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DAVY AND THE GOBLIN

WHAT FOLLOWED READING "ALICE'S ADVENTURES
IN WONDERLAND"

CHARLES E. CARRYL

3111 u s t r a t e U

BOSTON

TICKNOR AND COMPANY

1886

and 1SS5
By TICKNOR AND COMPANY

All risrhts reserved

PRESS OF

ROCKWELL AND CIllKCIIILL

BOSTON

PBOPEETY OF THE
Crn OF NEW YOEK

G266880

TO GUY.

Dear little Boy, upon these pages find

The tangled fancies of thy fatheji's mind,

Born of the hours when thou, a little child,

Throned on his knee in breathless rapture smiled.

Hearing entranced the marvels that were told

Of fay and goblin in the days of old.

Would that the glamour of those cloudless days

Might cheer thee still, what time the toilsome maze

Of riper years hath banished fairy lore —

And blithesome youth hath fled to come no more !

CONTENTS.

PAGE

CHAPTER I.
How THE Goblin came 11

CHAPTER H.
The Beginning of the Believin<^ Voyage ... 19

CHAPTER HI.
In the Sugar-Plum Garden 28

CHAPTER IV.
The Butter SCOTCHMEN ........ 37

CHAPTER V.
Jack and the Bean-stalk's Farm 42

CHAPTER VI.
The Giant Badorful 53

CHAPTER VII.
The Moving Forest 63

CHAPTER VIII.

SiNDBAD the Sailor's House ...... 79

g CONTENTS.

PAGE

CHAPTER IX.

Lay-overs for Meddlers ....... 96

CHAPTER X.
RiBSY 99

CHAPTER XL
Robinson Crusoe's Island ........ 110

CHAPTER XII.
A Whale in a Waistcoat 123

CHAPTER XIII.

The Talking Waves and the Old Sea-Dog . . . 134

CHAPTER XIV.
The End of the Believing Voyage 145

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

Davy and the Goblix fbontispiece

" ' I'll steer,' said the Goblin " 17

"Next came Mary Farina" . . . . . . 20

The Rabbit takes liberties with Davy's property . 21

"I'm a Cockalorum," he softly murmured ... 26

"The Crowd began to hustle him across the room" 31

" Bells were pealing in all directions "... 38

" The Goblin turned his telescope toward him " . 41

Mother Hubbard sings a Song 45

Standing on his head 47

"Careering on a Goat" 48

" Just listen to this " 55

" Cockalorum hemmed in by a ring of pitchforks " . 61
" ' Venison is deer, isn't it ? ' said Davy, looking up

AT THE sign" 65

"'How many Watches do you want?' said Sham-
Sham, IN A PEEVISH voice" 69

ILLUSTRATIONS.

"Sham-Sham, exclaiming, 'Don't tell me a watched

POT NEVER boils!' BEGAN FIRING AT THE WaTCHES " 75

The Cockalorum is ill 77

"The Savage was sitting in the shade of one of

THE Dusters" 85

" He played HOP-SCOTCH WITH THE STARBOARD WATCH " 91

" He gave one hand to Davy and the other to the

Goblin" 94

"Just hold my basket, like a good child" ... 97

" The Cabman had climbed up on the top of the

cab and was throwing stones at the horse " . 101

"Robinson remarked, 'He has left oltt the greatest

lot of comical things ' " 114

"If THE ROADS ARE WET AND MUDDY, WE REiNIAIN AT

HOME AND study" 117

"The Cockalorum carefully inspected the marking" 126

" ' I'm pretty well, I thank you,' said Davy " . . 127

" ' I'm as nimble as a sixpence,' said the avhale '' . 131

Davy assists the old Sea-Dog 137

" ' Avast ! ' says he, ' we'll bear away ' " . . . 140

He play'ed with dolls and hujneviing-tops . . . 141

Davy falls into the elastic spring .... 151

"'Freckles,' said the Goblin, 'what time is it?'" . 154

"Davy felt morally certain there was going to be

A scene" 157

The End of the Believing Voyage . ... . . 161

DAVY AND THE GOBLIN;

OR, WHAT FOLLOJl'EB READING -ALICE'S ADVENTURES

IN wonderland:'

CHAPTER I.

HOW THE GOBLIN CAME.

It happened one Christmas eve, when Davy was about
eight years old, and this is the way it came about.

That particular Christmas eve was a snowy one and a
blowy one, and one generally to be remembered. In the
city, where Davy lived, the storm played all manner of
pranks, swooping down upon unwary old gentlemen and
turning their umbrellas wrong side out, and sometimes
blowing their hats quite out of sight; and as for the old
ladies who chanced to be out of doors, the wind came upon
them suddenly from around corners and blew the snow into
their faces and twisted their petticoats about their ankles,
and even whirled the old ladies themselves about in a very
painful way. And in the country, where Davy had come
to pass Christmas with his dear old grandmother, things were

12 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

not much better; but here people were very wise about the
weathei', and stayed in-doors, huddled around great blazing
wood fires; and the storm, finding no live game, buried up
the roads and the fences, and such small fry of houses as
could readily be put out of sight, and hoAvled and roared
over the fields and through the trees in a fashion not to be
forgotten.

Davy, being of the opinion that a snow-storm was a thing
not to be wasted, had been out with his sled, trying to have
a little fun with the weather; but presently, discovering
that this particular stoi'm was not friendly to little boys, he
had retreated into the house, and having put his hat and his
high shoes and his mittens by the kitchen fire to dry, he
began to find his time hang heavily on his hands. He had
wandered idly all over the house, and had tried how cold
his nose could be made by holding it against the window-
panes, and, I am sorry to say, had even been sliding down
the balusters and teasing the cat; and at last, as evening
was coming on, had curled himself up in the big easy-chair
facing the fire, and had begun to read once more about the
marvellous things that happened to little Alice in AVonder-
land. Then, as it grew darker, he laid aside the book and
sat watching the blazing logs and listening to the solemn
ticking of the high Dutch clock against the wall.

Then there stole in at the door a delicious odor of dinner
cooking downstairs, — an odor so promising as to roast
chickens and baked potatoes and gravy and pie as to make
any little boy's mouth water; and presently Davy began

HOW THE GOBLIN CAME. 13

softly telling himself what he would choose for his dinner.
He had quite finished fancying the first part of his feast,
and was just coming, in his mind, to an extra large slice
of apple-pie well browned (staring meanwhile very hard at
one of the brass knobs of the andirons to keep his thoughts
from wandering), when he suddenly discovered a little man
perched upon that identical knob, and smiling at him with
all his might.

This little man was a very curious-looking person indeed.
He was only about a foot high, but his head was as big as a
cocoanut, and he had great, bulging eyes, like a frog, and a
ridiculous turned-up nose. His legs were as slender as
spindles, and he had long pointed toes to his shoes, or rather
to his stockings, or, for that matter, to his trousers, — for
they were all of a piece, — and bright scarlet in color, as
were also his little coat and his high-pointed hat and a queer
little cloak that hung over his shoulder. His mouth was so
wide that when he smiled it seemed to go quite behind his
ears, and there was no way of knowing where the smile
ended, except by looking at it from behind, which Davy
couldn't do, as yet, without getting into the fire.

IS^ow, there's no use in denying that Davy was fright-
ened. The fact is, he was frightened almost out of his
wits, particularly when he saw that the little man, still
smiling furiously, was carefully picking the hottest and
reddest embers out of the fire, and, after cracking them
like nuts with his teeth, eating them with great relish.
Davy watched this alarming meal, expecting every moment

14 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN

to see the little man burst into a blaze and disappear;
but he finished his coals in safety, and then, nodding
cheerfully at Davy, said : —

" I know you ! "

"Do you?" said Davy, faintly.

" Oh, yes ! " said the little man. " I know you per-
fectly well. You are the little boy who doesn't believe
in fairies, nor in giants, nor jn goblins, nor in anything
the story-books tell you."

[N^ow the truth was that Davy, having never met any
giants when he was out walking, nor seen any fairies
peeping out of the bushes in the garden, nor found any
goblins sitting on the bedposts about the house, had come
to believe that all these kinds of people were purely im-
aginary beings, so that now he could do nothing but
stare at the little man in a shamefaced sort of way and
wonder what was coming next.

"]N^ow, all that, " said the little man, shaking his finger
at him in a reproving way, — " all that is very foolish
and very wrong. I'm a goblin myself, — a hobgoblin, —
and I've come to take you on a Believing Voyage."

"Oh, if you please, I can't go!" cried Davy, in great
alarm at this proposal; "I can't, indeed. I haven't per-
mission."

"Rubbish!" said the Goblin. "Ask the Colonel."

ISTow, the Colonel was nothing more nor less than a
silly-looking little man, made of lead, that stood on the
mantel-shelf holding a clock in his arms. The clock never

HOW THE GOBLIN CAME. 15

went, but, for that matter, the Colonel never went either,
for he had been standing stock-still for years, and it
seemed perfectly ridiculous to ask him anything about
going anywhere, so Davy felt quite safe in looking up
at him and asking permission to go on the Believing
Voyage. To his dismay the Colonel nodded his head,
and cried out, in a little, cracked voice : —

"AVhy, certainly! "

At this the Goblin jumped down off the knob of the
andiron, and skipping briskly across the room to the big
Dutch clock, rapped sharph^ on the front of the case
with his knuckles, when, to Davy's amazement, the great
thing fell over on its face upon the floor as softly as
if it had been a feather-bed. Davy now saw that, instead
of being full of weights and brass wheels and curious
works, as he had always supposed, the clock was really
a sort of boat, with a wide seat at each end; but, before
he had time to make any further discoveries, the Goblin,
who had vanished for a moment, suddenly reappeared,
carrying two large sponge-cakes in his arms. ]!^ow, Davy
was perfectly sure that he had seen his grandmother put-
ting those very sponge-cakes into the oven to bake, but
before he could utter a word of remonstrance the Goblin
clapped one into each seat, and scrambling into the clock
sat down upon the smaller one, merely remarking: —

"They make 23rime cushions, you know, and we can
eat 'era afterwards."

For a moment Davy had a wild idea of rushing out

16 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

of the room and calling for help; but the Goblin seemed
so pleased with the arrangements he had made, and,
moreover, was smiling so good-naturedly, that the little
boy thought better of it, and, after a moment's hesitation,
climbed into the clock and took his seat upon the other
cake. It was as warm and springy, and smelt as deli-
ciously, as a morning in May. Then there was a whizz-
ing sound, like a lot of wheels spinning around, and
the clock rose from the floor and made a great swoop
toward the window.

"I'll steer," shouted the Goblin, "and do you look
out sharp for cats and dogs," and Davy had just time
to notice that the Colonel was hastily scrambling down
from the mantel-shelf with his beloved timepiece in his
arms, when they, seated in the long Dutch clock, dashed
through the window and out into the night.

™- =S2E~ «^A

; 111' " \n \\^\r^

BEGINNING THE VOYAGE. 19

CHAPTER II.

THE BEGINNING OF THE BELIEVING VOYAGE.

The first thought that came mto Davy's mind when
he found himself out-of-doors was that he had started
off on his journey without his hat, and he was therefore
exceedingly pleased to find that it had stopped snowing
and that the air was quite still and delightfully balmy
and soft. The moon was shining brightly, and as he
looked back at the house he was surprised to see that
the window through which they had come, and which he
was quite sure had always been a straight-up-and-down,
old-fiishioned window, was now a round affair, with flaps
running to a point in the centre, like the holes the
harlequin jumps through in the pantomime.

"How did that window ever get changed into a round
hole?" he asked the Goblin, pointing to it in great
astonishment.

"Oh," said the Goblin, carelessly, "that's one of the
circular singumstances that happen on a Believing
Voyage. It's nothing to what you'll see before we come
back again. Ah!" he added, "there comes the Colonel!"

Sure enough, at this moment the Colonel's head ap-
peared through the flaps. The clock was still in his
arms, and he seemed to be having a great deal of

20 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

trouble in getting it through, and his head kept coming
into view and then disappearing again behind the flaps in
so ridiculous a manner that Davy shouted with laughter,
and the Goblin smiled harder than ever. Suddenly

the poor little man made
a desperate plunge, and
had almost made his way
out when the flaps shut
to with a loud snap and
caught him about the
waist. In his efforts to
free himself he dropped
his clock to the ground
outside, when it burst
with a loud explosion,
and the house instantly
disappeared.
~> This was so unex-

' pected, and seemed so
serious a matter, that
Davy was much dis-
tressed, wondering what had become of his dear old grand-
mother, and Mrs. Frump, the cook, and Mary Farina, the
housemaid, and Solomon, the cat. However, before he had
time to make any inquiries of the Goblin, his grandmother
came droj^ping down through the air in her rocking-
chair. She was quietly knitting, and her chair was gently
rocking as she went by. ^ext came Mrs. Frump, with

NEXT CAME MARY FARINA.

BEGINNING THE VOYAGE.

her apron quite full of kettles and pots, and then Mary
Farina, sitting on a step-hidder with the coal-scuttle in
her lap. Solomon was nowhere to be seen. Davy, look-
ing over the side of the clock, saw them disappear, one
after the other, in a large tree on the lawn, and the
Goblin informed him
that they had fallen
into the kitchen of a
witch-hazel tree, and
would be well taken
care of. Indeed, as
the clock sailed over
the tree, Davy saw
that the trunk of it
was hollow, and that a _

fe> '.

bright light was shin-
ing far underground;
and, to make the mat-
ter quite sure, a smell
of cooking was com-
ing up through the hole. On one of the topmost boughs
of the tree was a nest with two sparrows in it, and he
was much astonished at discovering that they were lying
side by side, fast asleep, with one of his mittens spread
over them for a coverlet. I am sorry to say that Davy
knew perfectly well where the other mitten was, and was
ashamed to say anything about it.

"I suppose my shoes are somewhere about," he said,

THE RABBIT TAKES LIBERTIES WITH DAVT'S PROPERTY.

22 DAVY AND THE ' GOBLIN.

sadly. " Perhaps the squirrels are filling them with
nuts."

"You're quite right," rephed the Goblin, cheerfully j "and
there's a rabbit over by the hedge putting dried leaves into
your hat. I rather fancy he's about moving into it for the
winter."

Davy was about to complain against such liberties being
taken with his property, when the clock began rolling
over in the air, and he had just time to grasp the sides
of it to keep himself from falling out.

" Don't be afraid ! " cried the Goblin, " she's only rolling
a little;" and, as he said this, the clock steadied itself and
sailed serenely away past the spire of the village church
and off over the fields.

Davy now noticed that the Goblin was glowing with
a bright, rosy light, as though a number of candles were
burning in his stomach and shining out through his scarlet
clothes.

" That's the coals he had for his supper," thought Davy ;
but, as the Goblin continued to smile complacently and
seemed to be feeling quite comfortable, he did not
venture to ask any questions, and went on with his
thoughts. " I suppose he'll soon have smoke coming out of
his nose, as if he were a stove. If it were a cold night
I'd ask him to come and sit in my lap. I think he must be
as warm as a piece of toast;" and the little boy was laugh-
ing softly to himself over this conceit, when the Goblin,
who had been staring intently at the sky, suddenly ducked

BEGINNING THE VOYAGE. 23

his head, and cried " Squalls ! " and the next moment the
air was filled with cats falhng in a perfect shower from
the sky. They were of all sizes and colors, — big cats,
little cats, black cats, white cats, gray cats, yellow, spotted
and brindle cats, and at least a dozen of them fell sprawl-
ing into the clock. Among them, to Davy's dismay, was
Solomon, with the other mitten drawn over his head and
the thumb sticking straight up like a horn. This gave
him a very extraordinary appearance, and the other cats
evidently regarded him with the gravest distrust as they
clustered together at Davy's end of the clock, leaving
Solomon standing quite alone, and complaining in a muffled
voice as he tugged frantically at the mitten.

"Don't scold so much!" said the Goblin, impatiently.

^ow, Davy Would never have teased Solomon if lie
had had the slightest idea that cats could talk, and he
was dreadfully mortified when Solomon cried out excit-
edly, "Scold! I should think I had enough to scold
about to-day! I've had bits of worsted tied on to my
tail, and I've had some milk with pepper in it, and I've
had pill-boxes stuck on to my feet, so that I fell heels
over head downstairs — let alone having this nightcap on ! "

All this was certainly enough to scold about; but what
else Solomon had to complain of will never be known,
for, at this moment, an old tabby cat screamed out,
" Barkers ! " and all the cats sprang over the side of the
clock, and disappeared, with Solomon bringing up the
rear, like a little unicorn.

24 DAVY ^iND THE GOBLIN.

"^1 think it sounds very ridiculous for a eat to talk in
that way," said Davy, uneasily.

"Yes; but it sounds very true, for all that," said the
Goblin, gravely.

" But it was such fun, you know," said Davy, feeling
that he was blushing violently.

"Oh, I dare say! Fun for you,^^ said the Goblin, sar-
castically. " Jolligong ! Here come the Barkers ! " he
added, and, as he said this, a shower of little blue woolly
balls came tumbling into the clock. To Davy's alarm
they proved to be alive, and immediately began scrambling
about in all directions, and yelping so ferociously that he
climbed up on his cake in dismay, while the Goblin,
hastily pulling a large magnifying-glass out of his hat,
began attentively examining these strange visitors.

"Bless me!" cried the Goblin, turning very pale,
"they're sky-terriers. The dog-star must have turned
upside-down."

"What shall we do?" said Davy, feeling that this was
a very bad state of affairs.

" The first thing to do," said the Goblin, " is to get
away from these fellows before the solar sisters come
after them. Here, jump into my hat."

So many wonderful things had happened already that
this seemed to Davy quite a natural and proper thing to
do, and as the Goblin had already seated himself upon
the brim, he took his place opposite to him w^ithout hesi-
tation. As they sailed away from the clock it quietly

BEGINNING THE VOYAGE. 25

rolled over once, spilling out the sponge-cakes and all
the little dogs, and was then wafted off, gently rocking
from side to side as it went.

Davy was much surprised at finding that the hat was
as large as a clothes-hamper, with plenty of room for
him to swing his legs about in the crown. It proved,
however, to be a very unpleasant thing to travel in. It
spun around like a top as it sailed through the air,
until Davy began to feel uncomfortably dizzy, and the
Goblin himself seemed to be far from well. He had
stopped smiling, and the rosy light had all faded away,
as though the candles inside of him had gone out. His
clothes, too, had changed from bright scarlet to a dull
ashen color, and he sat stupidly upon the brim of the
hat as if he were going to sleep.

"If he goes to sleep he will certainly fall overboard,"
thought Davy; and, with a view to rousing the Goblin,
he ventured to remark, "I had no idea your hat was
so big."

" I can make it any size I please, from a thimble to
a sentry-box," said the Goblin. " And, speaking of sentry-
boxes " — here he stopped and looked more stupid than ever.

" I verily believe he's absent-minded," said Davy to
himself.

"I'm worse than that," said the Goblin, as if Davy
had spoken aloud. "I'm absent-bodied;" and with these
words he fell out of the hat and instantly disappeared.
Davy peered anxiously over the edge of the brim; but

DAVY AXD THE GOBLIN.

the Goblin was nowhere to be seen, and the little boy
found himself quite alone.

Strange-looking birds now began to swoop up and
chuckle at him, and others flew around him, as the hat
spun along through the air, gravely staring him in the
face for a while, and then sailed away, sadly bleating

like sheep. Then a great
creature, with rumpled
feathers, perched upon
the brim of the hat where
the Goblin had been sit-
ting, and, after solemnly
gazing at him for a few
moments, softly mur-
mured, " I'm a Cockalo-
rum," and flew heavily
away. All this was very
sad and distressing, and
Davy was mournfully
wondering Avhat would
happen to him next, when it suddenly struck him that
his legs were feeling very cold, and, looking down at
them, he discovered, to his great alarm, that the crown of
the Goblin's hat had entirely disappeared, leaving nothing
but the brim, upon which he was sitting. He hurriedly
examined this, and found the hat Avas really nothing but
an enormous skein of wool, which was rapidly unwinding
as it spun along. Indeed, the brim was disappearing at

" I'm a cockalorum," he softly murmured.

BEGINNING THE VOYAGE. 27

such a rate that he had hardly made this alarming-
discovery before the end of the skein was whisked away,
and he found himself falling through the air.

He was on the point of screaming out in his terror,
when he discovered that he was falling very slowly and
gently swaying from to side to side, like a toy-balloon.
The next moment he struck something hard, which gave
way with a sound like breaking glass and let him through,
and he had just time to notice that the air had suddenly
become deliciously scented with vanilla, when he fell crash-
ing into the branches of a large tree.

28 BAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

CtlAPTER TIL

IX THE SUGAK-PLUM GARDEN.

The bough upon which Davy had fallen bent far
down with his weight, then sprang back, then bent again,
and in this way fell into a sort of delightful up-and-
doAvn dipping motion, which he found very soothing and
agreeable. Indeed, he was so pleased and comforted at
finding himself near the ground once more that he lay
back in a crotch between two branches, enjoying the rock-
ing of the bough, and lazily wondering what had become
of the Goblin, and whether this was the end of the Be-
lieving Voyage, and a great many other things, until
he chanced to wonder where he was. Then he sat up
on the branch in great astonishment, for he saw that
the tree was in full leaf and loaded with plums, and it
flashed across his mind that the winter had disappeared
very suddenly, and that he had fallen into a place where
it was broad daylight.

The plum-tree was the most beautiful and wonderful
thing he had ever seen, for the leaves were perfectly
white, and the plums, which looked extremely delicious,
were of every imaginable color.

]N'ow, it immediately occurred to Davy that he had
never in his whole life had all the j^lums he wanted at

IN THE SUGAR-PLUM GARDEN. 29

any one time. Here was a rare chance for a feast,
and he carefully selected the largest and most luscious-
looking plum he could find, to begin with. To his
disappointment it proved to be quite hard, and as solid
and heavy as a stone. He was looking at it in great
perplexity, and punching it wdth his thumbs in the hope
of finding a soft place in it, when he heard a rustling-
sound among the leaves, and, looking up, he saw the
Cockalorum perched upon the bough beside him. He
was gazing sadly at the plum, and his feathers were
more rumpled than ever. Presently he gave a long-
sigh and said, in his low, murmuring voice, "Perhaps
it's a sugar-plum," and then flew clumsily away as
before.

" Perhaps it is ! " exclaimed Davy, joyfully, taking a
great bite of the plum. To his surprise and disgust
he found his mouth full of very bad-tasting soap, and
at the same moment the white leaves of the plum-tree
suddenly turned over and showed the words "Apkil
Fool" printed very distinctly on their under sides. To
make the matter worse, the Cockalorum came back and
flew slowly around the branches, laughing softly to
himself with a sort of a chuckling- sound, until Davy,
almost crying with disappointment and mortification,
scrambled down from the tree to the ground.

He found himself in a large garden planted with plum-
trees, like the one he had fallen into, and with walks
winding- about among them in every direction. These walks

30 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

were beautifully paved with sugar-almonds and bordered
by long rows of many-colored motto-papers neatly planted
in the ground. He was too much distressed, however,
by what had happened in the plum-tree to be interested
or pleased with this discovery, and was about walking
away, along one of the paths, in the hope of finding his
way out of the garden, when he suddenly caught sight
of a small figure standing a little distance from him.

He was the strangest-looking creature Davy had ever
seen, not even excepting the Goblin. In the first place he
was as flat as a pancake, and about as thick as one;
and, in the second place, he was so transparent that
Davy could see through his head and his arms and his
legs almost as clearly as though he had been made of
glass. This was so surprising in itself that when Davy
presently discovered that he was made of beautiful, clear
lemon candy, it seemed the most natural thing in the
world, as explaining his transparency. He was neatly
dressed in a sort of tunic of writing-paper, with a
cocked hat of the same material, and he had under his
arm a large book, with the words "Hole-keeper's
Yacuum" printed on the cover. This curious-looking
creature was standing before an extremely high wall,
with his back to Davy, intently watching a large hole
in the wall about a foot from the ground. There was
nothing extraordinary about the appearance of the hole
(except that the lower edge of it was curiously tied in
a large boAv-knot, like a cravat) ; but Davy watched it

IN THE SUGAR-PLUM GARDEN. 31

carefully for a few moments, thinking that perhaps some-
thing marvellous would come out of it. I^othing appeared,
however, and Davy, walking up close behind the candy
man, said very politely, "If you please, wir, I dropped
in here " —

Before he could finish the sentence the Hole-keeper said
snappishly, "Well, drop out again — quick!"

" But," pleaded Davy, " you can't drop out of a place,
you know, unless the place should happen to turn upside
down."

" I donH know anything about it," replied the Hole-
keeper, without moving. "I never saw anything drop
— except once. Then I saw a gum-drop. Are you a
gum?" he added, suddenly turning around and staring at
Davy.

"Of course I'm not," said Davy, indignantly. "If you'll
only listen to me you'll understand exactly how it hap-
pened."

" Well, go on," said the Hole-keeper, impatiently, " and
don't be tiresome."

"I fell down ever so far," said Davy, beginning his
story over again, " and at last I broke through some-
thing " —

" That was the skylight ! " shrieked the Hole-keeper,
dashing his book upon the ground in a fury. "That
was the barley-sugar skylight, and I shall certainly be
boiled!"

This was such a shocking idea that Davy stood speech-

32 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

less, staring at the Hole-keeper, who rushed to and fro
m a convulsion of distress.

"]N^ow, see here," said the Hole-keeper, at length, com-
ing up to him and speaking in a low, trembling voice.
" This must be a private secret between us. Do you
solemsy promilse ? "

"I prolemse," said Davy, earnestly. This wasn't at all
what he meant to say, and it sounded very ridiculous;
but somehow the words luouldn't come straight. The
Hole-keeper, however, seemed j^erfectly satisfied, and, pick-
ing up his book, said, "Well, just wait till I can't
find your name," and began hurriedly turning over the
leaves.

Davy saw, to his astonishment, that there was nothing
whatever in the book, all the leaves being perfectly blank,
and he couldn't help saying, rather contemptuously: —

"How do you expect to find my name in tJiat book?
There's nothing in it."

"Ah! that's just it, you see," said the Hole-keeper, ex-
ultingly; "I look in it for the names that ought to be
out of it. It's the completest system that ever was in-
vented. Oh ! here you aren't ! " he added, staring with
great satisfaction at one of the blank pages. " Your
name is Rupsy Frimbles."

"It's nothing of the sort," said Davy, indignantly.

"Tut! Tut!" said the Hole-keeper. "Don't stop to
contradict or j^ou'll be too late;" and Davy felt himself
gently lifted off his feet and pushed head-foremost into the

/.¥ THE SUGAR-PLUM GARDEN. 33

hole. It was quite dark and rather sticky, and smelt
strongly of burnt sugar, and Davy had a most unpleasant
time of it crawling through on his hands and knees. To
add to his distress, when he came out at the further end,
instead of being, as he had hoped, in the open country, he
found himself in a large room, with a lofty ceiling, through
which a biilhant light was mysteriously shining. The floor
was of tin, and greased to such a slippery degree that
Davy could hardly keep his feet, and against the walls on
all sides were ranged long rows of little tin chairs glisten-
ing like silver in the dazzling light.

The only person in the room was a little man, something
like the Hole-keeper in appearance, but denser and darker
in the way of complexion, and dressed in a brown paper
tunic and cocked hat.

This little creature was carrying a pail, and apparently
varnishing the chairs with a little swab as he moved
swiftly about the room; and, as he came nearer, Davy de-
termined to speak to him.

"If you please," he began.

The little man jumped back apparently in the greatest
alarm, and, after a startled look at Davy, shuffled rapidly
away and disappeared through a door at the further end of
the room. The next moment a confused sound of harsh
voices came through the door, and the little man reappeared,
followed by a perfect swarm of creatures so exactly like
himself that it seemed to Davy as if a thousand of him had
come back. At this moment a voice called out, " Bring

DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

Frungles this way;" and the crowd gathered around him
and began to rudely hustle him across the room.

" That's not my name ! " cried Davy, struggling des-
perately to free himself. "It isn't even the name I came
in with ! "

"Tut! Tut!" said a trembUng \'oice near him; and

"the crowd began to hustle him across the room."

Davy caught sight of the Hole-keeper, also struggling
in the midst of the crowd, with his great book hugged
tightly to his breast.

"What does it all mean?" said Davy, anxiously.

"It means that we are to be taken before the king,"
said the Hole-keeper, in an agitated voice. "Don't say a
word until you are spoken to, and then keep perfectly

IX THE SUGAR-PLUM GARDEN. 35

still ; " and the next moment they Avere dragged up to a
low j^latform, where the king was sitting on a gorgeous
tin throne. He was precisely like the rest of the
creatures, except that he was a little larger, and wore
a blue paper coat and a sparkling tin crown, and held
in his hand a long white wand, with red lines running
screw-wise around it, like a barber's pole. He stared at
Davy and the Hole-keeper for a moment, and then called
out, "Are the chaii's buttered?"

"They are!" shouted the crowd, like one man.

"Then sit down!" roared the king.

The crowd shuffled oft' in all directions, and then
engaged in a confused struggle for the chairs. They
fought desperately for a few moments, tearing each
others' shirts, and screaming out hoarse little squawks of
pain, while the king thumped furiously with his wand,
and the Hole-keeper trembled like a leaf. At last all
were seated and the hubbub ceased, and the king, frown-
ing savagely at the Hole-keeper, exclaimed, in a terrible
voice, " AYho broke the barley-sugar skylight?"

The Hole-keeper began fumbling at the leaves of his
book in great agitation, when the king, pointing at him
with his wand, roared furiously: "Boil him, at all
events! "

"Tut! Tut! your majesty," began the Hole-keeper,
confusedly, with his stift" little tunic fairly rustling with
fright; but before he could utter another word he was
rushed upon and dragged away, screaming with terror.

36 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

" Don't you go with them ! " shouted Davy, made really
desperate by the Hole-keeper's danger. " They're nothmg
but a lot of molasses candy ! "

At this the king gave a frightful shriek, and, aiming
a furious blow at Davy with his wand, rolled off the
platform into the midst of the struggling crowd. The
wand broke into a hundred pieces, and the air was
instantly filled with a choking odor of peppermint; then
everything was wrapped in darkness, and Davy felt him-
self being whirled along, heels over head, through the
air. Then there came a confused sound of bells and
voices, and he found himself running rapidly down a
long street with the Goblin at his side.

THE BUTTERSCOTCHMEN. 37

CHAPTER lY.

THE BUTTERSCOTCHMEN.

Bells were pealing and tolling in all directions, and the
air was filled with the sonnd of distant shouts and cries.

" What were they? " asked Davy, breathlessly.

" Butterscotchmen," said the Goblin. " You see, they
always butter their chairs so that they won't stick fast
when they sit down."

"And what makes you that color?" said Davy, sud-
denly noticing that the Goblin had changed his color to
a beautiful blue.

"Trouble and worry," said the Goblin. "I always get
blue when the Butterscotchmen are after me."

" Are they coming after us now? " inquired Davy, in
great alarm.

" Of course they are," said the Goblin. " But the
best of it is, they can't run till they get warm, and
they can't get warm without running, you see. But
the worst of it is that loe can't stop without sticking
fast," he added, anxiously. "We must keep it up until
we get to the Amuserum."

"What's that?" said Davy.

"It's a place they have to amuse themselves with,"
said the GobUn, — " curiosities, and all that sort of thing,

DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

you know. By the way, how much money have youV
We have to pay to get in."

Davy began to feel in his j^ockets (which is a very diffi-
cult thing to do when you're running fast), and found, to
his astonishment, that they were completely filled with a

■^rj^^^

"bells were pealing in all directions."

most extraordinary lot of rubbish. First he pulled out what
seemed to be an iron ball; but it proved to be a hard-
boiled Qg,g,, without the shell, stuck full of small tacks.
Then came two slices of toast, firmly tied together with
a green cord. Then came a curious little glass jar, filled
with large flies. As Dav}^ took this out of his pocket,
the cork came out with a loud "pop! " and the flies
flew away in all directions. Then came, one after another,
Si tart filled with gravel, tAvo chicken -bones, a bird's

THE BUTTERSCOTCHMEN. 39

nest with some pieces of brown soap in it, some mustard
in a pill-box, and a cake of beeswax stuck full of car-
away seeds. Davy remembered afterward that, as he
threw these things away, the}^ arranged themselves in a
long row on the curb-stone of the street. The Goblin
looked on with great interest as Davy fished them up out
of his pockets, and finally said, enviously, "That's a
splendid collection; where did they all come from?"

"I'm sure /don't know," said Davy, in great bewilderment.

"And I'm sure / don't know," repeated the Goblin.
"What else is there?"

Davy felt about in his pockets again, and found what
seemed to be a piece of money. On taking it out,
however, he w^as mortified to find that it was nothing
but an old button; but the Goblin exclaimed, in a tone
of great satisfaction, "Ah! hold on to that!" and ran
on faster than ever.

The sound of the distant voices had growji fainter
and faintei' still, and Davy was just hoping that their
long run was almost over, when the street came abruptlv
to an end at a brick wall, ovei- the top of which lie
could see the branches of trees. There was a small
round hole in the wall, with the words "Pay here"
printed above it, and the Goblin whispered to Davy
to hand in the button through this hole. Davy did so,
feeling very much ashamed of himself, wdien, to his sur-
prise, instead of receiving tickets in return, he heard a
loud exclamation behind the wall, followed by a confused

40 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

sound of scuffling, and the hole suddenly disappeared.
The next moment a Uttle bell tinkled, and the wall
rose slowly before them like a curtain, carrying the
trees with it apparently, and he and the Goblin were
left standing in a large open space paved with stone.
Davy was exceedingly alarmed at seeing a dense mass
of Butterscotchmen in the centre of the square, pushing
and crowding one another in a very quarrelsome manner,
and chattering like a flock of magpies, and he was just
about to propose a hasty retreat, when a figure came
hurrying through the square, carrying on a pole a large
placard, bearing the words: —

"just received!

the great frungles thing !

on exhibition in the plum-garden ! "

At the sight of these words the mob set up a terrific
shout, and began streaming out of the square after the pole-
bearer, like a flock of sheep, jostling and shoving one
another as they went, and leaving Davy and the Goblin
quite alone.

" I verily believe they're gone to look at my button," cried
Davy, beginning to laugh, in spite of his fears. " They
called 7ne Frungles, you know."

" That's rather a nice name," said the Goblin, who had
begun smiling again. " It's better than Snubgraddle, at all
events. Let's have a look at the curiosities;" and here
he walked boldly into the centre of the square.

THE BUTTERSCOTCHMEN.

Davy followed close at his heels, and found, to his
astonishment and disappointment, that the curiosities were
simply the things that he had fished out of his pockets but
a few minutes before, placed on little pedestals and carefully
protected by transparent sugar shades. He was on the
point of laughing outright at this ridiculous exhibition, when
he saw that
the Goblin
had taken a
large tele-
scope out of
his pocket,
and was ex-
amining the
different ob-
jects with the

olo^f^fit ni" —

"the goblin turned his telescope toward him."

tention, and

muttering to himself, "Wonderful! wonderful!" as if he

had never seen anything like them before.

"Pooh! "said Davy, contemptuously; "the only wonder-
ful thing about them is, how they ever came liereP

At this remark the Goblin turned his telescope toward
Davy, and uttered a faint cry of surprise; and Davy, peering
anxiously through the large end, saw him suddenly shrink
to the size of a small beetle, and then disappear altogether.
Davy hastily reached out with his hands to grasp the telescope,
and found himself staring through a round glass window
into a farm-yard, where a red Cow stood gazing up at him.

42 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN-.

CHAPTER Y.

JACK AND THE BEA]^-STALK's FAEM.

It was quite an ordinaiy-looking- farm-yard and quite
an ordinary-looking Cow, but she stared so earnestly up
at Davy that he felt positively certain she had something
to say to him. " Every creature I meet does have
something to say," he thought, as he felt about for the
window-fastening, " and I should really like to hear a
Cow "' — and just at this moment the window suddenly
flew open, and he pitched head-foremost out upon a pile
of hay in the farm-yard, and rolled from it ofl'
upon the ground. As he sat up, feeling exceedingly
foolish, he looked anxiously at the Cow, expecting to see
her laughing at his misfortune, but she stood gazing at
him with a very serious expression of countenance,
solemnly chewing, and slowly swishing her tail from side
to side. As Dav}^ really didn't know how to begin a
conversation with a Cow, he waited for her to speak first,
and there was consequentl}" a long pause. Presently the
Cow said, in a melancholy, lowing tone of voice, " The
old gray goose is dead.""

" Pm very sorry," said Davy, not knowing what else
to say.

" She is," said the Cow, positively, " and we've buried

JACK AJSfD THE BE AN^-S TALK'S FARM. 43

her in the vegetable garden. We thought gooseberries
would come up, but thej didn't. Nothing came up but
feathers."

" That's very curious," said Davy.

"Curious, but comfortable," replied the Cow. "You see,
it makes a feather-bed in the garden. The pig sleeps
there, and calls it his quill pen. jN^ow I think that pig-
pens should be made of porcupine quills."

"So do 1," said Davy, laughing. "What else is there in
the garden?"

"Nothing but the bean-stalk," said the Cow. "You've
heard of ^ Jack and the Bean-stalk,' haven't you?"

" Oh ! yes, indeed ! " said Davy, beginning to be very
much interested. "I should like to see the bean-stalk."

" You can't see the beans talk," said the Cow, gravely.
"You might hear them talk; that is, if they had any-
thing to say, and you listened long enough. By the
way, that's the house that Jack built. Pretty, isn't it? "

Davy turned and looked up at the house. It certainly
was a very pretty house, built of bright red brick, with
littk^ gables, and dormei'-windows in the roof, and Avith
a trim little porch quite overgrown with climbing roses.
Suddenly an idea struck him, and he exclaimed : —

"Then you must be the Cow with a crumpled horn!"

"It's not crumpled," said the Cow, with great dignity.
" There's a slight crimp in it, to be sure, but nothing
that can properly be called a crump. Then the story
was all wrong about my tossing the dog. It Avas the

44 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

cat that ate the malt. He was a Maltese cat, and his
name was Fhpmegilder."

"Did you toss himf^ inquired Davy.

" Certainly not," said the Cow, indignantly. " Who
ever heard of a cow tossing a cat? The fact is, I've
never had a fair chance to toss anything. As for the
dog, Mother Hubbard never permitted any liberties to be
taken with him.''''

"I'd dearly love to see Mother Hubbard," said Davy,
eagerly.

" Well, you can," said the Cow, indifferently. " She
isn't much to see. If you'll look in at the kitchen
window you'll probably find her performing on the piano
and singing a song. She's always at it."

Davy stole softly to the kitchen window and peeped
in, and, as the Cow had said. Mother Hubbard was
there, sitting at the piauo, and evidently just preparing
to sing. The piano was very remarkable, and Davy
could not remember ever having seen one like it before.
The toi3 of it was arranged with shelves, on which stood
all the kitchen crockery, and in the under part of it,
at one end, was an oven with glass doors, through
which he could see several pies baking.

Mother Hubbard was dressed, just as he expected, in
a very oi'uamental flowered gown, with high-heeled shoes
and buckles, and wore a tall pointed hat over her night-
cap. She was so like the pictures Davy had seen of her
that he thought he would have recognized her anywhere.

MOTHKR HUBBARD SINGS A SONG.

JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK'S FARM.

She sang in a high key with a very quavering voice,
and this was the song : —

/ had an educated pug,

His name ivas Tommy Jones;

He lived upon the parlor rug
Exclusively on bones.

And if, in a secluded room,

I hid one on a shelf.
It disappeared ; so I presume

He used to help himself

He had an entertaining trick
Of feigning he tvas dead;

Then, ivith a reassuring kick,
Wbidd stand upon his head.

I coidd not take the proper change^
And go to buy him shoes,

But vjhat he'd sit upon the range
And read the latest neivs.

DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

And when I ventured out, one day.

To order him a coat,
I found kim, in his artless way.

Careering on a goat.

I could not go to looh at hats
But that, with childish glee.

He'd ash in all the neighbors' cats
To join him at his tea.

And when I went to pay a bill
(I think it was for tripe).

He made himself extremely ill
By smoking with a pipe.

JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK'S FARM. 49

There was something about the prim language of this
song that sounded very famiUar to Davy, and when
Mother Hubbard chanced to turn her face towards him
he was surprised to see that she looked very like old
Miss Peggs, his school-teacher. While she was singing
the song little handfuls of gravel were constantly thrown
at her through one of the kitchen windows, and by the
time the song was finished her lap was quite full of it.

"I'd just like to know who is throwing that gravel,"
said Davy, indignantly.

"It's Gobobbles," said the Cow, calmly. "You'll find
him around at the front of the house. By the Avay, have
you any chewing-gum about you?"

"^o," said Davy, greatly surprised at the question.

" So I supposed," said the Cow. " It's precisely what
I should expect of a person- who would fall out of a
window."

" But I couldn't help that,''^ said Davy.

"Of course you couldn't," said the Cow, yawning
indolently. "It's precisely what I should expect of a
person who hadn't any chewing-gum." And Avith this the
Cow walked gravely away, just as Mother Hubbard made
her appearance at the window.

" Boy," said Mother Hubbard, beaming mildly upon Davy
through her spectacles, "you shouldn't throAV gravel."

"I haven't thrown any," said Davy.

" Fie ! " said Mother Hubbard, shaking her head ;
"always speak the truth."

50 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

" I am speaking the truth," said Davy, indignantly.
" It was Gobobbles."

" So I supposed," said Mother Hubbard, gently shaking
her head again. " It Avould have been far better if he
had been cooked last Christmas instead of being left
over. Stuffing him and then letting him go has made a
very proud creature of him. You should never be proud."

" I'm not proud," replied Davy, pi'ovoked at being-
mixed up with Gobobbles in this way.

"You may define the word proud, and give a few
examples," continued Mother Hubbard; and by this time
she had grown to be so surprisingly like Miss Peggs
that Davy immediately clasped his hands behind him,
according to rule, and prepared to recite.

"Proud means being set up, I think," he said, respect-
fully; "but I don't think I know any examples."

" You may take Gobobbles for an example," replied
Mother Hubbard. "You'll find him set up in front of
the house, and mind you don't aggravate him; " and
after again beaming mildly through her spectacles she
disappeared from the window, and Davy went cautiously
around the corner of the house, curious to see what
Gobobbles might be like. As he approached the front
of the house he heaicl a loud, thumping noise, and pres-
ently he came in sight of Gobobbles, who proved to be a
large and very bold-mannered turkey with all his feathers
taken off except a frowzy tuft about his neck. He was
tied fast in a baby's high chair, and was thumping his

JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK'S FARM. 51

chest with his wings in such a violent and ill-tempered
manner that Davy at once made up his mind not to
aggravate him under any circumstances. As Gobobbles
caught sight of him he discontiiuied his thumping, and,
after staring at him for a moment, said sulkily: —

" I can't abide boys ! "

"Why not?" said Davy.

"Oh, they're so hungry!" said Gobobbles, passionately.
" They're so everlastingly hungry. ]!^ow don't deny that
you're fond of turkey."

" AYell, I do like turkey," said Davy, seeing no way
out of the difficulty.

"Of course you do!" said Gobobbles, tossing his head.
"]!*^ow you might as well know," he continued, resuming
his thumping with increased energy, "that I'm as hollow
as a drum and as tough as a hat-box. Just mention
that fact to any one you meet, will you? I suppose
Christmas is coming, of course."

" Of course it is," rej^lied Davy.

"It's always coming!" said Gobobbles, angrily; "I
never knew a time yet when it ivasnH coming! "

"7" don't mind having it come," said Davy, stoutly.

"Oh, don't you, indeed!" said Gobobbles. " ^Yell, then,
J don't mind having yoit go ! " and here he began hop-
ping his chair forward in such a threatening manner
that Davy turned and walked away with as much dig-
nity as he could assume.

As he went around the corner of the house again he

52 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

found himself in a pleasant lane, bo -dered on either side
by a tall hedge, and, as he was niw out of sight of
Gobobbles, he started off on a gentle run by way of
getting out of the neighborhood as soon as possible.
Befoi'e he had gone a dozen steps, however, he heard a
thumping sound behind him, and, looking back, he saw,
to his dismay, that Gobobbles had in some way got
loose from his high chair, and was coming after him,
thumping himself in a perfect frenzy. In fact, his ap-
pearance was so formidable that Davy did not pause for
a second look, but started off at the toj) of his speed.

Gobobbles, however, proved himself to be a capital
runner, and, in spite of all Davy's efforts, he could hear
the dreadful thumping sound coming nearer and nearer,
until it seemed to be just at his heels. At this instant
something sprang upon his back; but, before he could
cry out in his terror, a head was suddenly thrust ovei-
his shoulder, and he found the Goblin, who was now
of a bright purple color, staring him in the face and
laughing with all his might.

THE GIANT BADORFUL. 53

CHAPTER YI.

THE GIANT BADORPUL.

" GoBLrsT," said Davy, very seriously, as the little man
juinped down from off his back, "^'if you are going to
play such tricks as tliat upon me I should like to go
home at once."

"Where's the hai-m?" said the Goblin, sitting down on
the grass with his back against a wall and smiling con-
tentedly.

" The harm is that I thought it was Gobobbles," said
Davy, indignantly.

" Oh, you needn't be afraid of Gobobbles ! " said the
Goblin. " He's got all that he can attend to, taking care
of himself. You see, he's wanted for Christmas, but
why anybody should want liim to eat is more than I
can understand. Why, he's seventy years old if he's a
day, and as indigestible as an old cork.''

Just at this moment a loud, rumbling noise, like dis-
tant thunder, came from behind the wall against which the
Goblin was leaning, followed by a tremendous sneeze,
that fairly shook the ground.

"What's that?" whispered Davy to the Goblin, in great
alarm.

"It's only Badorful," said the Goblin, laughing. " He's

54 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

always snoring and waking himself up, and I suppose
it's sleeping on the ground that makes him sneeze. Let's
have a look at him;" and the Goblin led the way along
the wall to a large grating.

Davy looked through the grating, and was much
alarmed at seeing a giant, at least twenty feet in height,
sitting on the ground, with his legs crossed under him
like a tailor. He was dressed in a shabby suit of red
velveteen, with a great leathern belt about his waist and
enormous boots, and Davy thought he looked terri1)ly
ferocious. On the grass beside him lay a huge club,
thickly studded at one end with great iron knobs; but
Davy noticed, to his great relief, that some little creep-
ing vines were twining themselves among these knobs,
and that moss was growing thickly upon one side of
the club itself, as though it had been lying there un-
touched for a long time.

The giant was talking to himself in a low tone, and
after listening attentively at the grating for a moment,
the Goblin shrieked: "He's making poetry!" and, throwing
himself upon the ground, kicked up his heels in a perfect
ecstasy of delight.

" Oh, hush, hush ! " cried Davy, in terror. " Suppose
he hears you ! "

" Hears me ! " said the Goblin, discontinuing his kicking
and looking very much surprised. "What if he does?"

" Well, you know, he might not like being laughed
at," said Davy, anxiously.

THE GIANT BADORFUL.

"There's something m that," said the Goblin, staring
reflectively at the ground.

" And, you see," continued Davy, " a giant who doesn't
like what's going on must be a dreadful creature."

"Oh! there's no fear of him,'' said the Goblin, con-
temptuously, motioning with his head toward the giant.
" I le's too old. Why, I must have known him, off and
on, for nearly two hundred years. Come in and see him."

"Will he do anything?" said Davy, anxiously.

"Bless you, no!" said the Goblin. "He's a perfect
old kitten ; " and with these words he pushed open the
grating and passed through, with Davy following trem-
blingly at his heels. Badorful looked up with a feeble
smile, and merely said, "Just listen to this:" —

My age is three hundred and seventy-two^

And I think, with the deepest regret,
Hoiv I used to pick up and voraciously clieio

The dear little hoys ivhom I met.

Tve eaten them rav}, in their holiday suits ;

Tve eaten them curried vnth rice;
I've eaten them baked, in tlieir Jackets and boots.

And found them exceedingly nice.

But noiv that my Jaws are too weak for such fare,

1 think it exceedingly rude
To do such a thing, when I'm quite well aware

Little boys do not like to be cheioed.

58 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

And so I contentedly live upon eels,

A.nd try to do nothing amiss,
And I pass all the titne I can spare from my meals

In innocent slumber — liJce this.

Here Badorful rolled over upon his side, and was in-
stantly fast asleep.

" Yoii see," said the Goblin, picking up a large stone
and thumping with it upon the giant's head, " you see,
he's quite weak here; otherwise, considering his age, he's
a very capable giant."

At this moment a farmer, with bright red hair, thrust
his head in at the grating, and calling out, " Here comes
Gobobbles ! " disappeared again ; and Davy and the Goblin
rushed out, and Avere just in time to see Go]3obb]es go by
like a flash, with a crowd of people armed with pitch-
forks in hot pursuit. Gobobbles was going in fine style,
bounding over the hedges and stone-walls like a kangaroo,
and thumping vigorously, as usual, with his wings, and
Davy and the Goblin were just setting off on a run to
join in the chase, when a voice said, " Ahem ! " and,
looking up, they saw Badorful stai'ing at them over the
top of the wall.

" How does this strike you? " he said, addressing him-
self to Davy : —

Although I am a giant of the exhibition size,

Vve been nicely educated, and I notice with surprise

THE GIANT BADOEFUL. 59

That the si7nplest rules of etiquette you don't j)retend to keep,
For you skurry off to races while a gentleman's asleep.

Don't reply that I luas droiosy, for my nap luas hut a kind
Of dramatic illustration of a peaceful frame of mind;

And you really might have luaited till I woke again, instead
Of indelicately pounding, tvith a stone, up)on my head.

Very probably you'll argue that our views do not agree, —
I've often found that little boys have disagreed with me, —
But Tm properly entitled, on the compensation plan,
To three times as much politeness as an ordinary man.

Davy was greatly distressed at having these severe
remarks addressed to him.

" If you please, sir," he said earnestly, " I didn't i^omid
you."

At this the giant glared savagely at the Goblin, and
continued : —

My remarks ho.ve been directed at the one who, I supposed.
Had been violently thumping on my person ivhile I dozed;
By a simple calculation, you ivill find that there is due
Just six tiines as much politeness from a little chap like you.

"Oh! you make me ill!" said the Goblin, flippantly.
" Go to sleep."

Badorful stared at him for a moment, and then, Avith a
sickly smile, murmured, " Good-afternoon," and disappeared
behind the wall.

(30 DAVl' AXD THE GOBLIX.

Davy and the Goblin now hurried off in piu'suit of
Gobobbles, and presently came upon the crowd of farmers
who had joined hands in a ring, and were dancing around
a large white object lying on the groimd. Davy pushed
his way eagerly through the crowd, expecting to see Gob-
obbles; but the white object proved to be the Cockalorum
hemmed in by a ring of pitchforks sticking in the ground,
and with his feathers more rumpled than ever.

" Dear me I " exclaimed Davy, perfectly amazed. " I thought
we were chasing Gobobbles I "

"Of course you did." said the Goblin, complacently;
"but in this part of the world things very often turn out
to be different from what they would have been if they
hadn't been otherwise than as you expected they were
going to be."

''But vou thouofht so vourself." beofan Daw. when, to
his distress, the Goblin suddenly faded into a dull pink-
ish colo!*. and then disappeared altogether. Davy looked
about him. and found that the Cockalorum and the dancing
farmers had also disappeared, and that he was quite alone in
a dense wood.

THE MOVING F QUEST. 63

CHAPTER YIL

THE MOVING FOREST.

"Oh, dear!" cried Davy, speaking aloud in his distress,
"I do wish people and things wouldn't change about so!
Just so soon as ever I get to a place it goes away, and I'm
somewhere else ! " — and the little boy's heart began to beat
rapidly as he looked about him; for the wood was very
dark and solemn and still.

Presently the trees and bushes directly before him moved
silently apart and showed a broad path beautifully overgrown
Avith soft turf; and as he stepped forward upon it the
trees and bushes beyond moved silently aside in their turn,
and the path grew before him, as he walked along, like a
green carpet slowly unrolUng itself through the wood.
It made him a little uneasy, at first, to find that the trees
behind him came together again, quietly blotting out the
path; but then he thought, "It really doesn't matter, so
long as I don't want to go back;" and so he walked aloug
very contentedly.

By and by the path seemed to give itself a shake, and,
turning abruptly around a large tree, brought Davy suddenly
upon a little butcher's shop, snugly buried in the wood.
There was a sign on the shop, reading, "Robix Hood:
Yenison," and Robin himself, wearing a clean white apron

64 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

over his suit of Lincoln green, stood in the door-way,
holding a knife and steel, as though he were on the lookout
for customers. As he caught sight of Davy he said,
"Steaks? Chops?" in an inquiring way, quite like an
every-day butcher.

"Yenisou is deer, isn't it?" said Davy, looking up at the
sign.

" x^ot at all," said Robin Hood, promptly. " It's the
cheapest meat about here."

"Oh, I didn't mean that," replied Davy; "I meant that
it comes off of a deer."

" Wrong again ! " said Robin Hood, triumphantly. " It
comes on a cleer. I cut it off myself. Steaks? Chops?"

" Ko, I thank you," said Davy, giving up the argument.
"I don't think I want anything to eat just now."

"Then what did you come here for?" said Robin
Hood, peevishly. "What's the good, I'd hke to know,
of standing around and staring at an honest trades-
man? "

"Well, you see," said Davy, beginning to feel that he
had, somehow, been very rude in coming there at all, " 1
didn't know you were this sort of person at all. I
always thought you were an archer, like — like William
Tell, you know."

" That's all a mistake about Tell," said Robin Hood,
contemptuously. " He wasn't an archer. He was a cross-
bow man, — the crossest one that ever lived. By the
way," he added, suddenly returning to business with the

THE MOVING FOREST. 67

greatest earnestness, '^yoii don't happen to want any steaks
or chops to-day, do you ? "

"JSTo, not to-day, thank you," said Davy, very pohtely.

"To-morrowV" inquired Robin Hood.

" l^o, I thank you," said Davy again.

"Will you want any yesterday?" inquired Kobin Hood,
rather doubtfully.

" I think not," said Davy, beginning to laugh.

Robin Hood stared at him for a moment with a puz-
zled expression, and then walked into his little shop, and
Davy turned away. As he did so the path behind him
began to unfold itself through the wood, and, looking
back over his shoulder, he saw the little shop swallowed
up by the trees and bushes. Just as it disappeared from
view he caught a glimpse of a charming little girl, peep-
ing out of a latticed window beside the door. She wore
a little red hood, and looked wistfully after Davy as the
shop went out of sight.

"I verily believe that was Little Red Riding Hood,"
said Davy to himself, "and I never knew before that
Robin Hood was her father ! " The thought of Red
Riding Hood, however, brought the wolf to Davy's mind,
and he began to anxiously watch the thickets on either
side of the path, and even went so far as to whistle
softly to himself, by way of showing that he wasn't in
the least afraid. He went on and on, hoping the forest
would soon come to an end, until the path shook itself
again, disclosing to view a trim little brick shop in the

68 DAVY AXD TBI: GOBLIX.

densest part of the thicket. It had a neat httle green
door, with a bright brass knocker upon it, and a sign
above it. bearing the words : —

"Sham-Sham : Baiigaixs ix AVatches."

"Weill" exclaimed Davy, in amazement. "Of all places
to sell watches in that's the preposterest I " — bnt as he
turned to walk away he found the trees and bushes for
the iirst time blocking his way, and refusing to move
aside. This distressed him very much, until it suddenly
occmTed to him that this must mean that he was to go
into the shop; and, after a moment's hesitation, he went
up and knocked timidly at the door with the bright brass
knocker. Tliere was no response to the knock, and Davy
cautiously pushed open the door and went in.

The place was so dark that at lu"st he could see
nothing, although he heard a rattling sound coming from
the back part of the shop; but presently he discovered
the figure of an old man. busily mixing something in a
large iron pot. As Davy approached him he saw that
the pot was full of watches, which the old man was
stirring with a ladle. The old creatm'e was very curiously
dressed, in a suit of rusty green velvet, with little sUver
buttons sewed over it. and he wore a pair of enonnous
yellow-leather boots: and Davy was quite alarmed at see-
ing that a broad leathern belt about his waist was stuck
full of old-fashioned knives and pistols. Dav;\' was about

THE MOVING FOREST. 71

to retreat quickly from the shop, when the old man looked
up, and said, in a peevish voice : —

"How many watches do you want?" — and Davy saw
that he was a very shocking-looking person, with wild,
staring eyes, and with a skin as dark as mahogany, as
if he had been soaked in something for ever so long.

"How many?" repeated the old man, impatiently.

"If you please," said Davy, "I don't think I'll take
any watches to-day. I'll call " —

" Drat 'em ! " interrupted the old man, angrily beating
the w^atches with his ladle; "I'll never get rid of em —
never ! "

"It seems to me" — began Davy, soothingly.

" Of course it does ! " again interrupted the old man,
ns crossly as before. "Of course it does! That's because
you won't listen to the why of it."

"But I will listen," said Davy.

" Then sit down on the floor and hold up your ears,"
said the old man.

Davy did as he was told to do, so far as sitting down
on the floor was concerned, and the old man pulled a
paper out of one of his boots, and, glaring at Davy over
the top of it, said, angrily: —

" You're a pretty spectacle ! I'm another. What does
that make ? "

" A pair of spectacles, I suppose," said Davy.

"Right!" said the old man. "Here they are." And
pulling an enormous pair of spectacles out of the other

72 DAVY AXD THE GOBLIN.

boot he put them on, and began readhig aloud from his
paper : —

J/y recoUectest thoughts are those

liVJiich I remember yet;
And hearing on, as you'd suppose^
TJie things I don't forget.

But my resembJest thoughts are less *

Alike than they should be;
A state of things, as you'll confess.

You very seldom see.

^'Clever, isn't it?*' said the old man, peeping proudly
over the top of the paper.

"Yes, I think it is,"'- said Davy, rather doubtfully.

"Xow comes the cream of the whole thing," said the
old man. '* Just listen to this : " —

And yet the mostest thought I love
Is u'hat no one believes —

Here the old man hastily crammed the paper into his
boot again, and stared solenmly at Davy.

"^^hat is it'?" said Davy, after waiting a moment for
him to complete the verse. The old man glanced sus-
piciously about the shop, and then added, in a hoarse
whisper: —

That Fm the sole survivor of
TJie famous Forty Tliieves!

THE MOVING FOREST. 73

"But I thought the Forty Thieves were all boiled to
death," said Davy.

"All but me," said the old man, decidedly. "I was in
the last jar, and when they came to me the oil was off
the boil, or the boil was off the oil, — I forget which it
was, — but it ruined my digestion, and made me look like
a gingerbread man. What larks we used to have ! "
he continued, rocking himself back and forth and chuck-
ling hoarsely. " Oh ! we were a precious lot, we were !
I'm Sham-Sham, you know. Then there was Anamana-
mona Mike, — he was an Irishman from Hullaboo, — and
Barcelona Boner, — he was a Spanish chap, and boned
everything he could lay his hands on. Strike's real name
was Gobang; but we called him Strike, because he was
always asking for more pay. Hare Ware was a poacher,
and used to catch Welsh rabbits in a trap; we called
him '^ Hardware ' because he had so much steal about
him. Good joke, wasn't it? "

"Oh, very!" said Davy, laughing.

"Frown Whack was a scowling fellow with a club,"
continued Sham-Sham. "My! how he could hit! And
Harico and Barico were a couple of bad Society Island-
ers. Then there was Wee Wo, — he was a little Chinese
chap, and we used to send him down the chimneys to
open front doors for us. He used to say that sooted
him to perfection. Wac — "

At this moment an extraordinary commotion began
among the watches. There was no doubt about it, the

74 DAVY AXD THE GOBLIX.

pot was boiling, and Sham-Sham, angrily crying out,
^' Don't tell me a watched pot never boils I " sprang to
his feet, and, pulling a pair of pistols from his belt,
began filing at the watches, which were now bubbling
over the side of the pot and rolling about the tioor;
while Davy, who had had quite enough of Sham-Sham
by this time, ran out of the door.

To his great surprise he found himself in a sort of
underground passage, lighted by grated openings over-
head: but as he could still hear Sham- Sham, who now
seemed to be firing all his pistols at once, he did not
hesitate, but ran along the passage at the top of his
speed.

Presently he came in sight of a figure hurrying toward
him with a lighted candle, and, as it approached, he was
perfectly astounded to see that it was Sham-Sham him-
self, dressed up in a neat calico frock and a dimity
apron, like a house-keeper, and with a bunch of keys
hanging at his girdle.

The old man seemed to be greatly agitated, and
hurriedly whispering. " We thought you were never
coming, sir I" led the way through the passage in
great haste. Davy noticed that they were now in
a sort of tunnel made of fine grass. The grass had
a delio:htfiil frao-rance, like new-mown hav, and was
neatly wound around the tunnel, like the inside of a
bird"s-nest. The next moment they came out into an
open space in the forest, where, to Davy's amazement,

5 ^

H O

v:^>«Ba=5r~:.

THE 3I0VING FOREST.

the Cockaloriim was sitting bolt upright in an arm-chair,
with his head w^rapped up in flannel.

It seemed to be night, but the place was lighted up
by a large chandelier that hung from the branches of a

-^^v.

^^S-

THE COCKALORUM IS ILL.

tree, and Davy saw that a number of odd-looking birds
were roosting on the chandelier among the lights, gaz-
ing down upon the poor Cockalorum with a melancholy
interest. As Sham-Sham made his appearance, with Davy

78 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

at his heels, there was a sudden commotion among the
birds, and they all cried out together, "Here's the doc-
tor ! " but before Davy could reply the Hole-keeper suddenly
made his appearance, with his great book, and, hurriedly
turning over the leaves, said, pointing to Davy, '^^ He
isn't a doctor. His name is Gloopitch." At these words
there arose a long, wailing ciy, the lights disappeared, and
Davy found himself on a broad path in the forest, with
the Hole-keeper walking quietly beside him.

SINDBAD THE SAILOR'S HOUSE. 79

CHAPTER VIII.

SINDBAD THE SAILOR's HOUSE.

"You had no right to tell those birds my name was
Gloopitch!" said Davy, angrily. "That's the second time
you've got it wrong."

" Well, it's of no consequence," said the Hole-keeper,
complacently. "I'll make it something else the next
time. I suppose you know they've caught Gobobbles?"

"I'm glad of it!" said Davy, heartily. "He's worse than
the Cockalorum, ten times over. What did they do with
him?"

"Cooked him," said the Hole-keeper, — "roasted him,
fried him, pickled him, and boiled him."

" Gracious ! " exclaimed Davy ; " I shouldn't think he'd
be good for much after all that."

" He isn't," replied the Hole-keeper, calmly. " They're
going to keep him to rub out pencil-marks with."

This was such a ridiculous idea that Davy threw back
his head, and laughed long and loud.

"Do that again," said the Hole-keeper, stopping short
in his walk and gazing at him earnestly; and Davy burst
into another fit of laughter.

" Do it again," persisted the Hole-keeper, staring at him
still more solemnly.

80 BAVY jiND THE GOBLIN.

This was somewhat tiresome; and, after a rather feeble
attempt at a third laugh, Davy said, " I don't feel like it
any more."

"If I could do that," said the Hole-keeper, earnestly,
"I'd never stop. The fact is," he continued, gravely
shaking his head, "I've never laughed in my life. Does
it hurt much?"

"It doesn't hurt at all," said Davy, beginning to laugh
again.

"Well, there, there!" said the Hole-keeper, peevishly,
resuming his walk again; "don't keep it up forever. By
the way, you're not the postman, are you?"

" Of course I'm not," said Davy.

"I'm glad of that," said the Hole-keeper; "postmen
are always so dreadfully busy. AYould you mind deliver-
ing a letter for me?" he added, lowering his voice con-
fidentially.

"Oh, no," answered Davy, rather reluctantly; "not if
it will be in my way."

"It's sure to be in your way, because it's so big," said
the Hole-keeper; and, taking the letter out of his pocket,
he handed it to Davy. It certainly was a very large
letter, curiously folded, like a dinner-napkin, and sealed
in a great many places with red and white peppermint
drops, and Davy was much pleased to see that it was
addressed: —

SINDBAD THE SAILOR'S HOUSE.

Captain Robinson Crusoe,
Jeran -Feranderj)erandamam,

B. G.

"What does B. G. stand for?" said Davy.

" Baldergong's Geography, of course," said the Hole-
keeper.

"But why do you put that on the letter?" inquired
Davy.

" Because you can't find Jeran Feranderperandamam
anywhere else, stupid," said the Hole-keeper, impatiently.
"But I can't stop to argue about it now;" and, saying this,
he turned into a side path, and disappeared in the wood.

As Davy walked mournfully along, turning the big letter
over and over in his hands, and feeling very confused by
the Hole-keeper's last remark, he presently saw, lying on
the walk before him, a small book, beautifully bound in
crimson morocco, and, picking it \\\), he saw that it was
marked on the cover: —

BALDERGONCi S STUFFING FOR THE STUPID.

"Perhaps this will tell me where to go," he thought
as he opened it; but it proved to be far more confusing
than the Hole-keeper himself had been. In fact it was

82 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

altogether the most ridiculous and provoking book Davy
had ever seen.

The first page was headed, in large capital letters: —

HOW TO FRILL GRIDDLE PIGS.

And it seemed to Davy that this ought to be something
about cooking sausages; but all he found below the head-
ing was : —

Never frill ''em: snuggle ^em always.

And this seemed so perfectly silly that he merely said,
'^Oh, bosh!" and turned impatiently to the next page.
This, however, was no better. The heading was: —

TWO WAYS OF FRUMPLIXG CRUMBLES.

And under this was —

One 10 ay : —
Frwnple your crimibles ivith rumbles.

The other way : —
Frumiile your crumbles: then add two grumbles of
tumbles and stir rapidly.

Davy read this over tw^o or three times, in the greatest
perplexity, and then gave it up in despair.

" It's nothing at all except a jumbly way of cooking*
something tumbly," he said to himself, and then turned
sadly to the third page. Alas! this was a great deal
worse, being headed : —

SINDDAD THE SAILOR'S HOUSE. 83

THE BEST SNUB FOR FEASTIE SPRALLSJ

and poor Davy began to feel as if he were taking leave
of his senses. He was just about to throw the book
clown in disgust, when it was suddenly snatched out of
his hands; and, turning hastily, he saw a savage glaring
at him from the bushes.

]!l^ow Davy knew perfectly well, as all little boys should
know, that when you meet a savage in the woods you
must get behind a tree as quickly as possible; but he
did this in such haste that he found, to his dismay, that
he and the savage had chosen the same tree, and in the
next instant the savage was after him. The tree was a
very large one, and Davy, in his fright, went around it
a number of times, so rapidly that he presently caught
sight of the back of the savage, and he was surprised
to see that he was no bigger than a large monkey;
and, moreover, that he was gorgeously dressed, in a
beautiful blue coat, with brass buttons on the tail of it,
and pink striped trousers. He had hardly made this
discovery when the savage vanished as mysteriously as
he had appeared, and the next moment Davy came sud-
denly upon a high paling of logs, that began at the
tree and extended in a straight line far out into the
forest.

It was very puzzling to Davy when it occurred to him
that, although he had been around the tree at least a
dozen times, he had never seen this paling before, and

84 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

a door that was in it also bothered him; for, though
it was quite an ordinary-looking door, it had no knob
nor latch, nor, indeed, any way of being opened that he
could perceive. On one side of it, in the paling, was
a , row of bell-pulls, marked: —

Family;

Police;

Butcher;

Baker;

CayidlesticTc-malcer ;

and on the door itself was a large knocker, marked : —

Postman.

After examining all these Davy decided that, as he
had a letter in charge, he was more of a postman than
anything else, and he therefore raised the knocker and
rapped loudly. Immediately all the bell-pulls began flying
in and out of their own accord, with a deafening
clangor of bells behind the paling; and then the door
swung slowly back upon its hinges.

Davy walked through the door-way and found himself
in the oddest-looking little country place that could
possibly be imagined. There was a little lawn laid out,
on which a sort of soft fur Avas growing instead of grass,
and here and there about the lawn, in the place of

SINDBAD THE SAILOR'S HOUSE.

flower-beds, little footstools, neatly covered with carpet,
were growing ont of the for. The trees were simply
large feather-dnsters, with varnished handles; but they
seemed, nevertheless, to be growing in a very thriving
manner, and on a little mound at the back of the lawn

■^^i

K.I-

^J**

>i» f. ' 'i- ^'S*'^

"THE SAVAGE WAS SITTING IN THE SHADE OF ONE OF THE DUSTERS.

stood a small house, built entirely of big conch-shells,
with their pink mouths tnrned outward. This gave the
house a very cheerful appearance, as if it were constantly
on a broad grin.

To Davy's dismay, however, the savage was sitting in
the shade of one of the dusters, complacently reading

86 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

the little red book, and he was just wondering- whether
or not he would be able to get out of the place with-
out being seen, when the little creature looked up at
him with a tremendous smile on his face, and Davy
saw, to his astonishment, that he was the Goblin, dressed
up like an Ethopian serenader.

"Oh! you dear, delicious old Goblin!" cried Davy, in
an ecstasy of joy at again finding his travelling-companion.
" And were you the savage that was chasing me just
now?"

The Goblin nodded his head, and, exclaiming "My, how
you did cut and run ! " rolled over and over, kicking his
heels about in a delirium of enjoyment.

"Goblin," said Davy, gravely, "I think we could have
just as good a time without any such doings as that."

"/ couldn't," said the Goblin, sitting up again and
speaking very positively; "it's about all the fun I have."

" Well, then," said Davy, " I Avish you wouldn't be dis-
appearing all the time. I think that is a very disagreeable
habit."

" Rubbish ! " said the Goblin, with a chuckle. " That's
only my way of getting a vacation."

"And where do you go?" inquired Davy; but this
proved to be a very unfortunate question, for the Goblin
immediately began fading away in such an alarming man-
ner that he would certainly have gone entirely out of
sight if Davy had not caught him by the coat-collar and
pulled him into view again with a gentle shake.

SINDBAD THE BAILORS HOUSE. 87

"Oh, I beg your pnrdon!" said Davy, who was greatly
alarmed by this narrow escape. " I really don't care
to know about that ; I only want to know what place
this is."

The Goblin stared about him in a dazed manner for
a moment, and then said, ^' Sindbad the Sailor's house."

"Really and truly?" said the delighted Davy.

"Really and treally truly," said the Goblin. "And here
he comes now ! "

Davy looked around and saw an old man coming toward
them across the lawn. He was dressed in a Turkish
costume, and wore a large turban and red morocco shppers
turned up at the toes like skates; and his white beard
was so long that at every fourth step he trod upon it
and fell flat on his face. lie took no notice whatever
of either Davy or the Goblin, and, after falling down a
number of times, took his seat upon one of the Utile
carpet footstools, and taking off his turban began stirring
about in it with a large wooden spoon. As he took off
his turban Davy saw that his head, which was perfectly
bald, was neatly laid out in black and white squares like
a chess-board.

" This here Turk is the most reckless old story-teller
that ever w^as born," said the Goblin, pointing with his
thumb over his shoulder at Sindbad. "You can't believe
half he tells you."

"Td like to hear one of his stories, for all that," said
Davy.

88 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

"All right!" said the Goblin, promptly; "just come
along with me, and he'll give iis a whopper."

As they started off to join Sindbad, Davy was much
surprised to see that the Goblin was much taller than
he had been ; in fact, he was now almost up to Davy's
shoulder.

" Why, I verily believe you've been growmg ! " ex-
claimed Davy, staring at him in amazement.

"I have," said the Goblin, calmly. "But I only did
it to fit these clothes. It's much handiei', you see, than
having a suit made to order."

"But, suppose the clothes had been too small?" argued
Davy.

^' Then I'd have grown the other way," replied the
Goblin, with an immense smile. "It doesn't make a bit
of difference to me which way I grow. Anything to be
comfortable is my rule ; " and as he said this they came
to where Sindbad was sitting, busily stirring with his
great spoon.

As Davy and the Goblin sat down beside him, Sindbad
hastily put on his turban, and, after scowling at Davy
for a moment, said to the Goblin, "It's no use telling
Mm anything; he's as deaf as a trunk."

" Then tell it to me," said the Goblin, with great
presence of mind.

"All right," said Sindbad, "I'll give you a nautical
one."

Here he rose for a moment, hitched up his big trousers

SINDBAD THE SAILOE'S HOUSE. 89

like a sailor, cocked his turban on one side of his head,
and, sitting down again, began : —

A capital shij) for an ocean tHj)

Was " The Walloping Window-blind ; "
No gale that hlew dismayed her crew

Or troubled the captain'' s tnind.
The man at tlie wheel was taught to feel

Contempt for the wildest blow.
And it often appeared, lohen the weather had cleared^

That he'd been in his bunk below.

The boatswainJs mate was very sedate.

Yet fond of amusement, too;
And he played hop-scotch loitJt the starboard ivatch.

While the captain tickled the crew.
And the gunner ive had tvas apjjarently mad,

For lie sat on the after-rail,
And fired salutes ivith the cajjtaiji's boots.

In the teeth of the booming gale.

TJie captain sat in a commodore's hat,

And dined, in a royal loay.
On toasted pigs and pickles and figs

And gummery bread, each day.
But the cook vxis Dutch, and behaved as such;

For the food that he gave the crew
Was a number of tons of hot-cross buns.

Chopped up with sugar and glue.

90 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

And loe all felt ill as mariiiei^s will.

On a diet thaCs cheap and rude;
And we shivered and shook as ive dipped the cook

In a tub of his gluesome food.
Then nautical pride we laid aside.

And we cast the vessel ashore
On the Gullihy Isles, where the Poohpooh smiles,

And the Anagazanders roar.

Composed of sand was that favored land.

And trimmed with cinnamon straivs;
And pink and blue was the pleasing hue

Of the Tickletoeteaser's claivs.
And we sat on the edge of a sandy ledge

And shot at the ivhistling bee;
And the Binnacle-bats wore water-proof hats

As they danced in the sounding sea.

On rubagub bark, from dawn to dark,

We fed, till ive all had grown
Uncommonly snrunk, — when a Chinese junk

Came by from the torriby zone.
She was stubby and square, but ive didn't much care.

And we cheerily jnit to sea;
And we left the crew of the Junk to chew

The bark of the rubagub tree.

Here Sindbad stopped, and gazed solemnly at Davy
and the Goblin.

0 -

SIN DEAD THE SAILOR'S HOUSE. 93

"If you please, sir," said Davy, respectfully, " what is
gummery bread? "

"It's bread stuffed with molasses," said Sindbad; "but
I never saw it anywhere except aboard of ^ The Prodi-
gal Pig.'"

" But," said Davy, in great surprise, " you said the
name of your ship was " —

" So I did, and so it was," interrupted Sindbad, testily.
" The name of a ship sticks to it like wax to a wig.
You ccmH change it."

"Who gave it that name?" said the Goblin.

" What name?" said Sindbad, looking very much as-
tonished.

"Why, ^ The Cantering Soup-tureen,'" said the Goblin,
winking at Davy.

" Oh, that name," said Sindbad, — " that was given to
her by the Alamagoozelum of Popjaw. But speaking
of soup-tureens, let's go and have some j^ie;" and, rising
to his feet, he gave one hand to Davy and the other
to the Goblin, and they all walked off in a row toward
the little shell house. This, however, proved to be a
very troublesome arrangement, for Sindbad was constantly
stepping on his long beard and falling down; and as he
kept a firm hold of his companions' hands they all went
down in a heap together a great many times. At last
Sindbad's turban fell off, and as he sat up on the grass,
and began stirring in it again with his wooden spoon,
Davy saw that it was full of broken chessmen.

DAVY AXD THE GOBLIN.

"It's a great improvement, isn't it?" said Sindbad.

"What is?" said Davy, very much puzzled.

"Why, this way of playing the game," said Sindbad.

"he gave OXE hand to DAVY AXD THE OTHER TO THE GOBLIN."

looting up at him complacently. "You see, you make all
the moves at once."

"It must be a very easy way," said Davy.

"It's nothing of the sort," said Sindbad, sharply.
"There are more moves in one of my games than in
twenty ordinary games;" and here he stirred up the
chessmen furiously for a moment, and then triumphantly
calling out "Check I" clapped the turban on his head.

As they set out again for the little house Davy saw
that it was slowly moving around the edge of the lawn,-

SINDBAD THE SAILOR'S HOUSE. 95

as if it were on a circular railway, and Sindbad followed
it around, dragging Davy and the Goblin with him,
but never getting any nearer to the house.

" Don't you think," said Davy, after a while, " that it
would be a good plan to stand still and wait until the
house came around to us?"

"Here, drop that!" exclaimed Sindbad, excitedly; "that's
my idea. I was just about proposing it myself."

" So was I," said the Goblin to Sindbad. " Just leave
my ideas alone, will you?"

^^ Your ideas!" retorted Sindbad, scornfully. "I didn't
know you'd brought any with you."

" I had to," replied the Goblin, with great contempt,
"otherwise there wouldn't have been any on the prem-
ises."

"Oh! come, I say!" cried Sindbad; "that's my sneer,
you know. Don't go to putting the j^oint of it the wrong
way."

" Take it back, if it's the only one you have," retorted
the Goblin, with another wink at Davy.

"Thank you, I believe I will," replied Sindbad, meekly;
and, as the little house came along just then, they all
stepped in at the door as it went by. As they did so,
to Davy's amazement, Sindbad and the Goblin quietly
vanished, and Davy, instead of being inside the house,
found himself standing in a dusty road, quite alone.

96 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

CHAPTER IX.

LAY-OVERS FOR MEDDLERS.

As Davy stood in the road, in doubt which way to
go, a Roc came around the corner of the house. She
was a large bird, nearly six feet tall, and was comforta-
bly dressed, in a bonnet and a plaid shawl, and wore
overshoes. About her neck was hung a covered basket
and a door-key ; and Davy at once concluded that she
was Sindbad's house-keeper.

" I didn't mean to keep you waiting," said the Roc,
leading the way along the road; "but I declare that,
what with combing that lawn every morning with a fine-
tooth comb, and brushing those shells every evening with
a fine tooth-brush, I don't get time for anything else
let alone feeding the animals."

" What animals ? " said Davy, beginning to be inter-
ested.

" Why, Ids, of course," said the Roc, rattling on in
her harsh voice. "There's an Emphasis and two Periodi-
cals, and a Spotted Disaster, all crawlin' and creepin' and
scree chin' " —

Here Davy, unable to control himself, burst into a fit
of laughter, in which the Roc joined heartily, rolling
her head from side to side, and repeating, "All crawlin'

LAY-OVERS FOR MEDDLERS.

and creepin' and screechin','' over and over again, as if
that were the cream of the joke. Suddenly she stopped
laughing, and said in a low voice, "You don't happen
to have a beefsteak about you, do you?''

Davy confessed that he had not, and the Roc con-
tinued, " Then I must go back. Just hold my basket,

OJjUrr'Sc^

like a good child." Here there was a scuffling sound in
the basket, and the Roc rajjped on the cover with her
hard beak, and cried, " Hush ! "

"What's in it?" said Davy, cautiously taking the
basket.

"Lay-overs for meddlers," said the Roc, and, hurrying
back along the road, was soon out of sight.

98 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

" T wonder what they're Hke," said Davy to himself,
getting down upon his hands and knees and hstening
curiously with his ear against the cover of the basket.
The scuffling sound continued, mingled with little sneezes
and squeaking sobs, as if some very small kittens had bad
colds and were crying about it.

"I think I'll take a peep," said Davy, looking cau-
tiously about him. There was no one in sight, and he
carefully raised the cover a little way and tried to look
in. The scuffling sonnd and the sobs ceased, and the
next instant the cover flew oft' the basket, and out poured
a swarm of little brown creatures, like snufi'-boxes with
legs. As they scampered off" in all directions Davy made
a frantic grab at one of them, when it instantly turned
over on its back and blew a pufli' of smoke into his face,
and he rolled over in the road, almost stifled. When he
was able to sit up again and look about him the empty
basket was lying on its side near him, and not a lay-over
was to be seen. At that moment the Roc came in sight,
hurrying along the road with her shawl and her bonnet-
strings fluttering behind her; and Davy, clapping the
cover on the basket, took to his heels and ran for dear
life.

lilBSY. 99

CHAPTER X.

KIBSY.

The road was very dreary and dusty, and wound in
and out in the most tiresome way until it seemed to
have no end to it, and Davy ran on and on, half ex-
pecting at any moment to feel the Roc's great beak
pecking at his back. Fortunately his legs carried him
along so remarkably well that he felt he could run for
a week; and, indeed, he might have done so if he had
not, at a sharp turn in the road, come suddenly upon a
horse and cab. The horse was fast asleep when Davy
dashed against him, but he woke up with a start, and,
after whistling like a locomotive once or twice in a very
alarming manner, went to sleep again. He was a very
frowsy-looking horse, with great lumps at his knees and
a long, crooked neck like a camel's; but what attracted
Davy's attention particularly was the word " Ribsy " painted
in whitewash on his side in large letters. He was look-
ing at this, and wondering if it were the horse's name,
when the dooi* of the cab flew open and a man fell out,
and, after rolling over in the dust, sat up in the middle
of the road and began yawning. He was even a more ri-
diculous-looking object than the horse, being dressed in a
clown's suit, with a morning-gown over it by way of a

100 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

top-coat, and a field-marshal's cocked hat. In fact, if he
had not had a whip in his hand no one would ever have
taken him for a cabman. After yawning- heartily he
looked up at Davy, and said drowsily, "^ Where to?"

" To B. G.," said Davy, hastily referring to the Hole-
keeper's letter.

" All right," said the cabman, yawning again. " Climb
in, and don't put your feet on the cushions."

I*^ow, this was a ridiculous thing for him to say, for
when Davy stepped inside he found the only seats were
some three-legged stools huddled together in the back part
of the cab, all the rest of the space being taken up by
a large bath-tub that ran across the front end of it.
Davy turned on one of the faucets, but nothing came out
except some dust and a few small bits of gravel, and he
shut it off again, and, sitting down on one of the little
stools, waited patiently for the cab to start.

Just then the cabman put his head in at the window,
and, winking at him confidentially, said, " Can you tell
me why this horse is like an umbrella*? "

"Xo," said Davy.

" Because he's used z^^?," said the cabman.

"I don't think that's a very good conundrum," said
Davy.

"So do I," said the cabman. "But it's the best one
I can make with this horse. Did you say JN^. B.?" he
asked.

"Xo, I said B. G.," said Davy.

RIBSY.

101

" All right," said the cabman again, and disappeared
from the window. Presently there was a loud trampling
overhead, and Davy, putting his head out at the window,
saw that the cabman had climbed up on top of the cab

THE CABMAN HAD CLIMBED UP ON TOP OF THE CAB AND
THROWING STONES AT THE HORSE."

and was throwing stones at the horse, which was still
sleeping peacefully.

"It's all right," said the cabman, cheerfully, as he
caught sight of Davy. "If he doesn't start pretty soon
I'll give him some snuff. That ahoays wakes him up."

"Oh! don't do that," said Davy, anxiously. "I'd
rather get out and walk."

102 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

"Well, I wish yoQ would," said the cabman, in a tone
of great relief. " This is a very valuable stand, and I
don't care to lose ray place on it; " and Davy accord-
ingly jumped out of the cab and walked away.

Presently there was a clattering of hoofs behind him,
and Kibsy came galloping along the road, with nothing
on him but his collar. He was holding his big head
high in the air, like a giraffe, and gazing proudly about
him as he ran. He stopped short when he saw the
little boy, and, giving a triumphant whistle, said cheer-
fully, "How are you again?"

It seemed rather strange to be spoken to by a cab-
horse, but Davy answered that he was feeling quite
well.

" So am I," said Ribsy. " The fact is, that when it
comes to beating a horse about the head with a three-
legged stool, if that horse is going to leave at all, it's
time he was off."

"I should think it was," said Davy, earnestly.

"You'll observe, of course, that I've kept on my shoes
and my collar," said Kibsy. "It isn't genteel to go
barefoot, and nothing makes a fellow look so untidy as
going about without a collar. The truth is," he con-
tinued, sitting down in the road on his hind legs, — "the
truth is, I'm not an ordinary horse, by any means. I
have a history, and I've arranged it in a popular form,
in six canters, — I mean cantos," he added, hastily cor-
recting himself.

RTBSY. 108

" I'd like to hear it, if you }3]ease," said Davy, po-
litely.

" Well, I'm a little hoarse," — began Ribsy.

"I think you're a very big horse," said Davy, in great
surprise.

"I'm referring to my voice," said Eibsy, haughtily.
" Be good enough not to interrupt me again ; " and,
giving two or three preliminary whistles to clear his
throat, he began : —

Ifs very confining, this living in stables.

And passing one's time among luagons and. carts;

I much prefer dining at gentlemen's tables.
And living on turkeys and cranberry tarts.

I find with surprise that Tm constantly sneezing ;

Tin stiff in the legs, and Fm often for sale;
And the blue-bottle flies, with their tiresome teasing.

Are quite out of reach of my weary old tail.

" By the way," said Ribsy, getting up and turning
himself around, " what does my tail look like ? "

"I think," said Davy, after a careful inspection, "I
think it looks something like an old paint-brush."

"So I supposed," said Ribsy, gloomily, and, sitting
down again, he went on with his history : —

As spry as a kid and as trim as a spider
Was I in the days of the Turnip-top Hunt,

104 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

When I used to get rid of the weight of my rider
And canter contentedly in at the front.

I never was told that this jocidar feature
Of mine was a trick reprehensibly rude.

And yet I ivas sold, like a commonplace creattire.
To 20ork in a circus for lodgings and food.

"I suppose you have never been a circus-horse?" said
Ribsy, stopping short in his verses again and gazing
inquiringly^ at Davy.

"Never," ^said Davy.

" Then you don't know anything about it," said Ribsy.
" Here we go again : " —

Pray why, if you please, should a capable charger
Perform on a ladder and prance in a show?

And why should his knees be made thicker and larger
By teaching him tricks that he'd rather- not know?

Oil ! why should a horse, for society fitted.
Be doomed to employment so utterly bad,

And ivhy should a coarse-looking man be permitted
To dance on his back on a top-heavy pad?

Here Ribsy paused once more, and Davy, feeling that
he ought to make some sort of an answer to such a
lot of questions, said helplessly, "I don't know."

" No more do I," said Ribsy, tossing his head scornfully.

RIBSY. 105

It made me a wrecks with no hope of improvement^

Too feeble to race with an invalid crab;

I^m wry in the neck, with a rickety movement

Peculiarly suited for draiving a cab.

T7iey pinch me with i^traps, and they bruise me until buckles.
They drive me too rapidly over the stones; —

A reason, perliaps, why a number of knuckles
Have lately appeared on my prominent bones.

"I see them," cried Davy, eagerly; "I thought they
were corns."

"Thank you," said Ribsy, haughtily. "As the iiext
verse is the last you needn't trouble yourself to make
any further observations."

/ dream of a spot which I used to roam over
In infancy'' s days, with a frolicsome skip,

Content with my lot, tohich was planted ivith clover.
And never annoyed by the crack of a lohip.

But I think my remarks will determine the question.

Of why I am bony and thin as a rail;

Im off for some larks, to improve my digestion.

And point tJie stern moral conveyed by my tail.

Here Ribsy got upon his legs again, and, after a re-
freshing filhp with his heels, cantered off along the road,
whistling as he went. Two large blue-bottle flies were

106 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

on his back, and his tail was flying around, with an
angry whisk, like a pin-wheel; but, as he disappeared in
the distance, the flies were still sitting calmly on the
ridge of his spine, apparently enjoying the scenery.

Davy was about to start out again on his journey,
when he heard a voice shouting "Hi! Hi!" and, looking
back, he saw the poor cabman coming along the road
on a brisk trot, dragging his cab after him. He had
on Ribsy's harness, and seemed to be m a state of
tremendous excitement.

As he came up with Davy the door of the cab flew
open again, and the three-legged stools came tumbling
out, followed by a dense cloud of dust.

"Get in! Get in!" shouted the cabman, excitedly,
"^ever mind the dust; IVe turned it on to make believe
we're going tremendously fast."

Davy hastily scrambled in, and the cabman started off"
again. The dust was pouring out of both ftiucets, and
a heavy shower of gravel was rattling into the bath-tub;
and, to make matters worse, the cabman was now going
along at such an astonishing speed that the cab rocked
violently from side to side, like a boat in a stormy sea.
Davy made a frantic attempt to shut off" the dust, but
it seemed to come faster and faster, until he was almost
choked, and by this time the gravel had become as large
as cherry-stones, and was flying around in the cab and
rattling about his ears like a little hail-storm. N^ow, all
this was a great deal more than Davy had bargained for.

RIBSY. 107

and it was so veiy unpleasant that he presently sat down
on the floor of the cab in the hope of getting a little out
of the way of the flying gravel. As he did this the rock-
ing motion became less violent, and then ceased altogether,
as though the cabman had suddenly come to a stop.
Then the dust cleared away, and Davy, to his surprise,
found himself sitting in the road directly in front of the
little house that Jack built.

The cabman and his cab had vanished entirely, but,
curiously enough, the cab door was standing wide open
in the wall of the house, just above the porch and in the
opening, stood the red Cow gazing down upon him, and
solemnly chewing, as before. The house had such a fa-
miliar look to him that Davy felt quite at home; and,
moreover, the Cow seemed quite like an old acquaintance,
compared with the other creatures he had met, and he was
just about to begin a friendly conversation with her,
when she suddenly stopped chewing, and said, " How did
you get here?"

" I came in a cab," said Davy. " We came along just
behind the horse."

"People in cabs usually do," said the Cow; "leastwise
I never heard of any of 'em being ahead of him."

" But this horse was running away, you know," said
Davy.

"Where was the cabman?" said the Cow, suspiciously.

" He was drawing the cal3, ' said Davy.

108 DAVY AND THE aOBLIN.

"What!" exclaimed the Cow, — "while the horse was
running away? Oh, come, I say!"

"He was, truly," said Davy, laughing; "you never saw
anything half so i-idiculous."

"I certainly never did — that I can remember," said the
Cow; "but then, you see, I haven't always been a
cow."

"Keally?" said Davy.

"Keally," said the Cow, very solemnly. "The fact is,
I've been changed."

"And what did you use to be?" said Davy, who was
now fully prepared for something marvellous.

" A calf," said the Cow, with a curious rumbling chuckle.

" I don't think thafs a very good joke," said the disap-
pointed little boy.

"It's a deal funnier than your cab story," said the Cow.
" And, what's more, it's true ! Good-afternoon." And with
this the Cow disappeared from the opening, and the cab
door shut to with a loud bang.

Davy sat still for a moment, hoping that Mother Hubbard,
or perhaps the dog, or even the cat, would appear, so that
he might explain his story about the cab. None of them
came; but meauAvhile a very extraordinary thing happened,
for the house itself began to go. First the chimneys sank
down through the roof, as if they were being lowered into
the cellar. Then the roof itself, with its gables and dormer
windows, softly folded itself flat down upon the top of the
house, out of sight. Then the cab door and the latticed

• RIBSY. 109

windows fluttered gently for a moment, as if rather uncertain
how to dispose of themselves, and finally faded away, one
by one, as if they had been soaked into the bricks. Then
the porch gi'avely took itself to pieces and carried itself,
so to speak, carefully in through the front door; and
finally the front door went in itself, and nothing was left
of the house that Jack built but a high brick wall, with
the climbing roses running all over it like a beautiful
pink vine. All this was so unexpected and so wonderful
that Davy sat quite still, expecting something marvellous
of this wall; but it proved to be a very matter-of-fact
afiair, with no intention whatever of doing anything or
going anywhere, and, after watching it attentively for a
few moments, Davy got up and resumed his journey along
the road.

11 Q DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

CHAPTER XI.

EOBiNsoN Crusoe's island.

"This is a very sloppy road," said Davy to himself,
as he walked away from the Bean-stalk farm; and it
was, indeed, a very sloppy road. The dnst had quite
disappeared, and the sloppiness soon changed to such a
degree of wetness that Davy presently found himself in
water up to his ankles. He turned to go back, and
saw, to his alarm, that the land in every direction seemed
to be miles away, and the depth of the water increased
so rapidly that, before he could make up his mind what
to do, it had risen to his shoulders, and he was carried
off his feet and found himself apparently drifting out to
sea. The water, however, was warm and pleasant, and
he discovered that, instead of sinking, he Avas floated
gently along, slowly turning in the water like a float on
a fishing-line. This was very agreeable; but he was,
nevertheless, greatly relieved when a boat came in sight
sailing toward him. As it came near, it pi'oved to be
the clock, with a sail hoisted, and the Goblin sitting
complacently in the stern.

" How d'ye do, Gobsy? " said Davy.

" Prime ! " said the Goblin, enthusiastically.

liOBINSON CRUSOE'S ISLAND. m

" Well, stop the clock," said Davy ; " I want to get
aboard."

"I haven't any board," said the Goblin, in great sur-
prise.

"I mean I want to get into the clock," said Davy,
laughing. "I don't think you're much of a sailor."

"I'm not," said the Goblin, as Davy climbed in. "I've
been sailing one way for ever so long, because I don't
know how to turn around; but there's a landing-place
just ahead."

Davy looked over his shoulder and found that they
were rapidly approaching a little wooden pier, standing
about a foot out of the water. Beyond it stretched a
broad expanse of sandy beach.

"What place is it?" said Davy.

"It's called Hickory Dickory Dock," said the Goblin.
" All the eight-day clocks stop here ; " and at this mo-
ment the clock struck against the timbers with a violent
thump, and Davy was thrown out, heels over head, upon
the dock. He scrambled upon his feet again as quickly
as possible, and saw, to his dismay, that the clock had
been turned completely around by the shock and was
rapidly drifting out to sea again. The Goblin looked
back despairingly, and Davy just caught the words, "I
don't know how to turn around!" when the clock was
carried out of hearing distance, and soon disappeared
on the horizon.

The beach was covered in every direction with little

112 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

hills of sand, like haycocks, with scraggy bunches of
sea-weed sticking out of the tops of them; and Davy
was wondering how they came to be there, when he
caught sight of a man walking along the edge of the
water, and now and then stopping and gazing earnestly
out to sea. As the man drew nearer, Davy saw that
he was dressed in a suit of brown leather, and wore a
high-peaked hat, and that a little procession, consisting
of a dog, a cat, and a goat, was following patiently at
his heels, while a parrot was perched upon his shoulder.
They all wore very hu-ge linen collars and black cravats,
which gave them a very serious appearance.

Davy was morally certain that the man was Robinson
Crusoe. He carried an enormous gun, which he loaded
from time to time, and then, aiming carefull}^ at the sea,
fired. There was nothing very alarming about this, for
the gun, when fired, only gave a faint squeak, and the
bullet, which was about the size of a small orange,
dropped out quietly upon the sand. Robinson, for it
was really he, always seemed to be greatly astonished at
this result, peering long and anxiously down into the
barrel of the gun, and sometimes listening attentively,
with his ear at the muzzle. His animal companions, how-
ever, seemed to be greatly alarmed whenever he pre-
pared to fire; and, scampering oif, hid behind the little
hills of sand until the gun was discharged, when they
would return, and, after solemnly watching their master
reload his piece, follow him along the beach as before.

EOBINSOJ^ CRUSOE'S ISLAND. 113

This was all so ridiculous that Davy had great diffi-
culty in keeping a serious expression on his face as
he walked up to Robinson and handed him the Hole-
keeper's letter. Robinson looked at him suspiciously
as he took it, and the animals eyed him with evident
distrust.

Robinson had some difficulty in opening the letter,
which was sopping wet, and took a long time to read
it, Davy, meanwhile, waiting patiently. Sometimes Rob-
inson would scowl horribly, as if puzzled, and then, again,
he would chuckle to himself, as if vastly amused with the
contents; but as he turned the letter over, in reading it,
Davy could not help seeing that it was simply a blank
sheet of paper, with no writing whatever upon it except
the address. This, however, was so like the Hole-keeper's
way of doing things that Davy was not much surprised
when Robinson remarked, "He has left out the greatest
lot of comical things ! "" and, stooping down, buried the
letter in the sand. Then, picking up his gun, he said,
"You may walk about in the grove as long as you
please, provided you don't pick anything."

" What grove ? " said Davy, very much surprised.

" This one," said Robinson, proudly pointing out the
tufts of sea- weed. "They're beach-trees, you know; I
planted 'em myself. I had to have some place to go
shooting in, of course."

"Can you shoot with tJiat gun?" said Davy.

"Shoot! Why, it's a splendid gun!" said Robinson,

114

DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

gazing at it proudly. " I made it myself — out of a
spy-glass."

"It doesn't seem to go off," said Davy, doubtfully.

ROBINSON REMARKED ' HE HAS LEFT OUT THE GREATEST LOT OF COMICAL THINGS.

" That's the beauty of it ! " exclaimed Robinson, with
great enthusiasm. " Some guns go off, and you never
see 'em again."

" But I mean that it doesn't make any noise," persisted

Davy.

BOBINSON CRUSOE' iS ISLAND. 115

" Of course it doesn't," said Robinson. "That's because
I load it with tooth-powder."

" But I don't see what you can shoot with it," said
Davy, feeUng that he was somehow getting the worst of
the argument.

Robinson stood gazing thoughtfully at him for a moment,
while the big bullet rolled out of the gun with a rum-
bling sound and fell into the sea. " I see what you
want," he said, at length. "You're after my personal
history. Just take a seat in the family cu'cle and I'll
give it to you."

Davy looked around and saw that the dog, the goat,
and the cat were seated respectfully in a semicircle, with
the parrot, which had dismounted, sitting beside the dog.
He seated himself on the sand at the other end of the
line, and Robinson began as follows : —

The night was (hick and hazy

When the " Piccadilly Daisy "
Carried doion the crew and captain in the sea;

And I tliink the water droumed 'em;

Por they never, never found 'em,
And I know they didn't come ashore loith me.

Oh! 'twas very sad and lonely

When I found myself the only
Population on this cultivated shore;

But I've made a little tavern

In a rocky little cavern.
And 1 sit and watch for people at the door.

116 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

I spent no time in looking

For a girl to do iny cooking,
A.S Pm quite a clever hand, at making steivs:

But I had that fellow Friday,

Just to heep the tavern tidy.
And to put a Sunday polish on my shoes.

I have a Utile garden

That Fm cultivating lard in.
As the things I eat are rather tough and dry;

For I live on toasted lizards,

PricMy pears, and parrot gizzards.
And Tm really very fond of beetle-pie.

The clothes I had were furry,

And it made me fret and worry
When I found the moths ivere eating off the hair;

And I had to scrape and sand 'em,

And I boiled 'em and I tanned 'em,
Till I got the fine morocco suit I loear.

I sometiines seek diversion

In a family excursion
With the few domestic animals you see;

And we take along a carrot

As refreshment for the jjarrof.
And a little can of jungleberry tea.

Then we gather, as we travel.
Bits of moss and dirty gravel,
And we chip off little specimens of stone;

ROBINSON CRUSOE'S ISLAND. 119

And we cany home as prizes
Funny bugs, of handy sizes^
Just to give the day a scientific tone.

If the roads are wet and muddy

We remain at home and study, —
For the Goat is very clever at a sum, —

And the Dog, instead of figJding,

Studies ornamental writing,
While the Cat is taking lessons on the drum.

We retire at eleven.

And we rise again at seven;
And I wish to call attention, as I close.

To the fact that all the scholars

Are correct about their collars.
And jparticular in turning out tlieir toes.

Here Robinson called out, in a loud voice , " First
class in arithmetic!" but the animals sat perfectly motion-
less, sedately staring at him.

"Oh! by the way," said Robinson, confidentially to
Davy, "this Is the first class in arithmetic. That's the
reason they didn't move, you see. ^ow, then, " he con-
tinued sharply, addressing the class, "how many halves
are there in a whole? "

There was a dead silence for a moment, and then the
Cat said gravely, "What kind of a hole?"

120 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

"That has nothmg to do with it," said Robinson,
impatiently.

" Oh ! hasn't it, though ! ", exclaimed the Dog, scornfully.
"I should think a big hole could have more halves in
it than a little one."

" Well, rather,^'' ])ut in the Parrot, contemptuously.

Here the Goat, who apparently had been carefully
thinking the matter over, said in a low, quavering voice,
"Must all the halves be of the same size?"

"Certainly not," said Kobinson, promptly; then, nudging
Davy with his elbow, he whispered, " He's bringing his
mind to bear on it. He's prodigious when he gets
started ! "

"Who taught him arithmetic?"" said Davy, who was
beginning to think Robinson didn't know much about
it himself.

" AVell, the feet is," said Robinson, confidentially, "he
jDicked it up from an old Addei', that he met in the
woods."

Here the Goat, who evidently was not yet quite started,
inquired, "Must all the halves be of the same shape?"

" ^ot at all," said Robinson, cheerfully. "Have 'em
any shape you like."

" Then I give it up," said the Goat.

" So do I," said the Dog.

"And I," said the Cat.

"Me, too," said the Parrot.

"Well!" exclaimed Davy, quite out of patience. "You

BOBINSON CRUSOE'S ISLAND. 121

are certainly the stupidest lot of creatures I ever
saw."

At this the animals stared mournfully at him for a
moment, and then rose up and walked gravely away.

"I*^ow you've spoiled the exercises," said Robinson,
peevishly. "I'ni sorry I gave 'em such a staggerer to
begin with." 4

" Pooh ! " said Davy, contemptuously. ^^ If they couldn't
do that sum they couldn't do anything."

Robinson gazed at him admiringly for a moment, and
then, looking cautiously about him, to make sure that
the procession was out of hearing, said coaxingly: —

"What's the right answer? Tell us, like a good
fellow."

" Two, of course," said Davy.

"Is that all?" exclaimed Robinson, in a tone of great
astonishment.

" Certainly," said Davy, who began to feel very proud
of his learning. "Don't you know that when they divide
a wdiole into four parts they call them fourths, and
when they divide it into two parts they call them
halves? "

" Why don't they call them tooths ? " said Robinson,
obstinately. " The fact is, they ought to call 'em teeth.
That's what puzzled the Goat. IS^ext time I'll say, ^ How
many teeth in a whole ? ' "

" Then the Cat w^ill ask if it's a rat-hole," said Davy,
laughing at the idea.

122 DAVY AMD THE GOBLIN.

"You positively convulse me, you're so very humorous,"
said Robiuson, without a vestige of a smile. " You're
almost as droll as Friday was. He used to call the
Goat ^Pat,' because he said he was a little Initter. I
told him that was altogether too funny for a lonely place
like this, and he went away and joined the minstrels."

Here Robinson suddenly turned pale, and, hastily i-each-
ing out for his gun, sprang to his feet.

Davy looked out to sea, and saw that the clock, with
the Goblin standing in the stern, had come in sight again,
and was heading directly for the shore Avith tremendous
speed. The poor Goblin, who had turned sea-green in
color, was frantically waving his hands to and fro, as if
motioning for the beach to get out of the way; and
Davy watched his approach with the greatest anxiety.
Meanwhile the animals had mounted on four sand-hills,
and were solemnly looking on, Avhile Robinson, who
seemed to have run out of tooth-powder, was hurriedly
loading his gun with sand. The next moment the clock
struck the beach with great force, and, turning completely
over on the sand, buried the Goblin beneath it. Robin-
son was just making a convulsive effort to fire off* his
gun, when the clock began striking loudly, and he and
the animals fled in all directions in the wildest dismay.

A WHALE IM A WAISTCOAT. 123

CHAPTER XII.

A WHALE IN A WAISTCOAT.

Da\^" rushed up to the clock, and, puUing open the
Httle door in the front of it, looked inside. To his great
disappointment the Goblin had again disappeared, and
there was a smooth, round hole running down into the
sand, as though he had gone directly through the beach.
He was listening at this hole, in the hope of hearing
from the Goblin, when a voice said, "I suppose that's
what they call going into the interior of the country;"
and, looking up, he saw the Hole-keeper sitting on a
little mound in the sand, with his great book in his
lap.

The little man had evidently been having a hard time
since Davy had seen him. His complexion had quite lost
its beautiful transparency, and his jaunty little paper tunic
was sadly rumpled, and, moreover, he had lost his cocked
hat. All this, however, had not at all disturbed his
complacent conceit ; he was, if anything, more pompous
than ever.

"How did you get here?" asked Davy, in astonishment.

"I'm banished," said the Hole-keeper, cheerfully. "That's
better than being boiled, any day. Did you give Robin-
son my letter?"

124 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

" Yes, I did," said Davy, as they walked along the
beach together; "but I got it very wet coming here."

"That was quite right," said the Hole-keeper. "There's
nothing so tiresome as a dry letter. Well, I suppose
Robinson is expecting me by this time, isn't he ? "

"I don't know, Fm sure," said Davy. "He didn't say
that he was expecting you."

"He must be," said the Hole-keeper, positively. "I
never even mentioned it in my letter; so, of course, he'll
know I'm coming. By the way," he added, hurriedly
opening his book, and staring anxiously at one of the
blank pages, " there isn't a word in here about Billy-
weazles. This place must be full of 'em."

"What are they?" said Davy.

" They're great pink birds, without any feathers on 'em,"
replied the Hole-keeper, solemnly. "And they're particu-
larly fond of sugar. That's the worst thing about 'em."

" I don't think there's anything very wicked in that,"
said Davy.

" Oh ! of course you don't," said the Hole-keeper, fret-
fully. " But you see I haven't any trowsers on, and I
don't fancy having a lot of strange Billyweazles nibbling
at my legs. In fact, if you don't mind, I'd like to run
away from here."

"Very well," said Davy, who was himself beginning to
feel rather nervous about the Billyweazles, and accord-
ingly he and the Hole-keeper started off along the beach
as fast as they could run.

A WHALE IN A WAISTCOAT. 125

Presently the Hole-keejDer stopped short and said, faintly,
"It strikes me the sun is very hot here."

The sun certainly was very hot, and Davy, looking at
the Hole-keeper as he said this, saw that his face was
gradually and very curiously losing its expression, and
that his nose had almost entirely disappeared.

"What's the matter?" inquired Davy, anxiously.

"The matter is that I'm going back into the raw ma-
terial," said the Hole-keeper, dropping his book, and
sitting down helplessly in the sand. " See here, Frinkles,"
he continued, beginning to speak very thickly ; " wrap
me up in my shirt and mark the packish distingly. Take
off shir quigly!" and Davy had just time to pull the
poor creature's shirt over his head and spread it quickly
on the beach, when the Hole-keeper fell down, rolled
over upon the garment, and, bubbling once or twice, as
if he were boiling, melted away into a comj^act lump of
brown sugar.

Davy was deeply affected by this sad incident, and,
though he had never really liked the Hole-keeper, he
could hardly keep back his tears as he wrapped up the
lump in the paper shirt and laid it carefully on the big
book. In fact, he was so disturbed in his mind that he
was on the point of going away without marking the
package, when, looking over his shoulder, he suddenly
caught sight of the Cockalorum standing close beside
him, carefully holding an inkstand, with a pen in it, in
one of his claws.

126

DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

"Oh! thank you very much," said Davy, takmg the
l^en and dippmg it in the ink. "And will you please
tell me his name?"

The Cockalorum, who still had his head done up in
flannel, and was looking rather ill, paused for a moment
to reflect, and then murmured, " Mark him ^ Coi^fectlon-
ery.'' "

This struck Davy as being a very happy idea, and he
accordingly printed " Coistfexionry " on the package in

~jm^^'%i^~

"the cockalokum cakefully inspected the marking."

his very best manner. The Cockalorum, with his head
turned critically on one side, carefully inspected the mark-
ing, and then, after earnestly gazing for a moment at
the inkstand, gravely drank the rest of the ink and
off'ered the empty inkstand to Davy.

"I don't want it, thank you," said Davy, stepping
back.

A WHALE 7.V A WAISTCOAT. 129

" No more do I," murmured the Cockalorum, and, toss-
ing the inkstand into the sea, flew away in his usual
clumsy fashion.

Davy, after a last mournful look at the package of
brown sugar, turned away, and was setting off along the
beach again, when he heard a gurgling sound coming
from behind a great hummock of sand, and, peeping cau-
tiously around one end of it, he was startled at seeing
an enormous « whale lying stretched out on the sand
basking in the sun, and lazily fanning himself with the
flukes of his tail. The great creature had on a huge
white garment, buttoned up in front, with a lot of live
seals flopping and wriggling at one of the button-holes,
and with a great chain cable leading from them to a
pocket at one side. Before Davy could retreat the
Whale caught sight of him and called out, in a tre-
mendous voice, -^ How d'ye do. Bub?"

"I'm pretty well, I thank you," said Davy, with his
usual politeness to man and beast. " How are you,
sir? "

" Hearty ! " thundered the Whale ; " never felt better in
all my life. But it's rather warm lying here in the
sun."

" Why don't you take off your " — Here Davy stopped,
not knowing exactly what it was the Whale had on.

" Waistcoat," said the Whale, condescendingly. " It's a
canvas-back-duck waistcoat. The front of it is made of
wild duck, you see, and the back of it out of the fore-

130 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

top-sail of a brig. I've heard they always have
watches on board of ships, but I couldn't find any on
this one, so I had to satisfy myself with a bit of chain
cable by way of a watch-guard. I think this bunch of
seals rather sets it off, don't you?"

" Yes, rather," said Davy, doubtfully ; " only they slobber
so."

"Ah, that reminds me that it's wash-day," said the
Whale; and here he spouted a great stream of water
out of the top of his head and let it run down in a
little cascade all over the front of his waistcoat. The
seals seemed to enjoy this amazingly, and flopped about
in an ecstasy.

"What do whales eat?" said Davy, who thought it
was a good time for picking up a little information.

" Warious whales wants warious wiands," replied the
Whale. " That's an old sea-saw, you know. For my part
I'm particularly fond of small buoys."

" I don't think that is a very nice taste," said Davy,
beginning to feel very uneasy.

"Oh! don't be frightened," bellowed the Whale, good-
naturedly. " I don't mean live boys. I mean the little red
things that float about in the water. Some of 'em have
lights on 'em, and them are particularly nice and
crisp."

"Is it nice being a Whale?" said Davy, who was
anxious to change the subject.

" Famous ! " said the Whale, with an aftable roar.

A WHALE IN A WAISTCOAT. 133

"Great fun, I assure you! We have fish-balls every
night, you know."

"Fish-balls at night!" exclaimed Davy. "Why, we
always have ours for breakfast."

" ]!^onsense ! " thundered the Whale, with a laugh that
made the beach quake ; " I don't mean anything to eat.
I mean dancing parties."

" And do you dance ? " said Davy, thinking that if he
did it must be a very extraordinary performance.

"Dance?" said the Whale, with a reverberating chuckle.
"Bless jowl I'm as nimble as a sixpence. By the way
I'll show you the advantage of having a bit of whale-
bone in one's composition; " and with these words the
Whale curled himself up, then flattened out suddenly with
a tremendous flop, and, shooting through the air like a
flying elephant, disappeared with a great splash in the
sea.

Davy stood anxiously watching the spot where he went
down, in the hope that he would come up again; but he
soon discovered that the Whale had gone for good. The
sea was violently tossed about for a few moments, and
then began circling out into great rings around the spot
where the Whale had gone down. These soon disappeared,
however, and the water resumed its lazy ebb and flow upon
the shore; and Davy, feeling quite lonesome and deserted,
sat down on the sand, and gazed mournfully out upon
the sea.

134 DAVY AND THE OOBLIN.

CHAPTEK XIII.

THE TALKING WAVES, AND THE OLD SEA-DOG.

"I WONDER why the ocean doesn't keep still sometimes,
and not be moving its edge about all the time," said Davy,
after v/atching the waves that constantly rolled up on
the beach and then rolled back again, looking like creamy
soap-suds.

" That Avouldn't do at all ! " said a Wave that rolled
almost up to his feet. " The beach gets mussed, you see,
and we have to smooth it off again. The sea is always
tidy; " and here the Wave broke with a little, murmuring
laugh, and rolled back again, all in a foam.

Davy was so astonished that it almost took away his
breath. A talking Wave was certainly the most mar-
vellous thing he had met with, and in an instant he was
lying flat on his face, trembling with eagerness, and wait-
ing for the next Wave to roll up on the shore.

It came in a moment, and gently whis23ered, "If we
didn't wet the sand once in a while there wouldn't be
any nuts on the beach-trees, — no nuts on the trees, and
no shells on the shore ; " and here this Wave broke in
its turn into foam, and ran back into the sea.

"This is perfectly delicious!" said Davy, joyfully, and

TALKING WAVES, AND OLD SEA-DOG. 135

as the next Wave rolled up to him he softly asked, " Do
you know the Whale?"

"Know him!" cried the Wave, passionately; "I should
think I did! Many a time I've been spanked by his horrid
old tail. The nasty, blundering, floundering, walloping
old " — and here tlie end of the sentence dribbled away
in a sort of washy whisper.

" Such a mouth ! " said the next Wave, taking up the
story. "Like a fishing-smack lined with red morocco!
And such a temper! I wouldn't be so crusty for all" —
but just here the Wave toppled over as usual, and the
rest of the sentence ran back into the sea.

"Once," said the next Wave, still scolding about the
Whale, — "once he got so far up on the shore that he
couldn't get back into the water for a long time, and
he blamed me for it, and called me names. He said I
was a mean, low tide;" but just as Davy was eagerly
listening for the rest of the story this Wave, like the
rest, broke into foam and washed away.

" It's really too ridiculous, the way they break off their
sentences! " cried Davy, impatiently.

" Is it, indeed ! " said a big Wave, coming in with a
rush. " Perhaps you'd like to get acquainted with an
angry sea ! "

It was an angry sea, indeed; for, as the Wave said this,
the ocean was suddenly lashed into fury, the water rose
into huge, green billows that came tossing up on the
shore, and Davy, scrambling to his feet, ran for his life.

136 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

The air was filled with flying spray, and he could hear
the roar of the water coming on behind him with a
mighty rush as he ran across the beach, not daring to
stop until he found himself out of reach of the angry
ocean, on a high bluff of sand. Here he stopped, quite
out of breath, and looked back.

The wind was blowing fiercely, and a cloud of spray
was dashed in his face as he turned toward it, and
presently the air was filled with lobsters, eels, and
wrigghng fishes that were being carried inshore by the
gale. Suddenly, to Davy's astonishment, a dog came
sailing along. He was being helplessly blown about
among the lobsters, uneasily jerking his tail from side
to side to keep it out of reach of their great claws,
and giving short, nervous barks from time to time,
as though he were firing signal-guns of distress. In
fact, he seemed to be having such a hard time of
it that Davy caught him by the ear as he was
going by, and landed him in safety on the beach.
He proved to be a very shaggy, battered-looking ani-
mal, in an old pea-jacket, with a weather-beaten tar-
paulin hat jammed on the side of his head, and a
patch over one eye; altogether he was the most extraor-
dinary-looking animal that could be imagined, and Davy
stood staring at him, and wondering what sort of a dog
he was.

"Are you a pointer?" he said at last, by way of
opening conversation.

TALKING WAVES, AND OLD SEA-DOG.

137

" ]^ot I," said the Dog, sulkily. " It's rude to point.
I'm an old Sea-Dog, come ashore in a gale."

Here he stared doubtfully at Davy for a moment, and
then said, in a husky voice: —

"What's the difference between a dog-watch and a
watch-dog? It's a conundrum."

DAVY ASSISTS THE OLD SEA-DOG.

"I don't know," said Davy, who would have laughed
if he had not been a little afraid of the Dog.

"A dog-watch keeps a watching on a bark," said the
old Sea-Dog; "and a watch-dog keeps a barking on a
watch." Here he winked at Davy, and said, "What's
your name?" as if he had just mentioned his own.

" Davy " — began the little boy, but before he could say

138 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

another word the old Sea-Dog growled, " Right you are ! ''
and, handing him a folded paper, trotted gravely away,
swaggering, as he went, like a seafaring man.

The paper was addressed to " Davy Jo7ies,^^ and was
headed inside, ^^ Binnacle Boh: His werses; " and below these
words Davy found the following story : —

To inactivity inclined
Was Captain Parker Pitch's mind;
In point of fact, "'twas fitted for
A sedentary life ashore.

His disposition, so to speak.
Was nautically soft a7id weak;
He feared the rolling ocean, and
He very much preferred the land.

A stronger-minded man by far
Was gallant Captain Thompson Tar;
And (lohat was very ivrong, I think)
He marked himself with India ink.

He boldly sailed the " Soaking Sue "
When angry gales and tempests blew.
And even from the nor-nor-east
He didn't mind 'em in the least.

JSTow, Captain Parker Pitch's sloop
Was called the " Cozy Chickencoop," —

A truly comfortable craft.
With ample state-rooms fore and aft.

TALKING WAVES, AND OLD SEA-DOG. 139

iVo foolish customs of the deep.

Like " ivatches" rohbed his crew of sleep;

That estimable lot of men

Were all in bed at half -past ten.

At seven bells, one stormy day,

Bold Captain Tar came by that way.

And in a voice extremely coarse

He roared aloud, '" Ahoyf'' till he was hoarse.

Next morning, of his oivn accord,
This able seaman came aboard.
And made the following, remark
Concerning Captain Pitches bark : —

^"^ Avast!'' says he, '"Belay! What cheer/
How comes this little luessel here?
Come, tumble up your creio," says he,
"' And navigate a bit ivith me!''

Says Captain Pitch, " I can't refuse
To join you on a friendly cruise;
But you'll oblige me, Captain Tar,
By not a- taking of me far."

At this reply from Captain Pitch,
Bold Thompson gave himself a hitch;
It cut him to the heart to find
A seaman in this frame of mind.

140 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

^^ Avast/" sai/s he; " ive'U hear avmy
For Madagascar and Bombay,
Then doion the coast to Yucatan,
Kamtschatka, Guinea, and Japan.

*^ Stand off for Egypt, Turkey, Spahiy
Australia, and the Spanish 3Iain,
Then through the nor-west passage for
Van Dieman's Land and Labrador."

Says Captain Pitch, " The ocean swell
Makes me exceedingly unwell.
And, Captain Tar, before we start,
Pray join me in a friendly tart."

And shall I go and take and hide
The sneaking trick that Parker tried f
Oh! no. I very much prefer
To state his actions as they ivere :

TALKING WAVES, AND OLD SEA-DOG.

With marmalade lie first began
To tempt that bluff seafaring man.
Then fed him all the afternoon
With custard in a table-spoon.

iVb mariner, however tough,
Can thrive upon this hind of stuff';
And Thompson soon appeared to be
A feeble-minded child of three.

141

He cried for cahes and lollipops;
He played ivith dolls and humming-tops ;
He even ceased to roar ''I'm bloivedr'
And shook a rattle, laughed, and crowed.

When Parker saw the seamen gaze

Upon the captain^ s cunning ways.

Base envy thrilled him tlirough and through.

And he became a child of two.

142 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

JSfow, Parher had in his employ
A. inate, two seamen, and a hoy;
The mate was fond as he coidd be
Of babies, and he says, says he, —

" Why, messmates, as we're all agreed
Sea-hatJiing is the thing they need,
Lefs drop these hinfants off the quarter!"
(They did, in fourteen fathom loater).

— and here the story came abruptly to an end.

Davy was quite distressed at this, particularly as the
dreadful thought came into his mind that some babies
do not know how to swim, and he was therefore very
well satisfied when he saw that the old Sea-Dog had
apparently changed his mind about going away, and was
swaggering along toward him again.

"If you please," said Dav}^, as the surly creature came
within hearing distance, — "if you please, sir, were the
two little captains drowned?"

"Well, sticking, as it were, to the truth, they were
not," replied the old Sea-Dog, very gruffly.

" Then, why don't you say so in the story ? " said
Davy.

!N'ow, this Avas pretty bold of him, for old Sea-Dogs don't
much like to have fault found with their verses, and this
particular old Sea-Dog evidently did not like it at all,
for, after staring at Davy for a moment, he began walk-

TALKING WAVES, AND OLD SEA-DOG. 143

ing slowly around him in such a threatening manner that
Davy, thinking that perhaj^s he meant to jump on him from
behind, began also turning so as to keep his face always
toward the Dog. Meanwhile, as you may well beheve,
he began to feel very sorry that he had said anything
about the verses.

Presently the old Sea-Dog broke into a clumsy canter,
like a weary old circus horse, and as he went heavily around
the circle he began to explain about the story. " You
see there's more of it," said he, wheezing dreadfully as he
galloped; "but then I haven't had the time to put the
rest of it in rhyme. It's all about old Thompson's crew
as stayed aboard the ' Soaking Sue,' and saw the skippers
floating by and hauled 'em out and got 'em dry, and
when the little creeturs cried they gave 'em something
warm inside, and being as they had no bed they stowed
'em in a bunk instead, " — but just at this moment the
old Sea-Dog, who had been constantly increasing his
speed, disappeared in a most extraordinary manner in a
whirling cloud of sand, and Davy, who was by this time
spinning around like a teetotum, discovered that he himself
was rapidly boring his way, like a big screw, doAvn into
the beach. This was, of course, a very alarming state of
things; but, before Davy could make an effort to free
himself, the whirling cloud of sand burst upon him with a
loud, roaring sound like the sea, and he felt himself going
directly down through the beach, Avith the sand pouring in
upon him as if he had been inside of a huge hour-glass.

144 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

He had just time to notice that, instead of scraping him,
the sand had a dehghtful ticMesome feehng about it, when
he went completely through the beach, and landed, with a
gentle thump, flat on his back, with tall grass waving
about him.

THE E:ND of the believing voyage. 145

CHAPTER XIT.

THE END OF THE BELIEVING VOYAGE.

"When Davy sat up and looked around him he found
hnnself in a beautiful meadow, with the sun shining
brightly on the grass and the wild flowers. The air was
filled with dainty-colored insects, darting about in the
warm sunshine, and chirping cheerily as they flew, and
at a little distance the Goblin was sitting on the grass,
attentively examining a great, struggling creature that
he was holding down by its wings.

" I suppose," said the Goblin, as if Davy's sudden
appearance was the most ordinary thing in the world, —
" I suppose that this is about the funniest bug that
flies."

"What is it?" said Davj^, cautiously edging away.

"It's a Cricket-Bat," said the Goblin, rapping familiarly
with his knuckles on its hard shell. "His body is like
a boot-jack, and his wings are like a pair of umbrellas."

"But, you know, a Cricket-Bat is something to play
with!" said Davy, surprised at the Goblin's ignorance.

" Well, you may play with it if you like. / don't
want to," said the Goblin, carelessly tossing the great
creature over to Davy, and walking away.

The Cricket-Bat made a swoop at Davy, knocking him

146 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN,

over like a feather, and then, with a loud snort, flew
away across the meadow. It dashed here and there at
flying things of every kind, and, turning on its side,
knocked them, one after another, quite out of sight,
until, to Davy's delight, the Cockalorum came into view,
flying across the meadow in his usual blundering fashion.
At sight of him the Cricket-Bat gave another triumphant
snort, and with a wild plunge at the great creature
knocked him floundering into the tall grass, and with a
loud, whirring sound disappeared in a distant wood.

Davy ran to the spot where the Cockalorum had fallen,
and found him sitting helplessly in the grass, looking
dreadfully rumpled, and staring about confusedly, as if
wondering what had happened to him. As Davy came
running up he murmured, in a reproachful way, "Oh!
it's you, is it? Well, then, I don't want any more of it."

"Upon my word I didn't do it," cried Davy, trying
to keep from laughing. "It was the Cricket-Bat."

"And what did he want?" murmured the Cockalorum,
very sadly.

"Oh! he Avas only having a game of cricket with
you," said Davy, soothingly. " You wei'e the ball, you
know."

The Cockalorum pondered over this for a moment, and
then murmuring, "I prefer croquet," floundered away
through the waving grass. Davy, who for once felt sorry
for the ridiculous old creature, was just setting ofi" after
him, when a voice cried, "Come on! Come on!" and

THE END OF THE BELIEVING VOYAGE. I47

Davy, looking across the meadow, saw the Gobhn beck-
oning vigorously to him, apparently in great excitement.

'^ What's the matter?" cried Davy, pushing his way
through the thick grass.

"Oh, my! oh, my!" shrieked the Goblin, who was
ahnost bui'sting with laughter. " Here's that literary hack
again ! "

Davy peered through a clump of bushes, and discovered
a large red animal, with white spots on its sides, clumsily
rummaging about in the tall grass and weeds. Its
appearance was so formidable that he was just about
whispering to the Goblin, " Let's run ! " when the monster
raised its head, and, after gazing about for an instant,
gave a loud, triumphant whistle.

" Why, it's Ribsy ! " cried Davy, running forward.
"It's Kibsy, only he's grown enormously fat."

It was Ribsy, indeed, eating with all his might, and
with his skin so stretched by his extreme fatness that
the hair stood straight up all over it like a brush. The
name on his side was twisted about beyond all hope of
making it out, and his collar had quite disappeared in a
deep crease about his neck. In fact, his whole appear-
ance was so alarming that Davy anxiously inquired of
him what he had been eating.

"Everything!" said Ribsy, enthusiastically, — "grass.
nuts, bugs, birds, and berries! All of 'em taste good.
I could eat both of you easily," he added, glaring hun-
grily down upon Davy and the Goblin.

148 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

^' Try that fellow first," said the Goblin, pointing to a
large, round insect that went flying by, humming like a
top. Ribsy snapped at it, and swallowed it, and the
next instant disappeared with a tremendous explosion in
a great cloud of smoke.

"What Avas that?" said Davy, in a terrified whisper.

" A Hum Bug," said the Goblin, calmly. " When a
cab-horse on a vacation talks about eating you, a Hum
Bug is a pretty good thing to take the conceit out of
him. They're 'loaded, you see, and they go booming
along as innocently as you please; but if you touch 'em
— why, 'There you aren't!' as the Hole-keeper says."

" The Hole-keeper isn't himself any more," said Davy,
mournfully.

"Not altogether himself, but somewhat," said a voice;
and Davy, looking around, was astonished to find the
Hole-keeper standing beside him. He was a most extraor-
dinary-looking object, being nothing but Davy's parcel
marked, " Coxfexioxky," with arms and legs and a head
to it. At the sight of him the Goblin fell flat on his
back, and covered his face with his hands.

"I'm quite aware that my appearance is not prepossess-
ing," said the Hole-keeper, with a scornful look at the
Goblin. "In fact, Tm nothing but a quarter of a pound
of '^/am,' and the price isn't worth mentioning."

"But how did you ever come to be alive again, at all?"
said Davy.

" Well," said the Hole-keeper, " the truth of the matter

THE END OF THE BELIEVING VOYAGE. 149

is, that after you went away the Cockalorum fell to
reading the Vammm; and, if you'll believe it, there wasn't
a word in it about my going back into the raw mate-
rial."

"I do believe that," said Davy; but the Hole-keeper,
without noticing the interruption, went on : —

" Then, of course, I got up and came away. Mean-
while the Cockalorum is gorging himself with informa-
tion."

"I saw him just now," said Davy, laughing, "and he
didn't act as if he had learned anything very lately. I
don't think he'll find much in your book;" and here he
went off into another fit of laughter.

"Ah! but just think of the lots and lots of things he
loon-t find," exclaimed the Hole-keeper. "Everything he
doesn't find in it is something worth knowing. By the
w^ay, your friend seems to be having some sort of a fit.
Give him some dubbygrums ; " and with this the Hole-
keeper stalked pompously away.

" The smell of sugar always gives me the craw-craws,"
said the Giroblin, in a stifled voice, rolling on the ground
and keeping his hands over his face. " Get me some
water."

"I haven't anything to get it in," said Davy, help-
lessly.

" There's a buttercup behind you," groaned the Goblin,
and Davy, turning, saw a buttercup growing on a stem
almost as tall as he was himself. He picked it, and

150 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

hurried away across the meadow to look for water, the
buttercup, meanwhile, growing in his hand in a snrpi'is-
ing manner, until it l)ecame a full-sized teacup, with a
handle conveniently growing on one side. Davy, however,
had become so accustomed to this sort of thing that he
would not have been greatly surprised if a saucer had
also made its appearance.

Presently he came upon a sparkling little spring, gently
bubbling up in a marshy place, with high, sedgy grass
growing about it, and being a very neat little boy he
took off his shoes and stockings, and carefully picked his
Avay over the oozy ground to the edge of the spring
itself. He was just bending over to dip the cup into the
spring, when the ground under his feet began trembling
like jelly, and then, giving itself a convulsive shake, threw
him head-foremost into the water.

For a moment Davy had a very curious sensation, as
though his head and his arms and his legs were all
trying to get inside of his jacket, and then he came
sputtering to the top of the water and scrambled ashore.
To his astonishment he saw that the spring had spread
itself out into a httle lake, and that the sedge-grass had
grown to an enormous height, and was waving far above
his head. Then he was startled by a tremendous roar of
laughter, and, looking around, he saw the Grobhn, who
was now apparently at least twenty feet high, standing
beside the spring.

"Oh, lor! Oh, lor!" cried the Goblin, in an uncon-

DAVY FALLS INTO THE ELASTIC SPRING.

THE END OF THE BELIEVING VOYAGE. 153

trollable fit of merriment. "Another minute and you
wouldn't have been bigger than a peanut! "

"What's the matter with me?" said Davy, not knowing
what to make of it all.

" Matter? " cried the Goblin. " Why, you've been and
gone and fallen into an Elastic Spring, that's all. If you'd
got in at stretch tide, early in the morning, you'd have
been a perfect giraffe; but you got in at shrink tide and
— oh, my ! oh, my ! " and here he went off into another
fit of laughter.

"I don't think it's anything to laugh at," cried Davy,
with the tears starting to his eyes, " and I'm sure I don't
know what I'm going to do."

" Oh ! don't worry," said the Goblin, good-naturedly.
" I'll take a dip myself, just to be companionable, and to-
morrow morning we can get back to any size you like."

" I wish you'd take these things in with you," said
Davy, pointing to his shoes and stockings. " They're big
enough now for Badorful."

"All right!" cried the Goblin. "Here we go;" and,
taking the shoes and stockings in his hand, he plunged
into the spring, and a moment afterward scrambled out
exactly Davy's size.

"]S"ow, that's w^hat I call a nice, tidy size," said the
Goblin, complacently, while Davy was squeezing his feet
into his wet shoes. "What do you say to a ride on a
field-mouse?"

" That will be glorious ! " said Davy.

154

DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

"Well, there goes the snn," said the Goblm; "it will
be moonlight presently, and moonlight is the time for
mouse-back riding;" and as he spoke, the sun went down
with a boom like a distant gun, and left them in the
dark. The next moment the sun rose above the trees

"'freckles,' said the goblin, 'what time is it?'"

and beamed down pleasantly upon them, and the Goblin,
taking Davy by the hand, led him into the wood.

"Freckles," said the Goblin, "what time is it?"
They were now in the densest part of the wood, where
the moon was shining brightly on a little pool with rushes

THE END OF THE BELIEVING VOYAGE. 155

growing about it, and the Goblin was speaking to a large
Toad.

"Forty croaks,'" said the Toad, in a husky whisper;
and then, as a frog croaked in the pool, he added, " That
makes it forty-one. The Snoopers have come in, and
Thimbletoes is shaking in his boots." And with these
words the Toad coughed, and then hopped heavily away.

"What does he mean?" whispered Davy.

" He means that the fairies are here, and that means
that we won't get our ride," said the Goblin, rather sulkily.

" And who is Thimbletoes? " said Davy.

"He's the Prime Minister," said the Goblin. "You see,
if any one of the Snoopers finds out something the Queen
didn't know before, out goes the Prime Minister, and
the Snooper pops into his boots. Thimbletoes doesn't
fancy that, you know, because the Prime Minister has
all the honey he wants, by way of a salary. Now,
here's the mouse-stable, and don't you speak a word —
mind ! "

As the GobUn said this they came upon a little,
thatched building, about the size of a baby-house, stand-
ing just beyond the pool; and the Gobhn, cautiously
pushing open the door, stole noiselessly in, with Davy
following at his heels, trembling with excitement.

The little building was curiously lighted up by a vast
number of fire-flies, hung from the ceiling by loops of
cobweb; and Davy could see several spiders hurrying
about among them and stirring them up when the light

156 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

grew dim. The field-mice were stabled in little stalls
on either side, each one with his tail neatly tied in a
bow-knot to a ring at one side; and, at the farther end
of the stable was a buzzing throng of fairies, with their
shining clothes and gauzy wings sparkling beautifully in
the soft light. Just beyond them Davy saw the Queen
sitting on a raised throne, with a little muUen-stalk for
a sceptre, and beside her was the Prime Minister, in a
terrible state of agitation.

" Now, hei-e's this Bandy bug,"" the Prime Minister was
saying. "What does he know about untying the knots
in a cord of wood?"

" I^othing ! " said the Queen, positively. " Absolutely
nothing ! "

•' And then," continued the Prime Minister, " the idea
of his presuming to tell your Gossamer Majesty that he
can hear the bark of the dogwood trees " —

" Bosh ! " cried the Queen. " Paint him with raspberry
jam, and put him to bed in a bee-hive. That'll make
him smart, at all events."

Here the Prime Minister began dancing about in an
ecstasy, until the Queen knocked him over with the mul-
len-stalk, and shouted, " Silence ! and plenty of it, too.
Bring in Berrylegs."

Berrylegs, who proved to be a wiry little Fairy, with
a silver coat and tight, cheny-colored trousers, was im-
mediately brought in. His little wings fairly bristled
with defiance, and his manner, as he stood before the

THE END OF THE BELIEVING VOYAGE.

157

Queen, was so impudent, that Davy felt morally certain

there was going to be a scene.

" May it please your Transparent Highness," — began
Berrylegs.

"DAVY FELT MORALLY CERTAIN THERE WAS GOING TO BE A SCENE."

"Skip all that!" interrupted the Queen, flourishing her
mullen-stalk.

" Skip, yourself ! " said Berrylegs, boldly, in reply.
"Don't you suppose I know how to talk to a Queen?"

The Queen turned very pale, and, after a hurried con-

158 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

sultation with the Prime Minister, said faintly, " Have it
your own way;" and Berrylegs began again.

'"''May it please your Transparent Highness, I've found
out how the needles get into the haystacks."

As Berrylegs said this a terrible commotion arose at
once among the fairies. The Prime Minister cried out,
" Oh, come, I say ! That's not fair, you know," and the
Queen became so agitated that she began taking great
bites off the end of the mullen-stalk in a dazed sort of
way; and Davy noticed that the Goblin, in his excitement,
was trying to climb up on one of the mouse-stalls, so as
to get a better view of what was going on. At last the
Queen, whose mouth was now quite filled with bits of
the mullen-stalk, mumbled, " Get to the point."

" It ought to be a sharp one, being about needles," said
the Prime Minister, attempting a joke, with a feeble laugh,
but no one paid the slightest attention to him; and Berry-
legs, who was now positively swelling with importance,
called out, in a loud voice, " It comes from using sewing-
machines when they sow the hay-seed! "

The Prime Minister gave a shriek, and fell flat on his
face, and the Queen began jumping frantically up and
down, and beating about on all sides of her with the end
of the mullen-stalk, when suddenly a large Cat walked
into the stable, and the fairies fled in all directions. There
was no mistaking the Cat, and Davy, forgetting entirely
the Goblin's caution, exclaimed, "Why! it's Solomon!"

The next instant the lights disappeared, and Davy

THE END OF THE BELIEVING VOYAGE. 159

found himself in total darkness, with Solomon's eyes shin-
ing at him like two balls of fire. There was a confused
sound of sobs and cries and the squeaking of mice, among
which could be heard the Croblin's voice, crying, "Davy!
Davy!" in a reproachful way; then the eyes disappeared,
and a moment afterward the stable was lifted off the
ground and violently shaken.

"That's Solomon, trying to get at the mice," thought
Davy. "I wish the old thing had stayed away," he
added aloud, and as he said this the little stable was
broken all to bits, and he found himself sitting on the
ground in the forest.

The moon had disappeared, and snow was falling rap-
idly, and the sound of distant chimes remuided Davy
that it must be past midnight, and that Christmas-day
had come. Solomon's eyes were shining in the darkness
like a pair of coach-lamps, and, as Davy sat looking at
them, a ruddy light began to glow between them, and
presently the figure of the Goblin appeared, dressed in
scarlet, as when he had first come. The reddish light
was shining through his stomach again, as though the
coals had been fanned into fife once more, and as Davy
gazed at him it grew brighter and stronger, and finally
burst into a blaze. Then Solomon's eyes gradually took
the form of great brass balls, and presently the figure
of the long-lost Colonel came into view just above them,
aftectionately hugging his clock. He was gazing mourn-
fully down upon the poor Goblin, who was now blazing

160 DAVY AND THE GOBLIN.

like a dry chip, and as the Hglit of the fire grew
brighter and stronger the trees about slowly took the
shape of an old-fashioned fireplace with a high mantel-
shelf above it, and then Davy found himself curled up
in the big easy-chair, with his dear old grandmother
bending over him, and saying gently, " Davy ! Davy !
Come and have some dinner, my dear ! "
In fact, the Believing Voyage was ended.

SOME INTERESTING BOOKS

THAT ARE PUBLISHED BY

TICKNOR AND COMPANY,

AT THE SIGN OF 211 TREMOXT STREET, BOSTON.

"The Peterkin Papers" is a very charming illustrated book for
the children and their friends, written by Lucretia P. Hale, and
containing the droll and diverting adventures of the Peterkin family,
with Agamemnon, Solomon John, Elizabeth Eliza, and others, and
the benevolent cares of the lady from Philadelphia. The Boston
Transcript made bold to say, of this book, that "anything more
absurdly funny cannot be imagined."

"Dimple Dopp" is another capital book for young folks, abound-
ing in pictures, and made deeply interesting by the stories of Karl
Kreiger, and the sweet fable entitled " Cat Lore." Mrs. Laura S.
H. Cooke, of Washington, wrote this book, which the Boston
Courier praised as " a perfect treasure-house for young readers."

"Stories of the Saints," written by Mrs. C. Van D. Chenoweth,
of Phillips Brooks's parish, in Boston, is a simply and pleasantly
told record of the lives of eight great saints, George, David, Chris-
topher, Denis, Catherine, Patrick, Francis, and Elizabeth of Hun-
gary, with a chapter about those strange hermit-saints of Egypt and
the East. It contains numbers of interesting pictures, of ancient
origin, illustrating the beauty of Christian heroism and the quaint-

ii SOME INTERESTING BOOKS.

ness of the old dreamy faiths. These allegories and romances of
remote days still have a living interest, and never fail to attract
and benefit the little people, who derive good from thinking of these
rich lessons of true men and women, whose deeds have been spoken
and written and sung and carved and painted through worshipping
ages.

" A Year of Sunshine " is a pretty book, prepared by Kate San-
born, with a page for every day in the year, half of it covered with a
choice bit of selected poetry or prose, and half of it left blank, for use
as a diary, or a birthday book, or a visitor's record. Miss Sanborn
says : "The sun does not always shine, and once in a while there is no
'bright side.' At such times we must make our own sunshine, or take
it ready made. This year-book, with nearly 500 selections on making
the best of things, will find its way to many hearts as a help, a
spur, an inspiration." And the Morning Star, looking to see if she
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reported that " This book will certainly be a beautiful and popular
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the sunlight the Lord sends into their days."

"The Illustrated Birthday- Book of American Poets" has been
revised, with the addition of an index for names, and portraits of
Aldrich, Bryant, Emerson, Harte, Holmes, Howells, Longfellow,
Lowell, Poe, Stedman, Stoddard, Taylor, and Whittier. The uni-
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the merit of the plan of selecting the choicest extracts of all the best
American poets, instead of limiting the collection to a single writer,
however eminent.

" Self-Culture " is a highly valuable book, by the Rev. James Free-
man Clarke, discussing in his wise and practical way the methods
of educating the powers of observation, reflection, imagination, con-

SOME INTERESTING BOOKS. iii

science, atfections, reverence, temper, education by books, amuse-
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"Poems of the Household," by Margaret E. Sangster, was com-
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and divine of them all, the inspiration of motherhood." Some of them
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"The Recollections of a Drummer Boy," by Rev. Harry M. Kieffer,
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York Tribune, to be "a volame that will delight boys, and at the
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and campaigns of 1861-65, based on the best authorities, and written
in a style so simple and direct that every one, layman or lad, can un-

iv SOME INTERESTING BOOKS.

derstand and follow it. There is also a glossary, explaining military
terms ; and numerous maps help to an understanding of our vast conti-
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son to read, and the directness and vigor of his soldierly style
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"About People " is a new book, by Mrs. Kate Gannett Wells,
of Boston, which the Ohristian Register pronounces "earnest in pur-
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sonal Influence," "The Transition of American Women," "Loyalty
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Rolfe's Students' Editions of the great British poems are really
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son." The books are splendidly illustrated, with pictures from the
great Holiday octavo editions of Scott and Tennyson.

SOME INTERESTING BOOKS. Y

"The Invalid's Tea-Tray," by Susan Anna Brown, is a group of
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menus of beef, mutton, chicken, oysters, squabs, quails, etc.

"In Bridget's Vacation," by Susan Anna Brown, is a group of leaflets,
on gilt metal rings, to hang up, of Avhich the Boston Globe says :
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" How the Ends Met," by Susan Anna Brown, is characterized by
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" Cooperative Housekeeping," by Melusina Fay Peirce, is an in-
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delphia Press says : " Every housekeeper in the land ought to read
Mrs. Peirce's little book. It Avould act like a new revelation from
heaven; all that it needs is a propaganda."

yi S03IE INTERESTING BOOKS.

" Nights with Uncle Remus " is rich in irresistible drollery, and in-
troduces our old friends, Brer Eabbit, Mister Lion, and Jedge B'ar.
In the entire held of literature there arc fiivv passages more original
and in their way delightful than "The Pimmerly Plum," "The
Cunning Snake," and "Aunt Tempy's Story." There is no figure
in American literature more interesting and afiectiug than dear old
Uncle Remus, sitting at evening by the crackling fire in his weather-
beaten cabin, and telling to his master's little l)oy stories of the old
times in Georgia. The new book is enriched with a series of full-
page pictures by Church and Beard, the skilful delineators of animal
life and expression, which reproduce with marvellous ability the
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hour when read aloud by their elders.

" Mingo, and other Sketches in Black and White," also by Joel
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and all of them are interesting in every way.

Nora Perry has long been known as one of the best and foremost
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a complete novel, which shows the best fruits of her long experience
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plies of it are now ready for purchasers. It is a group of ten choice
stories of New-England love and lovers, showing all that subtle insight

S03fE INTERESTING BOOKS. yii

and power of felicitous description for which Miss Perry is so well
known.

"Love — or a Name," is Julian Hawthorne's new novel, a great work,
of which the Boston Herald speaks in the following strong phrases :
" Mr. Julian Hawthorne has steadily improved year by year in the
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universal in life and character. His earlier stories showed that he was
suffering; from two difficulties. One was the weight of his father's
reputation, the other was the crudeness of his own ideas. He had not
struck the method in fiction which was native to his thoughts and
imao-ination. He was not the master of himself. All is now chano;ed.
His style is clear, crisp, expressive, flexible, often finely epigrammatic,
and his studies of life and character are free from the exaggeration and
distortion that belonged to his youth. He has ceased to follow in the
footsteps of his father ; his owai strength is now equal to any work
which he may aim to do. ^Love — or a Name,' his latest story, is a
long way in advance of his previous novels, not morq in style than in
conception, not more in its realism of treatment than in the correct
insight and sureness of tjuch which are displayed in the delineation of
character. Mr. Howells is the master of photographic details ; ^r.
Hawthorne grasps his plot as a whole and keeps it under the control of
a disciplined imagination until the end is reached. There is nothing
weak, nothing unnecessary, nothing neglected in its development, and,
while he paints the ugliness of ev'l, there is no dallying with the evil itself.
There is ^ swift and sure development of the story, and just that
display of fine touches or comments, as the dialogue proceeds, which
delights w^ithout wearying the reader. In short, Mr. Hawthorne,
without imitating the manner, has finally acquired the method of the
best English novelists, and has shown in his latest story, in their full

viii SOME INTERESTING BOOKS.

operation, the qualities which those familiar with liis earlier writings
have believed that he possessed. He consciously imitates no one.
The attempt to deal with the weird or supernatural elements which his
father handled with the skill of a master has l^een abandoned ; the
youthful vagaries are outgrown ; the doctrine of realism in the novel
has been adopted, and the agencies are employed in telling a story
which have been used by the masters of modern fiction. Mr. Haw-
thorne does not so much invite comparison with contemporary authors
as stand in a niche of his own making. Mr. Hawthorne stands to-day
as one of the most promising novelists in the country, as his steady
progress is confidently predicted in view of the great advance which he
has now made upon his previous work. His literary power is of a
high order, and his style is the flexible servant of his thought. His
apprenticeship is over, and his time of free and exhilarating author-
ship has begun."

" Tuscan Cities " is a beautiful new book by Mr. Howells, describ-
ing the romantic and picturesque old Italian towns of Florence,
Pisa, Lucca, Siena, etc., with their grand and venerable cathedrals
and palaces, and their deeply interesting histories. Mr. Howells
made a journe}' through Tuscany only a year or two ago, for the
purpose of preparing these chapters of travel, and was accompanied
by Pennell, the artist, whose skilful drawings have reproduced here
many a choice bit of Italian architecture and popular life, to illus-
trate the text. There never before has been such an altogether
charming book written about Tuscany, and the quaint humor and
unrivalled elegance of Mr. Howells's style give an added value and
interest to these chapters.

" Social Silhouettes," by Edgar Fawcett, is a series of admirable
and piquant sketches and novelettes of New- York life and society,
rich in original types and vivid portrayals. Fawcett is one of the

SOME INTERESTING BOOKS. ix

best of our younger novelists. The Beacon recently said that Mr.
Fawcett was the man of whom Longfellow expected more than from
any other of the young American authors, both as a poet and a
novelist.

" The Duchess Emilia " is an admirable and poetic romance of
Rome of forty years ago, the mysterious and semi-feudal Rome of
Pope Gregory and his cardinals, full of rich reminiscences of the
ancient papal families, the Barberini, the Colonna, and others.
The author, Barrett Wendell, is well known as one of the fore-
most of the younger literati of Boston and Cambridge. The
Literartj World commends " The Duchess Emilia " in these strong
words: "This book, with its uplifted, dreamy style, is a sort of
vision. It is admirably written, as in keeping with its theme. Its
stress of passion, its misery of guilt, its burdens of remorse, its
hunger and thirst for atonement, its clear voice for truth and purity,
the bright light of the Cross which lies over it all, combine to make
it like a painting before which one stands with a sense of fascination
amounting to awe."

"The Rise of Silas Lapham," Howells's latest and greatest novel, has
received a perfect ovation from American and foreign critics, and it is
said that it has called forth more discussion than any novel since
"Daniel Deronda." T]ie Republic, of Washington, pronounces it "a
worthy and unique novel, the best given to the reading world for many
years." The Dial, Chicago's great literary review, says that " people
who do not care for novels ordinarily can hardly fail to like this one ;
Mr. Ho wells has never done anything better." The St. Louis Re-
publican speaks of " this most powerful of all the strong novels of
Howells." The Boston Commercial Bulletin avers that " for years
no book has been the theme of so universal a discussion." And the
Literary World says, " that its artistic merit rises above any previous
work of the author is indisputable."

X SOME INTERESTING BOOKS.

" Aulnay Tower " is the latest novel l)y the celebrated author,
Blanche Willis Howard. The JSfew-York Commercial Advertiser
says of it : '' The tale has all the vivacity and grace which made
' One Summer ' so widely popular, and it has greatly more. It
sparkles from beginning to end." And the Boston Traveller pro-
nounces it "A story which, for absorbing interest, brilliancy of
style, charm of graphic character-drawing, and exquisite literary
quality, will hold its rank among the best work in American fic-
tion."

" Guenn : A Wave on the Breton Coast," is a brilliant illustrated
novel by the same author, of which The Capital says : " No char-
acter that Dickens ever drew fascinates us more than 'Guenn.'"
The Boston Traveller pronounces it : "A novel of fascination and
power, original, strong, brilliant, and pure and noble." And the
Transcript places it " among the strong and surprising efforts of
American fiction."

"Aunt Serena" is another of Blanche Howard's famous stories, of
which the Transcript says : " Setting aside its fascination as a story,
it is a bright,' fresh, clean-cut piece of literary w^ork, unconven-
tional in tone and independent in spirit. * * * Miss Howard is
entitled to a high place among the best writers of American fiction."

" Literary Landmarks of London," by Laurence Hutton, records the
ancient haunts and other things about Addison, Akenside, Bacon, Bar-
bauld, Baxter, Beaumont, Boswell, Bronte, Bulwer, Bunyan, Burke,
Byron, Campbell, Carlyle, Chatterton, Chaucer, and scores of other
famous authors. The Nation calls it " a handbook to those spots in the
British capital which are hallowed by association with distinguished
authors. The arrangement of the book is alphabetical, and under each
author's name are given exact })articulars of his London homes and
haunts, with precise indications of their present condition."

SOME INTERESTING BOOKS. xi

"The Haunted Adjutant, and other Stories," by Edmund Quincy,
has been edited by his son, Edmund Quincy, and now appears in
handsome book form. The volume includes the delightful short
stories entitled " The Octogenary," "The Haunted Adjutant," "Lewis
Herbert," "Two Nights in St. Domingo," "Charlie Mallory," "Old
Houses," and " Dinah Rollins." The Boston Traveller says that
'' Mr. Quincy possessed the imaginative faculty and the consecutive
faculty in larger measure than any of his countr3'men, Hawthorne,
perhaps, excepted, and Hawthorne, if his equal, was not his superior."
The Boston Gazelle says of it: "Mr. Quincy was a very clever and
graceful writer of tiction, and has a vein of keen wit in all his compo-
sition. The novel ^Wensley' was one of the best books treating of
New-England life and character." " Wensley ; and Other Stories," was
"written by the same author, and recently published.

" The Land of the Morning Calm " is the new volume about Korea,
by Percival Lowell. Almost every one now knows that there is a penin-
sula of Asia shaped somewhat like Florida, and situated much the same
in relation to that continent as Florida is to North America. The
peninsula, which is called by the Natives Ta-Chusun, and by Euro-
peans the Corea, was long believed by the latter to be an island, and
represented as such in their maps. It has an area about equal to the
State of Minnesota, and its physical features are very much like those
of California, as it is more mountainous than Florida. The Coreans
being conservative and exclusive, like many other Asiatic nations, very
little has been learned about their country till lately, except from
shipwrecked sailors who have been captives in it. The Corean
Kingdom in 1884 entered the comity of nations, threw aside its hermit
proclivities, and commenced making treaties of commerce with our
nations, receiving and returning ambassadorial courtesies. The mis-
sionaries have also been busy there, having given the Coreans' versions

Xii SOME INTERESTING BOOKS.

of the "New Testament," the "Pilgrim's Progress," and other religious
classics, in their own language. "The Land of the Morning Calm," a
beautifully illustrated volume upon the kingdom of Korea, was pre-
pared by Percival Lowell, of Massachusetts, who, when in Japan, two
years ago, was asked to accompany, in the capacity of foreign secretary
and counsellor, the Korean embassy, then about to depart for the
United States. This was the first diplomatic mission accredited from
Korea to a Western power. At the completion of its mission Mr.
Lowell returned with the embassy to Korea, where he was entertained
as the guest of the king for several months. In this way he enjoved
exceptional opportunities for seeing Seoul and other cities, and inter-
estino; districts of the wonderful hermit nation. These favorable
chances were availed of to the fullest, and result in the forthcoming
book, the most thorough and valual)le description yet written of Korea,
and the first full account from one who has been there, and illustrated
with pictures from the first photography ever taken in that country.

"Japanese Homes and their Surroundings" is a very valuable
new book by Prof. Edward S. Morse, Ph.D., Director of the Peabody
Academy of Science, late Professor of Zoology in the University of
Tokio, Japan, Member of the National Academy of Science, Fellow
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, etc., etc. It is
profusely illustrated with original drawings by the author, and forms
a work of unique and surpassing interest. The art of Japan is a
subject of universal study and wonder. The home life of the Japan-
ese no travellers hitherto have been permitted to examine. Prof.
Morse has had remarkable facilities for seeing and studying this
wonderful people in their own homes. The results of his observa-
tion are embodied in this volume, and fully sustain the popular
expectation as to the interest of the subject and the author's repu-
tation as the leading Japanese scholar of the time.

SOME INTERESTING BOOKS. xiii

" In Camp and Battle with the Washington Artillery of Xew
Orleans" is a war-histoiy by Wm. ^liller Owen, First Lieutenant and
Adjutant B.W.A. It is a stirring narrative of events during the late
Civil War, from Bull Run to Seven Pines, Antietam and Fredericks-
burg, Chancellors ville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Cold Harbor, Peters-
burg, Appomattox, and Spanish Fort. The New Orleans Times-
Democrat says: "It is indeed the most interesting, authentic, and
reliable contribution to our war literature yet seen. Without any
attempt at fine writing and word-painting, colored by the imagination,
and spiced with cb'amatic sensational fancy touches, the spirit and
interest of the narrative are maintained throughout, and enlivened by
many pleasant anecdotes and personal sketches. It is also illustrated
by portraits, camp and battle scenes, and maps, which have been exe-
cuted by distinguished artists and draughtsmen. The maps are the
most accurate that have yet been published, and the portraits and
scenes are in the most elegant styles. Altogether this publication will
win for its author, and for our city and State, great honor and fame as a
literary production of rare merit, and a faithful presentation of one of
the most brilliant careers of military service and patriotic devotion to
duty ever rendered by a volunteer corps in any country."

"A Narrative of Military Service," by Gen. W. B. Hazen, has just
been published. " There can be no doubt, we think, that it will be
eagerly read, particularly by the brave soldiers whom he led at Shiloh,
who held the crest at Stone Eidge, who stood firm under his eye at
Chickamauga, who floated with him by night under the shadow of
Lookout Mountain down to Brow^i's Ferry, who receiA'ed his order to
climb the face of Mission Eidge, who helped to take Atlanta, who
marched to the sea, who swarmed over the parapets of Fort McAl-
lister, who made the triumphant campaign of the Carolinas, and passed
in review before the President." — Xew-Yovh Mail and Express.

xiv SOME INTERESTING BOOKS.

" This volume of Hazen's will command especial interest from friend
and foe, as they are eager to read what the leader at Shiloh, the holder
of the crest of Stone Eiver and one of the capturers of Atlanta, has to
say. His command saw especially hard service, and their career
embraced the most adventurous part of the war. The work will
prove a valuable addition to the already voluminous Civil War his-
tory."— Cincinnati Enquirer.

"The Virginia Campaign of Gen. Pope in 18(32," being Volume II.
of Papers read before the Military Historical Society of Massachu-
setts, is a brilliant and vivid account of the terril)le retreat of the
United-States army from the Rapidan to the Potomac, with its heroic
battles and sufferings on the " sacred soil. "

If the grave and reverend seniors of the family circle wish to
store their minds with mental lore, or to gain wherewithal to pass
away otherwise weary time, let them Avrite to the ancient address of
Ticknor and Company, in Boston, for a catalogue of their l)ooks,
which will, with good cheer, be sent without expense. Therein may
be read the titles and prices and other things about the latest novels,
and other l)ooks, of Howells, and James, and Blanche Howard, and
Uncle Hemus, and Edgar Fawcett, and Julian Hawthorne, and scores
of others, the leading writers of America. There also appears the
account of " Childe Harold," the sumptuous new illustrated Holiday
book; of Prof. E. S. Morse's new book about Japanese Homes,
crowded with pictures made in Japan by the author; of Percival
Lowell's volume about the mysterious hermit nation of Asia, Korea ;
of the handsome new four-volume set, now in press, of Mary Clem-
mer's works, and the memorial volume to that noble American
woman ; of Robert Laird Collier's dainty treatise on English Home
Life ; and many other books.

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