand. ”

“ By the advice of the King, however, Queen Flora told nobody about the transformation which took place at sundown, and always put the Princess to bed herself every night. Then, as the sunlight died out of the western skies, the pretty baby would change into a delicate white rosebud, and rested on a velvet cushion beside the Queen’s bed every night. At the first golden ray of the sun the bud changed to a beautiful Princess once more, and no one ever knew that she was only a flower transformed for the day into a human being. ”

“ I asked quickly; for, you see, he looked so old and ugly that I thought he must be one of the underground faeries.
“I’m not a goblin,” he replied in an angry, shrill voice, like the wind whistling through a keyhole. “It is very rude of you to call me a goblin—a nasty thing who lives under the earth, and only cares for gold and silver. I’m a faery—a very celebrated faery indeed.” ”

“ Wait till he breaks his heart, and he will be a famous singer indeed.”
“But will he be happy?” she asked quickly, as the old man turned to go.
“No: genius is the gift of heaven, but it always brings sorrow to its possessor; the laurel wreath is a sign of honour, but the leaves are bitter.”
Eldina looked steadily into the eyes of the old man, and saw that he was a faery who had come to warn her of approaching sorrow. She strove to detain him and learn more, but the faery had vanished, and her hands only grasped the rags of a scarecrow which stood in the fields. ”

“ The palace was built of silver and ivory, and adorned with pale blue velvet hangings, upon which were painted the most exquisite pictures in the world. It stood on a high green hill, and far below lay the immense city of Buss, with its wide streets, many towers, and glittering fountains. As the King and Queen looked down from their beautiful castle on to the mighty city and great green plains which surrounded it, they ought to have been happy, but, curious to say, they were not. ”

“ But they all came out of the mist and went into the mist, only appearing on the white plain for a few minutes, like the shadows of a magic lantern.
“The stage of the world,” whispered Tom’s shadow. “Birth, death, and marriage, triumphs and festivities, joys and sorrows, all pass from mist to mist, and none know whence they come or whither they go.”
“But what has this got to do with me?” asked Tom, who was feeling rather bewildered.
“You are a man,” said his shadow reproachfully, “and must take an interest in all that men do ”

“ That rosebud is my daughter.”
“Given to the King and Queen by me,” said Rosina sweetly. “They did not know how to rule, and as I knew this revolution would take place, I wanted to provide an heir to the throne.”
“But the white rose cannot reign,” said Ardram, rather bewildered.
“Not now, but wait till the sun rises,” cried the fairy. “Ah, here is the first yellow beam! Now look.”
Every one looked at the white rosebud lying on the floor, and then a yellow beam which struck through a painted window, creeping nearer and nearer till it shone on the white bud. ”

“ You see this splendid room—it is still the glade, and still the room; only it depends upon your sight being lightened or darkened.”
“It doesn’t look a bit like the glade.”
“You don’t think so, of course,” said Phancie kindly; “but I will explain. The white pillars are the trunks of the trees; the green curtains between are the green leaves; the ceiling is the blue sky; the white globe that gives light is the moon; and the golden fretwork on the ceiling is the leaves and boughs of the trees shining against the clear sky.” ”

“ Poor Kelch went away with tears in his eyes, because old Hocky was known to be very wealthy, and how could an unknown youth hope to become rich when he had no one to help him? It was no good feeling sad, however, for sorrow would not help him to win Filina, so Kelch determined to go to the castle of the Wicked Baron who lived in the centre of the forest, and ask him to make him a present of some gold. ”

“ There are no towns in Giantland, because the giants are not very fond of one another, and prefer to live by themselves in lonely castles among the mountains. Gillydrop knew this, but, although he looked on every side, he could see no sign of any castle, until at last he suddenly came on one which was quite in ruins, and so tumbled down that no one could possibly dwell in it. He flew on, feeling rather afraid, and came to another castle, also in ruins, with a huge white skeleton lying at the foot of a high tower, which was no doubt the skeleton of the giant who had lived there. ”

“ Then the crowd of shadows around Tom looked at him with their mournful eyes, and a whispering question ran through the fantastic throng,—
“Which will he choose?—which will he choose?”
“I will choose the honest life,” cried Tom loudly. “Yes, I will give back the purse to the poet.”
At this the shadows around seemed to rejoice, and he could see beautiful faces smiling at him from amid the crowd. The shadow multitude broke in a wild dance of joy, keeping time to some aerial music which Tom could not hear ”

“ Ever afterwards, Teddy and Tilly were good children; there never were two such good children, because they thought, if they were not good, they would be taken back to the Giants’ Country and boiled for an ogre’s supper. But after a time they liked to do good actions because they found it pleasant, and Dame Alice was so pleased with their behaviour that she made a rhyme about them, which soon passed into a proverb:
“The magic power of a faery
Cures a child when quite contrary.” ”

“ Besides, you don’t know what strange fancies come to me when the moon is shining.”
“What kind of fancies?” asked Berl, who was a somewhat dull youth.
“Oh, all sorts of beautiful things,” replied Lurina dreamily; “lovely little men and women dressed in green, who dance lightly on the emerald turf, and strange, sweet songs which sound like rushing water and the whispering of leaves. I dream about them when I’m in the wood, but nowhere else.”
Berl was now convinced that Lurina had faery blood in her veins, and attended the festivals of the faeries, which she called moon fancies ”

“ HOW THE RED ELF RAN AWAY FROM FAERYLAND.
FAERYLAND lies between the Kingdom of the Shadows and the Country of the Giants. If you want to reach it you must sail across the Sea of Darkness, which rolls everlastingly round these three strange places, and separates them from our world. Then you journey first through the Giants’ Country, the inhabitants of which are very like ourselves, only larger and fiercer, with very little spiritual nature in their enormous bodies ”

“ Some day mortals will punish thee.”
“No, no,” said Puck, shaking his head; “why, they don’t believe faeries exist.”
“You hear?” sighed Oberon, looking at me gravely; “you mortals don’t believe faeries exist.”
“I do, your Majesty,” I answered eagerly; “and when I return to earth, I will do my best to convince other people. Besides, sire, children always believe in faeries.”
“Yes, the dear children!” cried Titania brightly; “they are our best friends. Ah, children will always believe in us, although they do not see us.” ”

“ Feeling very delighted that he had attained his object, he left the castle of the Wicked Baron and jumped across the brook. When he did so, the magic castle disappeared, and Kelch, with the gold in his pockets and the ring upon his finger, followed the windings of the brook until he arrived back at the oak tree.
“Oh, you’ve got back!” cried the Owl, putting out her head.
“Yes; and I’ve got the gold, thank you,” said Kelch cheerfully.
“Much good may it do you,” hooted the Owl, and withdrew her head again. ”

“ When she arrived at the age of eighteen, a young woodman called Berl fell in love with her, and, after some hesitation, Lurina promised to become his wife, provided he let her do exactly as she pleased, and did not stop her night wanderings.
“You can go into the forest whenever you like,” said Berl, kissing her; “but why do you not come when the sun is bright, instead of the feeble moonlight?”
97“I don’t like the sun,” said Lurina, pouting, “it makes everything so hot and disagreeable; but the moonlight is so soft and beautiful that I love it. ”

“ So when the faeries want to visit our earth, they do not cross the Giants’ Country, but come in another way which is known only to themselves. Having thus explained how these three countries lie, I will now tell you of a naughty elf who, disobeying the King’s command, lost himself in the Giants’ Country, and of the difficulty he had in getting back to Faeryland.
The elf’s name was Gillydrop, a beautiful little creature all dressed in clothes of a pale green tint, which is the favourite colour of the faeries, as every one knows who has seen them dance in the moonlight. ”