"On the contrary," replied I, looking at the demure face of the negro; "I suspect it was _Moonshine_."
The Fairy"s Wand
A TALE OF WINDSOR PARK IN THE DAYS OF THE MERRY MONARCH
In the time of Charles II., Windsor Park stood just where it stands now, and the castle of Windsor was very often the abode of royalty, as it is now; but in those merry, but licentious times, there was much more fun and feasting going on than perhaps there is at present. Rochester was master of the revels, and the Countesses of ---- but I will say nothing about the ladies, although some of the highest of our aristocracy are descended from them. There were great preparations in the castle, for King Charles had invited down the Mayor of London, and a bevy of aldermen; not so much with a view of doing honour to the magistrates of the great and ancient city, as with the hope to extract some amus.e.m.e.nt from their peculiarities.
The fact is, that the Mayor and aldermen of London had certified to the Earl of Rochester, that they had some complaint to make and some favour to request of his Majesty. Rochester, ever willing to procure amus.e.m.e.nt for his royal master, at the same time was equally careful not to allow him to be annoyed, and therefore had contrived to ferret out that the complaint against the lords of the court, was for their foo great familiarity with the citizens" wives, and that the favour to be demanded was, a curtailment of the dress, ornaments, and expensive habits of the city ladies.--He considered this a very favourable opportunity for procuring some mirth at the expense of the corporation.
With the consent of the king, he had intimated to the mayor and aldermen, that they would be received in the evening, and honoured with a seat at the royal banquet; and at the same time he had privately made known to the lady mayoress, what were the demands about to be made by her husband, desiring her to communicate the same, under a strict promise of secrecy, to the wives of all the aldermen; and also acquainting them that his Majesty would be glad to receive the ladies on the same evening, provided that they could come without the knowledge of their husbands, which might be done by their setting off for Windsor some short time after them. It was the intention of the king, that when the mayor and corporation should present the address, they should be met face to face by their wives, and thus issue be joined.
But mortals were not the only parties who revelled in the beauties of the park of Windsor.
On the evening that this comedy was about to be enacted, there reclined under the celebrated oak, known as Herne"s Oak, in a small clear s.p.a.ce between some ferns, two of those beings called fairies who had for time immemorial taken up their quarters in that delightful retreat. Whether they were man and wife is not established, but certainly they were male and female; and as they appeared to be on the very best understanding, it is to be presumed that they were not married.
"Elda, there will be a scene to-night at the castle," said the male to the female sprite, as he tickled her nose with a blade of gra.s.s.
"Yes, Maya; how foolish those mortals are!"
"I have a mind to create even more mischief," rejoined Maya, "but if I did, you would want to see it."
"Well, and suppose I did, dearest?"
"I do not like that you should be in company with those women, Elda; those d.u.c.h.esses and countesses."
"Bless me, Maya!--what are you afraid of? my virtue?"
"Oh no, dearest! I did not mean that----"
"Then I"ll tell you what you did mean, you jealous-pated fool: you meant, that you did not like that I should be in the company of the Earl of Rochester and the King. You ought to have more respect for yourself, and more respect for me, than to be jealous of those mortals."
"Nay, Elda!"
"Yes, yes, and your reason for wanting to go alone, is to hang over that nasty d.u.c.h.ess of Portsmouth."
"Upon my honour!--"
"Your honour, sir!--you have none--there, sir, you may go."
"Oh, very well, madam; just as you please."
Certainly there was something very mortal in this quarrel, and may remind the reader of similar scenes in domestic life.
It ended by Maya walking sulkily away in the direction of the castle, and of Elda following him at a distance, determined to watch his motions.
But if these two lovers had quarrelled, there were two other beings who were indulging in a moonlight walk on the terrace, linked arm-in-arm so affectionately, so fondly, keeping exact pace for pace, and occasionally embracing each other, every one would have thought that nothing in the world could ever have disunited them. They were two young ladies of the court, aged about seventeen, just clear of their governess and bread-and-b.u.t.ter, and newly-appointed maids of honour: they were both beautiful, and had contracted a friendship, as all girls do at that age, when love has with them no precise definition. They had sworn eternal affection after an acquaintance of eight-and-forty hours--the sun and the moon, and all the stars in the firmament--heaven above, the earth below, and everything below that again, had all been summoned to register their vows; and at the time that they were then walking they would have considered it positive heresy to hint at the idea of a disagreement even in thought; but, as I have before observed, they were only seventeen years old.
Maya, who had bent his steps towards the castle, perceived these two young damsels parading up and down, and although he had not the full power of Oberon, yet he was still a highly-endowed fairy. Among other powers vested in him, he had a wand, which when it touched any fairy would change that fairy into mortal size and shape, and if it touched any mortal would produce the contrary effect, giving them for the time the size and appearance of fairies, imps, tritons, naiads, or some of those intermediate creatures, which most accorded with their mortal propensities and dispositions.
This very wand made him much feared by the other fairies, as they were often punished by him in this way, and it was only Oberon, the king, who had the power of reversing the charm; and it is said, that this very wand was one cause why his fair Elda, generally speaking, behaved so well, as he often threatened to turn her into a Dutch milkmaid; which, as she was of a very beautiful figure, would have been a very severe punishment.
It was with this wand--worn like a harlequin"s at his side--that the fairy Maya was walking up the terrace; he had changed himself to a handsome young forester, dressed in a suit of green, with bugle by his side, a cap with black feathers hanging down to his right shoulder; wearing the appearance of a very handsome young man of about twenty, and just the description of person to create a difference between two young ladies, who had half an hour before sworn everlasting friendship.
As he pa.s.sed he made a very profound obeisance.
"Who is he, dearest?" said Miss Araminta.
"Who is he, dearest?" said Miss Euthanasia, both nudging one another at the same moment.
"He bowed to _me_, said Araminta.
"No, sweetest, it was to _me_ he bowed," rejoined Euthanasia.
"Well I declare!" cried Araminta. What was to follow is not known, for the young forester had retraced his steps and now addressed the young ladies.
"Fair maids of honour, as I presume you are such," said he, taking off his cap, and displaying such handsome curls that each young lady, for the first time, thought how much better it had been if she had walked out alone, "may I inquire the cause of such revelry to-night in the royal castle?"
"The king entertains--" said Araminta.
"The mayor and aldermen," cried Euthanasia, taking the remainder of the sentence out of her friend"s mouth.
"Indeed!" replied the fairy, who then entered into conversation with the young ladies, dividing his attentions as equally as he could.
Now it so happened that Elda, who had followed Maya at a distance, could no longer restrain her jealousy when she perceived him walking and talking so earnestly, and, as she considered, really making love to these fair mortals. She took the shape of a big b.u.mble bee, and flying to him settled on his back, stinging him so severely that he uttered an exclamation of pain; and the young ladies were tenderly enquiring where he was hurt, when he felt convinced that it was Elda who had thus punished him. Fairies have consciences as well as mortals. Maya felt that he was, or what was quite as bad, that he appeared to be, guilty.
He had already repented of his quarrel with Elda; and, after receiving the condolence of the two young ladies, who vied in their attentions to him, he very suddenly took leave, resolving in his own mind that he would seek out Elda, and make friends with her, infinitely preferring her to two young bread-and-b.u.t.ter maids of honour. Thus did the fairy prove his good sense, and abandon all idea of making mischief at the castle.
Now it so happened that the sting received from the jealous Elda was so very severe, that in his jump forward Maya had allowed his wand to drop out of his belt, and when he departed he did not perceive his loss.
There it lay on the terrace, between the two young maids of honour, who already had discovered that their eternal friendship was on the wane.
They both remained silent and watching the receding figure of the handsome young forester for at least a minute and a half. At last this unheard-of duration of silence between two young ladies who had sworn eternal friendship was broken. It proved to be like the calm which precedes the tornado.
"Well, I am sure!" cried Euthanasia.
"I shouldn"t wonder," replied Araminta.
"Courtly manners, indeed!" continued Euthanasia.
"Yes, you may say that; no wonder he wouldn"t stay," responded Araminta, tossing her head.
"No; when you drove him away, miss."
"Me, miss?"
"Yes, you, miss."
"No, miss."