P2.4-2.tu. 
 
OF THE 
 
 U N I VERS ITY 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 &z?> 
 
 P2.42.tu. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/tuflongbosjourneOOIeeh 
 
TUfLOJGBO’S JOURNEY 
 
 IN SEARCH OF OGRES. 
 
TUFLONGBO’S JOURNEY 
 
 IN SEARCH OP OGRES; 
 
 WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS EARLY LIFE, AND 
 HOW HIS SHOES GOT WORN OUT. 
 
 By HOLME LEE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF “LEGENDS FROM FAIRY LAND,” “ADVENTURES OF 
 TUFLONGBO AND HIS COMPANIONS,” ETC. 
 
 WITH SIX ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. SANDERSON. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL. 
 
 M.DCCC.LXII. 
 
 \The right of Translation is reserved.] 
 


 t23 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 IPart tfje Jfirst. 
 
 TUFLONGBO’S CHILDHOOD. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 •His Birth and Parentage . . .1 
 
 •The Elfin Gifts . . . . 10 
 
 The Salamanders . . . . .15 
 
 Tuflongbo’s Adventures with the Ondines . 21 
 
 The Parable of the Split Reed . . 29 
 
 IPart tfje Leonti. 
 
 TUFLONGBO’S YOUTH. 
 
 I. — In the Chief City of Sheneland 
 
 II. — Tuflongbo and his Companions go in search 
 of Ogres . . . . . . 
 
 III. — Tuflongbo is brought before Rudbeakia 
 
 IV. — Tuflongbo grows Older and Wiser . 
 
 V. — Tuflongbo puts on his Chameleon Suit . 
 
 VI. —Tuflongbo performs a great State Service . 
 
 VII. — The Coronation of Queen Osmunda 
 
 37 
 
 47 
 
 54 
 
 60 
 
 63 
 
 70 
 
 75 
 
 fVo 
 
 in 
 
 ) 
 
 P 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. 
 
 II, 
 
 III. — 
 
 IV. — 
 V— 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 33 art tfje CfjttiL 
 
 TUFLONGBO’S GREAT JOURNEY. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. — The Farewell Feast . . . . 81 
 
 II. — The Weedy Little Waif of the Crag . 87 
 
 III. — Ogre Gulmalog and his Bubble-Blower . . 99 
 
 IV. — The Awful Fate of Gulmalog’s Bubble- 
 
 Blower ...... 105 
 
 V. — How Tuflongbo aNd his faithful Band were 
 
 DISPERSED . . . . . 110 
 
 VI.— How Larkspur rejoined Tuflongbo . .117 
 
 VII. — Clickaclop and his Ogress . . . 123 
 
 VIII. — Clickaclop comes Home with more Feathers 
 
 in his Cap ..... 135 
 
 IX. — Desperate Crisis in Clickaclop’s Castle . .146 
 
 X. — The Hospitable and Courteous Griffins . 157 
 
 XI. — The Captive Elves . . . .165 
 
 XII. — The Terrible Results of Flight . . .169 
 
 XIII. — The Combat of the Crtjmplecues . .176 
 
 XIV. — In the Deep-sea Caves . . . 193 
 
 XV. — A Blissful Reunion . . . .196 
 
 XVI. — The old Cobbler’s Message to Tuflongbo . 202 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 vii 
 
 ^art tj )t dFourtf)* 
 
 TUFLONGBO’S SHOES WEAK OUT. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I.— A Summary of his Mid-Career . . . 205 
 
 II. — Tuflongbo abolishes a Bad Custom . . 208 
 
 III. — The Story of the Enchanted Dumplings . 212 
 
 IV. — Sir Tuflongbo Lays by his Knapsack and 
 
 Walking-Stick . . . . .224 
 
 V. — Sir Tuflongbo’s Last Story . . . 230 
 
 VI. — Sir Tuflongbo puts off his Shoes . . 239 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Lappit and Lob pursuing the Enchanted Dumplings, 
 
 To face title 
 
 The Horned Owl of Tanglewood . To face page 50 
 The Young Adventurers in Gulmalog’s Dungeon . 112 
 Snub quickens the Movements of the Ogre Squint- 
 
 askew ...... 155 
 
 The Sea King and his Court . . . . 193 
 
 Tuflongbo visits the Old Cobbler . . . 202 
 
TUELONGBO’S 
 
 LIFE AND ADYENTUEES. 
 
 |at[t the 4*^- 
 
 TUFLONGBO’S CHILDHOOD. 
 
 I. 
 
 HIS BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 
 
 In setting forth to the world the lives of those 
 eminent persons who have left a mark on their 
 generation* it is usual first to descant upon their 
 origin* or* where that is shrouded in obscurity, to 
 speculate on such particulars as ingenious sugges- 
 tion or careful research may have amassed. It is 
 not my intention to depart from this rule in 
 narrating the history of Tuflongbo. Character is 
 a growth* not a spontaneous creation of the will ; 
 and as precision is the beauty of biography* it will 
 be my earnest endeavour to trace the flower of 
 ' ' 1 
 
2 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 those qualities which made him great and famous 
 to their germs in his honoured progenitors and his 
 own early education. I am not unaw r are that 
 many conflicting accounts of his birth have 
 obtained various degrees of credence in different 
 quarters ; and here, perhaps, it may be as well to 
 mention — and at once to repudiate — the chief 
 amongst those legends with which interested 
 writers have sought to embarrass the true course 
 of history concerning Tuflongbo’s descent. 
 
 With an obstinacy of ignorance which might 
 well occasion surprise in these enlightened days, a 
 certain author relates that the child was the son of 
 one Pippin, an obscure jester, who found him in 
 the core of an apple, and for several years dedi- 
 cated him to the exercise of his own ignoble 
 profession, from which he was only rescued by the 
 death of his illiterate father. 
 
 Another romancer, with astounding audacity of 
 circumstantial evidence, has dared to assert that he 
 was shot forth from the clouds, bound to an arrow, 
 and being picked up and adopted by an old Cobbler 
 — a crooked little man, with a big head, and buckles 
 to his breeches — narrowly escaped an apprentice- 
 ship to the Last. 
 
 A third mythologist, w r ith a flippancy ill- 
 befitting the narrator of so important an event, 
 suggests that the great traveller was probably found 
 
HIS BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 
 
 3 
 
 by the Elf Transformation in her Bag of Dis- 
 guises ; and from this flimsy shadow of a pretext* 
 he goes on to evolve a long train of incidents that 
 never happened* save in his own active imagi- 
 nation. 
 
 A fourth writer* with monstrous incredulity* 
 laughs to scorn every tradition that has yet been 
 published on the subject* and with an unparalleled 
 perversity* that has found its reward in utter 
 neglect* professes to believe that Tuflongbo never 
 had any real existence at all* but that he was 
 invented by Fancy* the famous Court Moralist and 
 Story-teller. 
 
 But enough of these idle and contradictory 
 fables ! They are only such as mystify the origin 
 of all those whose celebrity has excited the envy 
 and vain emulation of their inferiors; while the 
 tradition which I am now about to relate may be 
 relied on as strictly authentic — being drawn up as 
 it is from valuable family correspondence* and the 
 lips of the famous traveller himself. 
 
 Tuflongbo was the only child of Mulberry* a 
 distinguished member of the Royal Society of 
 Wiseacres* and a scholar whose prodigious learn- 
 ing had raised him to the dignity of best authority 
 on all disputed points of ancient and modern fable. 
 Though no courtier or place-hunter* his profound 
 reputation had earned him the honour of being 
 
 1 2 
 
4 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 selected to impart the alphabetical elements of 
 useful knowledge to the young Prince Goldheart, 
 son of the reigning Queen of Sheneland ; and it 
 was during one of his official visits to his royal 
 pupil that his beloved wife, the bright and fanciful 
 Lupine, while wandering in the heat of the 
 afternoon under the pleasant shadow of the garden 
 trees, found their wee, drowsy dot of a baby fast 
 asleep on the curled and crinkled leaf of a parsley- 
 bush. A serviceable little fairy nurse sat over 
 against him, fanning the rays from his face and 
 singing a lullaby, while a perfumed zephyr hovered 
 round the spray and rocked the quaint cradle in 
 time to the tune. 
 
 Lupine leant over the unconscious child in loving 
 wonder and awe; then she softly touched his 
 dimpled cheek with her forefinger to try if he 
 were real , and drew it away, smiling and more 
 amazed than ever when he opened a pair of great 
 surprised blue eyes that laughed as if they knew 
 her. “ Take him ; he is not glass — he won’t 
 break,” said the fairy nurse ; “ he belongs to you 
 and Mulberry.” And she w r as just laying the tiny 
 darling into Lupine’s tender arms, when the pro- 
 fessor came swiftly along the green walk, and 
 peeping through his clever spectacles over his 
 wife’s shoulder, exclaimed, “ Oh, what a marvellous 
 event! That is Tuflongbo, my blessed Lupine — 
 
HIS BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 
 
 5 
 
 the son who is to be the crown and joy of our old 
 age, as Oracle foretold when we were married ! 
 How proud and happy we shall be ! ! I must go 
 and set the bells a-ringing ! ! ! ” And away he 
 fussed, glowing with solemn delight, while Lupine 
 sat down in the sunshine with her new treasure in 
 her lap, and listened as the Elfin chimes tuned 
 up from far and near in a joyous fantasia. 
 
 Quamoclit, the notorious busybody, had heard 
 a whisper of something mysterious in the air, and 
 meeting the flurried and gleeful Mulberry near his 
 own door, she soon learnt what had happened, and 
 before Tuflongbo was an hour old, she and the 
 bells together had spread the news of his auspici- 
 ous arrival throughout the length and breadth of 
 Sheneland. The friends and neighbours then 
 came with their congratulations in such numbers 
 that the professor’s house and garden were like a 
 fair ; and with beautiful resignation Tuflongbo 
 allowed himself to be handed round to the guests, 
 who all, as it were, took a sip of him, until the 
 fairy-nurse was obliged to interpose and restore 
 him to his mother, lest he should be quite kissed 
 away. 
 
 The same evening, Mulberry called a select 
 council of his brother Wiseacres, to consult with 
 him over the future destiny of his son ; and being 
 assembled together under a cool arbour of vine- 
 
6 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 leaves, with a fungus table to hold their tobacco- 
 box, they lit their pipes, and, as the fragrant 
 smoke curled up in clouds above their learned 
 heads, they discoursed in scientific language on 
 the propitious signs which had attended the dis- 
 covery of the remarkable child. 
 
 “ The sun was shining when he was born ; 
 therefore will he be of a cheerful, open, genial 
 temperament,” said one. 
 
 “ It is summer ; therefore will he be abundantly 
 blessed of the flowers and fruits of fortune,” said 
 another. 
 
 “ The time was afternoon ; therefore will he 
 live to grow old,” added a third; but the saga- 
 cious and bulky Gourd — whose words carried as 
 much weight in Sheneland as the prophecies of 
 Oracle herself — held his peace, and puffed at his 
 long pipe in thoughtful silence. 
 
 Mulberry anxiously waited for him to speak ; 
 but when he found that his venerable friend still 
 continued mute and meditative, after the rest of 
 the Council had given their opinions, he gravely 
 inquired if he had been struck by any omen of 
 evil that was likely to traverse the otherwise pro- 
 pitious lot of the child. Gourd replied that he 
 had not, but with characteristic caution, before 
 he would hazard any prediction as to Tuflongbo’s 
 future good or ill-luck, he required that he should 
 
HIS BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 
 
 7 
 
 be produced before him for his conscientious per- 
 sonal study ; and the babe was accordingly sum- 
 moned from his mother’s bower ; and, being placed 
 amongst the soft contents of the tobacco-box, for 
 fear of accidents to his delicate limbs, the philo- 
 sophers drew round the table, and proceeded to 
 smoke their pipes over him while they took him 
 into serious consideration. 
 
 Each Wiseacre was anxious to test the child’s 
 qualifications, with regard to his own peculiar 
 hobby. 
 
 “ Behold his length of foot, — the flatness of his 
 great toe ! ” cried one. “ My w r ord for it. Mul- 
 berry, your son will be a famous traveller ! ” 
 
 “ Remark the prominence and brilliance of 
 his blue eyes!” exclaimed another; “he will 
 assuredly be a ready, a shrewd, and just ob- 
 server ! ” 
 
 “ Note the length and straightness of his upper 
 lip ! ” said a third. “ He will be an orator, a 
 humourist, and a wit ! ” 
 
 The sententious Gourd let everybody else have 
 his say first, and then, with solid gravity, he pro- 
 nounced his judgment to wind up. 
 
 “ Your son is most richly endowed, worthy 
 Mulberry,” were his elegant words. “From you 
 he inherits wisdom, from his mother imagination. 
 He has courage also, and a large measure of 
 
8 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 audacity ; he will be enterprising, inquisitive, and 
 self-reliant. Success must look on him with favour, 
 because he will always woo her generously, frankly, 
 and bravely. He will live to be famous, and to 
 make his name of Tuflongbo known and revered 
 from one end of Sheneland to the other ! ” 
 
 While the respectable Gourd spoke, the Council 
 was held in admiring silence, but as the last 
 syllable rolled sonorously from his lips, a cheer 
 broke forth that rang through the garden, and 
 penetrated to Lupine’s bower, where she was 
 anxiously waiting with the fairy-nurse, until her 
 darling should be restored to her. At this ominous 
 sound of merriment, they simultaneously remarked 
 that they hoped the philosophers were not giving 
 the baby anything that would not be good for 
 him ; and their fears being awakened, they crept 
 stealthily out to the place of meeting, and, peeping 
 into the arbour between the vine-leaves, they saw T 
 Tuflongbo still in the tobacco-box, and the Wise- 
 acres smoking and talking over him as they would 
 have done over any other natural curiosity. 
 
 The intelligent little fellow sat up staring at 
 them alternately with wonderful discrimination 
 and delight, until Blackcap Sycamore, who never 
 lost an opportunity of trying an experiment, took 
 advantage of the candour of the child’s open 
 mouth, and rashly popped his pipe into it; an 
 
HIS BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 
 
 9 
 
 impertinence which Tuflongbo resented with a 
 series of piercing cries that went to his mother’s 
 heart. When the trial was accomplished, the 
 philosopher coolly restored the pipe to his own 
 lips, observing with much pathos and regret — 
 “Your son will never be a smoker. Mulberry; 
 and that’s a pity — a mighty pity ! for tobacco is 
 the only pleasure in life that never disappoints 
 us!” 
 
 On hearing this abominable sentiment — which 
 not a Wiseacre amongst them all contradicted — 
 the fairy-nurse rushed into the midst of the solemn 
 conclave, snatched the child indignantly from his 
 comfortless lodging, and carried him back, still 
 shouting most lustily, to the arms of the tender 
 Lupine, who ran straight away with him to her 
 dainty bower. 
 
 “ There is nothing amiss with his lungs,” then 
 said Poplar, with serene composure ; “ and that 
 is a satisfactory reflection for you. Mulberry.” 
 
 Mulberry replied that the same thought had 
 just occurred to himself ; and the grand object 
 of their deliberate consultation being removed, 
 the philosophers filled their pipes again and began 
 to talk of other things. 
 
10 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 II. 
 
 THE ELFIN GIFTS. 
 
 The following morning, Lupine, attended by 
 the fairy-nurse, carried the child forth into the 
 garden, and laying him down in his beautiful 
 cradle, sat by it to watch and wait until the 
 Elfin Things brought him their homage of gifts 
 and graces, as the custom in Sheneland is. The 
 sweet Zephyr, who had rocked him asleep the 
 day before, then again floated over the spray 
 where he nestled, causing it to undulate gently 
 with the air of her gossamer wings, until the 
 dreamy motion lulled him into a smiling slumber. 
 
 Then from their secret lurking-places in herb 
 and flower, crept all manner of creatures, quaint 
 and curious, and clomb up by stem and twig to 
 admire Tuflongbo as he lay cozily purring on his 
 curled and crinkled leaf. The fairy-nurse kept a 
 shrewd eye upon them, lest any malign or hurtful 
 thing should approach the innocent child to molest 
 him; so that when Wasp came with a swfift, 
 exultant 66 whiz-z-z,” to feed on the bloomy ripe 
 peach of his sun-flushed cheek, she dashed him oflf 
 with her palm-leaf fan; and when Gnat flew 
 
THE ELEIN GIFTS. 
 
 11 
 
 circling round and about* with his stealthy 
 “ whirr-r-r*” and his sting ready* she bade Zephyr 
 leave the cradle for an instant and chase him away. 
 But in that instant Tuflongbo awoke* and not all 
 the rocking or lullaby ing in Sheneland could pre- 
 vail on him to go to sleep again* when he saw the 
 odd and comical creatures that were gathering to 
 pay him their compliments ; and very pretty it was 
 to observe how he chirruped them a welcome* 
 and laughed his merry thanks for the numerous 
 gifts with which they enriched him. 
 
 First came Snail* with all his worldly goods 
 upon his back* and after making him an oration on 
 the wisdom of being contented in his condition, 
 whatever it might prove* endowed him with his 
 own fortune of little Pelf* less Care, and passed 
 slowly by to make way for Spider* who reeled him 
 off a silken thread to Hold-fast and Spin-true. 
 Then came the bonny brown Bee* and gave him 
 some of her Blitheness ; and the Ant* who brought 
 him a service of her Forethought and Industry; 
 next followed the Beetle* who gave him a strain 
 of his Courage; and the Locust* who offered 
 him Speed and Strength on the Wing; and the 
 Lizard* who furnished him with needful Craft ; 
 and many more besides* until Tuflongbo was 
 gifted with all the every-day virtues that are in 
 use in Sheneland. 
 
12 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 When the Elfin Things had gone their way home 
 again, which they did with much solemnity as 
 soon as their mission was performed, the elemental 
 spirits of Fire, Air, Earth, and Water, appeared, 
 surrounded by their marvellous powers and 
 terrors ; but though Lupine hid her face, and the 
 fairy-nurse cowered under his cradle-bush, Tuf- 
 longbo looked up to the sky, where a vast black 
 cloud was gathering, with more wonder than awe. 
 When it was at its darkest, suddenly it was rent 
 asunder with an awful crash, and out of the 
 dazzling splendour of its inner vault Lightning 
 launched a flight of cloven spears, while Storm 
 and Tempest raced down the Wind with a thousand 
 hoarse voices of Echoes in pursuit. Then came 
 swift legions of Showers that rattled, and railed, 
 and pelted on rock, and sand, and mellow garden- 
 ground, until all the trees, and shrubs, and herbs, 
 and flowers that grew shed forth their uttermost 
 perfumes ; and the Gnomes that dwelt deep in the 
 solitary caverns of the Earth issued thence with 
 heaped-up baskets of gems and metals, and cast 
 them abroad upon the soil. 
 
 Only a bit of iron fell within Tuflongbo’s reach, 
 but that he instantly seized in his tiny grasp and 
 held it fast, though some invisible creature 
 struggled with him for it passionately ; and when 
 the wild, elemental spirits had retired, and left all 
 
THE ELFIN GIFTS. 
 
 13 
 
 calm again* it was still safe* clutched in his sturdy 
 little fist. Then Lupine lifted up her face* and 
 looked at it* hoping to find some glittering jewel 
 or precious metal* but when she saw nothing but a 
 dull fragment of iron-ore* she was disappointed* 
 and murmured sorrowfully* “ Not even gold or 
 silver ! He has drawn an iron lot* my darling* 
 and must toil and trouble like his father before 
 him.” 
 
 “ ’Tis a good lot enough*” said the wise fairy- 
 nurse* to console her. “ This is sterling metal* and 
 if it be rough and homely he will have your fancy 
 to gild it* and all his Elfin gifts besides. He seems 
 highly delighted with it himself. Watch how he 
 smiles as he bites it.” 
 
 Lupine sighed* but she watched and smiled too* 
 until dreading lest he might do himself a mischief* 
 she tried to withdraw it from his mouth, when* to 
 her exceeding satisfaction* she discovered that he 
 had cut all his teeth* double as well as single* and 
 his wise teeth too* upon its hard surface. Then 
 his hair began to grow* and grew and curled over 
 his round little head in a beautiful crop of chestnut 
 curls. Next he stretched his queer short legs* 
 which lengthened visibly under his mother’s eyes* 
 and yawned* and rolled over* and rolled himself 
 out of his cradle upon the ground* when he imme- 
 diately found the use of his feet* and to the wild 
 
14 TUELONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 dismay of the frantic Lupine, of the fairy-nurse, 
 and of Zephyr, away he ran ; in and out amongst 
 the bushes, over, under, and through the flowers, 
 up and down, and round about, with all three of 
 them after him, as fast as they could fly on wings 
 of fear ! 
 
 But they could not catch him. So swift w r as he, 
 that he seemed to be in twenty places at once, and 
 when Lupine thought she had him by the tail of 
 his pretty coat, or the fairy-nurse got her fingers 
 amongst his ruddy locks, in a twinkling he had 
 escaped again, and was laughing at them from the 
 topmost twig of a tree, or peeping, like the 
 quaintest of little owls, out of some green ivy- 
 bush far beyond their reach. 
 
 The chase was at its maddest, when home came 
 Mulberry, and with him the bulky Gourd, the 
 brave Poplar, and the inquisitive Sycamore, who 
 immediately tucked up their dignity out of the 
 w r ay, and joined in it with the heartiest good-will, 
 but also wdth much panting, and puffing, and 
 shortness of breath. The sight of the famous 
 Wiseacres in pursuit only appeared to urge Tuf- 
 longbo to more crazy pranks than ever, and it was 
 not until Zephyr contrived to puff* a cloud of 
 clematis-powder in his face, which bewildered him, 
 that he was laid hold of by the fairy-nurse, who 
 tickled him into a fit of laughter by way of 
 
THE SALAMANDERS. 
 
 15 
 
 punishment, and then carried him, kicking and 
 struggling, to his mother’s bower, Lupine following 
 in a distracted state, while the Blackcaps gave him 
 three cheers for his famous spirit, in which his 
 father’s voice was the loudest and most exultant 
 of all. 
 
 III. 
 
 THE SALAMANDERS. 
 
 This wonderfully early development of Tuf- 
 longbo’s adventurous turn of character brought 
 with it, as a matter of course, the immediate 
 necessity for training ; and the little monkey 
 having incautiously betrayed that he could speak , 
 by asking for sugar to his bread and butter, after 
 his long race in the garden, Mulberry and Lupine 
 decided that it was high time to give their son 
 regular instruction in the various duties and 
 denials of life — a decision which a council of 
 Wiseacres confirmed with universal approbation. 
 
 For seven fairy years his mother taught him by 
 means of beautiful parables, taking for her text 
 the flowers, the fruits, and the leaves, with which 
 he was familiar, or the quaint Elfin Things that 
 had endowed him with so many excellent gifts; 
 
16 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 and throughout this period he was also steadily* 
 yet imperceptibly* acquiring the practical lesson 
 of pure and prompt obedience ; and how firmly it 
 was impressed on his ingenuous mind* let this 
 incident of his temptation by the Salamanders 
 testify. 
 
 Tuflongbo was sitting by the hearth one winter’s 
 night as good as alone ; for Mulberry had fallen 
 asleep in his chair* and Lupine* though she appeared 
 to be in her usual place* was really gone abroad 
 on a flight with Fancy into Dreamland* while 
 the fairy-nurse was out on a gossip amongst her 
 numerous friends and acquaintance. There was 
 a fine fire of pine-knots frolicking up the chimney, 
 and as Tuflongbo watched* he saw it wreathe* and 
 twist* and curve* and coil itself into a thousand 
 exquisite shapes which changed every moment* 
 but all bent towards him and whispered in soft 
 stealthy voices : “ Come play with us* Tuflongbo, 
 come play with us ! See how merry we are* what 
 sport we make ! ” 
 
 But Tuflongbo answered* with a shake of his 
 wise little head* “Nay* I am forbidden to play 
 with Fire !” and immediately the fantastic demons 
 glided* some hissing, some laughing, into the deep 
 red caverns amongst the pine-knots* and there lay, 
 plotting mischief. 
 
 Presently* out from a smouldering chink flew 
 
THE SALAMANDERS. 
 
 17 
 
 Spark and lit on Tuflongbo’s coat ; but he clapt his 
 hand upon it, and crushed it to death, exclaiming, 
 “You are only a small foe. Spark, but you are 
 dangerous.” 
 
 Enraged at this courage in the child. Flash 
 then darted vehemently forth from a ruin of ashes, 
 and endeavoured to strike him, but the wary little 
 mannikin pushed his stool back and laughed in its 
 face, as it retreated even more swiftly than it had 
 sprung out of its lair. After this for a short time all 
 was very hushed within. Tuflongbo heard the wind 
 blowing in the garden, and now and then a shower 
 swept against the window ; but the ■ sound was 
 dreamy and soothing, and perhaps he might have 
 fallen asleep within reach of his enemies, had they 
 not been too eager to press on their temptations to 
 leave him the chance. 
 
 For now a great log rolled apart from the rest, 
 and out of the burning hollow rose Blaze and 
 Flame, and towered up the wide chimney, and 
 mopped and mowed, and danced and roared, and 
 threw terrific shadows on the walls to frighten 
 him; but Tuflongbo saw their weird, grotesque 
 contortions quite undismayed. Baffled here again, 
 the graceful serpentine reelings and windings 
 began their maze once more, and, as if they were 
 the least harmful of spirits, gently wooed Tuf- 
 longbo with dulcet songs and the same whisper- 
 
 2 
 
18 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 ings as before. “ Come play with us, come play 
 with us ! We are Salamanders, and have warmed 
 thee many a cold day and frosty night. Where is 
 thy gratitude, Tuflongbo, that thou wilt not join 
 in our revels? If Blaze and Flame daunt thee, 
 here are our merry Twinkle and sly Glimmer, 
 and quaint Flicker — so prythee, come play w r ith 
 us, come play with us !” 
 
 “ No, that must I not ! ” quoth Tuflongbo, 
 sturdily, and drew farther away from his tempters. 
 “You are beautiful and kindly amongst your- 
 selves, but I am not akin to you and could not 
 mingle without dreadful hurt in any of your 
 sports.” 
 
 “Thou dost not know us, Tuflongbo — we are 
 the most beneficent of spirits ! ” cried Blaze in 
 feigned astonishment. 
 
 “ Yes, I know you — you are good servants and 
 bad masters, and woe betide him who gives you 
 the upper hand ! ” replied the child. 
 
 “Ah, ha! thou art a coward, Tuflongbo, thou 
 art a coward, and dare not play with us,” sneered 
 Flame, with disappointed rage. 
 
 “Nay, I am no coward, though I am too 
 prudent to burn my fingers wittingly,” retorted 
 Tuflongbo. 
 
 The Salamanders and Salamandrines at this 
 laughed good-humouredly, and fell to their pranks 
 
THE SALAMANDERS. 
 
 19 
 
 amongst themselves ; and very quaint and fantas- 
 tical these pranks were to behold. Tuflongbo 
 watched them with a drowsy delight. Whenever 
 a pine-knot dropt away, out flew myriads of 
 Sparks, white and yellow, and red and violet, and 
 chased each other in a mad gallop up the chimney ; 
 Blast driving wildly after them with a loud halloo ! 
 Then tiny, sportive Flashes leapt to and fro the 
 logs, and glided like lizards down their crinkled 
 bark, and peeled it off and ate into their hearts, 
 until their bulk fell suddenly down in grey ashes 
 on the hearthstone, where Glimmer and Flicker 
 hid themselves in the ruins to keep warm. 
 
 This had happened twice or thrice, and still 
 Mulberry had slept on and Lupine did not return 
 from her Fancy-flight, or the fairy-nurse from her 
 gossip, until, at last, the disappointed Salamanders 
 had no more strength for their gambols, and were 
 fain to supplicate Tuflongbo to give them fuel. 
 But he distrusted them, whether in their awful 
 might or their treacherous meekness, and refused ; 
 on which a spiteful little Twinkle peeped out at 
 him and said, “If thou dost not, we will leave 
 thee altogether, and then thou wilt be in the dark, 
 ah, ha ! ah, ha ! ! ” 
 
 “ Just as you please,” replied Tuflongbo firmlj^. 
 “ My mother bade me never meddle with Fire for 
 good or ill, and I must obey.” 
 
 2—2 
 
20 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 And there he sate, patiently waiting while the 
 last Spark flew away; then Blaze, Flame, and 
 Flash died; Glimmer and Twinkle survived them 
 a short time, but at length they also sank ex- 
 hausted, and a black log crushed them out. Only 
 Flicker was now left, being driven to its final 
 refuge amongst the embers. It looked up pitifully 
 at Tuflongbo, and Tuflongbo looked down pitifully 
 at it, but he could give it no help without breaking 
 a promise to his mother ; and shivering as much 
 with sorrow as with cold, he watched the pleasant 
 face grow fainter and fainter, until it vanished and 
 was gone ! 
 
 Just at that moment Mulberry awoke, and feel- 
 ing shivery too, cried, “ Oh ! my blessed Lupine, 
 w r e have dreamed the Fire out ! ” 
 
 Then Lupine rubbed her eyes, and descended 
 from her Fancy-flight, and the fairy-nurse coming 
 back from her gossip, brought flint, steel, and 
 tinder-box, and tried to rekindle it. But, at first, 
 it sulked and refused to catch alight, and it was 
 not until after a good deal of coaxing from all who 
 had neglected it, that it condescended to burn. 
 Having puffed a volley or two of smoke in their 
 faces, it seemed appeased, and then the antic 
 Salamanders showed themselves again, as lively, 
 frolicsome, and mischievous as before. 
 
 The vivid Sparks rushed up the yawning 
 
ADVENTURES WITH THE ONDINES. 21 
 
 chimney with many a twirl and caper ; Flash 
 laughed* Flicker winked* Twinkle danced* Flame 
 roared* Blaze rioted, and Blast hallooed* until the 
 merry Fire had warmed them all through and 
 through* and little Tuflongbo* when he went to 
 bed* was as nice* as crisp* and as hot as a toast ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 TUELONGBO’S ADVENTURES WITH THE ONDINES. 
 
 About six fairy months after his triumph over the 
 Salamanders* Tuflongbo had another adventure to 
 prove the metal of his obedience* which happened 
 in this wise. 
 
 Being left in the garden alone one sunny after- 
 noon* he climbed up by the wall* and looked out 
 on the unknown world beyond with eager* wistful 
 eyes of curiosity. On one side he saw the grey 
 shadow-like spires* and arches* and towers of the 
 chief city of Sheneland* with streets and houses 
 clustered together* and continuous streams of 
 people passing to and fro* and in and out* at the 
 gates. But that busy scene did not much attract 
 him. He knew that his father moved amongst it 
 all day* and at night he saw him come home* often 
 
22 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 so weary and dispirited, that even his beloved 
 Lupine, with her happy fancies, could scarcely 
 brighten his pale and care-worn face. On the other 
 side, however, he beheld a lovely vision of delights ; 
 rich sloping meadows of emerald green, enamelled 
 with exquisite flowers, spread away to the purple 
 horizon, like waves of undulating turf ; and 
 through their midst flowed a river, that was here 
 dark, still, and deep, there broken into foamy 
 eddies and miniature cascades by the masses of 
 rock that encumbered its bed. 
 
 In some spots its banks were open and sunny ; 
 elsewhere they were clothed with shady woods and 
 avenues of trees that drooped over the water, 
 sweeping their lower branches on its silvery, 
 rippled surface. The whole prospect was indescri- 
 bably sweet and pleasant; thousands of cool- 
 breathed zephyrs fanned the sultry air about the 
 river, while all day long Tuflongbo had languidly 
 hunted the garden through, searching for the very 
 tiniest sprite of all the gossamer tribe in vain. He 
 longed to be out amongst those strange and fair 
 fields and by the beguiling river, but never yet had 
 he left the serene shelter of his father’s house and 
 garden, and he did not venture to do so now until 
 he had asked leave of his mother. 
 
 He therefore descended from his look-out, and 
 ran to her in the house, where she was busy mend- 
 
ADVENTURES WITH THE ONDINES. 23 
 
 ing the learned Mulberry’s best black gown, and 
 having told her his ardent desire, begged her to 
 suffer him to go abroad into the beautiful meadows. 
 Lupine gazed in his impatient face very wist- 
 fully for some moments, and then said, “ Thou 
 art growing taller day by day, my lit tie son h” 
 
 “ I shall never be higher than thy heart, mother,” 
 replied he, and leant his head against her bosom, 
 and kissed her. 
 
 “ Go,” said she, with a voice of infinite tender- 
 ness. “ Go ! but promise me that thou wilt not 
 venture into the river that flows amongst the 
 fields. Thou art not yet strong enough to swim 
 against the current, or even to steer thee a safe, 
 straight course with the stream. Though it appear 
 ever so laughing, or ever so tranquil, I bid thee 
 beware of it ! ” 
 
 Tuflongbo promised, and with his mother’s wise 
 words of love and warning in his ears, sped away 
 into the world beyond his home ; rejoicing, yet 
 half afraid, like a bird that for the first time 
 plumes its wings in the infinite blue plains of 
 heaven. He made direct for the river, that ap- 
 
 peared, as he drew nearer, to roll under the sun- 
 shine like torrents of molten silver, and standing 
 on the bank, watched the fickle Shadows reflected 
 in it with admiring wonder. At first, it flowed 
 with solemn, even course, but at length millions of 
 
24 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 tiny waves crisped and curled on its surface, and 
 Ripples innumerable laughed and danced down 
 the tide, sparkling under his eyes, until he was 
 quite dazzled and bewildered. 
 
 Then Foam, snowy white, swam on a swift eddy 
 up to the bank, and lapt his dusty feet in her cool 
 freshness, while Spray caught a handful of glisten- 
 ing drops, and dashed them like dew in his heated 
 face. Hardly had he recovered from the delight 
 of these pleasantries, than all at once he became 
 aware of a queer little brown weed of a creature 
 crouched on the top of a crag that just showed 
 itself above the water. A cloak of ragged leaves 
 was wrapt about his body, from below which 
 dangled two stalky legs, finished off with knots of 
 roots instead of feet. His head was shaped like a 
 lily-cup reversed, the extended outermost petals 
 acting as ears, and the centre one over his fore- 
 head terminating in a tiny horn. His features 
 were indistinct, but his eyes were as brilliant as 
 diamond-cut crystals, and twinkled with merry 
 mockery while he sate making comical signs of 
 civility to Tuflongbo from his slippery perch. He 
 did not speak, or even open his mouth — indeed it 
 was not clear that he had any mouth to open — hut 
 he was evidently anxious that Tuflongbo should 
 join him on the crag, for he extended a hand to 
 help him again and again, and a sly, pretty Ripple 
 
ADVENTURES WITH THE ONDINES. 25 
 
 whispered that he would find it one of the plea- 
 santest, airiest seats in Sheneland at that time of 
 day, if he would only try it. But Tuflongbo 
 courteously declined the proffered hospitality, and 
 walked away towards a group of trees, where the 
 earliest shadows of evening were beginning to 
 gather in robes of maize, and azure, and dun- 
 tinted mist. 
 
 One of the most graceful and transparent of 
 these lovely Shadows was brooding over the water 
 intently, the long arm of a weeping beech being 
 extended above her. Tuflongbo observed her 
 from the distance, and, as he approached, his 
 curiosity was excited to know on what her gaze 
 was so earnestly bent. Drawing quite near, he 
 still kept his feet from trespassing on the borders 
 of her sad-coloured garments that swept the grass; 
 and peering down below the beech-tree, where the 
 river ran with a dark stillness, he saw the shape 
 of two mysterious hands stretched up towards 
 the light. As the veil of water flowed on and on, 
 these hands seemed to clasp and unclasp them- 
 selves ; to wave desolate farewells ; to rise and 
 fall, and rise and sink again, in vain, tremulous 
 supplication; and as his eyes became accustomed 
 to the restless gloom, he perceived further the 
 outline of a drowning form. Just at the same 
 instant, his weedy little acquaintance of the crag 
 
26 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 came floating down-stream astride of a straw, and, 
 catching at the reflection of a twig in the water, 
 to stay his impetuous course, looked in Tuflongbo’s 
 face with an air of the most deplorable pathos, 
 mutely entreating him to vouchsafe his help to 
 the lost shadow struggling to escape from the 
 river. 
 
 The kind little Fairykin’s first impulse was 
 to spring at once to the succour of the drowning 
 mystery, but as he leant down towards it, it 
 receded insidiously, and he saw that it was im- 
 possible to reach it unless he stepped from the 
 bank altogether, and trusted to such insecure 
 footing as the mossy rocks and stones of the 
 current might afford ; and this, by reason of his 
 promise to his mother, he must not do. His 
 distress was extreme; other aid than his was 
 there none. The mournful Waif beat the air 
 with its poor limbs, and its whole frame was 
 twisted and contorted with agony when Tuflongbo 
 intimated his helplessness by a sorrowful gesture 
 of the head. The wretched thing then flung it- 
 self towards him and drifted to the bank on the 
 lower side of the tree, as in a frenzy of despair, 
 while the weird hands of the imprisoned shadow 
 wrung themselves wildly together, and then burst 
 asunder as if casting away their final hope of 
 deliverance. 
 
ADVENTURES WITH THE ONDINES. 27 
 
 Tuflongbo’s eyes were half-blinded with tears, 
 and he cotild hear the beat of his own heart in 
 the stillness as he stepped round by the smooth 
 bole of the beech-tree, to try if his help might avail 
 from thence. But no sooner had he done this 
 than a sarcastic peal of laughter broke forth from 
 the mocking Waif, who, gathering himself care- 
 fully together, backed out into the mid-current, 
 looking so droll, whimsical, and mischievous, that 
 Tuflongbo did not know in the least what to think 
 of his vagaries ; and turning bewildered to seek 
 the drowning shadow, he saw only the curved 
 and knotted roots of the beech-tree that extended 
 themselves below the water with some faint, fan- 
 tastic resemblance to hands ! Then was he glad 
 that he had not yielded to the temptation of a 
 pity which would have led him into the delusion 
 and snare that had been so artfully contrived to 
 test his obedience; and singing gaily to himself, 
 he ran along by the bank, while the waif, astride 
 of its straw, and with its shattered cloak wrapped 
 close, kept even pace with him on the river. 
 
 Evening was now drawing on, and twilight 
 stole out of the woods with her thousands of 
 thousands of grey-habited Shadows in her train, 
 those in raiment of azure and rose, violet and 
 gold, having disappeared one by one before the 
 steady sweep of the sombre legions that precede the 
 
28 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 night. Tuflongbo felt no dread of them* but he 
 nevertheless presently turned towards home, and 
 w'hen he had gone about half way, he met his 
 father coming out to meet him across the fields. 
 The wise Mulberry first embraced his little son, 
 and then encouraged him to tell him all he had 
 seen and done since leaving his mother ; and when 
 the child narrated how the w 7 eed of a W aif had 
 mocked him, when he discovered the dangerous 
 falsehood of the Shadow in the river, the Wise- 
 acre said — 
 
 “ Now can I trust thee wholly, my little Tuf- 
 longbo, since thou hast courage to keep a hard 
 promise, and wit to look at the two sides of an 
 enterprise before undertaking it; for, in Shene- 
 land, leading-strings of mothers are soon laid by, 
 and each of us stands or falls, walks or wavers, 
 according to the natural strength that is in him. 
 Thy wings are beginning to sprout, and to-morrow 
 thou shalt go forth with me into the city.” 
 
29 
 
 V. 
 
 THE PARABLE OF THE SPLIT REED. 
 
 When they reached home Lupine received the 
 child with eager pleasure* and heard his adven- 
 tures with enthusiasm* but when Mulberry told 
 her of his intention to carry their son with him 
 into the city in the morning* her heart was filled 
 with a keen distress and anxiety. “He is so 
 small and weak*” pleaded she; but Tufiongbo 
 craned himself up on his tiny tiptoes* and ex- 
 hibited himself as if quite a formidable size for 
 his age*- — which was eight fairy-years precisely. 
 
 The fairy-nurse wagged her head* intimating 
 her approval ; and declared that he would be a 
 famous mannikin by - and - by ; and then she 
 brought out a suit of proper little clothes* of a 
 remarkably tight fit* but with plenty of pockets* 
 and said that he must lay aside his childish coats 
 on the morrow* and don these instead. Tufiongbo 
 examined them with rosy delight* gauged the 
 capacity of the pockets* and felt almost lifted off 
 his feet with the idea of the sudden greatness 
 that was coming upon him* when his father 
 dropped a bright golden coin into the deepest* 
 and said — “ There* my son* is something for luck ! 
 
30 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 As long as thou hast that coin in thy pocket 
 thou wilt never want for money.” And it is 
 stated by friends and foes alike, that having re- 
 tained that golden handsel all his life, the cele- 
 brated traveller was never without ready cash 
 and credit in any country whither his adventurous 
 spirit led him. 
 
 Tuflongbo did not sleep much that night for 
 thinking of what was to happen on the morrow, 
 and at the earliest peep of day he was wide-awake, 
 and up, and busy investing himself in his new 
 clothes, that he might be prepared to set out as 
 soon as his father called him. But Lupine was at 
 his door first, and smiling and standing a little 
 way off, she watched her son pranking himself 
 with all the daintiness and vanity of a fledgling 
 fairy; until he spied her and ran into her arms, 
 where he forgot his unaccustomed finery in a 
 moment, and allowed himself to be kissed and 
 crumpled just as if he had on his childish coats 
 again. 
 
 “ T have somewhat to tell thee, Tuflongbo,” said 
 she, and leaning against her heart, and with his 
 eyes on her ever bright and tender face, he 
 listened while she told him this Parable of the 
 Split Reed. 
 
 “On the marshy southern border of a moun- 
 
THE PARABLE OF THE SPLIT REED. 31 
 
 tain lake, there once grew a tall Reed which lifted 
 its head high above any other Rush of the Swamp. 
 When the strong winds blew, it bowed and bent, 
 and when they were still, it raised its crest again 
 with as much majesty as before. Broad leaves, 
 glossy and green, and sharp as swords, sprang from 
 its root to the height of its shoulder, and then 
 drooped downwards and outwards as in homage to 
 their king. The meaner inhabitants of the morass 
 held aloof from the stately Reed that towered 
 above them by the crown, and enviously consulted 
 amongst themselves how they might reduce him to 
 their own level. 
 
 “ c So long as he dips before the winds, and 
 claims to himself no privileges greater than those 
 of the tallest Reed in the swamp, he is safe,’ said 
 a shrewd Rushling to his emulous companions; 
 ‘ but if by reason of his proud position he should 
 become headstrong and wilful, then will follow 
 humiliation, ruin, and a fall.’ 
 
 “ The Reed was, perhaps, aware of the feelings of 
 his neighbours towards him, and being com- 
 plaisant and kindly disposed, he endeavoured to 
 moderate the haughty airs that had given them 
 offence ; but he could not lessen his stature, and 
 though he bowed deeper than ever before the 
 winds, and showed that he felt himself no stronger 
 
32 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 or better than they, when the aerial spirits asserted 
 a superior dominion, they refused to be propitiated ; 
 and declared that his pride increased day by day, 
 and every hour his crown sat on his brow more 
 arrogantly. 
 
 “ The Reed, having a due self-respect, now 
 perceived that the time was come to turn a 
 deaf ear to the invidious remarks of his inferiors, 
 and retiring within himself, held his own with 
 calm dignity and easy grace. This serene be- 
 haviour could not fail to be exceedingly provoking 
 to all those who would gladly have seen him 
 abased ; but a slimy snake-like little Rush, with 
 guile and wickedness in his thoughts, crept to his 
 feet, and kissing the ground before him, whispered 
 humbly, — 
 
 “ * Noble and generous Reed, deign to look 
 on thy servant, and tell him why thou , who 
 hast no peer, and art taller by the crown than any 
 Rush in the morass, yet bendest thy lofty head to 
 the imperious Winds, and renderest homage to the 
 rude inclement Blasts ! ’ 
 
 “ f He who made us all, made them sovereign 
 and me subject. I do but bow before my masters,’ 
 answered the Reed. 
 
 “ At this the slimy Rush laughed with a slavish 
 deference and said: — 
 
THE PARABLE OF THE SPLIT REED. 33 
 
 “ c Na y, my good lord, but thou hast too much 
 humility! Wilt thou be a servant of servants 
 who art king of all the Lake?’ 
 
 “The Reed stirred uneasily on his throne of 
 leaves, and turned his head about, and gazed 
 abroad with a new sense of power awakening 
 within him. The Rush went on : — 
 
 “ * Survey thy realms, gracious Reed — look on 
 all the multitudes that owe thee allegiance, and 
 thou wilt feel that one so great was never made 
 to bend, and bow, and dip before a Wind blown 
 out of a Cloud ! ’ 
 
 “ 6 There is an Universal Law — each is under 
 another," replied the Reed, moved, yet hesi- 
 tating. 
 
 “ * True,’ said the slimy Rush ; * but let each 
 learn his place, and take it, keep it, and maintain 
 it against usurpers for his own honour and the 
 commonweal. Why should the noble crouch and 
 the abject reign?’ 
 
 “ And then he slunk away, and from the depths 
 of a black oozy bog, watched the effects of his 
 flattering and deceitful words. 
 
 “ The Reed began at once to lay them to heart, 
 and to consider of his dignity and his meekness ; 
 and to argue within himself against the law that 
 made him who dominated the Marsh render fealty 
 to the vagrant Winds. Then resentful and dis- 
 
 3 
 
34 TUELONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 satisfied feelings swelled in him mightily, and 
 raising his proud crest higher than it had ever 
 stood before, he made a vow to himself to lower it 
 no more to any Breeze or Blast that blew. The 
 slimy Rush saw the gesture, understood it, and 
 chuckling inwardly, triumphed already in the 
 disasters he foresaw. 
 
 “And that night there rose a Tempest that 
 revelled wildly over the Lake and the Marshes, 
 but the Reed, secure in his own sovereignty, 
 set his neck firmly, and refused his due homage 
 to the Winds! And they rent his crown from 
 him, and cast it into the water; and broke his 
 stately stalk from nape to heel, and dashed his 
 brow into the mire, and made him lower than the 
 meanest Rushling of the Swamp. 
 
 “And when morning dawned, there lay he, — 
 bruised, crushed, and fallen ; and as he strove to 
 rise with a sad and shadowy dignity amongst the 
 ruined leaves of his throne, there rang through 
 the air a chorus of voices that taunted him with 
 his humiliation ; and the slimy flatterer, who had 
 enticed him to his destruction, advanced and 
 mocked at him with antic gestures of allegiance, 
 and cried: 
 
 “ c Thou art but a Split Reed ! Come down 
 from thy throne and lie in the dust ; thou art a 
 King no more, but only a Split Reed and a Ruler 
 
THE PARABLE OF THE SPLIT REED. 35 
 
 without Discretion ! ’ And the Reed fell alone 
 the earth and perished.” 
 
 When the fanciful Lupine had made an end of 
 her Parable, she embraced her little son, and 
 looked intently into his eyes, to see if he had under- 
 stood her. It was her usual practice to leave him to 
 puzzle out the moral of her lessons for himself, and 
 sometimes the inner light did not shine out until 
 long after the pretty story had been told. On this 
 occasion, however, she was earnest that he should 
 take her meaning at once. Tuflongbo perceived 
 this, and after a few minutes of thoughtful silence, 
 during which he watched her countenance with 
 awe and wonder at its inexpressible tenderness, 
 he said, 
 
 “ Mother, I will try always to wear thy counsels 
 uppermost.” 
 
 “They are counsels of love, my little son,” 
 replied she, folding him again in her arms. “ Thou 
 art leaving me for strange trials and scenes un- 
 known. I can be no longer a shield and pro- 
 tection to thee, save by my words that thou mayst 
 remember in hour of need. Be loyal ; stand 
 firmly by thy own self-respect; lend no ear to 
 the opinions of base and envious persons; and 
 turn away from the enticements of flattering 
 tempters. There is a voice in every one of our 
 
 3—2 
 
36 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 hearts will always tell us as much good of our- 
 selves as ’tis wholesome to hear. Now, kiss me, 
 my son, and go— there is thy father’s voice calling 
 to thee from without.” 
 
 And Tuflongbo claspt his little hands about her 
 neck, kissed her, and went his way. 
 
37 
 
 jjjari Hie gteqonil. 
 
 TUFLONGBO’S YOUTH. 
 
 I. 
 
 IN TIIE CHIEF CITY OF SHENELAND. 
 
 Mulberry took his little son by the hand, and led 
 him straight away towards the eastern gate of the 
 city, which stood, white as an arch of foam, in 
 a beautiful serene light and calmness. All the 
 buildings hereabouts were large and noble, the 
 streets were wide, the atmosphere was balmy and 
 exhilarating. The green of gardens and groves 
 appeared amongst the walls, and the music of 
 innumerable birds, and falling waters of fountains, 
 filled the air with a perpetual hum and harmony. 
 Tuflongbo gazed around with wonder, admiration, 
 and delight ; and as long as he lived, never did he 
 forget his first impression on entering the chief 
 city of Sheneland. 
 
38 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTUEES. 
 
 The sense of strangeness and beauty almost 
 bewildered him for a time ; but* at length, he 
 recovered his clear discernment, and then he found 
 himself in the midst of other Fairykins like him- 
 self, all whose faces were set the same way as his 
 own. Some had guides with them, and these 
 appeared happy and well-cared for as they trudged 
 steadily along ; but others were alone, or banded 
 in groups together, and amongst these Tuflongbo, 
 new to the busy scene, saw most to observe. 
 
 There was one by himself, whose name was 
 Larkspur, a merryandrew of a fellow, who, instead 
 of walking orderly through the streets, turned 
 head over heels, and performed all manner of 
 antics, to attract the notice of the staider portion 
 of the community — and it must be admitted that 
 the staider portion of the community, though 
 protesting against him, with a thousand sober airs, 
 watched him, nevertheless, with furtive smiles of 
 amusement. 
 
 Tuflongbo, who by nature gloried in anything 
 queer and comical, more than once hung back 
 from his father’s hand to see what would be the 
 end of his wild freaks, and he laughed with shrill 
 shouts of glee when Larkspur, after climbing up 
 a waterspout, flung himself boldly into the air, 
 and, revolving like a wheel as he descended, 
 plumped into the centre of a fountain, and achiev- 
 
IN THE CHIEF CITY OF SHENELAND. 39 
 
 ing an elegant summerset amongst the falling 
 showers of spray, bowed right and left to his 
 acquaintance with his hand on his heart. They 
 applauded him — they could not help it — and even 
 Mulberry said he might be Harlequin to the 
 Court ! 
 
 The next who drew Tuflongbo’s speculative eyes 
 upon him was Chickweed, a little droll, who had 
 a tangled clue of a puppy half smothered under 
 his arm, a bird’s nest in one pocket, and a top, 
 marbles, string, toffy, and slate-pencils in the 
 other. Besides a great rent at one of his knees, 
 he had plasters of mud of divers colours orna- 
 menting his clothes everywhere ; and as he was 
 going bareheaded, it seemed that he must have lost 
 his cap. He had truant written on him from top 
 to toe ; and as he marched along whistling for 
 lack of care, Tuflongbo’s heart warmed to him, 
 until, in a sudden expansion of feeling, he declared 
 that he should like to go to school, if Chickweed 
 went too ; but Mulberry eyed the heedless wight 
 with rather more severity, and remarked that he 
 feared Chickweed was going anywhere but to 
 school, if he might judge from appearances ; and 
 presently they saw him foregather with Larkspur, 
 when the pair ran off in quite an opposite direction 
 to that in which the distinguished Wiseacre was 
 conducting his son. 
 
40 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 When they were lost to sight, Tuflongbo felt 
 quite sorry, but soon his thoughts were engaged 
 by a cheerful little creature a year older than 
 himself, whose name was Canary, and who was 
 perseveringly conning his lessons as he walked 
 along. Mulberry spoke to him with great kindness, 
 and bade his son be friends with him ; and thus 
 introduced, the two F airykins first took a long stare 
 at each other, and then began to exchange personal 
 confidences. 
 
 While they w T ere talking, there came by, in a 
 terrible fuss, the white-headed Chamomile, whose 
 face w T as bitter with anxiety, but still full of 
 energy ; and when Canary hallooed to him to stop 
 and tell them what was the matter, he replied that 
 he had not time, for he was in a hobble again. 
 He always w^as in a hobble, that luckless Chamo- 
 mile, and hot water seemed to be his most natural 
 element. 
 
 Proceeding straight on their way, they overtook 
 Darnel, sauntering along with his hands in his 
 pockets, lazy, lounging, ugly, and dirty. He 
 made a grimace at Canary, and another at 
 Tuflongbo; and when they were a few paces in 
 advance, he flung a stone, which narrowly missed 
 striking Mulberry on the head. 
 
 “ Here, Tuf, hold my books!” cried Canary, 
 firing up in an instant ; and as the vicious Darnel 
 
IN THE CHIEF CITY OF SHENELAND. 41 
 
 took to his heels, the cheerful little fellow gave 
 chase, and though the other dodged and doubled, 
 and turned and twisted, and ran like the coward 
 and sneak he was, Canary persevered, and never 
 gave in until he caught him and had administered 
 such a proper allowance of cuffs as he had earned. 
 He then rejoined Tuflongbo and his wise father, 
 who in his absence had recommended him to his 
 son as the best everyday companion he could 
 have ; saying that Canary was always pleasant and 
 active, whether in work or in play, and so bold 
 and persevering besides, that he was never tired 
 or discouraged until he had accomplished what- 
 ever he began; and Tuflongbo was ready to 
 admire him with all his might, for Darnel whom 
 he had beaten was as big again as himself. 
 
 It now became clear that they were approaching 
 that famous place of public instruction through 
 which all the youth of Sheneland must pass before 
 they are allowed to engage in any Elfin work or 
 enterprise ; for the scholars were greatly multi- 
 plied and the idle tykes had altogether disap- 
 peared. And at last they came in sight of it, 
 standing on the shady side of the street, with 
 three doors wide open, and a flight of steps up 
 to each. 
 
 Tuflongbo’s heart beat very fast, for his father 
 said he must now leave him ; and after a few words 
 
42 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 of tender advice and of warning, he gave him 
 a final embrace and disappeared. Canary then 
 pointed to his new friend to go in at the lowest 
 door, and sped away himself to the highest ; and 
 so the son of Mulberry and Lupine was left alone 
 in the midst of a throng of strangers, who all 
 eyed him with curiosity, and passed on to their 
 own places in the class. He hesitated for some 
 time whether to follow them or to run off and 
 play, but at length duty overcame inclination ; he 
 found courage to mount the steps ; and imme- 
 diately he entered the building, he was met 
 face to face by the mild Professor Parsley, who 
 took him in hand forthwith, and trotted him at 
 a brisk pace through the first lessons of useful 
 knowledge. 
 
 Until this exercise was over, he had not a 
 moment for general observation ; but as soon as 
 he was set free, he began to gaze about, and 
 presently recognized the venerable and just Rud- 
 beakia, the head of the college, sitting on his 
 rostrum in the highest school. The experimental 
 Sycamore and the bulky Gourd, his father’s 
 friends, were also there ; and besides these, he 
 saw another master, Hop by name, who appeared 
 to be the dread of all his scholars, good and bad 
 alike. At first, Tuflongbo could not understand 
 the reason of his being so detested, for his coun- 
 
IN THE CHIEF CITY OF SHENELAND. 43 
 
 tenance was sleek, and his manners of the finest 
 glaze ; but at length he perceived that he was 
 unjust , and, therefore, whatever was most generous, 
 honourable, and kindly in his scholars, revolted 
 against him imperiously. Again and again were 
 his decrees carried up to Rudbeakia and reversed, 
 but at the next opportunity his conduct was as 
 cruel and unpopular as before. 
 
 Tuflongbo trembled for the time when he should 
 be promoted from the easy instructions of Pro- 
 fessor Parsley, and placed under the rod of the 
 remorseless and one-eyed Hop ; and having been 
 previously well-trained at home, this was not long 
 deferred, but actually took place on the very first 
 day of his arrival at the famous school. Hop 
 received him with a politely sarcastic bow, bade 
 him turn his toes out, and as he obeyed the com- 
 mand rather too literally, he got a smart stroke 
 across his fingers, which made them tingle ; but 
 they tingled with pain by no means so much as 
 his heart tingled with indignation against the 
 smirking tyrant who administered the blow. 
 
 “ Never mind,” whispered a sharp little fellow. 
 Mustard by name, who was illustrating the sum 
 on his slate with hideous caricatures of the de- 
 tested Hop. “ Never mind, we soon get used to 
 it here;” and Tuflongbo, to his sorrow, found the 
 information only too correct ; but he braced him- 
 
44 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 self up and endured injustice with patient con- 
 tempt* remembering how his wise father had 
 warned him to expect many a rub and many a fall 
 ere he could pass through the schools and become 
 his own master. 
 
 Amongst Tuflongbo’s contemporaries in Hop’s 
 class were several of those subsequently famous 
 characters who engaged with him in his travels 
 and adventures. Conspicuous on the upper form 
 were Borage and Box, ploughing away at their 
 lessons with the soberest diligence; as also was 
 Mezereon, already distinguished by his courtly 
 manners; and Sardony, by his cutting powers of 
 speech. Tuflongbo’s place was on the lower form, 
 and his next neighbour was Larch; an audacious 
 pickle; who played tricks under Hop’s very nose ; 
 beyond him were Lychnis and Wild Sorrel; who 
 could not refrain from jesting at their very inti- 
 mate acquaintance, the awful rod itself; and a poor 
 creature, one Betony, who, with his mouth open, 
 and his eyes wide in chronic amazement, appeared 
 to be the unjust master’s prime favourite. 
 
 When the hour came to call over the names 
 and dismiss the scholars at noon, Tuflongbo heard 
 those of Bugloss, Dandelion, Fig, Juniper, Chamo- 
 mile, Gooseberry, duckweed, and Larkspur, who 
 all answered to the roll distinctly — even Chick- 
 weed and Larkspur; and on looking round, sur- 
 
IN THE CHIEF CITY OF SHENELAND. 45 
 
 prised at their presence, he saw them breathless 
 at the entrance ; Chickweed hiding the puppy 
 behind Gooseberry, and Larkspur, with one foot 
 inside the doorway and one out, waiting im- 
 patiently until his turn arrived, when he shouted 
 “ Tip-tap-toe ! ” like Stentor, and executing three 
 perfect sumersets down the steps, disappeared from 
 the astonished eyes and ears of the assembly. 
 
 Chickweed followed him more leisurely, and 
 Tuflongbo, after searching for his cheerful friend 
 Canary several minutes in vain, yielded to the 
 natural impulse of his heart, and went after the 
 heedless truant and the light-headed, light-heeled 
 Larkspur, who accepted his company with every 
 expression of welcome, and at once discovered in 
 him a kindred spirit. They had not been together 
 long before they were joined by Gooseberry in the 
 liveliest state of expectancy ; and this state of 
 expectancy being highly contagious in Sheneland, 
 they all caught it ; and feeling sure that something 
 wonderful must be on the point of happening, 
 they determined to treat themselves to a holiday, 
 that they might not risk missing it by being out 
 of the way when it came to pass. 
 
 Chickweed then set to work to beguile the 
 interval by teaching the puppy a new trick, and 
 Larkspur practised a difficult rotatory movement 
 that he had lately invented. Thus they two were 
 
46 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 amused, and Gooseberry was sufficiently occupied 
 in watching for whatever might turn up : but 
 Tuflongbo, meanwhile, had to stand unemployed 
 and idle. This kind of entertainment was far 
 from satisfying his active mind, and after reflect- 
 ing on his position for some time with ever- 
 growing discontent, he said boldly, “I see no 
 fun in ivaiting for adventures ; why should we 
 not go in search of them ? Did you never hear 
 of Ogres ? Let us go down into Tanglewood and 
 find an Ogre ! ” 
 
 This startling proposal was received at the first 
 blush with mute amazement, but as soon as the 
 three Fairy kins recovered their wits and took it 
 in, they burst forth into loud, ringing shouts of 
 applause such as gave Tuflongbo a delicious fore- 
 taste of many a future triumph, and made his 
 heart glow with honest pride. 
 
 “ We must elect a leader,” then said he. Upon 
 which his companions with united voice proclaimed, 
 “ Tuflongbo is our leader ! ” Thus at once recog- 
 nizing in him — a new comer amongst them — that 
 talent for command which afterwards made him 
 the chief pioneer of discovery, and the most suc- 
 cessful traveller in Sheneland. 
 
47 
 
 II. 
 
 TUFLONGBO AND HIS COMPANIONS GO IN 
 SEARCH OF OGRES. 
 
 Tuflongbo assumed his dignity as leader with a 
 suitable air of responsibility* and disposing his 
 little volunteers in single file* set off towards 
 Tanglew r ood at a brisk trot, duckweed* who 
 was familiar with every turn and twist of the 
 way* acted as guide; and except when he was 
 drawn aside from his duty by some web or nest 
 dangling amongst the bushes* he fulfilled his office 
 well. 
 
 There was no region in Sheneland haunted by 
 so many marvellous legends and traditions as 
 Tanglewood, and it w 7 as a masterstroke of policy 
 in Tuflongbo to select it as his first hunting- 
 ground for adventures. The road thither lay 
 through the eastern gate of the city* by which 
 he had entered with the wise Mulberry in the 
 morning; and after keeping a direct course as 
 far as the Enchanted Bower* turned abruptly 
 southward* and* by a mossy green declivity* led 
 into a maze of bushes and tracks* trees and 
 streams* amidst which the shrewdest wight* not 
 gifted with Elfin wit* would have lost himself 
 
48 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 immediately on setting foot over the charmed 
 border. But Tuflongbo and his companions 
 crossed it fearlessly* and plunged into the laby- 
 rinth without a moment’s hesitation. 
 
 It could hardly fail but that the little band 
 should soon find itself scattered* and in anticipa- 
 tion of this event Tuflongbo selected and trimmed 
 four whistles from a bed of reeds* and giving one 
 to each of his companions* and retaining one for 
 himself* he issued his orders that they should 
 diligently seek* in every possible and impossible 
 place* the Ogre they had come out to find ; and 
 that he who was first successful should announce 
 his discovery to the others by blowing three blasts 
 through his whistle. Commands so easy and pre- 
 cise as these elicited every promise of obedience* 
 and the momentous business of the pursuit began 
 with great demonstration and energy. 
 
 Tuflongbo set off swiftly down an alley of 
 brambles* his little feet thrilling with the delights 
 of liberty through every nerve. But when he 
 had gained the limits of the path* and found a 
 dense barrier of thorns stopping the way* he 
 paused* and said to himself* meditatively* being 
 alone* “ I wonder what an Ogre is like ? ” And 
 each of his dispersed followers was at exactly the 
 same moment asking himself exactly the same 
 question — u I wonder what an Ogre is like ? ” 
 
TUFLONGBO GOES IN SEARCH OF OGRES. 49 
 
 They nevertheless persevered in the hunt, sure 
 that they should recognize the monster as soon 
 as he was found. But they contrived to combine 
 amusement with duty, each according to his par- 
 ticular taste or inclination ; that is to say. Goose- 
 berry filled his pockets with nuts, and having 
 engaged an obliging squirrel to crack them for 
 him, seated himself quietly in a nice safe place, 
 and with unwinking, watchful eyes, waited in 
 exemplary patience until an Ogre should be 
 pleased to walk by his retreat. Larkspur availed 
 himself of the difficulties of the situation to prac- 
 tise his gymnastics, and forsaking the ground, 
 climbed up into a lofty tree, and thence swinging 
 himself from branch to branch, contrived to test 
 the elastic bearing powers of a large district of 
 Tanglewood. Chickweed prosecuted his investi- 
 gations below, devoting his attention principally 
 to hollow trunks, in which Ogres, as well as 
 other things, might be supposed to live; but he 
 only found some of the singular nests and hives 
 of creatures that delight to build in decaying 
 wood. 
 
 Tuflongbo alone maintained a single eye and 
 a single mind towards the object of the adven- 
 ture. His thoughts were full of Ogres, and of 
 nothing but Ogres. Not one nut did he crack, 
 not one caper did he cut, not one nest did he 
 
 4 
 
50 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 take ; and at last he was rewarded by hearing a 
 most fierce and terrible cry that appeared to issue 
 from the centre of a gigantic old oak* grown half 
 over with ivy. He had a great struggle with his 
 legs here not to run away, but his valour got the 
 better in the debate ; and let it be recorded to 
 his immemorial honour, that he stood his ground 
 and never gave way an inch — no, not even when 
 the invisible thing shouted out with a lengthened 
 halloo, “ Tuwhit tuwhoo, tuwhit tuwhoo-o.” 
 
 Tuflongbo raised his whistle to his lips, and im- 
 mediately blew the concerted signal, to summon 
 his companions. Larkspur arrived first, dropping 
 down from a branch of the old oak itself ; then 
 appeared Gooseberry, throwing away his last shell 
 empty ; but Chickweed did not present himself, 
 and dreadful fears for his safety began to trouble 
 the mind of the leader of the adventure. He 
 might have fallen in with another Ogre — who 
 could say? Or he might have lost his whistle, 
 and be unable to find it again. But all these 
 anxious suggestions were put to flight by an 
 instant and present peril which followed in the 
 wake of another loud halloo, and threatened to 
 overpower the endurance not only of Gooseberry 
 and Larkspur, but almost of Tuflongbo himself. 
 
 In a densely dark hollow of the old oak, which 
 was draped above and below and on either side 
 
THE HORNED OWL OF TANGLEWOOD. 
 
 p. 50. 
 
TUFLONGBO GOES IN SEARCH OF OGRES. 51 
 
 with massive festoons of ivy, there suddenly ap- 
 peared an enormous round horned head, with two 
 big glassy eyes and a beak ; and forth from that 
 beak came one after another, in rapid succession, 
 a perfect storm of shrieks — “Tuwhoo tuwhit; 
 tuwhit tuwhoo-oo-oo-o-o !” 
 
 “ We won’t run away ! ” said Tuflongbo ; “ no, 
 we wortt run away ! ” But what temptations his 
 brave little legs went through while he was 
 bracing himself up to that splendid resolution, let 
 those who have never gone in search of Ogres 
 try to imagine. 
 
 Larkspur would have been glad to depart out 
 of Tanglewood by means of his most rapid evolu- 
 tions, and the expectations of Gooseberry were 
 more than appeased by the spectacle in the ivy 
 bush ; but neither could prevail on himself to 
 abandon the gallant leader to whose originality 
 of character they were indebted for the adven- 
 ture ; and screening themselves partially behind 
 his small figure, they awaited the issue, and longed 
 for their still absent companion. 
 
 After a short interval to recruit his breath, the 
 horned creature in the tree again broke out into 
 his hideous melody. The young adventurers 
 quaked from top to toe, and hardly would their 
 courage have sustained them through this pro- 
 longed trial had not Tuflongbo said that he had 
 
 4—2 
 
52 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 heard how music soothes the most savage beast* 
 and desired his comrades to sit down and play 
 a tune. So the three little Fairykins sat meekly 
 down in a row* and played a tune on their 
 whistles — all in quavers; not another note from 
 beginning to end. And while they played, the 
 thing with the glassy eyes, the horns* and the 
 beak* was still and silent. 
 
 When they concluded* however* he broke forth 
 into another halloo which might be interpreted 
 either into applause* consternation* or anger at an 
 incapable mimicry of his own song. And while 
 they were discussing these three various views 
 of it* Chickweed came sauntering up to them* 
 his pockets stuffed out with all sorts of spoils 
 of mosses and lichens* and eggs and nests* that 
 he had discovered in his researches through the 
 woods. 
 
 Of course his friends received him with exultant 
 acclaim. 
 
 “We have found an Ogre! We have found 
 an Ogre ! ” cried they as with one tongue ; for a 
 moment forgetting terror in triumph. 
 
 “ Where is he ? ” asked Chickweed* looking 
 round inquiringly. 
 
 “ Up in the ivy-bush,” replied they all* pointing 
 at the horns* and glassy eyes* and beak. 
 
 “ That an Ogre ! — it is nothing but an Owl! ” 
 
TUFLONGBO GOES IN SEARCH OF OGRES. 53 
 
 laughed Chickweed, good-humouredly. And then 
 he absolutely shouted, “ Tuwhit tuwhoo, tuwhoo 
 tuwliit ! ” so exactly like it that he might very 
 well have passed for an owl himself. 
 
 Tuflongbo was much disappointed, and his coun- 
 tenance fell. But speedily recovering his spirits, 
 he tossed up his cap, crying, “ Better luck next 
 time.” And then he gave the word to march 
 back to school again. And back to school again 
 they marched accordingly, arriving just in the 
 very nick of time to answer to their names when 
 Hop called over the roll ; and not having disco- 
 vered their previous absence, he gave them a good 
 mark apiece as diligent scholars. 
 
 But Rudbeakia had been more wide awake, and 
 from him they received a special warning of what 
 would happen if they ever again treated them- 
 selves to a holiday; and as Tuflongbo was a 
 scholar new to the rules, he was brought before 
 the just head of the college in person that he 
 might be examined, and have the inevitable penal- 
 ties of playing truant at once impressed upon his 
 mind; which scene must now be described at 
 length in another chapter as its importance de- 
 mands. 
 
54 TUFLONGBO'S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 III. 
 
 TUFLONGBO IS BROUGHT BEFORE RUDBEAKIA. 
 
 Rudbeakia wore the cap of justice when Tuflongbo 
 was introduced into his presence by Bur, the 
 monitor of the first class ; but anxious not to dis- 
 may the inexperienced little culprit on his first 
 appearance before him, he laid it aside, and dis- 
 played only his immense organs of benevolence, 
 veneration, and firmness, which never created any 
 alarm save in the consciences of Darnel, Bugloss, 
 and a few others of that set, who were incor- 
 rigibly cruel, false, and foolish. It was, however, 
 a very solemn occasion, and Tuflongbo experienced 
 a deep feeling of awe as he found himself standing 
 alone before the lofty rostrum, with the eyes of 
 Rudbeakia gazing straight down upon him. A 
 pause of profound and awful silence ensued, wdiich 
 was at last broken by the deep voice of the Pro- 
 fessor, who asked Tuflongbo where he had spent 
 the afternoon instead of appearing in school, as he 
 ought to have done. Tuflongbo replied that he 
 had been to Tanglewood. 
 
 “What to do there, Tuflongbo?” inquired 
 Rudbeakia. 
 
 “ I went to seek an Ogre,” answered the 
 F airy kin. 
 
TUFLONGBO BEFORE RUDBEAKIA. 
 
 55 
 
 “ And did you find one? ” 
 
 “ No.” Another pause of profound silence here 
 intervened, during which Tuflongbo, who had 
 until now kept his eyes upon the ground, ven- 
 tured to raise them to the countenance of Rud- 
 beakia, and had such a levity been probable, 
 he would have thought that just and majestic 
 Wiseacre was laughing . But, of course, he was 
 not; for the next moment he spoke again, and 
 with some severity. 
 
 “You found no Ogre, Tufiongbo — where did 
 you look for one ? ” 
 
 “ 1 looked everywhere — amongst the nettles, and 
 brambles, and thorns, and reeds, and rushes, and 
 bushes, and trees, and stumps, and sticks, and 
 stones — everywhere ! ” 
 
 “ What do you believe an Ogre to be like ? ” 
 
 “ Like an owl, with two horns, and two glassy 
 eyes, and a beak, and a voice that halloos, f Tu- 
 whit tuwhoo, tuwhit tuwhoo-o-o ! 5 ” 
 
 Such unusual sounds issuing from the room of 
 the Head Master caused several inquisitive per- 
 sons to peep in ; and amongst them was Pro- 
 fessor Parsley, whom Rudbeakia beckoned to 
 advance for a private consultation on the young 
 culprit’s affairs. 
 
 “Concerning this little son of Mulberry’s, 
 Parsley, how did he pass your examination ? ” in- 
 
56 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 quired the great Don. Professor Parsley com- 
 mended him as having passed it very creditably, 
 and as being not at all deficient in nsefnl know- 
 ledge — his years considered. 
 
 “ He appears to be of an imaginative and ad- 
 venturous disposition,” said Rudbeakia. “ He has 
 been to Tanglewood to seek an Ogre. Who are 
 his friends ? ” 
 
 Professor Parsley replied that they were 
 Canary, Larkspur, Chickweed, and Gooseberry. 
 On hearing this the Head Master dropt into a 
 brown study, from which he only recovered to 
 dismiss Tuflongbo with these memorable words — 
 
 “ Tuflongbo, you have answered my questions 
 without prevarication or excuse, in a brave and 
 honourable manner, which has w r on my confidence 
 and respect. You have evidently no turn for 
 becoming a book-worm, since you make com- 
 panions of Chickweed and Larkspur. It will, 
 therefore, be essential for you to enjoy your 
 liberty more frequently than others, and I shall 
 now furnish you with a ticket-of-leave for the fine 
 days, when you may prosecute your curious 
 researches for Ogres in Tanglewood and else- 
 where. On fine days , remember. When it rains 
 you must answer to your name in school, or I 
 shall be reluctantly compelled to introduce you to 
 the severe Professor Discipline, who presides over 
 
TUFLONGBO BEFORE RUDBEAKIA. 57 
 
 the morals and manners of this noble institu- 
 tion.” 
 
 Haying thus spoken, Rudbeakia bowed his 
 head, put on the cap of justice, and intimated to 
 Tuflongbo that he might withdraw ; first handing 
 him a ticket-of-leave, signed with his name and 
 sealed with his seal. And exulting in the delight- 
 ful holiday privileges it conferred, the little Fairy- 
 kin scampered out into the streets in pursuit of his 
 chosen companions. 
 
 He sought them up and down for ever so long 
 in vain ; but, at last, he hit on Chickweed, who 
 was arranging his Tanglewood spoils in a quiet 
 nook by himself. He was deeply absorbed in his 
 occupation, and did not observe Tuflongbo’s ap- 
 proach until his shadow fell across the retreat he 
 had found, when he looked up, not too well 
 pleased at the interruption, and asked what he 
 wanted. 
 
 “ I want to show you this ! ” replied the in- 
 truder, exhibiting his ticket-of-leave for fine days. 
 “ I have been before Rudbeakia, who has found 
 out that I have no turn for becoming a book- 
 worm, and so I am to enjoy my liberty, except 
 when it rains. I wish you would beg him to give 
 you yours, and then we could make such grand 
 expeditions together, couldn’t we ? ” 
 
 “ He would have given me mine ages ago, but 
 
58 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 my folks want me to be made into a Wiseacre, and 
 I never shall — shall I, Snub ? ” said Chickweed, 
 appealing despondently to the shaggy puppy which 
 pressed its cold black nose to his cheek by way of 
 answer and comfort. “ I begin to hate the sight 
 of a Black Cap, and as I cannot have a ticket-of- 
 leave, I have made up my mind to play truant 
 whenever I am inclined or have a chance ! ” 
 
 And then Chickweed went on picking over his 
 mosses and lichens, and laying the various birds’ 
 eggs in little divisions of a box lined wdth wool, in 
 a rather grieved and anxious way, as if he were 
 far from being at ease in his mind, even while in- 
 dulging his vagrant tastes. And no more he was; 
 for his conscience was tender. But his enjoyment 
 on the whole exceeded his pains and penalties, 
 and so he went on his way, which was by no 
 means the way that conducts to the Society of 
 Wiseacres. 
 
 Tuflongbo felt an acute sympathy for him, and 
 began to ask if Rudbeakia could not prevail on 
 his folks to take a more just estimate of his 
 genius and qualifications; but Chickweed shook 
 his head. 
 
 “ It is of no use,” said he. “ They wish me to 
 be an honour to the family ; and my old guardian 
 is so unreasonable that if he took it into his head 
 that I ought to be tall, he would hang me up 
 
TUFLONGBO BEFOEE EUDBEAKIA. 59 
 
 by the heels and tie weights round my neck to 
 stretch me longer ! And that would hardly be 
 more silly than what he is trying to do with my 
 mind : he has topsy-turvied it into the dullest 
 confusion — why, Betony himself can beat me in 
 school! I can’t express to you, Tuflongbo, the 
 shocking pain inside the very sight of an isosceles 
 triangle gives me, or the anguish of fidgets I find in 
 decimals and fractions. I am not so bad at maps 
 or history, or even at poetry, if there is anything 
 good in it ; but I wish the monster who invented 
 sums and problems had drowned himself off Asses’ 
 Bridge before ever he entered Sheneland ! What 
 I want to be is a naturalist — and they won’t let 
 me! That kind old Parsley is ‘constantly telling 
 me that I could learn all about these treasures of 
 mine ” — pointing to his mosses, lichens, and eggs 
 — “ in hundreds of books ; but, as I say, what is the 
 good of going to hundreds of books when I can find 
 all I want to know in one — and that the best ? ” 
 Tuflongbo concurred with him entirely, and 
 looked on with much interest until the persecuted 
 little truant had finished his pleasant labours, 
 when it was full time to go to bed. And so, with 
 a sober good-night, they parted, and went their 
 separate ways. 
 
60 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 IV. 
 
 TUFLONGBO GROWS OLDER AND WISER. 
 
 On the morrow Tuflongbo went to school again* 
 and continued to learn his lessons by book and by 
 observation under the guidance of the unjust Hop 
 for several fairy years. He saw the stupid Betony 
 commended* and the zealous Box reproved* and 
 Larch escaping well-merited punishment many a 
 time. He saw Chick weed with a variety of 
 triangles- piercing his vitals* and the irritation of 
 decimals and fractions oozing out of his swift toes 
 when he ran off and played truant in Tanglewood. 
 He saw Chamomile tumble neck and crop into a 
 new difficulty every day* and he saw the courtly 
 Mezereon bow himself out of all his scrapes with 
 an elegant ease and a grace that was miraculous. 
 He saw Sardony* Lychnis* and Wild Sorrel trip 
 themselves up on their own smart tongues continu- 
 ally* and he saw Larkspur achieve a brilliant repu- 
 tation by means of his light heels and light head* 
 while plodding* studious scholars remained in 
 obscurity. 
 
 When Tuflongbo worked* he worked with a 
 will ; when he played* he played with the liveliest 
 energy and delight* growing every hour bigger* 
 
TUFLONGBO GROWS OLDER AND WISER. 61 
 
 better, wiser, and more popular amongst his 
 school-fellows. On fine days he took his ticket- 
 of-leave and went out into the woods to seek for 
 Ogres, being sometimes accompanied by Chick- 
 weed, but quite as frequently venturing thither 
 alone. It is not recorded, however, that his in- 
 vestigations were at this early period crowned with 
 success, and the probability is that they were not ; 
 for a considerable time later, when he had been 
 advanced to the upper school and placed under the 
 instructions of Rudbeakia, we still find him pursu- 
 ing the same arduous researches with unabated 
 zeal ; and as a proof how deeply the importance of 
 Ogres was engraven on his mind, I may instance 
 the numerous original designs of them which em- 
 bellish his copy-books, still kept in a high state of 
 preservation amongst those invaluable documents 
 which enrich the chief Museum of Sheneland. 
 
 When the conversation of himself and his friends 
 took a flight towards the future, and each said 
 what he should like to be and to do, Tuflongbo’s 
 expression of his intentions was invariably the 
 same — betraying that steadfastness of purpose, 
 and that tenacity of grasp on his ideas, which were 
 the main elements of his success afterwards. 
 
 “ As soon as I have passed through the schools, 
 I shall become an Adventurer,” he would say. 
 “ I shall kiss my father and mother, and, with 
 
62 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 a knapsack on my back and a staff in my hand, I 
 shall set forth in quest of Ogres, and never shall I 
 rest or return until I find one. They are not 
 in Tanglewood, for I have sought it through and 
 through ; but somewhere they must exist, else 
 should we not hear so much of them in our tra- 
 ditions. I shall make their discovery the sole 
 object of my labours and travels, until it is accom- 
 plished ; and for my companions in the journey, 
 I shall choose Canary, because he is persevering 
 and cheerful ; Chamomile, because he is energetic 
 in adversity; Larkspur, because he is light; 
 Larch, because he is audacious ; Gooseberry, be- 
 cause he is always on the watch ; Mustard, 
 because he never minds ; and Chickweed, if his 
 folks will let him go, because his knowledge of the 
 queer things in woods and fields would be of 
 immense service to the Expedition.” 
 
 At this Chickweed would caress Snub, and 
 shake his head despondingly ; but all the other 
 little Fairykins, delighted at being enrolled in the 
 troop of such a leader as Tuflongbo was destined 
 to be, received his orations with wild applause, 
 and placed themselves under his orders for drill 
 every holiday, until they had learnt to march in 
 slow time, in quick time, and in double-quick time, 
 and to practise all the other manoeuvres requisite 
 for keeping a band of adventurers in motion. 
 
TUFLONGBO PUTS ON HIS CHAMELEON SUIT. 63 
 
 Tuflonsbo once reviewed them before the whole 
 school* and was commended by the just Rudbeakia 
 for having brought them to so high a pitch of dis- 
 cipline; and those Wiseacres who had smoked 
 their pipes over him and prophesied his future 
 greatness on the day of his birth, began to point 
 out to Mulberry and Lupine how their predictions 
 were coming true already ; and Tuflongbo’s ex- 
 cellent parents rejoiced, and said he was indeed 
 the crown and joy of their united lives ! 
 
 V. 
 
 TUFLONGBO PUTS ON HIS CHAMELEON SUIT. 
 
 At last came the auspicious day when Tuflongbo 
 was formally pronounced free of the schools. He 
 passed with honour, carrying off many prizes, and 
 immediately ran home to present himself before 
 his tender mother and his fairy-nurse while the 
 bloom of his dignity was fresh upon him. They 
 flew at him with ecstatic kisses, laughing and 
 weeping for joy; but when the ardour of their 
 welcome was over, they retired a few paces off, 
 and contemplated him with eyes of woeful, melting 
 reproach. 
 
64 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 “ What have I done?” asked Tuflongbo* greatly 
 dismayed. 
 
 “ Look at your pretty new suit ! ” cried the 
 fairy-nurse; and obeying her directions* he saw 
 a long rent down the side of one leg* and a crack 
 across the other knee* besides relics of brambles 
 and thorns sticking out of little splits everywhere. 
 “ ’Tis a pity you cannot see yourself behind* too !” 
 added she* and spun him round* back front* to the 
 grieved Lupine* who* perceiving that he was 
 covered with mud and dust* knew that he must 
 have had many a tumble* and perhaps many a 
 hurt* since he left her* which instantly turned all 
 her feelings into the current of sympathy. 
 
 He declared* however* that he was not hurt. So 
 the exemplary fairy-nurse brought a hard brush* 
 and tried to brush him clean, to his very great 
 discomfort ; after which ordeal he was put to the 
 question as to how he came to be in such a despe- 
 rate pickle from merely going to school. He 
 explained* in a straightforward manner* how* on 
 his first introduction there* he had treated himself 
 to a holiday with three choice companions* and 
 had gone to Tanglewood to seek an Ogre* when* 
 probably* the worst rents in his pretty home-made 
 suit took place. At this confession* Lupine looked 
 grave; but on hearing that the just Rudbeakia 
 had afterwards given him a ticket-of-leave for 
 
TUFLONGBO PUTS ON HIS CHAMELEON SUIT. 65 
 
 fine days, she was satisfied, and smiled again 
 at first she had begun to fear that her son had 
 proved himself to have no more discretion than 
 the Split Reed. 
 
 Just at this moment, in came Mulberry, and 
 embraced Tuflongbo on his promotion to inde- 
 pendence after passing through the Schools. He 
 did not notice his tattered clothing, but the fairy- 
 nurse felt it her duty to call his attention to it, 
 and to ask what he thought of such rags. 
 
 “ Clothes are of no importance ; he must enjoy 
 the free use of his limbs. He has outgrown these 
 now ; and, besides, I saw they were already too 
 tight when he put them on ten years ago,” was 
 the Wiseacre’s indulgent reply. 
 
 “ Too tight ! when his mother and I made them 
 ourselves ! ” cried the fairy -nurse, with much 
 indignation. 
 
 “ Yes ; it was their only fault,” said Mulberry, 
 with grave decision. “ But they have worn very 
 well, therefore be not disquieted ; I will provide 
 him with a new suit myself to-morrow.” 
 
 “And they had better be made of leather,” 
 returned the fairy-nurse, and entrenched herself 
 in silent reserve for the rest of the evening. 
 
 The next day the wise Mulberry took his son 
 by the hand again, and led him into the straight 
 street that runs through the midst of the Chief 
 
 5 
 
66 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTUBES. 
 
 City of Sheneland, crossing it in a direct line 
 from east to west. This street contained many 
 gay stalls of goods for sale* and Tuflongbo’s eyes 
 were especially attracted by the wares which two 
 traders, named Specious and Plausible, displayed 
 in showy lines along the front of their dwelling. 
 These w T ares were masks, modelled to represent 
 all the virtues, excellences, and graces that em- 
 bellish the Fairy character, and were, in many 
 instances, very tolerable likenesses of what they 
 mocked, save that they had a uniformly disagree- 
 able expression of being overdone. 
 
 Tuflongbo was, however, scarcely shrewd or 
 experienced enough to detect this at the first 
 glance, and thought some of the faces so pretty 
 that he wished to stop and look at them. The 
 sagacious Mulberry made no remark, but per- 
 mitted him to do so ; and Tuflongbo was satisfied 
 after a very short survey, saying, of his own 
 accord, that the masks were none of them so nice 
 as his mother or his fairy-nurse, though they 
 seemed very pleasant and smiling a little way off. 
 Then Mulberry told him he had come to a just 
 conclusion ; any wares manufactured by Specious 
 and Plausible were sure to be trash, and as they 
 could only he bought and paid for with false coin, 
 no honest or true people ever engaged in dealings 
 with them ; — and yet, from the number of persons 
 
TUFL0NG30 PUTS ON HIS CHAMELEON SUIT. 67 
 
 hanging about their stalls they seemed to drive a 
 pretty considerable trade too. 
 
 Passing forward to some distance beyond the 
 mask-sellers, they presently paused again before 
 the open window of a Cobbler — a crooked little 
 old man, with a big head, and buckles to his 
 breeches — who was hard at work at his last, 
 making a pair of square-toed, double-soled shoes, 
 with nails in the heels. He looked up as the 
 shadow of Tuflongbo fell across his board, and 
 nodded good-humouredly, saying, “ I have been 
 expecting you, Tuflongbo ; I know what you want 
 — a new suit and new shoes, and your shoes are 
 nearly ready. Come in.” 
 
 So Tuflongbo went in ; and, as soon as the last 
 nail was set in the heels of the square-toed, double- 
 soled shoes, he was bidden to put them on, which 
 he did with a proud satisfaction. 
 
 “ They are strong, they are comfortable, and 
 they look as if they would last,” said he, com- 
 placently. 
 
 “ They will last until you have no more need 
 of shoes,” said the Cobbler; and then he made 
 the Fairykin stand erect, that he might take the 
 measure of his height, his breadth, and his girth, 
 for his new suit : and this he did, talking to him- 
 self thus musingly all the time. 
 
 “He is but a tiny Fairykin, this son of Mul- 
 
 5 — 2 
 
68 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 berry’s* yet he is destined to be a famous traveller* 
 and to go through marvellous adventures ; there- 
 fore* we will make him a suit for use* rather than for 
 beauty ; of sound stuff* and sewn with best waxed 
 thread. This of home-make is very good as far 
 as it goes, and the pockets are highly commend- 
 able* but it could never stand the wear and tear 
 his clothes must be prepared to go through. He 
 is not handsome* but his figure is light* active* and 
 clean-limbed* — shaped for great enterprise and 
 endurance.” 
 
 Tuflongbo listened to the Cobbler’s murmured 
 reflections with profound interest and delight ; he 
 did not care a bit for hearing that he was not 
 handsome* for he knew that he had a good square 
 nose and chin* and a complexion that weather 
 would not spoil — much more serviceable personal 
 properties to an adventurer than a rosy-red and 
 snowy-white beauty* such as is the fashion at 
 Court. 
 
 When the old Cobbler had got his measures all 
 right* he began to consider of the buttons for the 
 new suit. “Now for the buttons; what shall the 
 buttons be ? ” said he, thoughtfully. “ Buttons of 
 caution* prudence* pleasantness* or what?” 
 
 “ If it would be convenient and becoming, I 
 should like to have one of each*” interposed 
 Tuflongbo* modestly. 
 
TUELONGBO PUTS ON HIS CHAMELEON SUIT. 69 
 
 “ You would like to have what we call a set of 
 harlequin buttons,” said the Cobbler. “ V ery 
 
 well ; so shall it be — harlequin buttons, and trim- 
 mings to match. And I daresay you will limit 
 your luggage to a knapsack and a walking-stick ? 
 Yes — in that case a suit of chameleon-cloth is the 
 thing. Clad in that, you will have a change for 
 all weathers, and a costume appropriate for all 
 occasions.” 
 
 And thus was it finally decided. A suit of 
 chameleon -cloth, with harlequin buttons, and 
 trimmings to match, was to be Tuflongbo’s tra- 
 velling garb ; his shoes being square-toed, double- 
 soled, and with nails in the heels. He was 
 further provided with a cap having a broad brim 
 and a belt round it, but no jewel or feather for 
 mere display; with a leathern knapsack, small, 
 yet convenient, and with a staff which had a 
 mountaineer’s spike at one end and a crook at the 
 other. 
 
 It was far from being a splendid costume, but 
 it had many excellent and serviceable qualities. 
 Tuflongbo was satisfied with it himself, and Mul- 
 berry gave it his complete approval ; so the magical 
 tailor-machines were instantly set to work, and in 
 a very few minutes the Fairykin stood fully 
 equipped for his life of adventure. The Cobbler 
 then bade him transfer his father’s gold coin from 
 
70 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 the pocket of his worn-out home-made suit to 
 that of his new chameleon coat ; and this being 
 done, he wished him good luck wherever he might 
 journey; and Tuflongbo returned with Mulberry 
 to exhibit himself to his mother and the fairy- 
 nurse, who said his clothes were very well put 
 together, considering they had had no hand in 
 making them. 
 
 And the same night the Wiseacre gave an 
 entertainment to his son’s young friends, to cele- 
 brate his coming of age and the putting on of the 
 chameleon suit. 
 
 VI. 
 
 TUFLONGBO PERFORMS A GREAT STATE 
 SERVICE. 
 
 It was just at this period that a very remarkable 
 and important event was being daily expected and 
 looked for in Sheneland. It may, perhaps, be 
 necessary to state, for the information of such 
 persons as are not deeply read in Shenelandic 
 History, that there is an ancient law in the 
 Country beyond the Moon which prohibits the 
 accession of males to its throne. The Fairies 
 will have none but a Queen to reign over them. 
 
TUFLONGBO PERFORMS A GREAT SERVICE. 71 
 
 Tuflongbo was born in the reign of Queen 
 Russet, who had one son, Prince Goldheart, but 
 no daughter to take her crown. She was now 
 growing old and weary with cares of State, though 
 a successor was as yet unprovided. In this emer- 
 gency, many cabinet councils were called to take 
 the matter into consideration, but without result. 
 Oracle was then appealed to, and she only re- 
 peated what she had said many times already — 
 namely, that the nation must have patience and 
 live in hope — a fair Princess, good and beautiful, 
 would in due time be found for Sheneland; and 
 with this renewed assurance all were content to 
 wait 
 
 While the promised event was still hanging in 
 the balance, many speculations as to its prompt or 
 remote fulfilment were hazarded ; and it need not 
 be an occasion for surprise that now and then such 
 speculations were mentioned in Tuflongbo’s hear- 
 ing, and naturally awakened his loyalty, his curio- 
 sity, his ambition, and his spirit of adventure. 
 
 Oracle had proclaimed that when the royal 
 Princess was found, she would be recognized by 
 a star of brilliant dewdrops on her forehead ; and 
 it straightway occurred to Tuflongbo that the 
 glorious mission of her discovery might be re- 
 served for him. By dint of dwelling on the idea 
 and turning it over and over in his thoughts, he 
 
72 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTUKES. 
 
 at length became assured that it was so ; and one 
 splendid* sunshiny morning, he took his staff in 
 his hand, and went down alone into the labyrinth 
 of Tanglewood to seek for his future sovereign 
 and mistress, by the appointed sign. 
 
 Let it not be imagined that Tuflongbo, in culti- 
 vating the peculiar inclinations of his genius 
 hitherto, had learnt nothing but the arts of adven- 
 ture. Though in all active exercises he was as 
 skilful as Larkspur himself, and second only to 
 Chickweed in his acquaintance with the ways, 
 customs, and capacities of wild creatures, he also 
 possessed a varied and extensive knowledge of 
 Shenelandic literature, w T hich knowledge was now 
 a mighty help to him in seeking the Princess. 
 
 He had read in history how~, when, and where 
 previous Queens of his country had been found ; 
 and, passing by all lowly herbs and noxious plants, 
 he hunted diligently in rose-cups, lily-bells, and 
 other kindred places, but for a long while without 
 success. He was not discouraged, however ; and 
 as the day grew to noon, and the heat increased, 
 he went into a cool and shady thicket near the 
 Enchanted Bower, where trickled a bright rivu- 
 let, and there lay down to rest and sleep, that 
 he might renew his search with fresh vigour 
 when the glowing sun became rather less 
 powerful. 
 
TUFLONGBO PERFORMS A GREAT SERVICE. 73 
 
 How long he slept he never knew, but he was 
 awakened suddenly by the soft, low melody of 
 bells; and, raising himself on his elbow, he looked 
 round with ever-gathering wonder and admiration 
 as the Elfin chimes swelled louder and merrier 
 through the sunny air. At the distance of scarcely 
 three paces there rose a graceful flowering fern, 
 that swayed gently to and fro, fanned by the 
 wings of a multitude of delicate Zephyrs. A 
 solemn and stately little Fairy sat by on one of 
 the tallest leaves, keeping watch like a nurse ; and 
 when Tuflongbo gained courage to approach and 
 look at her charge, he saw a beautiful fair little 
 creature laid between two airy blossoms of the 
 fern, with a brilliant star of dew-drops on her 
 forehead, and gossamer robes of regal tints wrap- 
 ping her dainty, delicate form. 
 
 He uttered an irrepressible exclamation of de- 
 light, when immediately the solemn little Fairy 
 who kept watch nodded her head at him and 
 announced, 66 1 am Mother Dignity, and this is 
 Princess Osmunda, your future Queen ! ” 
 
 Tuflongbo knew it already, and clapt his hands 
 with enthusiastic congratulation, while the chorus 
 of the bells rose into a joyous clamour, and all 
 the Echoes whispered far and near, “ A Queen is 
 found ! a Queen is found ! ” 
 
 Thus was the news of the long-expected event 
 
74 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 carried to Elfin Court, and instantly a royal pro- 
 cession set out to receive the Princess and carry 
 her in triumph to the palace. Queen Russet 
 appeared with Prince Goldheart, and all the chief 
 officers of State around her ; and being come to 
 the Flowering Fern, where the young Princess 
 lay airily cradled by the Zephyrs, she recognized 
 her forthwith as her successor, and the accus- 
 tomed homage was at once paid to the little Star- 
 crowned Maiden. 
 
 Tuflongbo had never been in such radiant com- 
 pany before, but he maintained his self-possession 
 undisturbed, and it was remarked by many that 
 when the beautiful new Princess opened her 
 serene blue eyes, his was the first face on which 
 they rested. Singular to relate, she shrugged 
 her plump little white shoulders, and crowed and 
 chuckled, as if she recognized something very 
 funny and very pleasant in it ; and from that 
 moment may be dated the respectful devotion and 
 attachment which the famous Traveller manifested 
 in the service of his beloved sovereign. 
 
 Queen Russet personally acknowledged her 
 obligations to Tuflongbo for the great State ser- 
 vice he had performed in discovering the Princess 
 who was to succeed her ; and, after the settlement 
 of a few necessary preliminaries, the procession 
 prepared to return to Elfin Court, he being 
 
THE CORONATION OE QUEEN OSMUND A. 75 
 
 graciously invited to accompany it and to take 
 part in the festivities and ceremonies of the 
 Coronation. 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE CORONATION OE QUEEN OSMUNDA. 
 
 These festivities and ceremonials were extremely 
 grand and gaudy. The royal pages and Court 
 officials were dressed in gorgeous new suits, as 
 also were the Knights Fairy selected to form Queen 
 Osmunda’s guard of honour, and the fair bevy 
 of Elves chosen to attend on her person. Muffin, 
 master of the ceremonies, came out very reslpen- 
 dent in a complete tight fit of azure decked with 
 stars; Grand Pomp, his assistant heralds Trig 
 and Tart, and the trumpeters, were all provided 
 with fresh golden reeds and banners of brilliant 
 poppy silk. But the gayest amongst the gay, 
 and the merriest amongst the merry, was still 
 Tuflongbo, in his changeable, chameleon suit, 
 which was green in the morning for the hunt, 
 scarlet at noon for the feast, and rainbow-hued, 
 frosted with silver at night for the dance. 
 
 One of the most important personages who 
 graced the Coronation was Mother Dignity, now 
 
76 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 elevated to the responsible office of Mistress of 
 the Robes to Queen Osmunda ; and to her favour 
 and countenance it was that Tuflongbo owed 
 much of his entertainment at Court ; but for her 
 kindness* by reason of the etiquette which fenced 
 round the solemnities of the Coronation* he might 
 have been quite lost in the crowd* notwithstanding 
 his distinguished national service. 
 
 The festivities opened with a magnificent ball 
 on the evening of the Princess’s discovery* she 
 looking on from the lap of Queen Russet with 
 wonder and admiring delight. Prince Goldheart 
 and Prince Glee figured away elegantly on this 
 occasion* and Princess Trill threw all the Court 
 into ecstasy by singing a song after supper in 
 honour of the new Queen. The next day there 
 was a grand chase in the forest* when dog Worry 
 signalized himself so valorously that he was 
 elected captain of the Queen’s kennels by the 
 unanimous consent of his companions. After the 
 chase there was a hunting feast* and after the 
 hunting feast there was a concert of sylvan music* 
 and after the concert of sylvan music there was 
 a most comical pantomime to finish up the night* 
 which sent everybody to bed aching with laughter; 
 but the following morning all the fashionable 
 world of Sheneland was astir betimes to take part 
 in the honours and glories of the Coronation. 
 
THE CORONATION OE QUEEN OSMUNDA. 77 
 
 Not a bell on hill or in dale but was ringing 
 and ringing its loudest ; not a little bird on bough 
 or in bush but was carolling and carolling its 
 sweetest ; not a playful Zephyr floating in the air 
 but carried the tune of good news to the remotest 
 corner of the land. Tuflongbo had never before 
 felt so happy or light at heart as he did on that 
 memorable day of days ! 
 
 The royal procession formed at noon precisely, 
 and passed into the Grand Hall of the Palace, 
 where the ceremony was to be performed. Grand 
 Pomp took the lead, bearing the proclamation, 
 written out in letters of gold upon white satin, 
 and having the seal of State attached to it. Trig 
 and Tart supported him on either hand, and im- 
 mediately behind followed the trumpeters with 
 their trumpets, ready to blow a blast as soon as 
 the concerted signal was given. Down each side 
 of the hall were ranged, three deep, the Court 
 officials, according to rank ; the centre being kept 
 free for their Majesties and immediate attendants. 
 Expectation was on tiptoe, and Tuflongbo, who 
 had had a place appointed him near the chief 
 entrance, was listening, breathless, for the first 
 note of the coming of the Queens, when Solemn, 
 the Lord Chamberlain, and Muffin, Master of the 
 Ceremonies, flung wide the doors and strutted in, 
 shouting, “ Homage to her most gracious Majesty 
 
78 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Queen Russet ! ” And everybody bowed low 
 thrice* as she w r alked up the hall to the dais 
 whereon stood the throne. Having reached it* 
 she paused and looked round on her faithful sub- 
 jects with wan yet tender eyes ; then waited until 
 again the voices of Solemn* Lord Chamberlain* 
 and of Muffin* Master of the Ceremonies* an- 
 nounced* “ Homage to her most gracious Majesty 
 Queen Osmunda ! ” And the fair young Princess 
 appeared* followed by Elf Transformation and a 
 most brilliant Court. 
 
 Immediately then the trumpeters blew three 
 resounding blasts* and* as they died away* Grand 
 Pomp stood forward and read aloud the style and 
 title of both Sovereigns* challenging any there 
 present to dispute the rightful claim of Queen 
 Osmunda to the crown of Sheneland as successor 
 to Queen Russet. An unbroken silence for the 
 next five minutes pervaded the hall* during which 
 Elf Transformation* with her magical wand* 
 gently touched the brow of each Sovereign ; 
 whereupon all beheld Queen Russet lift from her 
 own head the royal crown* and place it on that 
 of Queen Osmunda* who knelt before her with 
 eyes meekly veiled. 
 
 While this solemn act was being done* a slow 
 strain of music filled the air* and Tuflongbo 
 covered his face* as did the rest, feeling, he knew 
 
THE CORONATION OF QUEEN OSMUND A. 79 
 
 not why, inexpressibly sad. It continued for some 
 time, dirge-like and dreary, but gradually changed 
 and swelled into notes of triumph, and, looking up 
 once more, he beheld Queen Osmunda seated on 
 the golden throne, bearing the sceptre, but the 
 discrowned Queen was gone. Prince Goldheart, 
 her son, stood at the Sovereign’s right hand, and 
 Mother Dignity at her left, the Royal Pages 
 and Maids of Honour being grouped behind on 
 the dais. 
 
 Queen Osmunda having again received the 
 homage of her subjects, then proceeded to exer- 
 cise her royal prerogative of granting honours and 
 favours to all who had any request to prefer, each 
 person being presented to her by a responsible 
 official of the Court. Mother Dignity herself 
 brought forward Tuflongbo’s claims, and, with a 
 smile of the most winning kindness. Queen 
 Osmunda asked what boon he would best like to 
 receive at her royal hands. 
 
 Without a moment’s hesitation, he replied, 
 “Let me be your most gracious Majesty’s de- 
 voted traveller and adventurer.” 
 
 “ Your petition is granted, Tuflongbo ! ” said 
 the Queen. “ Be loyal and brave, and may every 
 success attend on your enterprises ! ” 
 
 The delighted Fairykin bowed low, with his 
 hand on his heart, then drew back from before 
 
80 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 the throne ; and this same evening, having re- 
 ceived his commission, signed by the Queen’s 
 hand and sealed with the seal of State, he took 
 his leave of the Court and its splendours, and 
 returned to his father’s house to prepare for his 
 great journey. 
 
81 
 
 )art tfte ©hint. 
 
 TUFLONGBO’S GREAT JOURNEY. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE FAREWELL FEAST. 
 
 When Tuflongbo had received his credentials, and 
 had been proclaimed Queen Osmunda’s adven- 
 turer throughout the length and breadth of Shene- 
 land, he rallied his chosen and disciplined friends 
 around him* and commanded them to make ready 
 for a speedy departure on a great journey in search 
 of Ogres. Then, according to an immemorial 
 custom, the wise Mulberry and the tender Lupine 
 called an assemblage of the acquaintance of the 
 family, both old and young, and gave a splendid 
 entertainment to celebrate their son’s launch into 
 his life of travel and adventure. 
 
 Rudbeakia and Parsley, Gourd and Sycamore, 
 arrived amongst the earliest guests, bringing their 
 
 6 
 
82 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 best compliments* their best appetites* and their 
 best pipes to smoke after the feast. Next appeared 
 Chickweed* wearing a short gown and a black 
 cap ; for he had just attained his first degree as a 
 Wiseacre* much against his will, and had been 
 obliged to take his name off Tuflongbo’s drill-list 
 in consequence. He looked exceedingly dejected 
 and untidy* having barely allowed himself time 
 to dress* and when he presented himself amongst 
 the dignified elders of the Society to which he 
 now belonged* they received him with coolness* 
 and made whispered comments on his negligence* 
 saying that he was hardly respectable* with his 
 black cap hind-side before* and his gown already 
 torn in half a dozen places. Snub was with him ; 
 no longer a tangled clew of a puppy* but a serious- 
 minded dog* profoundly devoted to his master’s 
 service and consolation. Wild Sorrel came next* 
 also wearing the cap and robes of a bachelor Wise- 
 acre ; and as it was his first public appearance in 
 that character* and he supported it in a superior 
 manner* Gourd solemnly congratulated him. Wild 
 Sorrel made a precise and punctilious reply 
 to the bulky ancient* being anxious not to shock 
 his feelings* but a few minutes afterwards he was 
 overheard whispering to Chickweed* “ I wish I 
 were going off on a search for adventures with 
 dear old Tuf ; and don’t you* Chick ?” To which 
 
THE FAREWELL FEAST. 
 
 83 
 
 Chickweed responded with a mournful “ Ah, yes, 
 indeed !” and shook his head over the sympathizing 
 Snub. 
 
 The miscellaneous company now poured in fast, 
 and w 7 hen they were all seated the hero of the 
 day, who had hitherto kept himself in the back- 
 ground, came forward, leading his chosen band 
 of adventurers, who were immediately recognized 
 with three cheers a-piece • — as the persevering 
 Canary, the energetic Chamomile, the light-heeled 
 Larkspur, the audacious Larch, the expectant 
 Gooseberry, and the reckless Mustard — perfectly 
 disciplined, fully equipped, and in the very best 
 of good spirits. 
 
 Everybody drunk their health and wished them 
 luck ; and when they took their places at the 
 board they were served with the choicest deli- 
 cacies, — some inconsiderate guest observing there- 
 upon that it would probably be a long time ere 
 they again sat down to such a feast as was now 
 spread before them. But the ardent adventurers 
 refused to allow such a thought to damp their 
 present enjoyment or future hopes, and acquitted 
 themselves towards the dainty viands like hungry 
 heroes proof against every emergency. 
 
 The conversation very naturally turned on the 
 object Tuflongbo had in view for this, his first 
 great journey — namely, the discovery of Ogres ; 
 
 6—2 
 
84 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 and several of the elders had anecdotes to relate 
 concerning their peculiar ways and customs, 
 gathered either from their own personal obser- 
 vation or from the legendary lore of their pro- 
 genitors. 
 
 Rudbeakia remembered seeing one in the wilds 
 of Nod when he was very young, and described 
 him as altogether fearsome and appalling — saucer- 
 eyed, wolf-toothed, and so ravenous that fifty plump 
 little Fairykins were barely enough for his supper. 
 Gourd had heard of another, who carried his 
 head — and that a very ugly one — under his arm, 
 instead of wearing it on his shoulders, in a seemly 
 and proper manner. Then Wild Sorrel lifted up 
 his testimony, and gave some most remarkable 
 evidence on the matter. He stated that his fairy 
 godmother, who was a hot-tempered person, was 
 always in the habit of threatening, when he was 
 naughty, to throw him to a horrid Ogre of her 
 acquaintance, named Squintaskew. The witty 
 Lychnis here interrupted him, and begged to be 
 informed how it was, then, that his frolicsome 
 friend had escaped, and sat there amongst them in 
 safety at that moment. To which Wild Sorrel, 
 settling his cap of Wiseacre more firmly on his 
 head, replied with great dignity that though his 
 fairy godmother frequently threatened him with 
 this penalty, she had never executed it — and why ? 
 
THE E ARE WELL LEAST. 
 
 85 
 
 Because he was so excellent and beautifully- 
 behaved a Fairy kin that Squintaskew would him- 
 self have rejected him as far too good to eat! 
 
 Lychnis, Sardony, and two or three other inti- 
 mate friends of Wild Sorrel, laughed incredulously 
 at this assertion, and the young Wiseacre, indig- 
 nant at their want of faith, immediately offered to 
 prove it — and to prove also that all who did not 
 believe him were neither more nor less than whiffs 
 of tobacco smoke ! 
 
 The discussion seemed verging on a quarrel, 
 for Wild Sorrel had mounted on his chair, and 
 raising his gown with one hand in a legal bunch at 
 the small of his back, while he extended the other 
 in an elegant oratorical attitude, was preparing 
 to address the assembly, when the courteous 
 Mezereon pulled him down, and whispered that 
 Lupine and Elves were present. Thus recalled to 
 good behaviour, he dropped hastily into his seat, 
 lashing out a final argument at his opponents to 
 the effect that they could not prove that they were 
 not whiffs of tobacco smoke, when Tuflonobo 
 closed the discussion by quoting in an airy manner 
 a bit of that proverbial philosophy which he had 
 acquired under the instructions of the just Rud- 
 beakia — 
 
 “ A fool,” said he, “ can deny more in an 
 hour than a thousand Wiseacres can prove in a 
 
86 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 thousand years!” a remark that was welcomed 
 with loud acclamations by old and young. 
 
 Perfect harmony was then restored, and the 
 pleasantness of the celebration was not again 
 broken. 
 
 When the feast came to a conclusion, Lupine 
 withdrew to her bower with her friends, and 
 Mulberry lit his pipe of wisdom as a signal for 
 the rest ; whereupon a vast cloud was blown, on 
 which Tuflongbo was exalted to the skies — all 
 his chosen companions coming in for a share of 
 praises too. Meanwhile, the future travellers took 
 leave quietly of their friends, regretting much 
 that Chickweed was not to be of their band ; for 
 his distress at being unable to go on the great 
 journey was most touching and pathetic to witness. 
 Wild Sorrel at length kindly undertook to prove 
 to him the folly of regret, and carried him off for 
 a walk into the garden, and there presently left 
 him very happy in an old crow’s nest. On 
 coming back with this consoling report, Tuflongbo 
 embraced his legal friend, and said he wished 
 he could have numbered him in his company ; 
 to which Wild Sorrel gracefully replied, “Never 
 mind, Tuf, some of us must sacrifice our incli- 
 nations to the public good. Fun is my element, 
 and, between you and me, I believe I shall find 
 many openings for practical jokes in the law. 
 
THE WEEDY LITTLE WAIF OF THE CKAG. 87 
 
 Good-by* old fellow* and good luck to both of us* 
 for I am sure we shall deserve it!” 
 
 It was now drawing towards the hour which 
 Oracle had mentioned as the most propitious for the 
 adventurers to set forth on their travels ; so they 
 shook hands all round. Tuflongbo took a tender 
 farewell of his father* his mother* and the fairy- 
 nurse* and* lest his feelings should be too much 
 for his control did he linger* gave an immediate 
 order to march. 
 
 And away they marched in slow time* the song 
 Canary sang almost drowned in the volleys of 
 cheers that pursued them. Hurrah ! Hurrah-ah ! ! 
 Hurrah-ah-ah ! ! ! 
 
 II. 
 
 THE WEEDY LITTLE WAIF OF THE CEAG. 
 
 The band of adventurers never looked back once* 
 but marched steadily forward towards the chief 
 city of Sheneland, up the straight street running 
 through its midst* and out by the Spring Gate* 
 which rose like a rainbow arch of hope and 
 promise in the serene blue air. Many groups and 
 single persons were pressing forth into the open 
 country besides themselves* but they kept well 
 
88 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 together, and were presently left alone on a south 
 wending track, which, after crossing a beautiful, 
 undulating meadow-plain, ran along by that river 
 where Tuflongbo had his adventure with the 
 Ondines. Being come to the spot on its banks 
 where grew the weeping beech-tree, he called a 
 halt of his followers, and after detailing his own 
 temptation and narrow escape, warned them not to 
 be drawn aside from the path by any allurements, 
 obstacles, or dangers that might offer themselves. 
 
 a Beyond this point,” said he, “ all is as much 
 unknown country to me as to you. I have found 
 no chart of it, nor so much as a guess at its 
 natural history anywhere. Be ready, therefore, 
 and on the watch for whatever may happen ; for 
 I should die of shame were it told in Sheneland 
 that Tuflongbo led forth adventurers in quest 
 of Ogres, and was himself taken by stratagem 
 unawares ! ” 
 
 His comrades answered with a shout that they 
 would be prompt to do their duty, and ready, ay, 
 ready, to follow their leader whithersoever he 
 might choose to go ; and with this cordial assur- 
 ance of goodwill to support him, Tuflongbo stept 
 out gallantly once more, and they continued their 
 march by the river until nightfall. 
 
 It would have been wise had they stopped then, 
 and bivouacked till the morning ; but their ardour 
 
THE WEEDY LITTLE WAIE OF THE CRAG. 89 
 
 was such that they must needs hurry onwards* 
 stumbling often in the gloom* and wearying them- 
 selves quite in vain as it proved ; for* after tramp- 
 ing through the darkness* when dawn broke they 
 found themselves at the foot of the beech-tree 
 where Tuflongbo had called his first halt* not 
 having made the least progress during all those 
 long hours of night marching! From this it was 
 evident that they were already come to enchanted 
 ground. 
 
 About a stone’s throw from the bank* perched 
 on his crag, sat the quaint little weedy Waif* 
 making his toilette airily in the morning breeze. 
 He recognized the leader of the Adventurers with 
 a merry grin* and offered to convoy him and his 
 people down the river on a raft of reeds, which 
 was moored to the shadow of a crooked branch 
 that overhung the water. Tuflongbo hesitated 
 before accepting his courteous proposal* and thought 
 fit to take counsel on the matter with his com- 
 panions* who had already been made aware of the 
 weedy Waif’s treacherous and mischievous dispo- 
 sition. 
 
 “ We should get along with beautiful swiftness* 
 but we should run many more risks than on land*” 
 said he* stating the case with great impartiality. 
 “ By keeping to the path and marching in the 
 daylight we shall advance slowly but surely ; by 
 
90 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 entrusting ourselves to the raft on the river we 
 may make a sudden spurt* and we may also make 
 a grievous wreck. What say you then ? Speak* 
 my friends.” 
 
 “ I think it would be the wisest to pursue our first 
 course and not forsake the land*” said the persever- 
 ing Canary. 
 
 “ I don’t see that. I vote we all be ducks* and 
 take to the water ! ” cried the audacious Larch. 
 
 “And if harm come of it* who cares?” asked 
 Mustard. 
 
 “ Not I* for one*” answered Chamomile. “ I 
 am used to calamities* and always get the better of 
 them.” 
 
 “ I am safe in every case*” observed Larkspur ; 
 “ it would not overtax my powers to turn a sum- 
 merset across the river if the raft upset.” 
 
 “ Something is sure to happen whatever we do* 
 and I believe it is coming now*” said Gooseberry* 
 and looked about expectingly. 
 
 The majority of the voices being decidedly in 
 favour of the raft* Tuflongbo intimated to his 
 weedy little friend on the crag that he and his 
 band would be glad to avail themeslves of his 
 amiable services as steersman ; and all the adven- 
 turers gaily embarked. 
 
 “ You must sit fair to balance the raft*” said the 
 Waif; and then* getting astride of his straw* he 
 
THE WEEDY LITTLE WAIF OF THE CRAG. 91 
 
 swirled quickly round to catclr the main current 
 of the stream* and floated triumphantly away* 
 towing his freight after him in the highest glee. 
 
 For some time all went well; the river was 
 one sunny dance of Ripples* and wherever rock or 
 crag peered out there crowded the Eddies at their 
 feet* while the frosted Spray and feathery Foam 
 took refuge on their highest crests. But the trees* 
 and bushes* and flowery banks went by with won- 
 derful rapidity ; and at length their beautiful 
 greenness gave place to precipitous barriers of 
 stone which enclosed the river like walls. , 
 
 Tuflongbo held his peace* but he began to think 
 within himself that they had done unwisely in 
 abandoning the shore. Looking behind him* the 
 rocks shut out the sun* and the many windings of 
 the stream made them appear like bastion beyond 
 bastion in an ever-growing gloom. Looking for- 
 ward* the grey cliffs were equally formidable* but 
 on the edge of the most distant there always 
 gleamed a ray of brightness* which caused him to 
 hope that the next bend of the river would bring the 
 raft once more into daylight ; but when they came 
 near it as invariably faded away. The Ripples 
 that had played about the Adventurers when they 
 started on their perilous voyage now gave place to 
 heavy Waves, that bore the frail raft to and fro* 
 threatening every moment to dash it to pieces on 
 
92 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 the rocks, while the weedy little Waif, astride 
 of his straw, took no heed to its danger except to 
 enjoy it. 
 
 In this crisis Tuflongbo’s wits were on the alert. 
 He perceived that he was betrayed, and, passing 
 the word round in whispers to each of his com- 
 panions, warned them to be ready to attempt 
 an escape the instant he gave the signal. Then, 
 waiting his opportunity, he leant forward on the 
 raft and parleyed a little while with the treacher- 
 ous Waif. 
 
 “ Whither away so fast, unskilful steersman ? ” 
 asked he ; but the Waif only glanced wickedly over 
 his shoulder and laughed. “ Those laugh best who 
 laugh last!” thought Tuflongbo; and he stood up 
 on the swaying raft, prepared for a spring to the 
 rocks, all the rest imitating his example. 
 
 The river was now rushing down a descent so 
 rapid that it seemed like the arch of the bow they 
 had passed under the day before when leaving the 
 Chief City of Sheneland ; and it became evident 
 that it was the weedy Waif’s intentions to bear 
 them all away to the Water World ; and he would 
 undoubtedly have succeeded in his wicked design 
 had the Adventurers been under a leader less 
 prompt, brave, and enterprising than Tuflongbo. 
 
 After the lapse of a few acutely anxious mo- 
 ments, the raft drifted abreast of a narrow ledge 
 
THE WEEDY LITTLE WAIE OF THE CRAG. 93 
 
 of rocks on the farther side of the river; then 
 Tuflongbo shouted “Now,” and springing alto- 
 gether, four of the band at once made sure their 
 footing upon it. 
 
 These were the Leader himself, Larkspur, 
 Mustard, and Gooseberry. Chamomile fell so far 
 short of it as to drop into deep water, and Tuf- 
 longbo watched fearfully while his energetic com- 
 panion battled with the Waves that tried to beat 
 him back within reach of the weedy Waif. Some- 
 times the Spray dashed quite over his head and he 
 disappeared, but the next moment he was seen 
 striking out for the cliffs, and after an interval of 
 severe buffeting he gained them, and clambered up 
 by his comrades, perfectly sound in wind and 
 limb. Canary, in taking his leap, had aimed too 
 low, and only contrived to cling with hands and 
 teeth to the slippery ledge; but after hanging 
 in this imminent peril for some time, he succeeded 
 in drawing himself up until his chin rested upon 
 it ; and so persevered in his struggles until he also 
 stood in safety beside the Leader. 
 
 It now only remained to rescue Larch, who, 
 with unexampled audacity, had jumped upon a low 
 rock that lay midway the river, and was now 
 figuring there in a thousand taunting antics before 
 the disappointed Waif. Tuflongbo hailed him to 
 leave his dangerously isolated refuge ; for they on 
 
94 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 the ledge could see that of which Larch was 
 entirely unaware — namely* that a strong force 
 of Eddies was close round his rock* and swelling 
 higher and higher* urged on by the mighty Waves* 
 until he was in the centre of a black Whirlpool* 
 which threatened every moment to engulf him. 
 
 He now appeared to discern his danger* and* to 
 the relief of his companions* to be preparing to 
 meet it with that fertility of resource for which he 
 was distinguished. The weedy Waif had come to 
 an anchor in the smoothest part of the stream* 
 wearing a most comical* tragical expression of dis- 
 appointment on his bell-shaped visage. The raft* 
 swayed by the current* drifted to the edge of the 
 Whirlpool* and Larch* measuring the distance 
 with his eye* made a sudden spring for it* and tried 
 to cut the cords by which the treacherous steers- 
 man had towed it along before. It now became a 
 struggle for life or death betwixt the two* terrible 
 to behold. The Waif put forth all his strength to 
 get back into the main tide with the raft and its one 
 passenger* while Larch exerted himself to the 
 utmost to prevent what would certainly have been 
 fatal to himself. After a desperate tussle he at 
 last succeeded in severing the tow-ropes* and not 
 only that* but in tilting the weedy Waif off his 
 straw ; when he immediately* to everybody’s 
 admiration and delight* turned over on his back* 
 
THE WEEDY LITTLE WAIF OF THE CRAG. 95 
 
 and floated away, heels uppermost, down the 
 river, until he ’was quite out of sight ! 
 
 Tuflongbo and those upon the rock-ledge with 
 him set up a loud cheer, which stimulated Larch 
 to make one audacious spring — and there he was, 
 safe landed again amongst his companions. This 
 place of refuge hung on the face of the precipitous 
 cliffs, about half way between the abyss of foaming 
 waters and the calm blue of the upper air ; and 
 how to ascend the towering wall became now a 
 question for the most careful deliberation. The 
 inequalities below were many, but above there did 
 not appear to be footing for a bird; and while 
 the Adventurers were consulting, the grey Mists 
 and Shadows of Night began to look down 
 gloomily upon them from the top, thus making 
 their position the more perilous and uncertain. 
 
 A spirit of weariness and discontent then 
 showed itself amongst Tuflongbo’s band for the 
 first time ; but he dexterously crushed it out at once 
 by saying, “ Let us have no strength wasted in 
 useless regrets and complainings. The time once 
 past is past for ever ; the thing once done is done 
 for ever! Our mistakes are our warnings, and 
 our sufferings are our experience. If the heart of 
 any amongst you fail him already, let him return 
 to the peaceful pursuits and safe monotony of 
 home : this difficulty we are in now is but an 
 
96 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 earnest of what those must expect who would 
 devote themselves to a life of Adventure. Well 
 do I know- that there are braggarts whose prow r ess 
 lies in their tongues, but such I did not look 
 to find amongst you ! ” 
 
 This grave rebuke was received with silence, 
 but each of the band immediately testified by his 
 actions that the Leader was not mistaken in their 
 metal. Larkspur volunteered to scale the steep 
 rocks in search of a w 7 ay for the rest to ascend, 
 and forthwith began to mount by means of his 
 difficult fly-steps, every eye following him most 
 anxiously. He had not gone far, however, when 
 he was observed to halt, and then suddenly to 
 project himself, as it were, into the solid rock, 
 leaving nothing but the double-soles and the nails 
 in the heels of his shoes visible to his waiting 
 comrades below. These also gradually disap- 
 peared ; and it seemed as if the agile Larkspur 
 had been swallowed up to be beheld no more, 
 w 7 hen all at once his voice w r as heard shouting 
 in the wildest glee that he had made a wonder- 
 ful discovery of a Cave lit up with Lamps of 
 Gems, shining everywhere upon the walls and 
 roof! 
 
 “We must enter that miraculous Cave,” said 
 Tuflongbo. “ Such a place is mentioned in many 
 traditions of Ogres. Come, my brave comrades, 
 
THE WEEDY LITTLE WAIF OF THE CRAG. 97 
 
 let us endeavour to follow the agile Larkspur with 
 what speed we may : the enterprise is arduous, but 
 for that only the more glorious if we make it suc- 
 cessful. Amongst the Elfin Gifts that I received 
 at my birth, there was a Spider’s thread to hold 
 fast and spin true, of which we will now make 
 use. I will go first with the end in my hand, and 
 each of you, my valiant friends, must cling on to 
 it behind, and so I doubt not but that we shall 
 reach the Cave.” 
 
 And then the Leader reeled out the thread and 
 started, all the rest following in his steps and 
 grasping the slender stay, until at length, after 
 many a slip and slide, many a false move and 
 stumble up the slippery ascent, they contrived 
 to gain the spot where Larkspur stood awaiting 
 them. Most of them were exhausted and half faint- 
 ing with the fatiguing nature of their recent efforts, 
 but as soon as Tuflongbo recovered breath enough 
 to speak, he cheered them all by saying, “ There 
 is many a task that seems impossible until we 
 try it ; but after this great triumph, let us 
 never more distrust our hearts, our heads, or our 
 feet, for they have served us bravely on this 
 occasion ! ” 
 
 “ So they have ! ” cried the Adventurers ; “ so 
 they have, Tuflongbo ! ” 
 
 “ And in honour of their constancy, let me pro- 
 
 7 
 
98 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 pose that we henceforth and for ever reject the 
 term Impossible from onr travelling vocabulary ! ” 
 said the Leader, striking while the iron of their 
 fervour was hot. 
 
 “ It will be a worthy celebration,” replied 
 Canary, and the rest acquiescing with equal cor- 
 diality in Tuflongbo’s suggestion, a vote was 
 passed obliterating the word Impossible from all 
 the Adventurers’ future thoughts and conversation 
 — a very important measure to have been accom- 
 plished so early in their journey, and one fraught 
 with splendid results afterwards. 
 
 The Leader now shook himself straight in his 
 Chameleon suit, and, advancing a few paces, 
 looked down a narrow, sloping, funnel-shaped 
 entrance into the Cave, while all his band crowded 
 close upon him to behold its wonders too. 
 
 “ Magnificent ! ” cried they, as with one voice. 
 “ Oh ! radiant, dazzling, most glorious ! ” and so 
 stood awe-struck at the fine spectacle that flashed 
 upon their astonished gaze. 
 
 Tuflongbo then made a brief harangue congra- 
 tulating them and himself on the discovery of this 
 singular place at the outset of their Adventures, 
 and after reminding them of the watchfulness and 
 caution that might be called for in their explora- 
 tions, he bade them under all circumstances pre- 
 serve their self-possession and dignity, and then 
 
GULMALOG AND HIS BUBBLE-BLOWER. 99 
 
 prepared* as their Leader* to enter first this En- 
 chanted Cave-Palace of Gems. 
 
 None held back* and the instant the last of the 
 daring seven had passed through the entrance and 
 over the threshold of the glittering chamber* a 
 mighty gate of rock clanged to behind them 
 with the sound of thunder; and there they were* 
 caught* though they knew it not* in Ogre Gul- 
 malog’s trap ! 
 
 III. 
 
 OGRE GULMALOG AND HIS BUBBLE-BLOWER. 
 
 Never* surely* was trap so beautifully baited before 
 as this trap of the dreadful Ogre Gulmalog. And 
 it was beautiful* too, in itself* having walls set 
 round with a thousand columns of crystal* and 
 a dome-shaped roof tinted throughout like inter- 
 secting rainbow arches. The floor was of coral* 
 red and rare* and in the midst stood a low table 
 of agate* spread over with the richest and costliest 
 dainties — cream tart* trifle* syllabub* ambrosia* pie* 
 custard* and tipsy cake ; and negus and nectar in 
 goblets of cut topaz with handles of gold. Innu- 
 merable lamps gleamed from the crystal columns 
 and from the central flower-knot of the roof — 
 
 7 — 2 
 
100 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 lamps of ruby, emerald, sapphire, carbuncle, ame- 
 thyst, and opal, with lights of diamonds twinkling 
 and flashing through their transparent globes of 
 exquisite colour. 
 
 A profound silence reigned throughout this en- 
 chanted scene, which the Adventurers, overcome 
 with admiration and delight, did not attempt to 
 break for a considerable interval. But at length 
 the leader spoke proud words of congratulation, 
 and invited himself and his companions to supper 
 at the luxuriously furnished table, when all imme- 
 diately became seated around it, Tuflongbo pre- 
 siding from the golden throne at the upper end 
 with superlative grace and dignity. 
 
 The travellers were, as may be well imagined, 
 exceedingly hungry after their long march and 
 perilous sail on the river, and when they were 
 served, each prepared to enjoy the welcome feast 
 with keen appetite. There was consequently but 
 little conversation, everybody being for the time 
 quite absorbed and busy, and this was but reason- 
 able and natural at the beginning ; only, strange 
 to say, the silence continued, and the more the 
 adventurers ate the less satisfied they appeared 
 to be. 
 
 They took from every dish in turn, and tried 
 them all, but nothing seemed to diminish ; and 
 when they were tired of lifting their hands to 
 
GULMALOG AND HIS BUBBLE-BLOWEB. 101 
 
 their mouths, they leant back in their chairs, and 
 said, disconsolately, that they felt as empty as 
 when they sat down. Canary alone persevered, 
 but he finally gave in too, and proclaimed himself 
 no better off than the rest ; adding that he had 
 made the round of the board, and had tasted 
 everything, and had found all of precisely the 
 same flavour — that is, of the flavour of froth or 
 snow-smoke. And his experience was the expe- 
 rience of all his companions and of their leader 
 also. But still the lamps of gems twinkled, and 
 the table seemed as well furnished as ever. 
 
 “ Shall we try again ? ” said Tuflongbo, after 
 an interval of repose ; and once more they set 
 to work, and worked till their jaws and elbows 
 ached, but for no good ; when they gave up 
 they were just as before — hungry, and hollow 
 as drums. 
 
 “ ’Tis of no use — we are all swallowing 
 shadows ! ” then said the Leader ; “ and truly we 
 deserved something more substantial after our 
 arduous march and miraculous escape from the 
 river. Let each of us regale with a crust of 
 his own loaf; though it be but plain fare, it is 
 better than this” 
 
 As Tuflongbo spoke, there rang through the 
 chamber the echo of opening and shutting distant 
 doors, which gradually drew nearer and nearer 
 
102 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE. AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 until the rock gate which had clanged to when 
 the Adventurers entered split open with a mighty 
 noise, and, guided by invisible hands, in rushed 
 a second table, covered with smoking dishes of 
 fish, flesh, and fowl, hot from the pot and the spit. 
 
 “ It must be admitted that our host, whoever 
 he is, practises the virtue of hospitality,” cried 
 the Leader, his spirits rising with the savoury 
 steam. “ Let us fall to, my friends, and save 
 our crusts for another occasion.” 
 
 So each restored his crust, which he had just 
 begun to munch, to his wallet, and applied him- 
 self with fresh vigour to the enchanted feast; 
 but alas ! and alas ! with no more profit than at 
 first. 
 
 “ This is too much ! ” then cried Tuflongbo, in 
 a rage, and sprang up from his golden throne, 
 and paced the chamber in the greatest perturba- 
 tion of mind. His followers regarded him with 
 dismay, and endeavoured to compose him, but 
 he would not be composed. “ I wish,” said he, 
 fuming hotly, “ the churlish knave who has dared 
 to play us these sorry tricks would only show 
 himself!” 
 
 Immediately, from nobody knew whither, there 
 appeared in the midst of the band an exceed- 
 ingly small Dwarf, black and ugly, with a ring 
 through his nose, who louted low before the 
 
GULMALOG AND HIS BUBBLE-BLOWER. 103 
 
 Leader, and screamed in a shrill, unpleasant voice, 
 < tf Here I am, Tuflongbo, at your service — Gul- 
 malog’s Bubble-Blower.” 
 
 Tuflongbo returned his bow in a surly fashion, 
 and then for several minutes stood regarding him 
 with severe and silent displeasure. 
 
 “ You are very hard to please,” said the Dwarf. 
 “ What more could you desire than you have 
 had ? I have blown you my best bubbles.” 
 
 “ But bubbles are not our natural food — they 
 leave us as hungry as they found us ; we require 
 something more solid,” replied Tuflongbo. 
 
 “ Will you try these, then ? ” asked the Dwarf, 
 and drew from his pocket a handful of dull 
 pebbles. 
 
 “ What is the use of them ? They are but 
 stones, and would break our teeth.” And the 
 Leader dexterously tilted them out of his palm, 
 so that they rolled abroad over the coral floor 
 and were lost. 
 
 “ You shall repent it !” shrieked the Dwarf, and 
 vanished as mysteriously as he had appeared, 
 leaving the rock gate open. 
 
 Tuflongbo now drew forth his crust again, and 
 this time he ate it up, and felt much refreshed 
 thereby, all his companions imitating his example 
 with a like effect. They were then equal to their 
 fate, and began curiously to examine the structure 
 
104 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 of this Cave of Gems, the Leader making a sketch 
 of it, while Larkspur and others, with his per- 
 mission, climbed up to the lamps and tore down 
 some of the finest to carry away as spoil. But 
 it is a remarkable fact that as soon as they were 
 detached from their places, they lost all their 
 brilliance, and became as unattractive as the 
 Dwarfs handful of pebbles which Tuflongbo had 
 chucked away. 
 
 While the band were thus occupied, all at once 
 they heard a heavy advancing step, and the blow- 
 ing as of a very stout creature short of breath ; 
 and the leader had barely time to cry out, “ Let 
 every one lie down, shut his eyes, and feign 
 sleep,” and to get the command executed, when 
 there entered the great Ogre Gulmalog, led by 
 the hideous little Dwarf with the ring through 
 his nose. 
 
 “ Where are they?” growled the Ogre, in a 
 voice that sounded as if it came out of his boots. 
 
 “ Here,” said the Dwarf, and pointed to the 
 hapless Adventurers lying in a ring on the floor, 
 apparently sound asleep. 
 
 Ogre Gulmalog eyed them greedily, and rubbed 
 his hands for joy. “ Which shall I have for 
 supper ? ” considered he ; “ they look so nice I 
 think I could eat ’em all — yes, they look so nice, 
 I think I could eat ’em all ! ” 
 
FATE OF GULMALOG’S BUBBLE-BLOWER. 105 
 
 “ Surely* my master* they will be just enough. 
 And how will you have them done — devilled or 
 grilled ? ” asked the Dwarf. 
 
 “ Grilled; and do them very brown ! ” answered 
 the Ogre* licking his monstrous lips. And the 
 Dwarf immediately gathered up all the Adven- 
 turers one after the other into his cook’s apron* 
 and ran off with them to the kitchen* his master 
 crying after him to make haste* and let him have 
 them hot* and served up with plenty of tomato 
 sauce ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 THE AWFUL FATE OF GULMALOG’S BUBBLE- 
 BLOWER. 
 
 Consider for one moment this painful crisis — 
 Tuflongbo could never afterwards speak of it 
 without a shudder. 
 
 As the Dwarf ran towards his kitchen* opening 
 and shutting innumerable doors* and twisting and 
 turning down the most intricate passages* he shook 
 the contents of his apron with vengeful triumph. 
 The Adventurers rolled over and over — now heads 
 uppermost* and now heels* — and were as nearly 
 as possible frightened out of their wits; so that 
 when Gulmalog’s Bubble-Blower emptied them 
 
106 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 out upon the floor they were bedazed and be- 
 muddled to such an excess, that he trussed them 
 up and skewered them like pigeons without one 
 of them having strength or sense to resist. This 
 done, he ranged them neatly in a row on the 
 dresser, and proceeded to blow the Fire, which 
 in his absence had sunk very low. 
 
 While he was engaged in this manner, the hap- 
 less travellers had plenty of leisure to reflect on 
 their desperate situation, and Tuflongbo presently 
 said aloud — “ I can assure Gulmalog’s Bubble- 
 Blower that he will never find me grilling calmly 
 for his voracious master’s supper.” 
 
 “ Nor me,” said Larch. “Nor me,” said Mus- 
 tard. And so said they all. 
 
 “ What’s that ? ” cried the Dwarf. “ You won’t 
 be grilled calmly, won’t you? We shall see. 
 Wait a bit ! ” And then he laid down his bellows 
 for a moment, and took up a flour-dredger, and 
 dredged them all over with flour until they looked 
 exactly like a miller and his men ; after which he 
 returned to blowing the Fire. 
 
 But the Fire was sulky and would not burn. 
 It sputtered and crackled, and puffed out volleys 
 of pungent smoke, and Sparks that flew in the 
 Dwarf’s face, but neither Flicker nor Flash, 
 Glimmer nor Twinkle, Blaze nor Flame, would 
 show themselves at all. Tuflongbo could not help 
 
FATE OF GULMALOG’S BUBBLE-BLOWER. 107 
 
 laughing while Gulmalog’s Bubble-Blower mut- 
 tered over his fruitless task, that the wood was 
 green, and left it to dry while he compounded 
 the tomato sauce. But he sneezed in spite of 
 his valour, when the odious little cook took a 
 handful of salt and sprinkled him and his adven- 
 turers over, and seasoned them duly with pepper, 
 according to his master’s taste, for the pepper and 
 salt both were of very strong nature. Then the 
 Dwarf got ready the gridiron, and the dish on 
 which they were to be served up when ready. 
 But still the Fire continued cold, and as black 
 as the cook himself. Once only had he any hope 
 of it, and that was when very suddenly Blaze 
 darted out of the smoke, and made a rapid speech 
 which he could not understand. But Tuflongbo 
 understood it, and rejoiced. Blaze bade him not 
 be afraid, for the Salamanders were his friends, 
 and would never lend themselves to grilling him 
 or any of his band ; and having given him this 
 comfortable assurance, the good servant dropped 
 down amongst the ashes and disappeared, to the 
 great rage and disappointment of the Bubble- 
 Blower. 
 
 “ I shall have to make a salad of them, I do 
 believe,” snarled he, and ran out into Gulmalog’s 
 garden to pick some fresh herbs. 
 
 “Now is our time,” whispered Tuflongbo. “We 
 
108 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 were skewered in such a hurry* that I have come 
 undone.” And then he went quickly down the 
 row and released his followers* who stretched 
 their cramped limbs and immediately jumped off 
 the dresser. 
 
 The Leader then made them all hide behind the 
 door* and as the Dwarf entered* bringing his 
 herbs* they sprang out on him with one accord, 
 and overpowered him* in spite of his enraged 
 struggles* and bound him hand and foot* and 
 finally chained him by the ring through his nose 
 to his own spit* and left him dangling* and spin- 
 ning, and twirling very fast indeed; and the Fire 
 gave him a warm reception* and licked his hands 
 and his face wfith affectionate glee. And Flicker 
 and Flash* Glimmer and Twinkle* Blaze and 
 Flame came out of their lurking-places forthwith 
 to pay him their fervent compliments; and the 
 frisky Sparks frolicked and danced round him as 
 if his roasting were a jubilee. And there he very 
 probably dangles* and twirls* and twists to this 
 moment* for he was so exceedingly old* tough* and 
 stringy* that it is not likely he could ever be 
 cooked through ! 
 
 This act of justice having been performed* 
 Tuflongbo congratulated his followers* thanked 
 them for their cheerful assistance* and consulted 
 as to what should be done next ; prophesying to 
 
FATE OF GULMALOG’S BUBBLE-BLOWER. 109 
 
 each and all undying honour and glory if they 
 continued to acquit themselves always thus valor- 
 ously in dangerous circumstances. 
 
 Meanwhile Ogre Gulmalog sat in the parlour 
 waiting for his supper, and when he could not 
 wait any longer he sallied forth, and blundered 
 along through the intricate passages, seeking his 
 way to the kitchen : and arriving there, he found 
 his Bubble-Blower chained to his own spit, and all 
 the Adventurers regaling themselves with the 
 delicious tomato-sauce! He burst into a jolly 
 laugh, which finished off with an affected quaver 
 of trepidation, that caused Tuflongbo to think and 
 say : “ This big fellow is not brave — I declare he 
 seems afraid of us ! ” And, on the spur of the 
 moment, he turned sharply about, marched up to 
 the vast Ogre, and cried, “ Gulmalog, you are 
 our prisoner ! ” at the same time, rising on tip-toe, 
 and, with the crook of his staff, tapping his enor- 
 mous beet-root nose ! Gulmalog, thus insulted, 
 shook as if he were made of jelly, dropt on his 
 knees, and supplicated mercy in a most canting, 
 hypocritical whine ; but Tuflongbo turned a deaf 
 ear to his entreaties, and commanded him to be 
 strictly bound, telling him that his ultimate fate 
 would depend entirely on his own behaviour. 
 
 The Leader then compelled him to act as guide 
 through the secret chambers of his Cave; and 
 
110 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 with the utmost apparent reluctance, groaning 
 and carrying his head down, the Ogre set out, 
 the seven sprightly Adventurers following close 
 in his footsteps, and poking him on whenever they 
 fancied he lingered. And thus they went through 
 many glittering and gorgeous apartments, con- 
 tinually amazed and delighted at their magnifi- 
 cence, until they came to a deep-sunk door of 
 iron, all barred, bolted, and rusty, from which 
 Gulmalog seemed as if he would have turned 
 aside to pass it by, had not Tuflongbo sternly 
 bidden him stay and open it. So, groaning more 
 heavily than before, he took a great key from his 
 girdle, inserted it in the lock, and turned it thrice ; 
 when immediately the mighty gates swung open 
 on their creaking hinges, and the Ogre’s dun- 
 geons were revealed in all their terrible gloom 
 and horror. 
 
 V. 
 
 HOW TUFLONGBO AND HIS FAITHFUL BAND 
 WERE DISPERSED. 
 
 “ If there be here any miserable captives, let 
 them speak, and I will deliver them ! ” cried 
 Tuflongbo, as he plunged into the darkness. 
 
 But though his voice rang echoing through and 
 
TUELONGBO AND HIS BAND DISPERSED. Ill 
 
 through the vault until it died away in a faint 
 sigh, there was no answer. The Leader of the 
 Adventurers waited, listened, and shouted again, 
 but still without reply. This he did thrice, and 
 finding none to claim his help, he turned round 
 to bid the Ogre lead the way out of his dungeons, 
 when, to his inexpressible astonishment and dis- 
 may, he saw that Gulmalog had disappeared. 
 
 Gulmalog had disappeared, and so also had the 
 door by which he had ushered the travellers into 
 the vault — there being now no visible inlet or 
 outlet, but only blank, dank walls, so high that 
 the roof was lost in the gloom. A light, very 
 faint, pale and cold, filled the dungeon, and a 
 moist atmosphere, which caused a fearful creeping 
 and crisping of the skin, accompanied by an 
 aguish chattering of the teeth. Had he not 
 known them so well, Tuflongbo might have been 
 now discouraged by a doubt lest some of his 
 followers were afraid, but no such suspicion came 
 near his mind ; and though bewildered, and even 
 annoyed, by this specimen of Ogreish perfidy, 
 he found in it that amount of consolation which 
 the philosophic mind can discover in the most 
 untoward events. 
 
 “ If it be our fate to go no farther, still we 
 have accomplished the great object of our travels,” 
 said he, in a cheerful voice ; “ we have verified 
 
112 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 the existence of Ogres — by some supposed to be 
 an extinct or fabulous race — and have enjoyed 
 large opportunities of studying the private life of 
 one very remarkable personage amongst them. 
 But as this dungeon may be dangerous to our 
 health should we remain in it too long, let us now 
 diligently seek for a way of escape.” 
 
 These calm words reassured the Adventurers, 
 and they immediately dispersed themselves through 
 the vault in quest of some opening ; but hardly 
 had they been thus employed for the space of an 
 hour, when they heard a threatening, rumbling 
 noise overhead, and looking up in alarm, they saw 
 a trap open in the roof, and Gulmalog’s cruel, 
 ugly face gazing down upon them, expanded into 
 a broad grin, which displayed a triple row of sharp 
 teeth. 
 
 “ Make yourselves happy, my little Fairykins !” 
 cried he ; “I shall only want one at a time ! ” 
 And he dropt a line amongst them, suddenly, 
 with a magic hook at the end of it, which began 
 to cast itself about in an attempt to catch them ; 
 and though they ran and ran, and turned and 
 turned, and made a thousand desperate efforts to 
 escape it, it at last caught poor Mustard, and 
 Gulmalog instantly drew him up through the 
 trap. 
 
 "Never mind me, Tuflongbo, I don’t care!” 
 
THE YOUNG ADVENTURERS IN GULMALOG’S DUNGEON. p. 112. 
 
TUFLONGBO AND HIS BAND DISPERSED. 113 
 
 sang out the gallant little Fairykin, as he vanished ; 
 “ when Gulmalog tries to eat me, won’t I bite his 
 tongue and make him roar ! ” And then the trap 
 was closed with a crash, the Ogre proclaiming 
 that he had got enough for the present, and 
 politely requesting those who were left to make 
 themselves as comfortable as circumstances would 
 allow — a sarcasm which added a new sting to 
 their pain. 
 
 If they had before sought diligently for an 
 outlet from their prison, they now sought it with 
 the fiery energy of those who know that life 
 depends upon success; but they sought in vain, 
 and were all at once paralyzed and struck motion- 
 less by a hideous roar which resounded from 
 above. 
 
 “ Depend upon it, Mustard has bitten the 
 Ogre’s tongue, and perishes not ingloriously ! ” 
 whispered Tuflongbo ; and the next moment the 
 trap rumbled open again, and down came the line 
 with the magic hook at the end of it; and though 
 the captives ran and ran, and turned and turned, 
 nothing availed them, for, after a fierce chase, 
 Chamomile was taken, and hauled up like his pre- 
 decessor ; with his last words comforting his com- 
 panions by an assurance that he had not lost his 
 energy in adversity, and did not despair of a safe 
 and happy deliverance even yet. 
 
 8 
 
114 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 It soon appeared that Gulmalog was in the 
 habit of feeding once in every hour; for scarcely 
 had that interval elapsed, when again the trap 
 opened and the magic hook descended. This time 
 it caught Gooseberry, who said he expected it, and 
 made no more ado. 
 
 Resignation to their inevitable lot now for a 
 short space took possession of the hearts of the 
 unfortunate Adventurers ; they sat down sorrow- 
 ful and despondent, until they were all grown 
 over with blue mould ; but when the Ogre re- 
 turned to fish for another of the dejected band, 
 they still preserved energy enough to make at- 
 tempts to baffle his hook and line. It was to no 
 purpose, however, that they strove to evade them ; 
 for he soon caught Larch, who promised himself 
 a melancholy consolation in pulling Gulmalog’s 
 nose before he was eaten, and so vanished through 
 the trap from the sad eyes of his companions. 
 Canary went next, after a very prolonged hunt ; 
 then Larkspur, buoyant and light-headed as ever, 
 assuring the agonized Leader that he would roll 
 himself into a porcupine-ball, and thus tempt the 
 Ogre to take him all at one greedy bite, when he 
 would expand in his throat, violently kick out his 
 arms and legs, and so choke him. 
 
 With such slight hope of rescue as hung on 
 this one chance, Tuflongbo contrived to sustain 
 
TLTFLONGBO AND HIS BAND DISPERSED. 115 
 
 himself through the next terrible hour ; but again 
 at the regular moment creaked open the trap, and 
 Gulmalog’s voice sounded from above more gruff 
 and hungry than ever; from which it appeared 
 that Larkspur’s ingenious plan for his Captain’s 
 deliverance had failed. 
 
 Now, though Tuflongbo had learnt by a too 
 grave experience that, let Fairykins run as they 
 will, when Ogres hunt for them they must in- 
 evitably be caught, he yet did his utmost to cir- 
 cumvent and escape the magic hook : but it took 
 him at last, and, swift, there he was, landed once 
 more in the Ogre’s beautiful parlour ! 
 
 And now occurred a most remarkable and 
 unexpected event, which bore singular testimony 
 to the truth of that disputed statement which Wild 
 Sorrel had made at the Farewell Feast — namely, 
 that Ogres always reject those little Fairy kins 
 which are too good to be eaten ; not that they like 
 to do so, but that it is a rule amongst them which 
 they could not break without infringing their 
 strict code of honour. 
 
 The bereft Leader of the Adventurers glanced 
 round the gem-lit Cave, but there were no relics 
 of his hapless followers to be seen, and he pre- 
 pared himself for the worst — perceiving that 
 Gulmalog, who had looked not ill-natured before 
 he w^as disappointed of his grilled Fairykins at 
 
 8—2 
 
116 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 supper, now betrayed a most ruthless and fero- 
 cious temper, snapping and snarling as he filed 
 his teeth, until Tuflongbo, even in that crisis of 
 his fate, made philosophic reflections on his 
 ugliness. 
 
 As Gulmalog filed, he also muttered, and the 
 Adventurer, listening heedfully to his mutterings, 
 overheard him say, with such thankful feelings as 
 may be better imagined than described — “ Too 
 good to be eaten, are they, the little mites of 
 things ! — too good to be eaten, indeed ! that is a 
 joke — a funnier I never heard — too good to be 
 eaten ! I can’t get over it. However, this little 
 fellow must make up for his friends ; I have 
 caught a Tartar at last, and, I warrant me, lie is 
 not too good to be eaten ! Let us try. Trot over 
 here, Tuflongbo, and let me have a look at you. 
 Suppose you end your travels by a journey down 
 my Red Lane ? ” 
 
 “ Suppose nothing of the sort,” replied the 
 Captain, and approached the Ogre with a leisurely 
 dignity befitting the occasion. But as soon as he 
 came within reach, Gulmalog snatched him up, 
 dipped his head into a little that was left of the 
 tomato sauce, and w T as just going to bite it off', 
 w'hen a voice at his elbow said distinctly, “ Let 
 him go, Gulmalog; Tuflongbo is far too good to 
 be eaten ! ” and the Ogre, with a roar of rage. 
 
HOW LARKSPUR REJOINED TUFLONGBO. 117 
 
 disappointment, and hunger, flung him bodily into 
 the salt-cellar. 
 
 Tuflongbo immediately scrambled to his feet 
 and shook himself, then he glanced round, in the 
 hope of seeing his unknown advocate, but no one 
 was visible except the Ogre, who now took him 
 by his Chameleon coat-collar, and, quitting the 
 Cave through the rock-gate, carried him up a 
 winding stair to the top of the cliffs, and, after 
 turning him thrice round until he was giddy, 
 there left him, in the midst of a dark night and of 
 heavily-falling rain. It was some time before he 
 recovered his faculties sufficiently to make any 
 survey of his position ; but when he did so, he 
 found himself in an entirely new country, and 
 quite alone ! 
 
 VI. 
 
 HOW LARKSPUR REJOINED TUFLONGBO. 
 
 When the gallant Tuflongbo fully realized his 
 melancholy and forsaken condition, he did not sit 
 down to bewail it as a weak-minded adventurer 
 might have done, but braced himself firmly up, 
 set his knapsack straight, took a resolute grip of 
 
11s TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 his staff, and prepared to set out in search of his 
 lost companions, intending to postpone to that 
 necessary duty all further inquiries after the per- 
 fidious race of Ogres. 
 
 The night was intensely dark, and the rain 
 came down with a will ; but Tuflongbo never 
 doubted that each member of his scattered band 
 had been separately ejected from Gulmalog’s Cave 
 in the same style as himself, and was, therefore, 
 convinced that he should be able to come on their 
 traces as soon as daylight enabled him to examine 
 the sodden ground. And in this he was not mis- 
 taken. 
 
 When dawn broke, he immediately began his 
 investigations, and before long he detected nume- 
 rous footmarks, which, however, tended in various 
 directions ; but there could be no uncertainty as 
 to whose they were, for all the Adventurers wore 
 shoes like their Leader — that is, shoes with square 
 toes, double soles, and nails in the heels. Five 
 distinct pairs of impressions he quickly made out, 
 but the sixth pair was missing; and Tuflongbo 
 was almost ready to despair of finding them, when 
 suddenly he became aware of finger-prints in the 
 moist sand, and his heart grew light again, for 
 these finger-prints were those of Larkspur, who 
 had evidently taken himself off from the scene of 
 his misfortunes, not by running away on his feet. 
 
HOW LARKSPUR REJOINED TUFLONGBO. 1 19 
 
 but by a swift wheel-movement* in the practice of 
 which he was singularly skilled. 
 
 It now only remained to decide which of the 
 several tracks Tuflongbo should first pursue* and 
 after a few moments of active consideration* he 
 determined to follow Larkspur ; and* without loss 
 of time, he set out* keeping the finger-prints 
 constantly in view. 
 
 For many* many fairy miles the lonely Leader 
 plodded on over a wide waste of sand* now whist- 
 ling and now singing to keep up his spirits* and 
 hoping that the sound of his familiar voice might 
 perchance be heard* and answered by one or another 
 of his faithful band. But it was not. A profound 
 silence and solitude reigned everywhere* and the 
 day was far spent before there appeared any 
 change in the monotony of the landscape. At 
 last* when his feet were growing weary* and 
 beginning to lag, he saw the shadow of an enor- 
 mous head projected along the ground before him* 
 then of another* and another — three heads in 
 all — which appeared to spring but from one pair 
 of shoulders. There was a scant herbage in this 
 part of the plain* and Tuflongbo immediately hid 
 himself amongst it, and looked out sharply for the 
 body that cast this portentous shadow ; and soon 
 he saw it* travelling slowly over the brow of a 
 line of hills — a gigantic Ogre with three heads* 
 
120 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 having faces all round, and on the centre one a 
 wonderful peaked cap, in the band of which was 
 stuck poor Larkspur, waving in the wind like a 
 feather. 
 
 Tuflongbo’s heart bounded with joy when he 
 recognized his unhappy comrade in this dan- 
 gerous and conspicuous situation ; and, stealthily 
 applying his whistle to his lips, he blew three clear 
 notes to attract his attention. At this, the feather 
 in the Ogre’s cap was seen briskly to steady itself, 
 to rise up, to peer round, and finally to peer over 
 the top of it in a consequential way; and Lark- 
 spur had just one moment given him to detect his 
 Leader amongst the grass, when the Ogre sneezed 
 violently, and the poor Adventurer was shaken 
 down from his look-out in the concussion, and 
 left feebly hanging, as it were, quite out of curl, 
 over the brim of the cap. 
 
 As the Ogre tramped heavily past the spot 
 where Tuflongbo lay concealed, the earth under 
 him shook terribly ; but as soon as he was gone 
 by, out crept the watchful Adventurer, and stole 
 after him, determined not to lose sight of his 
 three heads until he had rescued Larkspur from 
 his perilous position. But Tuflongbo, when he 
 left the shelter of the reedy grass, had forgotten 
 that the Ogre, having faces all round, must have 
 eyes behind as well as before, which eyes were 
 
HOW LARKSPUR REJOINED TUELONGBO. 121 
 
 like those of a lynx, and could not fail soon to 
 spy him out — and spy him out, of course, they 
 did ; and, wheeling round rapidly, the Ogre 
 picked him up between his finger and thumb, 
 and, plucking off* his singular cap, stuck him also 
 for a feather in the band, beside his unfortunate 
 friend; and then perched it again on his central 
 head, which he wagged triumphantly for ever so 
 long after, to the inexpressible misery of his two 
 ornamental captives. W hen he was tired of wag- 
 ging it he kept it still, and then the high-spirited 
 Leader embraced his follower, and they condoled 
 with each other, in mournful terms, upon this 
 untoward style of reunion ; but agreed, finally, 
 that it was a comfort not to be alone in their 
 misfortunes. 
 
 “ I do not feel as if we were in imminent 
 danger,” remarked Tuflongbo, presently, growing 
 accustomed to his elevation. 
 
 “ Neither do I,” replied Larkspur. “ This 
 Ogre is a vegetarian, I believe ; and, if so, he will 
 prove of a milder temper than Gulmalog.” 
 
 Tuflongbo was anxious to know what reason 
 his comrade had for supposing this three-headed 
 Ogre to be a vegetarian. 
 
 “ W atch and you will see,” answered the other. 
 “ When he caught me, he was at breakfast in a 
 wood ; he dined in a forest ; and, when we come 
 
122 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 to another thicket, I expect he will stop and eat 
 his supper.” 
 
 Larkspur’s information was correct, and his 
 anticipations were not disappointed. A plantation 
 of full-grown pine trees, cactus, and prickly pears, 
 loomed on the horizon, and, as soon as they 
 reached it, the Ogre set to work ; and, plucking 
 up the food he wanted by the roots, ate his way 
 straight through the wood. He might have been 
 tracked by the odd leaves, little branches, and 
 chips he dropped, crumb-like, all along the path, 
 as he made his evening meal. It was wonderful 
 to hear his twelve pairs of jaws going at once — 
 crackle, craunch, crack, through the toughest 
 bark as easily as through the tenderest foliage; 
 and Tuflongbo’s ambitious spirit revelled in the 
 previsions of honour and glory which must accrue 
 to him for having made so surprising a discovery 
 in the natural history of Ogres as this fact of a 
 triple-headed one subsisting entirely on a vege- 
 table diet. 
 
 He would have liked to inquire whether his 
 remarkable captor was ever troubled with tooth- 
 ache from the severity of his masticatory exer- 
 tions ; but a few moments of reflection determined 
 him to practise a wise forbearance for the present 
 — to hear, see, and say nothing until, by a dis- 
 creet observation, he had learnt whether this 
 
CLICKACLOP AND HIS OGRESS. 
 
 123 
 
 Ogre was or was not a foe to that laudable curio- 
 sity that had instigated his great journey in search 
 of adventures. 
 
 When they came out at the farther side of the 
 wood, the shades of evening were falling; and, 
 after munching up a handful of fir-cones like nuts 
 for his dessert, the Ogre shook the scraps from 
 his doublet, and quickened his pace ; from which 
 the hapless Feathers in his cap conjectured that 
 he was drawing near home. 
 
 VII. 
 
 CLICKACLOP AND HIS OGRESS. 
 
 When at last the Adventurers from their dan- 
 gerous eminence descried the Ogre’s dwelling, it 
 proved to be a vast edifice of unhewn stone, 
 standing under the northern shadow of a great 
 barren mountain. The aspect of the surrounding 
 country was bleak, waste, and dreary in the 
 extreme ; for the thriftless Ogre had cleared the 
 ground of trees and bushes without exercising the 
 prudent forethought of planting others ; so that 
 he had to travel a considerable distance, when he 
 was hungry, before he could find a sufficient stock 
 of food to appease his appetite. 
 
124 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Neither Tuflongbo nor Larkspur felt particu- 
 larly cheerful as they approached the massive 
 gates of the castle; but that could not be expected 
 at such a crisis, and their spirits underwent a 
 further fluctuation as the Ogre stooped down and 
 blew into the keyhole thrice. At the third gust 
 the gates revolved slowly on their hinges, and a 
 comely Ogress advanced with a smile on her 
 broad visage, and asked in a sweet voice how her 
 brave Clickaclop had spent the day. To this 
 Clickaclop replied that he had spent it very 
 pleasantly. 
 
 The pair then sat down by their bright wood- 
 fire, and had a long talk about their own private 
 affairs, until the Ogre, suddenly remembering the 
 Feathers in his cap, pulled it off and presented it 
 to his wife, saying he hoped she would like the 
 pretty little fantastical toys he had brought her. 
 The Ogress immediately began to dance the cap 
 round on her hand, exclaiming over the quaking 
 Adventurers in a perfect enthusiasm of admiration, 
 and vowing that she had never seen anything so 
 altogether novel and charming in her life. 
 
 “ Are they alive ? ” cried she. “ Oh, how nice ! 
 How beautifully they do curl and flutter, to be 
 sure ! ” and then she danced the cap round again, 
 until Tuflongbo’s teeth chattered like castanets; 
 and Larkspur, with all his elasticity, was fairly 
 
CLICKACLOP AND HIS OGRESS. 
 
 125 
 
 shaken out of breath. This innocent little amuse- 
 ment she continued until she was tired of it, when 
 she hung up the cap on a hook against the wall, 
 and at her lord’s command knelt down and pro- 
 ceeded to pull off his boots. 
 
 The captive Adventurers kept their eyes wide 
 open, and never winked once while the amiable 
 Ogress performed Clickaclop’s toilette for the night. 
 It was a lengthy piece of work, and in some 
 respects also, perhaps a rather peculiar one ; for 
 when she had removed his boots, she brought a 
 high stool, mounted upon it, and began to screw 
 off one of his heads — that on the left shoulder — as 
 if it were quite a matter of course; and a 
 matter of course it must have been, or the 
 Ogre would certainly have resisted ; instead of 
 which, he purred, and seemed very much at his 
 ease. 
 
 u How very queer ! I don’t like it at all ; it 
 sets my teeth on edge,” whispered Larkspur ; but 
 Tuflongbo, who was delighted at what he saw, 
 prayed of him to hush, and not draw attention 
 on themselves. 
 
 A little oil would have greatly facilitated the 
 removal of Clickaclop’s head, but such a useful 
 expedient was unknown to the Ogress, who labo- 
 riously turned and twisted it round, creaking and 
 squealing like a rusty hinge, until at last she got 
 
126 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 it off, and, opening a secret cupboard, put it up 
 on the top shelf with the utmost care. She then 
 proceeded to screw off the head on the right 
 shoulder, and disposed of that also in the cup- 
 board; and finally she screwed off the central 
 head, which had worn the cap, and, being released 
 from all three, the Ogre threw himself down on 
 his bed, and was asleep in an instant. 
 
 The Ogress appeared quite fatigued with her 
 dutiful exertions, and, to refresh herself after 
 them, she lifted the cap from the hook where she 
 had hung it, and spent an hour or more in ad- 
 miring her new feathers, and trying how they 
 would suit her style of beauty. All this was 
 very ruffling and distasteful to the feelings of the 
 Adventurers, but they endured the indignities to 
 which they were subjected with exemplary 
 patience, so that they found themselves no worse 
 when she again hung them upon the wall, with 
 a promise that she would transfer them to her 
 own dress-cap on the morrow. 
 
 She then deliberately screwed off her own head, 
 and after ranging it on the cupboard shelf beside 
 the Ogre’s three, locked the door, and then lay 
 down on her bed and fell asleep also. 
 
 Being now comparatively safe and unguarded, 
 the Adventurers began to talk matters over, sink- 
 ing their voices to the lowest and most cautious 
 
CLICKACLOP AND HIS OGKESS. 
 
 127 
 
 of whispers, lest they should be overheard by the 
 slumbering pair. 
 
 “I wonder why they take off their heads?” 
 murmured Larkspur, overflowing with praise- 
 worthy curiosity. 
 
 “ Probably that they may not be troubled with 
 bad dreams,” suggested Tuflongbo. 
 
 “Most likely. Yet Clickaclop does not seem 
 a savage fellow, nor his wife either.” 
 
 “ By no means — kind and fatherly, on the con- 
 trary. I have a proposition to make. Suppose 
 we trust him, and stay here a little while? We 
 may have a chance of being rejoined by our 
 missing comrades if we linger in this neighbour- 
 hood, such as we should lose, did we travel 
 farther away from the scene of our dismal sepa- 
 ration. Alas ! Larkspur, my heart yearns to 
 behold their wobegone faces once more, and 
 it aches with anxiety for the evils that must 
 befall them, left without a leader ! Oh, Canary ! 
 persevere and be cheerful till we meet ! Oh, 
 Chamomile, let not energy fail in this great adver- 
 sity ! Oh, Larch ! be audacious to the bounds 
 of extravagance ! Oh, Mustard ! heed not your 
 calamities ! And oh, Gooseberry ! live in hope 
 of re-union with Tuflongbo, until your virtuous 
 expectations are crowned with success ! ” And 
 here the great Adventurer broke down, over- 
 
128 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 come with his tender feelings and painful 
 fears. 
 
 Larkspur joined in his Leader’s natural explo- 
 sion of sorrow, hut presently recovering himself, 
 he endeavoured to impart a little balm of comfort 
 where it was so much needed. 
 
 “ Most excellent T uflongbo ! ” cried he ; “ let 
 me beseech you not to give way to grief. Click- 
 aclop, no doubt, takes a walk every day, and, 
 perhaps, by degrees, he will pick up all our lost 
 companions, and bring them here, as he brought 
 us, for feathers in his cap. Once thus reunited, 
 we will make joint efforts to escape; and that 
 will not be very difficult, if the Ogre and Ogress 
 lock up their heads in the cupboard every night.” 
 Tuflongbo now calmed himself and looked his 
 troubles steadily in the face, until, at length, the 
 healthy elasticity of his mind recovered its spring, 
 and he was enabled to make light of them. 
 
 “ After all,” said he, cheerfully, “ we have but 
 found that of which we set out in honest search 
 — adventures amongst Ogres ! Too much success 
 would have been bad for us at the beginning; 
 eh, Larkspur, what say you ? ” 
 
 u I say, that whatever is, is best ! ” replied 
 Larkspur. “ But, Tuflongbo, shouldn’t you like 
 to know what the heads are doing up on their 
 cupboard shelf? I should. Let us put off our 
 
CLICKACLOP AND HIS OGEESS. 
 
 129 
 
 emotions and meditations till we have nothing 
 else to amuse us, and get a little further insight 
 into the private life of Clickaclop and his Ogress.” 
 The Leader honourably thanked his light- 
 hearted follower for reminding him of his duty, 
 and, peering inquisitively about the vast hall, he 
 perceived that the Ogress had laid the key of the 
 cupboard on the window-ledge. To discover it 
 and to possess himself of it was but the work of 
 a moment; and with a like promptitude of exe- 
 cution, he put it in the lock, turned it round, 
 and very stealthily opened the door. Larkspur 
 then, with his customary agility, sprang up on 
 the top shelf, and the next instant Tuflongbo 
 was beside him. 
 
 And what were those marvellous heads doing 
 in their elegant retirement ? 
 
 They were doing nothing particular. All their 
 mouths were wide open, certainly, and all their 
 noses — and there were twelve of the Ogre’s and 
 four of his wife’s — were snoring as loud as they 
 could snore in a most inharmonious concert, which 
 suggested another reason for their nocturnal re- 
 moval ; possibly they were taken off because the 
 abominable noise of them was found to have a 
 tendency to keep their owners awake. But this 
 is merely speculative. Larkspur mentioned it. 
 remembering that the practice had been abolished 
 
 9 
 
130 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 among Fairykins as one wholly subversive of 
 domestic peace ; but Tuflongbo was inclined to 
 maintain his first view, that the heads were taken 
 off for the prevention of bad dreams, and perhaps 
 his idea may be found to rest on a firmer basis 
 than that of his sprightly companion. 
 
 Larkspur could not help laughing at the ridi- 
 culously helpless apect of the features that looked 
 formidable enough when fixed on their rightful 
 shoulders; but his Leader thought the spectacle 
 a most melancholy one ; and though he made a 
 sketch of it as a duty, he vms in haste to quit 
 the concert, and lock up the musical-box ; for 
 he had a fine ear, and a fastidious taste, which 
 endured tortures so long as it continued open. 
 At his desire, therefore, it was closed, and the 
 key being restored to its former place on the 
 window-ledge, the two Adventurers stowed them- 
 selves once more in the band of the Ogre’s cap, 
 and feeling happily assured that their lives were, 
 for the present, in no peril, they broke a crust 
 together, thought of their scattered comrades, of 
 their fathers and mothers safe and sound at home, 
 and then with quiet minds, committed themselves 
 to several hours of placid and needful rest. 
 
 When they awoke in the morning, the Ogress 
 was up, with her head on all right and tight; 
 but Clickaclop still slumbered on his pillow, and 
 
CLICKACLOP AND HIS OGRESS. 
 
 131 
 
 his three heads showed themselves just on the 
 brink of twelve portentous yawns within the open 
 cupboard. The yawns gradually expanded, stretch 
 beyond stretch, until it seemed inevitable that a 
 hair’s breadth more must crack their cheeks ; but 
 they stopped short on the verge of the catastrophe, 
 and then all the eyes winked and blinked, opened 
 and stared. The Ogre rolled himself off his bed, 
 sat up in his chair, and intimated to his obedient 
 wife that it was time to put his heads on. She 
 immediately quitted the work she had in hand, 
 took them down one after the other, and fitted 
 them on tenderly ; and then Clickaclop shook 
 himself and felt ready for his breakfast. 
 
 Before going out to seek it, however, he re- 
 quested to be shown the feathers he had brought 
 home in his cap last night, and the Ogress reached 
 them down from the hook on the wall with an 
 air of the greatest complaisance. The adven- 
 turers strove to be very calm while Clickaclop 
 examined them, and extricated them from the 
 band of the cap which he wanted to wear; but 
 their hearts beat very fast indeed, and T uflongbo’s 
 chameleon suit lost much of its vivid colour as 
 he was laid helpless in the Ogress’s hand. Lark- 
 spur soon joined him there in a similar frame of 
 despondency, but finding, at length, that no harm 
 was intended them, their nerves recovered the 
 
 9—2 
 
132 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 shock* and they looked bright again, which pleased 
 the amiable eyes of the Ogre’s wife. 
 
 “ If you can find me a few more such dainty 
 trimmings, Clickaclop, I shall be delighted,” said 
 she, dangling the doleful captives in a ray of sun- 
 shine, to enhance the splendour of their brilliant 
 hues. 
 
 “ I will do my utmost to gratify my fair 
 Buzbuz,” was the Ogre’s gallant reply. And 
 then he set forth to seek his breakfast, fresh, 
 hungry, and vigorous as a hunter. 
 
 As soon as Clickaclop was gone, his faithful 
 wife began to set the castle in order from one 
 end to the other ; but wherever she went, she 
 carried the Adventurers with her, and this gave 
 them great opportunities for making notes on the 
 domestic arrangements of this singular family of 
 Ogres. The Qastle was a very grand place indeed, 
 containing innumerable chambers filled with gold 
 and silver, and beautiful suits of armour ; but the 
 most interesting scene of all was the private par- 
 lour where Buzbuz kept her caps that she was 
 tired of or had worn out. 
 
 When she brought Tuflongbo and Larkspur 
 into this elegant retreat, she laid them on her 
 pin-cushion, which was as big as a moderate- 
 sized feather bed, and gazed leisurely round upon 
 her caps, which hung against the wall in every 
 
CLICKACLOP AND HIS OGRESS. 
 
 133 
 
 degree qf limpness and faded antiquity ; no doubt 
 they had been gay when they were new, but 
 now they w~ere deplorable old rubbish, and her 
 delight at receiving fresh feathers from Clickaclop 
 to decorate another was very natural. 
 
 She was in no haste to make the cap, however, 
 and before it was accomplished to her satisfaction, 
 the Adventurers had been put in and pulled out, 
 and arranged and rearranged a score of times 
 at least; but when it began to darken towards 
 night, she was obliged to make up her mind how 
 she would wear them, and finally they were pinned 
 like two bows to the cap-crown, their knapsacks 
 and walking-sticks being tastefully disposed cross- 
 wise over the centre of each. Buzbuz was hum- 
 ming a tune as she performed her millinery task, 
 or she might have heard the groans of her helpless 
 victims, wrung from the depths of their aggrieved 
 feelings. 
 
 “ I cannot imagine anything much more humili- 
 ating than this ! ” sighed Larkspur, ready to weep. 
 “ And oh ! Tuflongbo, there is such a sharp black 
 pin running into me somewhere ! ” 
 
 u Bear it, my friend, bear it ! ” gasped the 
 leader ; u it is better to make gay the company 
 cap of a Buzbuz than to make a last journey 
 down the red lane of a Gulmalog. Take my word 
 for it, no misfortune is so bad but that philosophy 
 
134 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 may console us with the certainty of there being 
 a worse* which we are not called on to suffer. 
 Even now my heart feels a more acute pang for 
 my missing comrades than for myself. Where 
 are they ? where are they ? ” 
 
 “ Lucky not to be here* anyhow ! ” murmured 
 Larkspur* wriggling himself free from the torture 
 of the pin. 
 
 Tuflongbo made no answer* but gave his mind 
 to making the best of his misery* when Buzbuz 
 airily placed her new cap on her head* and went 
 down from her private parlour into the great 
 hall to await her lord’s return. The Adventurers 
 could just see each other over the top of it* and 
 that was all ; but their position was by no means 
 a bad look-out for what might happen next* and 
 you may be sure they kept their wits alert and 
 their eyes open when the hour for Clickaclop’s 
 arrival drew near. The Leader could hear his 
 heart beat in the agony of his expectations* and 
 when* at last* the earth began to shake under the 
 Ogre’s approaching footsteps* it leapt into his throat 
 and almost choked him — not quite* for he had yet 
 to live* to grow old* and to go through a world 
 of marvellous adventures ! 
 
135 
 
 VIII. 
 
 CLICKACLOP COMES HOME WITH MORE 
 FEATHERS IN HIS CAP. 
 
 Three loud blasts through the key-hole announced 
 that Clickaclop was there. Then the gates rolled 
 wide open, and the Ogre entered, in the most 
 provoking good-humour, wagging all his three 
 heads with lively exultation. 
 
 “ Welcome, my brave Clickaclop! Have you 
 brought me any more of the frisky little feathers ?” 
 cried Buzbuz ; and immediately from the peak of 
 the Ogre’s cap resounded a strangled “ Bow-wow- 
 wow-ow-ow!” which Tuflongbo recognized with 
 surprise as the voice of Snub, dog to Chickweed 
 the Wiseacre. 
 
 “Behold what I have brought you, my trea- 
 sure ! ” replied Clickaclop, and held his heads still 
 that she might admire his captives. 
 
 “Oh, how glorious grand!” shrieked she, and 
 claspt her hands in ecstasy at the lovely view. 
 
 Tuflongbo anxiously craned forward his head to 
 look also, and with mingled feelings of joy and 
 woe, he recognized in the fringe that ornamented 
 the Ogre’s cap-brim his five lost followers, Larch, 
 Mustard, Chamomile, Gooseberry, and Canary, 
 hanging, heads downwards, in the most ignominious 
 
136 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 fashion. Perched on the peak in the manner of 
 a crest was Snub, barking vociferously, while his 
 poor master clung to his stump of a tail and 
 drifted out on the breeze behind in the most abject 
 distress. 
 
 The Leader’s first kindly thought was to sound 
 three notes on his whistle, and at the familiar tune 
 a thrill of hope was seen to twinkle through his 
 followers from top to toe, while the fringe on the 
 Ogre’s cap vibrated as if they were clapping their 
 hands. Snub also knew the sounds, and stopt 
 short in the midst of a bark to discover the where- 
 abouts of his dear master’s friend; immediately 
 he saw him, he made one gallant spring, and 
 hauling Chickweed through the air behind him, 
 leapt from his post on Clickaclop’s head to Buzbuz’s 
 fine aquiline nose, and after struggling there for a 
 moment to gain his balance, scrambled up on her 
 cap, and lay down by Tuflongbo, overwhelmed 
 with tenderest emotion, and licked his hands and 
 his face — for he was not a Court-dog and had 
 never learnt etiquette. 
 
 Tuflongbo welcomed his caresses with gladness, 
 and Larkspur reached up a hand to pat him too, 
 and there was such a commotion altogether on the 
 top of Buzbuz’s cap that she took it off, saying it 
 made her head ache, and spent the rest of the 
 evening without one. Clickaclop also laid his 
 
CLICKACLOP COMES HOME. 
 
 137 
 
 down by his wife’s, and thus the Adventurers 
 were once more reunited, with the addition of 
 Chickweed and Snub to their company. It behoved 
 them, however, to be cautious how they expressed 
 their satisfaction, lest they should affront their 
 immense captors ; and Snub was entreated to 
 moderate the expression of his natural indignation, 
 for fear mischief should come of it. So his noisy 
 “ bow-wow ” sank into a low growl, and soon, to 
 everybody’s relief, he fell into a snappish dream ; 
 from which he did not awake until Buzbuz began 
 to screw off her husband’s heads at bed-time — a 
 proceeding which struck him literally dumb with 
 horror and surprise. 
 
 Such of the Adventurers as had not before wit- 
 nessed this operation were much amused thereby, 
 and some of them remarked that it was an ex- 
 cellent way for abolishing curtain-lectures, and 
 desired Tuflongbo to make a note of it ; which he 
 did on the same page with the previous specula- 
 tions that had arisen out of the subject. He also 
 registered in his journal the happy event of the 
 return of his followers, and, in his sketch-book, 
 he made a spirited drawing of Clickaclop as he 
 appeared when he came home with feathers in his 
 cap — a drawing which afterwards excited much 
 wonder and admiration in the art-circles of Shene- 
 land, and was placed ultimately in Queen Os- 
 
138 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 munda’s royal portfolio, with other original designs 
 by great masters. 
 
 Clickaclop and Buzbuz acted precisely as they 
 had done the night before, and as soon as their 
 heads were safely locked up in the cupboard, and 
 their bodies were gone to sleep, the Adventurers 
 felt at their ease, and Tuflongbo proposed that 
 they should begin by setting each other at liberty. 
 This was soon accomplished, and after stretch- 
 ing their cramped limbs and shaking themselves 
 straight in their clothes, they sat down in a ring 
 on the table, and held a solemn talk over their 
 situation, which they wound up by a brief recital 
 of their respective calamities since they were fished 
 for by the dreadful Ogre Gulmalog in his odious 
 dungeon, and then separately turned adrift in the 
 dark night, on its being discovered that they were 
 too good to be eaten. 
 
 “ Beloved brothers in adventure ! ” said the 
 Leader, opening the council, with a voice of emotion, 
 as soon as silence was established in the circle; 
 “ my friends and faithful followers, behold us 
 again reunited after our grievous and anxious 
 dispersion! Words are too weak to express my 
 sentiments on this sublime event, therefore suffer 
 me to leave them to your own warm imaginations, 
 and let us celebrate it by relating in as few phrases 
 as are consistent, the persecutions that befell each 
 
CLICKACLOP COMES HOME. 
 
 139 
 
 of us while we were divided. Mustard, you were 
 the first to be caught by the magic hook of the 
 ferocious Gulmalog — to you, therefore, belongs the 
 precedence. Stand up and speak, but be not 
 long-winded!” So the reckless Mustard stood 
 up, shook his yellow locks as if shaking care from 
 him, and delivered himself as follows : — 
 
 My noble Captain and dear friends, when I 
 disappeared through the treacherous trap before 
 your woeful eyes, I did not mind except for the 
 poignant sorrow that I left in your kind hearts. 
 The hideous Ogre did nothing but laugh while he 
 exultingly promised himself a dainty supper on 
 your humble comrade’s bones ; but as soon as he 
 attempted to bite me, I returned the compliment, 
 with interest, and in a towering rage he spat me 
 out of his mouth — in what direction I was too 
 confused to observe. Were it not that modesty 
 forbids, I should wish to add that an invisible 
 voice declared me too good to he eaten — but I will 
 pass that over. Fancy plays strange tricks with us 
 sometimes, and the shock certainly reduced me to 
 a state of insensibility, from which I did not 
 recover until I found myself airily elevated to 
 the band of Clickaclop’s cap. The wind and the 
 motion combined restored me to my faculties, and 
 after a long day of distress, I was brought hither 
 
140 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 in company with my worthy friends, as yon already 
 know ; and that is all I have to tell.” 
 
 The Leader next called upon Chamomile for his 
 story, and the energetic little Fairykin immediately 
 stood forth. 
 
 “I never despair under the gloomiest circum- 
 stances,” said he ; “ and when Gulmalog proposed 
 to appease his appetite by devouring me without 
 even the ceremony of salt, I implored him for his 
 own credit’s sake, to reflect on the enormity of 
 what he was going to do, and he admitted me to 
 a parley. I then convinced him that from the 
 adversity I had always suffered, I should prove an 
 exceedingly bitter morsel to whomsoever I might 
 furnish a meal; an unseen voice also pleaded in 
 my favour a goodness to which I will only casually 
 allude, and to my thankful astonishment, the cruel 
 Ogre rose from his seat in a passion, opened a 
 little window in the wall and flung me out. Cold, 
 hungry, and athirst, I wandered to and fro the 
 desert plain until Clickaclop happened to pass by 
 that way; he immediately picked me up, and 
 stuck me beside the pungent Mustard for a 
 feather in his cap.” 
 
 Gooseberry was next invited to tell his tale, and 
 rising on tiptoe, he looked about for applause, 
 received it, and began. “ Honoured Tuflongbo! 
 
CLICKACLOP COMES HOME. 
 
 141 
 
 You know my disposition, you know that I live in 
 a state of calm expectancy, and that whatever 
 happens can therefore never come amiss to me. 
 When Gulmalog hauled me out of his treacherous 
 dungeon, I merely composed myself and looked 
 for something turning up worthy of attention ; but 
 after growling over me for a minute or two, the 
 Ogre tossed me like a pancake, caught me again, 
 and then threw me out of his parlour-window 
 uninjured. This I had not anticipated, which 
 proves the truth of that great axiom of philo- 
 sophers — c There is nothing certain but the un- 
 foreseen.’ I also received mysterious testimony 
 to my hidden virtues, but this was no more than I 
 had a right to expect, and it in no wise influenced 
 my spirits. I scrambled to my feet and wandered 
 away dejected in search of my Leader and my 
 friends, until Clickaclop overtook and captured me. 
 The rest you know.” 
 
 Larch was now bidden to speak, and he spoke 
 as follows, with the audacious breadth of metaphor 
 peculiar to his character : — 
 
 “ When I left you, most noble Tuflongbo, I 
 threatened to pull Gulmalog’s nose, and I pulled 
 it ; I became a wasp to him, a mosquito, a hornet, 
 a very swarm of gnats, until he went down on his 
 knees to me and besought my excellence to go 
 away ; and having wreaked a just vengeance on 
 
142 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 his hideous countenance, I gave him a final sting 
 and departed. After flying leagues in pursuit of 
 my scattered comrades, in an evil hour Clickaclop 
 caught me and brought me hither to grace his 
 short-lived triumph, as all of you have seen.” 
 
 It was Canary’s turn to speak next, and he gave 
 his narrative with singular modesty and effect. 
 “ My gallant Captain,” said the cheerful little 
 F airykin ; “ before Gulmalog closed the trap after 
 I w’as taken, I began to sing, and sang with such 
 persevering sweetness that his hard heart was 
 touched, and at a word from an unseen advocate 
 he let me go. I had a weary day and night of 
 loneliness, but at last Clickaclop saw me and added 
 me to his borrowed plumes; for which I thank 
 him, since my capture has ended in restoring me 
 to the society of my Leader and my friends.” 
 Larkspur was then called on, and explained 
 himself in glowing language. “ Grand Tuf- 
 longbo ! ” were his words ; u it was not permitted 
 me to rescue you in the original and expansive 
 style I promised when dragged out of your pre- 
 sence by the magic hook ; for the instant Gulmalog 
 got me into his parlour, he seized an enormous 
 battledore, and using me for a shuttlecock, we 
 played a capital game together. The silly fellow 
 meant it for mischief, but any one who knows my 
 lightness and elasticity will be sure I found it fun. 
 
CLICKACLOP COMES HOME. 143 
 
 and even regretted when it was over; but once 
 flying higher than usual* I went right out at the 
 centre of the roof and caught hold of the first 
 object that presented itself to steady my descent. 
 This first object happened to be the peak of 
 Clickaclop’s cap* and finding so many interesting 
 novelties to observe as the Ogre stumbled along* I 
 remained there for some time undiscovered; but 
 attempting presently to escape* he felt me* and 
 stuck me securely in the band* where I floated in 
 great anguish of mind until I heard your melo- 
 dious whistle. Oh* my Captain* then my heart 
 gave a great bound and I espied you lurking 
 amongst the reeds. From that moment I was 
 happy. Soon you joined me in my irksome cap- 
 tivity* and we exchanged consolations until we 
 arrived at the wonderful castle* where w T e are all 
 once more reunited in a loving band of brother 
 adventurers ! ” 
 
 It now only remained to inquire of Chickweed* 
 whose black gown was in ribbons* how he and 
 Snub came to be wandering so far from home and 
 in so unprotected a condition — though belonging 
 to the venerable society of Wiseacres — as to have 
 fallen into the clutch of an Ogre. With visible 
 reluctance the dejected wight entered into a hesi- 
 tating account of himself* but encouraged by the 
 great sympathy of Tuflongbo and his companions* 
 
144 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 his spirits gradually revived and he was able to 
 speak freely. 
 
 “ When you departed on your adventures, mag- 
 nanimous Tuflongbo,” said he, “ I for a brief space 
 forgot my troubles in an old crow’s nest, whither 
 the kind-hearted Wild Sorrel had conveyed me. 
 But when I had made myself master of the prin- 
 ciples of its construction and the interest of it 
 ceased, my sorrow and regret returned on me 
 poignantly. I passed an exceedingly bad night. 
 The following day it was my painful duty to give 
 a lecture on chronology to the students of the 
 highest form, and I muddled my dates in the most 
 excruciating style. Rudbeakia justly reprimanded 
 me, and not only that, but told me that it was my 
 week to superintend the classes that did sums and 
 problems. I will not wring your kind hearts by 
 going into particulars — suffice it to say, that I 
 ordered one of my pupils to divide two millions 
 three thousand one hundred and nothing into the 
 cube root of seventeen and a half decimal fractions 
 of three farthings a piece ; and that I asked another 
 what would be the cost of fifty-two lambs’ tails if a 
 Wiseacre’s tongue wagged foolishly three hundred 
 and sixty-five times in the year? This last pro- 
 position was considered as disrespectful to the 
 honourable society, and a deputation was sent, 
 begging me to take my name off the books forth- 
 
CLICKACLOP COMES HOME. 
 
 145 
 
 with. I but too joyfully complied! My aged 
 guardian threw his wig into the fire, in sheer 
 despair of my ever coming to honour ; and Snub 
 and I ran away in the night to escape his grievous 
 reproaches, leaving our characters to the care of 
 that witty fellow. Wild Sorrel, who, I know, will 
 speak up for us with boldness and courage. We 
 had been out only two days enjoying our liberty 
 extravagantly, when Clickaclop came by and found 
 us Beetle-hunting. ‘Two more feathers for my 
 Buzbuz ! ’ cried he, and perched us on the peak of 
 his cap. I can never sufficiently extol the courage 
 of my faithful Snub, who supported me under 
 these trying circumstances, and brought me safely 
 through them; but for the beautiful balance he 
 maintained in our perilous exaltation, I must 
 inevitably have fallen to the ground, and have 
 been dashed in pieces twenty times. We will 
 never part as long as we live ! Snub, my friend, 
 where are you?” 
 
 Ay, where was Snub ? where was he ? Words 
 almost fail me to tell where he was, his conduct 
 had been so monstrous ! He was under the table 
 worrying Buzbuz s dress-cap to tatters ! And he 
 had worried it until she would not have known it 
 again — no, not even in her spectacles! He had 
 tried his teeth on Clickaclop’s, too, but that was of 
 tougher material, and was not much the worse ; 
 
 10 
 
146 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 but when his master* who had been extolling his 
 virtue* and the band of Adventurers* understood 
 the terrible extent of his misbehaviour* they were 
 almost overwhelmed with dismay. It was next to 
 impossible that Buzbuz could forgive the tragical 
 ending of her sweet new cap* and nothing was 
 apparently left to them but to make a hurried 
 escape from the scene of its destruction ere she 
 awoke ! 
 
 IX. 
 
 DESPERATE CRISIS IN CLICKACLOP’S CASTLE. 
 
 “ Dear Chickweed* oblige me by at once laying 
 an embargo on Snub ! ” cried the Leader* instantly 
 confronting with firmness the new dangers that 
 threatened himself and his followers. 
 
 So Snub was snatched from his prey, and 
 plunged into his master’s pocket* with only his nose 
 out for air ; and when he rebelliously struggled to 
 get his liberty* Chickweed with his elbow' squeezed 
 him as if he were bagpipes* until his spirits fell* 
 and he attained to a repentant frame of mind. It 
 was of no use endeavouring to impress on him the 
 mischief he had done* for though an intelligent 
 
CRISIS IN CLICKACLOP’S CASTLE. 147 
 
 dog with regard to things on two legs or four, he 
 had no sense whatever of the nature of dress-caps, 
 unless, indeed, he cherished a secret animosity 
 against all caps by reason of the misery a black 
 one had inflicted on his beloved master. 
 
 Tuflongbo commenced operations by calling on 
 all his band to unlock the great gates of the castle 
 by blowing in a united blast through the keyhole, 
 as they had seen Clickaclop do ; but though they 
 blew with the heartiest good-will, the gates stirred 
 not an inch ! They then tried using the spikes of 
 their staves to force them open, but to no purpose 
 whatever. 
 
 While thus engaged, hot and eager to effect their 
 escape, they heard a terrible noise without, and all 
 at once there came a loud knock, as of another 
 Ogre knocking with his club ! At this crisis, 
 Tuflongbo’s genius, almost dormant until now, 
 suddenly fired up ; he felt what must be said, and 
 he said it ; he saw w T hat must be done , and he did 
 it, without fear and without hesitation, prov- 
 ing himself master of the emergency on the 
 instant. 
 
 “ This knocking on the gates is the summons of 
 an enemy !” said he* “ No friend knocks so loud , 
 so long , or so late — but our escape has, for the pre- 
 sent, become impossible* W e will, therefore, form 
 an alliance, offensive and defensive, with Clicka* 
 
 10—2 
 
148 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 clop and his amiable Ogress, and wake them 
 up!” 
 
 “ But how about Buzbuz, and her dress-cap ? ” 
 whispered Chickweed, despondently. 
 
 “ I shall persuade her that she is too young to 
 wear one,” replied Tuflongbo, and turned to more 
 serious matters. 
 
 At this conjuncture the knocking was repeated 
 very imperatively, and Clickaclop began to stir 
 uneasily on his bed; Buzbuz moved also; and 
 Tuflongbo sprang to the cupboard where all the 
 heads were beginning to open their eyes in wonder 
 and alarm, and besought them to come down and 
 be screwed on without loss of time. At this urgent 
 and unusual entreaty, they winked in a confused 
 manner, till Buzbuz hastily snatched hers and fixed 
 it in its place, after which she assisted Clickaclop, 
 who was clumsily striving to help himself ; so that 
 at the third summons they were ready and col- 
 lected, and beginning to gather their wits about 
 them. Tuflongbo now breathed freely, and having 
 formed his little band into a compact body behind 
 the left wing of the gates, he admonished Chick- 
 weed to suppress Snub, lest he should prematurely 
 burst out and spoil all ; and waited with a mind 
 calm, cool, and courageous, for the savage assailant 
 who might every instant be expected to break his 
 way in. 
 
CRISIS IN CLICKACLOP’S CASTLE. 149 
 
 “ Open the door ! ” growled a big voice through 
 a chink ; but the besieged stood firm to their posts, 
 and declined. 
 
 “ Have ready your staves!” said Tuflongbo, 
 passing the word of command to his followers, who 
 instantly obeyed. 
 
 There then ensued a pause of dead silence, 
 during which you might have heard a pin drop. 
 It was as if the enemy were taking counsel with 
 himself how next to proceed, and as if Clickaclop 
 and Buzbuz were endeavouring to overhear his 
 thoughts. The pair looked exceedingly pale and 
 alarmed, and the Leader of the Adventurers strove 
 by many pantomimic gestures of valour and 
 assurance, to dissipate their tremor, but all in vain ; 
 immense as they were in height and in girth, they 
 did not seem to have the courage of mice, and now 
 they were as nervous and fidgety as mice in a trap. 
 
 “ Open the door ! ” again growled the big voice 
 through the chink, and again the besieged main- 
 tained a silent defiance. 
 
 The patience of the enemy now appeared to be 
 well nigh exhausted, and retiring a few paces off, 
 he drove up against the gates with all his mighty 
 bulk, and tried to burst them open ; but they held 
 fast, being sound oak and good iron. 
 
 A howl of vexation betrayed the foe’s disap- 
 pointment, and Buzbuz, on hearing it, whispered 
 
150 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 fearfully under her breath, “ Oh ! patter, patter, 
 patter, what shall we do ? Tricks, trumps, and 
 heeltaps, here’s Squintaskew ! ” 
 
 Clickaclop pressed her hand, and would have 
 spoken kind words of comfort had he been able, 
 but his teeth chattered so exceedingly he could not 
 get one out. The Ogress was not yet totally 
 overcome, but tears as large as pennies rolled down 
 her plump cheeks, and when the foe rushed exas- 
 perated on the gates a second time, she clasped 
 her fingers, and made ready to take refuge in a fit 
 of hysterics in case of the worst. 
 
 “ Oh, Click, my Clickaclop, he’s at the door ! 
 Don’t you hear his howlings ? Don’t you hear his 
 roar ? ” gasped she, in accents of terror. It would 
 have been strange, indeed, had not Clickaclop 
 heard them, for they made the welkin ring. 
 
 Squintaskew was evidently ignorant of the secret 
 of the lock ; for seven times did he bodily hurl his 
 battering-ram against the gates, and seven times 
 did he fail to make any impression on them. The 
 Adventurers were now getting into the spirit of the 
 assault, and really beginning to enjoy it ; when 
 during one fatally incautious moment. Snub got 
 more than his nose out of Chickweed’s pocket, 
 and, being next the keyhole, barked through it 
 with such vehemence that the doors sprang wide 
 open, and Squintaskew, who happened at the iden- 
 
CRISIS IN CLICKACLOP’S CASTLE. 151 
 
 tical instant to be driving up full tilt against them, 
 fell headlong with an awful crash across the floor 
 of the castle hall! Clickaclop and Buzbuz broke 
 forth into shrieks of fear, but quick as thought, 
 Tuflongbo manoeuvred his followers over the 
 prostrate foe, and while he was dizzied and con- 
 fused with his catastrophe, made him a secure 
 prisoner, linking his ancles to the columns of the 
 gates and his wrists to the table-legs. Recalled to 
 a sense of propriety, Buzbuz lent her aid, and 
 Clickaclop did his little best, but without Tuflongbo 
 and his gallant companions all would have been lost! 
 
 Up to the moment of this crisis, scarcely a word 
 had been spoken amongst the Adventurers ; but 
 the Leader now gave them permission to cheer, 
 which they did most triumphantly. Squintaskew 
 writhed under the chorus, the more especially 
 because they beat time to it, first with a tattoo, and 
 then with a game of single-stick on his humiliated 
 head ; and being at last irritated beyond endurance, 
 he threw it up, and made such a sour grimace, 
 that all the milk in the neighbourhood crackt ! 
 Tuflongbo eyed him with natural curiosity, and 
 drew his portrait, which was pronounced by critics 
 so ugly and fearsome, that although it hangs in 
 the National Gallery of Sheneland, it is felt 
 judicious to have a veil before it, for fear of the 
 Court Elves being shocked. 
 
152 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Their enemy being now safe, Clickaclop and 
 Buzbuz thought of taking off their heads again, 
 and finishing their interrupted night’s rest, but 
 Tuflongbo would not hear of such a dull proceed- 
 ing, and reminded them politely of the duties of 
 hospitality. 
 
 “We must leave you at daybreak,” said he, 
 “ and we are hungry ! ” 
 
 At that word the heart of Buzbuz was softened, 
 and she immediately declared that she would make 
 them a noble feast. 
 
 It was no sooner said than done, and the table 
 smoked with buttered eggs, toast and bacon ; with 
 partridge pie, roast pig, and damson tarts ; with 
 omelets, all sweet and savoury, and hasty- pudding, 
 with plenty of delicious treacle. The Adven- 
 turers had not fared so well since they left home, 
 and they enjoyed themselves exceedingly; to some 
 of them the dainties receiving a new flavour from 
 the agonized contortions of Squintaskew, who 
 smelt the good things, but was not invited to share 
 them. Tuflongbo, however, checked their mirth, 
 reminding them that the brave could afford to be 
 generous, and then, by way of setting a magna- 
 nimous example, he handed the conquered Ogre 
 an enormous bowl of hot plum-porridge, which 
 stood smoking under his nose all through break- 
 fast, without his being any the better for it, 
 
CRISIS IN CLICKACLOP’S CASTLE. 
 
 153 
 
 because his wrists were linked to the legs of the 
 table* and he could not help himself. Snub 
 showed him how to eat it* but his pride refused to 
 profit by the lesson ; and the shrewd animal* there- 
 fore* stowed the plum-porridge away in his own 
 wallet* with the remark that it was a pity it should 
 get cold and be wasted. 
 
 By this time the travellers were satisfied* and at 
 the suggestion of the grateful Larkspur they 
 danced a beautiful jig on the table to gratify 
 Buzbuz* who laughed exceedingly : laughed* in- 
 deed* until she was obliged to hold her sides ; but 
 all at once her eyes fell on the fragments of her 
 ruined cap* which Snub was touzling by way of 
 relish after his breakfast. She then checked her 
 mirth with a long-drawn sob* and having rescued 
 the beautiful remains* pulled a long face as a pre- 
 paration for tears ; but the gallant Tuflongbo 
 stayed the flood by chucking her airily under the 
 chin* and asking why she should conceal her lovely 
 florid locks* which must be the admiration of all 
 beholders, under a cap fit only for her grand- 
 mother. The delicate compliment implied by his 
 inquiry went straight to her susceptible heart* and 
 from that day forward she cultivated curls instead 
 of caps* which made her look at least ten years 
 younger. 
 
 This anxious difficulty being thus disposed of. 
 
154 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Tuflongbo and his companions prepared to leave 
 the castle* and Clickaclop shook hands all round 
 with great gratitude between two drowsy nods. 
 He was a very sleepy-headed fellow* a vegetarian* 
 and a member of the Ogres’ peace society* but 
 well-meaning and respectable* though he would 
 never put himself out of the way for anybody — 
 not even for people who had done him incalculable 
 services* such as he could never have accomplished 
 for himself. But Buzbuz was of a more noble 
 character ; and by way of testifying her sense of the 
 benefit the Adventurers had conferred upon her 
 and her slumberous spouse, she offered to lend 
 them her favourite palfrey. Heehaw, to carry 
 them one stage on their journey. 
 
 The Leader expressed his thanks and cordial 
 acceptance of her civility, and Heehaw being 
 brought out in front of the castle gates, the large 
 saddle of the Ogress was placed on his back, and 
 the Adventurers forthwith mounted ; Larkspur 
 seating himself comfortably between his ears, and 
 Chickweed and Snub being accommodated with 
 places looking towards his tail. Tuflongbo had a 
 conspicuous position on the crutch* and the rest of 
 his followers grouped themselves behind him as 
 conveniently as they could. 
 
 All was now ready to start, but first the Leader 
 asked of Buzbuz, “ What are you going to do 
 
SNUB QUICKENS THE MOVEMENTS OF TIIE OGRE SQUINTASKEW 
 
 p. 155. 
 
CRISIS IN CLICK ACLOP’S CASTLE. 155 
 
 with that piece of lumber ? ” pointing to the still 
 prostrate Squintaskew. Buzbuz looked puzzled, 
 and said she did not know. 
 
 “ Shall I get rid of him for you ? ” suggested 
 Tuflongbo. 
 
 “ Oh ! if you would ! ” replied she, delighted. 
 
 “ Sever his bonds then, and we will give him 
 his order to march ! ” So the Ogress very gingerly 
 loosed Squintaskew’s ancles from the door-posts 
 and his wrists from the table-legs, and retired to a 
 safe distance to see what would happen next. 
 
 “ Get up, you Squintaskew ! ” then cried the 
 Captain of the Adventurers, “ and go about your 
 business ! ” 
 
 The frightful Ogre, whose eyes glared every 
 way at once, heaved himself to his feet like an 
 immense sack, and stood, sulky and threatening, at 
 liberty. Tuflongbo gave him one moment to 
 consider of it, and as he did not stir, but began to 
 put on insolent airs of defiance, the Leader sternly 
 said, “ Snub, do your duty ! ” when Snub, who 
 had only been waiting for the word, leapt down 
 from his place on Heehaw’s tail, and hurried, 
 worried, scurried, tore and barked round the legs 
 of Squintaskew with such ferocity, that he was 
 glad to clap on his seven-leagued boots, and rush 
 howling over the plain like a whirlwind until he 
 
156 TUELONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 was out of sight, and Snub was a mere dancing 
 speck in the distance ! 
 
 The Adventurers waited for his return, and as 
 soon as he was comfortably reinstated at his master’s 
 feet, Heehaw sounded the trumpet, and marched 
 off amidst a chorus of farewells. Buzbuz wept 
 at losing the merry company, but it was a fine 
 morning, the sun was shining, and the country 
 was beautiful, so that the spirits of the travellers 
 were greatly exhilarated, and they looked forward 
 to new adventures with eager desire. As they 
 journeyed in this luxurious manner on the broad 
 back of Heehaw, there was no call for exertion 
 on their own parts ; therefore Canary was invited 
 to beguile the way with a song ; in the chorus of 
 which his comrades joined lustily. 
 
 “The sun is on the hill-top, 
 
 The dew is on the thorn, 
 
 Good-by to Clickaclop, 
 
 Welcome merry mom ! 
 
 Blow a kiss to Buzbuz, 
 
 Send a Zephyr with it, 
 
 She was kind to all of us. 
 
 And she will forgive it ! 
 
 Here we go merrily, merrily, 
 
 Here we go cheerily, cheerily, 
 
 Eight of us, and Snub makes nine ! ” 
 
157 
 
 X. 
 
 THE HOSPITABLE AND COURTEOUS GRIFFINS. 
 
 When the Adventurers were tired of singing, they 
 entered into conversation, and talked a great deal 
 of philosophy ; for it is wonderful how much more 
 readily philosophy adapts itself to colloquial than 
 to practical purposes. Heehaw was an excel- 
 lent and patient beast for some time; but when 
 he felt that he had gone far enough, he gave 
 the travellers a gentle hint of his opinion by 
 suddenly lying down and rolling over in the dust ; 
 then, kicking up his heels and roaring abominably, 
 he scampered back to his stable like a wind broke 
 loose, while each member of the gallant band lay 
 sprawling on the ground. They were dismounted 
 no less by their hobby Philosophy than by the 
 ungracious Heehaw, for they rose with a consider- 
 able display of temper, and it was several moments 
 before Tuflongbo’s voice succeeded in calming 
 their wrath and restoring discipline. 
 
 “ Heehaw has an unmannerly way of expressing 
 his wishes, it is true,” said he ; “ but let us not 
 emulate his lack of polish. Come, my friends, 
 fall into line, and march forward! Save your 
 breath to cool your next bowl of porridge. That 
 
158 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 was excellent stuff Buzbuz made for us this 
 morning. Now, fall in ! Attention ! — silence in 
 the ranks ! ” And the habit of obedience pre- 
 vailing over a natural desire to pursue and chastise 
 the recreant palfrey* the Adventurers closed up 
 two and two again* and journeyed on* their 
 Captain stepping out alone in the van. 
 
 It was about noon when Heehaw turned them 
 adrift* and they were approaching the borders 
 of a vast forest* that appeared pathless in its 
 gloom. Whether should they enter it or skirt 
 it became now a paramount consideration, and 
 Tuflongbo called a council to assist him in his 
 decision. The Captain and his band formed a 
 circle on a green bank* and were already deep 
 in the debate* when they became aware of two 
 Griffins drawing near* with fiery tails* curled at 
 the tips. They were apparently taking a consti- 
 tutional* for they sauntered leisurely along arm- 
 in-arm* talking* as they sauntered* in the fashion- 
 able drawl. They wore horn spectacles in the 
 highest mode ; but one defect they had, and that 
 a great one — they prevented the Griffins seeing 
 any object unless it were presented close under 
 their noses; and the consequence was that they 
 did not detect the presence of the travellers upon 
 their territory until they stumbled into the midst 
 of the council that was sitting on the green bank. 
 
HOSPITABLE AND COURTEOUS GRIFFINS. 159 
 
 “ What’s the matter* now ? Who* pray* are 
 you ? ” demanded the taller of the two strangers* 
 in the utmost amazement. 
 
 w We are the Queen of Sheneland’s Adven- 
 turers*” replied the Leader* with becoming dignity. 
 
 “ My respects to her Majesty* and I hope she 
 enjoys good health. I have a great respect for 
 her* and shall be proud if her gallant subjects 
 will honour me at supper. Allow me to present 
 my friend Rigituft. My name is Gantlett.” 
 
 “ Your courtesy charms me ! ” cried Tuflongbo. 
 “We are honoured in accepting your noble hos- 
 pitality ! ” And off they all went* Rigituft and 
 Gantlett leading the way into the forest* with their 
 fiery tails curled high in the air to act as torches, 
 an ingenious contrivance* which elicited great 
 applause from the travellers. 
 
 As they advanced into the wood* it became less 
 dense than it had appeared at first sight* and 
 broke away here and there into beautiful glades 
 and long mysterious vistas of the most alluring 
 aspect. Several of these the Adventurers passed 
 by unexplored* until* at length* they came to a 
 circular palace of crystal* at the doorway of which 
 waited a number of slaves. As Gantlett and Rigi- 
 tuft appeared* they all performed kootoo in the 
 most abject manner* and then waited in kneeling 
 positions for the commands of their masters. 
 
160 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 “ Prepare a feast ! ” cried Rigituft, and instantly 
 the slaves vanished like one shadow, swift, noiseless, 
 obedient. 
 
 The gates of the splendid dwelling then slowly 
 opened to the sound of sweetest music, and as 
 Tuflongbo entered the hall with his followers, a 
 dazzling lustre shone on their coats of chameleon 
 cloth, and instead of being travel-stained and 
 weary, they appeared all over of the loveliest and 
 most resplendent hues. The pillars of the crystal 
 hall were of lapis-lazuli and amber, the floor was 
 mosaicked in gems, and the roof rose in a lofty 
 dome, white and glittering as frosted silver. The 
 whole palace was radiant and glorious as that of 
 Queen Osmunda on the morning of her coronation, 
 save that it lacked the presence of the bevies 
 of bright Elves who smiled on that enchanting 
 scene. And even they were not wanting long; 
 for, as the slaves brought in the various dishes 
 for the feast, there appeared also six exquisite 
 Sprites, clad in dew-sparkling gossamer, and bear- 
 ing wild-rose cups full of rain for the travellers 
 to wash their hands ! Tuflongbo, duckweed, and 
 all the band felt exceedingly dismayed ; they had 
 been brought up as gentlemen, and it went quite 
 against their feelings to accept menial services 
 from such lovely Elves. The Leader made them 
 an elegant apology, and then, relieving them of 
 
HOSPITABLE AND COUBTEOUS GBIEEINS. 161 
 
 their burdens, he bade his followers wait on them- 
 selves, which they proceeded to do in the greatest 
 confusion. Let it be remembered that since they 
 left their homes after the farewell entertainment, 
 they had seen no beauties at all ; and this band 
 of sister-sprites dawmed on their unoccupied hearts 
 and imaginations like a vision of Elfin Court in 
 the wilds. 
 
 Tuflongbo had an instant presentiment of what 
 would happen — and it did happen. Larkspur, 
 Mustard, Chamomile, Larch, Canary, and Goose- 
 berry immediately fell in love, and did not appear 
 to know for the next quarter of an hour whether 
 they w r ere standing on their heads or their heels ! 
 At the end of that time, their ablutions having 
 been performed with extreme haste and awkward- 
 ness, they took their seats at the hospitable board ; 
 Tuflongbo being placed at the right hand of Rigi- 
 tuft and Chickweed at the left of Gantlett. Behind 
 them stood slaves, but behind each of the young 
 adventurers who had fallen in love stood meekly 
 the fair Elf of his choice. — Pearl behind Larkspur, 
 Puff behind Mustard, Cherry behind Chamomile, 
 Snow-Flake behind Larch, Flutter behind Canary, 
 and Fleece behind Gooseberry, an arrangement 
 of mingled pain and delight to their gallant and 
 tender feelings. 
 
 “ Fall to, my friends, and let us begin to enjoy 
 
 11 
 
162 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 ourselves ! ” now cried Gantlett, and instantly 
 everybody was served with delicious soup, which 
 all absorbed with great gusto, until their faces 
 shone, their eyes sparkled, and their spirits were 
 quite exhilarated. 
 
 It was during an incautious moment, brought 
 about by this genially expansive mood, that Tuf- 
 longbo happened to glance at his opposite enter- 
 tainer, Gantlett, and to see him grinning from 
 ear to ear in the most triumphant and malicious 
 fashion. His suspicions of a snare were instantly 
 awakened, and he gave a soft, low whistle, in- 
 timating to his comrades to be on their guard, 
 but by no means to betray fear. Then, assuming 
 an air of roystering gaiety, he made a feint of 
 flinging himself with all his heart into the pleasures 
 of the hour, and challenged Rigituft to a glass 
 of claret. Rigituft filled his glass to the brim, 
 and tossed it off with an air to the very good 
 health of his friend ; then Tuflongbo filled his 
 and pretended to do likewise, but not a drop 
 passed his lips. With the dexterity of a conjuror 
 he flung the liquor over his shoulder full in the 
 face of the treacherous slave who waited behind 
 him, and put him so much out of countenance 
 that he was obliged to retire precipitately. The 
 Leader then pledged Gantlett in the same manner, 
 and by a few secret words spoken in Faeriese, 
 
HOSPITABLE AND COURTEOUS GRIFFINS. 163 
 
 suggested to Chickweed and the rest to follow his 
 example* which they did ; seeming to drink goblet 
 for goblet with their hosts* but pouring all the claret 
 under the table most self-denyingly* for it looked 
 and smelt superb. It was* indeed* the very best 
 tap in the Griffins’ cellar; but they had put a 
 wicked sleeping-powder in it. 
 
 The drinking-match was continued all through 
 supper* which lasted three hours* and while Gant- 
 lett and Rigituft became every moment redder in 
 the face* and rounder in the eyes* Tuflongbo and 
 his brave little band remained as cool as cucumbers. 
 At last the Griffins* stupidly bewildered by their 
 own deep libations* and puzzled at the non-effect of 
 the claret upon their guests* fell into a doze* then 
 into a snore* and finally slid down in two ungainly 
 bundles on the floor. Then up leapt Tuflongbo* 
 and stamped out the flaming tip of Rigituft’s 
 torch-like tail* while Chickweed did the same by 
 Gantlett’s* and immediately it appeared that the 
 hospitable and courteous Griffins were neither more 
 nor less than Ogres in disguise. 
 
 “ We are delivered from our cruel captivity*” 
 exclaimed the lovely Elves in one sweet ringing 
 chorus* and they crowded round Tuflongbo to 
 kiss his hands in their gratitude. He received 
 their expressions of delight with gentle civility, 
 and then consigned each one singly to the care of 
 
 11—2 
 
164 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Ills people* while he considered what next it would 
 he most expedient to do under these very 
 surprising circumstances. 
 
 “ We have had proof enough that these Ogres 
 are a treacherous race*” said he. “ Shall we 
 prosecute our discoveries amongst them* or shall 
 we go elsewhere in search of adventures ? 
 Chickweed* my worthy friend* what do you 
 advise ? ” 
 
 “ Permit me first to ask how these fair Elves 
 are to be disposed of — it will not be fitting to carry 
 them through the hardships that are mere trifles to 
 us. Shall we send them home to Elfin Court 
 under the charge of my faithful Snub ? ” 
 
 At this unpractical and unfeeling proposition* a 
 general murmur arose amongst the juniors of the 
 band* and Chickweed was instantly sneered down 
 as a person who knew nothing whatever about 
 delicate matters. He therefore subsided into 
 silence* and examined the structure of Gantlett’3 
 smouldering tail while the rest talked over the 
 present emergency. 
 
165 
 
 XL 
 
 THE CAPTIVE ELVES. 
 
 “ Tell us, bright Pearl, how it happens that we 
 find you w T ith so many beautiful companions held 
 in durance vile by Rigituft and Gantlett ? 99 said 
 Tuflongbo, desirous of all the useful information 
 he could get. 
 
 “We w T ere beguiled hither by the promise of 
 a lovely ball, as you were beguiled by the antici- 
 pation of a great feast,” was the answer. “ It was 
 on a midsummer night that the disguised Ogres 
 met us not far from the Enchanted Bower ; and 
 after a little conversation they placed us on magic 
 steeds which flew through the air like the wind, 
 and never stopped nor stayed until we dismounted 
 here. There was a ball, ’tis true, and strange 
 partners who danced us almost to death, but since 
 that dreadful night we have lived in dulness and 
 misery unparalleled. Many victims have been 
 since decoyed hither, and enrolled amongst the 
 Ogres’ mobs of slaves ; but never before has there 
 been one brave enough to save himself or rescue 
 us, as you have done ! The charm of the Griffins 
 to fascinate beholders, lay in the curled flames of 
 their tail-tips, and now that you have stamped 
 
166 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTUKES. 
 
 and crushed them out, their power is gone ; and 
 when they come to themselves in the morning, 
 they will he no better or stronger than the common 
 Ogres who go undisguised.” 
 
 A dreadful sound, half groan, half angry roar, 
 here interrupted the fair Pearl’s dainty speech, 
 and Chick weed w r as seen to jump up, shake his 
 fingers vehemently, and to glance with doubtful 
 tremor towards Tuflongbo. 
 
 “ What are you about now ? ” cried the Leader, 
 advancing towards him where he stood over the 
 prostrate Gantlett. 
 
 “ I wanted it for my museum of curiosities,” 
 replied he, exhibiting a portion of the Griffin’s 
 tail which he had rather unskilfully amputated at 
 the seventh joint. “It burnt my fingers— I did 
 not suppose it would retain heat so long.” 
 
 “ You are welcome to it,” said Tuflongbo, 
 coolly ; “ perhaps you had better take off also the 
 tip of Rigituft’s, to be presented on our return to 
 the natural history collection of Sheneland — it is 
 not rich in combustible tails, I believe.” 
 
 “Very poor, on the contrary — that is the finest 
 specimen extant,” responded Chickweed, happy in 
 his acquisition, and then he proceeded to operate 
 on Rigituft, as he had already done on the insen- 
 sible Gantlett, and with equal success. 
 
 Meanwhile, the six Elves and the six susceptible 
 
THE CAPTIVE ELVES. 
 
 167 
 
 Adventurers had been talking over their own 
 private affairs in tender whispers, so that when 
 Tuflongbo returned to them, he found matters 
 approaching settlement without his assistance. He, 
 however, went through the form of suggesting 
 that the lovely Sprites should be conveyed to the 
 first station on the boundaries of civilization, and 
 there committed to the care of the earliest escort 
 that might offer itself, to restore them to their 
 friends and families. At this, each bright face 
 became a cloud, and a mournful silence ensued, 
 which Canary presently broke. 
 
 “ Great Tuflongbo, high exalted above the 
 reach of Elfin dreams, and loves, and sentiments ; 
 noble Tuflongbo, a vowed bachelor for Queen 
 Osmunda’s sake, exercise your sympathy for 
 weaker-minded folks ! ” cried he, with cheerful 
 enthusiasm. u We are the best friends these 
 lovely Sprites possess ; we are their deliverers, 
 their brave admirers, their devoted protectors ! 
 Us they approve, us they esteem, us they affection- 
 ately love — why then should we be parted any 
 more ? ” 
 
 The Leader looked painfully puzzled, and 
 Chickweed curled up a most sarcastic nose, while 
 the Elves smiled sweetly, and the six sentimental 
 Adventurers anxiously waited their Captain’s reply. 
 Tuflongbo’s position was a difficult one, but a few 
 
168 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 moments’ reflection enabled him delicately to evade 
 his dilemma. 
 
 “ Why should you be parted any more ? ” 
 repeated he, echoing Canary’s buoyant tone. 
 “ Why, indeed! We are sure to go into wild 
 woods and forests, where gossamer would come to 
 grief; but, then, each of you, my soft-hearted 
 lovers, has a spare suit of corduroy in his knap- 
 sack, and if the pretty Elves will condescend to 
 wear them, they can accompany our expedition as 
 Amazons, and I do not doubt but they will do 
 deeds of valour to surprise us all.” 
 
 O wily Tuflongbo ! He knew well enough 
 how the gentle creatures would weep and call him 
 monster , and then give their own practical and 
 prudent minds to a solution of the puzzle of their 
 disposal. They consulted apart for a few mo- 
 ments, and then Puff, being chosen spokeswoman, 
 stood forward, and said eloquently, — 
 
 “Far be it from us, Tuflongbo, to embarrass the 
 march of your band ; as Amazons, we cannot 
 travel with you, for all of us are liable to faint ; 
 gossamer is our proper wear — corduroy we leave 
 to stronger-minded Elves. Let us, therefore, be 
 taken under the charge of your followers to the 
 nearest civilized abode, and there placed until you 
 all return home, covered with honour and glory, 
 when we will welcome you back with glee, and 
 
THE TERRIBLE RESULTS OF FLIGHT. 169 
 
 make our dear friends happy to their hearts’ 
 content.” 
 
 A modified applause followed this oration, and 
 Tuflongbo declared that it was impossible to have 
 spoken more wisely under the circumstances than 
 Puff had done. And the matter being thus settled, 
 preparations were made to leave the crystal palace 
 of the Griffins, before they recovered their im- 
 paired faculties. The Elves having found walking- 
 shoes and put them on, and warm mantles over 
 their light robes, declared themselves ready to 
 start ; and they started accordingly, leaving 
 Gantlett and Rigituft still prostrate on their own 
 floor. It was observed by Tuflongbo in departing, 
 that all the ranks of abject slaves had fled — for- 
 saking their masters in misfortune, as slaves always 
 do ; and before day dawned, he and his followers, 
 with their dear incumbrances, were all safe out of 
 the gloomy forest. 
 
 XII. 
 
 THE TERRIBLE RESULTS OF FLIGHT. 
 
 Tuflongbo and his band, with all their pretty 
 sweetings, were safe out of the gloomy forest, it is 
 true, but a new and immediate danger confronted 
 
170 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 them the moment they left the shelter of the trees. 
 A host of Giant-Ogres, with shields and spears, were 
 advancing in regular order over the plain, covered 
 with dabs of war-paint, and sounding their terrible 
 battle-cry until the whole air rang with it, and the 
 forest shook again, as if a mighty wind were rising 
 amidst its branches. 
 
 The Leader made haste to manoeuvre his gallant 
 followers into a circle round the Elves, and then 
 stood on the defensive, regretting exceedingly that 
 his movements were embarrassed by so much lovely 
 gossamer that it was impossible for him to make 
 an assault, as his ardour would otherwise have led 
 him to do. 
 
 “ The most convenient accident that could happen 
 to us now would be that these tremendous Ogres 
 should elevate their noses in the air and pass us by 
 unseen,” whispered he in the ear of Chickweed. 
 “ They are evidently on the war-trail of the 
 Griffins whom we have extinguished; and far be 
 it from me, by any inopportune obtrusiveness, to 
 change their minds.” 
 
 “ Shall we hide ourselves? ” suggested Chick- 
 weed. 
 
 “ By no means — Tuflongbo scorns concealment,” 
 was the instant reply. “ Flight and concealment 
 are equally against my principles. What are my 
 people talking about so eagerly ? Can unworthy 
 
THE TERRIBLE RESULTS OF FLIGHT. 171 
 
 thoughts of retreat have occurred to them ! Oh ! 
 shame ! shame ! ” 
 
 The great Adventurer stampt with rage and 
 contempt when he found that visions of safety- 
 had displaced visions of glory with his fascinated 
 band, and he expressed his sentiments in the most 
 cutting phrases in all his vocabulary. 
 
 “ Put on mob-caps, ye valiant heroes that talk 
 of flight ! ” cried he, pointing the finger of scorn 
 at his six trembling followers. “ Through the 
 wood with you, like scared pigeons, white-feather- 
 crested for ever more ! ” 
 
 “Be not so wrath, magnanimous Tuflongbo!” 
 pleaded Gooseberry. “ What can we expect but 
 instant destruction if we remain here and await 
 the approach of this terrible horde of barbarians ? 
 Our old enemies Gulmalog and Squintaskew may 
 be amongst them, and what will be our fate 
 then?” 
 
 “ Consider also our beauteous Elves, noble 
 Captain,” urged Larkspur. “ We might go to the 
 attack and fall or conquer without much care ; 
 but what shall we do with them — how provide for 
 their safety while we are in danger ? ” 
 
 Tuflongbo could have given utterance to some 
 most ungallant expressions, but he put a restraint 
 on himself and forbore. 
 
 “If none but the brave deserve the fair, you 
 
172 T'UFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 will lose your honour, and your pretty sweetings 
 too,” said he, coldly. “ Pearl, Puff, Cherry, 
 Snow-Flake, Flutter, and Fleece, will never 
 bestow their love upon Fairies of the White- 
 Feather. Get under their mantles now , and they 
 will laugh you to scorn by-and-by. Make haste 
 — the Ogres are almost upon us ! ” 
 
 And so they were; and, as Gooseberry sug- 
 gested, Gulmalog and Squintaskew marched at 
 the head of them, looking most hideously tragical. 
 Up to this critical moment. Snub had kept him- 
 self modestly in the background, but the instant 
 he espied his old foe whom he had so igno- 
 miniously routed, he sprang forth in spite of 
 Chickweed’s remonstrances, and dashing straight 
 at S quin task ew’s protuberant calves, fixed his 
 fangs in them, and there hung like a thirsty leech. 
 Tuflongbo bravely stood his ground, supported by 
 Chickweed alone ; for the moment Snub made his 
 impetuous charge, Larkspur, Larch, Gooseberry, 
 Canary, Mustard, and Chamomile ran away, e^ch 
 bearing off his beautiful bit of gossamer in his 
 recreant arms ! The Leader saw their flight with 
 great disgust, and muttered that he hoped they 
 would not find themselves out of the frying-pan 
 into the fire — which, alas ! they almost immediately 
 did. Hovering in the air was a marvellous Magic 
 Kite, that had been watching for prey all the 
 
THE TERRIBLE RESULTS OF FLIGHT. 173 
 
 morning, and now that the Adventurers were 
 without a Captain, it saw a fine opportunity for 
 taking them. Down it swooped in one splendid 
 pounce, and, alighting before their astounded eyes, 
 gave them to understand that if they would tie 
 themselves in bundles on to his tail, which was 
 scarcely heavy enough for steady flight, it would 
 bear them far away from fear of Ogres, and of all 
 other dangers, to a halcyon spot, where they might 
 live happily ever afterwards. In an evil hour 
 they listened to its beguiling, and being slung two 
 and two along its tail of string, they closed their 
 timid eyes and committed themselves to its benefi- 
 cent protection. Chuckling all over, and visibly 
 — it could not do so within, because it was only 
 one thickness of silver paper — the Magic Kite rose 
 high into the air, and after a dozen or so giddy 
 and erratic gyrations, it poised itself for a long 
 flight, and flew straight across by a short cut over 
 into the desolate and savage regions of Wildwaste! 
 Tuflongbo and Chickweed beheld the catastrophe, 
 and, wringing their hands, exclaimed, “ Oh ! un- 
 happy wights, unhappy wights ! ye know not 
 whither ye are gone ! ” 
 
 Their attention was then called off to their own 
 position, and that of the reckless Snub, who was 
 keeping the entire body of Ogres at bay by his 
 outrageous howlings and barkings. The big fel- 
 
 o o o o 
 
174 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 lows poked at him with their spears, and skipped 
 from one leg to the other as he made his repeated 
 attacks, until at last they were quite out of breath 
 and ready to come to terms. 
 
 “ It is of no use taking these F airykins prisoners 
 — they are too good to be eaten,” growled Gulma- 
 log. “ I’ve had experience of them already. 
 Don’t let us waste time here, lest Rigituft and 
 Gantlett effect an escape before we re^ph their 
 crystal palace.” 
 
 “You will find Rigituft and Gantlett extin- 
 guished,” cried Tuflongbo, unable to resist the 
 triumph of telling the tale of his victory. 
 
 “ Who extinguished them ? ” demanded Squin- 
 taskew. 
 
 “ We did,” replied Chickweed, and exhibited 
 the amputated joints of their combustible tails in 
 proof thereof. 
 
 At this announcement the Ogres gave a united 
 whistle of triumph, and lauded the bold Adven- 
 turers up to the skies. 
 
 “ Ask any favour that is in our power to grant, 
 and it is yours ! ” exclaimed Gulmalog. “ Oh ! you 
 brave little jewels, you were indeed too good to 
 be eaten — a lucky fate it was that rescued you ! 
 Rut where are all the rest? — there were seven of 
 you.” 
 
 “ Ah ! where indeed ? ” echoed the Leader, in a 
 
THE TERRIBLE RESULTS OF FLIGHT. 175 
 
 mournful tone. “ Where, indeed ? They have 
 unwisely put faith in a Magic Kite instead of 
 relying on their own courage and their Captain’s 
 skill, and it has borne them straight over to 
 Wildwaste.” 
 
 “ Serve ’em right,” snarled Squintaskew, who 
 was of a cruel and malignant disposition. “ I 
 hope Slink will worry them ! ” 
 
 “ Silence, Squintaskew ! ” interposed the more 
 generous Gulmalog. “The brave Tuflongbo and 
 the eccentric Chickweed have put out our rampant 
 foes, the fiery-tailed Griffins; and by all the laws 
 of courtesy and honour, one good turn surely 
 deserves another. Speak, gallant Fairy kins, what 
 grace shall we do you in return for extinguishing 
 Gantlett and Rigituft ? ” 
 
 “ Give us a safe pass into the country of your 
 cousins the Giants, that we may go to the rescue 
 of our misguided comrades,” said Tuflongbo ; and 
 Chickweed seconded his request. 
 
 “ That is soon done,” answered Gulmalog, and 
 drawing forth his tablets he wrote thereon certain 
 cabalistic letters which signified — “ Let these gen- 
 tlemen pass in security and honour and Tuf- 
 longbo having stowed the precious document in 
 his wallet, Snub was bidden to leave his ankular 
 investigations amongst the Ogres and to come 
 away, which he reluctantly did. The two deserted 
 
176 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Adventurers then took a sad farewell of their new 
 friends, and went on their sorrowful way towards 
 the savage land of the Giants. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 THE COMBAT OF THE CRUMPLECUES. 
 
 Tuflongbo and duckweed beguiled their solitary 
 journey, which lasted twelve dull days and twelve 
 pitch-black nights, by as much cheerful conversa- 
 tion as could be expected under their deplorable 
 circumstances. Wildwaste was as yet an unex- 
 plored region — no amateur traveller having ever 
 ventured into its dreadful deserts. It therefore 
 behoved Tuflongbo and duckweed to keep very 
 cool in preparation for the tremendous dangers, and 
 difficulties that might there await them. On the 
 thirteenth day, by a cold change in the atmo- 
 sphere, they received warning of their approach to 
 savage regions. Both expressed themselves as 
 calm and quite at ease in their feelings, and then 
 by a most inconveniently narrow defile they pro- 
 ceeded to work their way into Wildwaste. 
 
 At the inner mouth of the Pass they found 
 seated on guard three enormous Giants — Slink, 
 
THE COMBAT OF THE CKUMPLECUES. 17 ? 
 
 Slouchback, and Lumba, to whom Tuflongbo, 
 bowing with lofty dignity, presented himself as 
 Adventurer to the Queen of Sheneland, and his 
 companion as a late member of the Royal Society 
 of Wiseacres. 
 
 “ That may be all very true, but what is your 
 business here ? ” demanded the gruff Slink. 
 
 “ Our business is to recover six Fairykins and 
 their bits of gossamer,” replied the great Captain. 
 " Twelve dull days and twelve pitch-black nights 
 ago, a Magic Kite flew over hither with them. 
 We were all journeying in Ogreland together, and 
 they fled before the face of Gulmalog and Squint- 
 askew, for whom fortune put it in our power 
 to do a vital service. In return for it Gulmalog 
 gave us this passport which I have now the 
 honour of presenting to your monstrous worships.” 
 And thus speaking, Tuflongbo brought out the 
 leaf of the Ogre’s tablets, inscribed as before 
 stated; and the three Giants having narrowly 
 examined it, pronounced the document genuine, 
 and bade them good speed on their way. 
 
 " You can go ; all right — and luck go with 
 you ! ” said they ; and the Adventurers shouldered 
 their walking-sticks and marched forward, de- 
 lighted with the powerful trio’s unexpected ur- 
 banity. 
 
 "It is wise to cultivate politeness and to be 
 
 12 
 
178 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 on civil terms even with savages : live and make 
 allies / 5 remarked T uflongbo. 
 
 “ So it is / 5 responded Chickweed ; “ let me 
 enter that axiom in my note-book . 55 He did so, 
 and dated it ; and a hundred times more, as they 
 fared on their anxious way, did he pull out his 
 precious little volume and set down valuable ob- 
 servations. Now it was a geological fact, then a 
 curious speculation in entomology, and next a 
 query in botany. Tuflongbo aided him with 
 many suggestions ; and it appeared probable that 
 their travels in Wild waste would not prove the 
 least interesting part of the great journey. 
 
 “ I wonder whether we shall be believed when 
 we come to relate all our wonderful adventures 
 before the Royal Society of Wiseacres, or whether 
 they will pooh-pooh our stories as mere travellers 5 
 tales ? 55 observed he presently. “ We won’t buoy 
 ourselves up with too sanguine expectations, for 
 they are always averse to credit anything new . 55 
 
 “Look, Tuflongbo, look ! 55 here impatiently in- 
 terposed Chickweed. “ What is that right away 
 above the clouds — is it the Magic Kite ? 55 
 
 “ Yes, yes ; it is the Magic Kite ! 55 answered 
 the Leader ; and his heart gave a great leap of 
 joy. “ Whistle, Chickweed, whistle as loud as 
 ever you can, to bring it down ! 55 So they both 
 stood still and whistled with all their might, until 
 
, THE COMBAT OF THE CRUMPLECUES. 179 
 
 the Magic Kite, after tossing its tail thrice with 
 the utmost glee, came floating along the wind, full 
 before them. They saw its broad transparent 
 body all giggling, but its tail was limp and 
 slender; and neither the white-feather Fairies nor 
 their bits of gossamer were there ! 
 
 “ What have you done with my people ? — what 
 have you done with my people, Magic Kite ? ” 
 shouted Tuflongbo, when this disappointing end of 
 his hopes became apparent. 
 
 “I left them playing nine-pins in the Crum- 
 plecues’ Den ! ” was its mocking answer. “ Don’t 
 worry or fuss yourselves ; it takes all the pleasant- 
 ness out of your lives. I am very well, thank 
 yom; hope you’re the same. Good-by ! ” And, 
 with another toss of its odious tail, up into the sky 
 it whirled once more ; while the Adventurers 
 plodded heavily on, talking as they went on things 
 in general. 
 
 They were just in the heat of an argument as 
 to the best way of tossing pancakes — for which 
 delicacy Chickweed had confessed a weakness — - 
 when suddenly there arose, not many paces off, 
 a most terrific hullaballoo, and, advancing steadily 
 towards the scene of tumult, they hid behind a 
 convenient mass of rock; and thence they saw two 
 monstrous Crumplecues engaged in a hand-to- 
 hand fight. These Crumplecues, be it understood, 
 
 12-2 
 
180 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 are of the order of Dragons — a desperate and 
 warlike race, concerning whom the chronicles of 
 Sheneland are almost silent. They are supposed 
 to be descended from a younger branch of the 
 family of Rufnagumba, and their favourite haunts 
 are on the lower slopes of the Skihi mountains. 
 It was near the base of one of the most lofty 
 peaks in the range that the present encounter was 
 taking place. 
 
 It was with the utmost difficulty that Snub, 
 whose disposition was naturally belligerent, was 
 prevented from joining in, and twice Tuflongbo 
 had cautiously to admonish his master to repress 
 his feelings; for the moment Chickweed caught 
 his first glimpse of Dragons combating, he began 
 to skip from one foot to the other, to turn round, 
 clap his hands, fling up his cap, and shriek, as if 
 possessed by the intoxicating concentrated essence 
 of delight ; and, indeed, the spectacle was a very 
 impressive one for strangers to Dragons. 
 
 Tuflongbo took the business coolly, and was in 
 no wise dismayed at witnessing the blind rage of 
 the Crumplecues ; for they seemed too deeply 
 absorbed in settling their own feud to have any 
 attention to spare for indifferent persons. When 
 the travellers first came in sight of them, the 
 combatants were locked together by the tusks, 
 their strong webbed hands clutched each the other’s 
 
THE COMBAT OF THE CRUMPLECUES. 181 
 
 throat* and their eyes glittered under their scaly 
 brows like lumps of red-hot coal. The noise with 
 which they accompanied the struggle was truly 
 fearsome. It consisted of a series of shrill 
 “Eheus*” rising successively in a minor scale* 
 which quavered off into a loud whistling roar* 
 then dropt into a strangled groan* only to swell 
 up again more piercingly than ever. A sound it 
 was to chill the marrow in almost any bones* but 
 Tuflongbo and Chickweed* fired with adventurous 
 enthusiasm* heeded it no more than a puff of 
 wind ; and though Wildwaste quivered to its 
 centre* they did nothing but rejoice. 
 
 For some time longer they lurked round the 
 corner of their crag* and watched the progress of 
 the battle securely ; but at length the rapture of 
 Chickweed betrayed him into flinging out his 
 arms and legs in such extravagantly triumphant 
 manoeuvres* that they caught the astonished eye 
 of the elder Crumplecue* and changed the scene 
 in an instant from the lowest comedy to tragedy 
 the most disastrous. Before Tuflongbo could in- 
 terpose by word or deed* the Dragon left his 
 natural foe to finish the fight alone* dashed at the 
 audacious Chickweed* and abbreviated his merry 
 antics by seizing on the collar of his jacket* and 
 lightly tossing him up over his head* where he 
 hung deplorably surprised* and hardly able to make 
 
182 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 out where he was. But the Crumplecue did not 
 leave him long in suspense ; for* as soon as he 
 had made his prisoner secure* he indulged in 
 another shrill hullaballoo* and then set off at a 
 lively canter with him up to his den on the moun- 
 tains of Skihi. 
 
 Ere he was out of sight* and ere Tuflongbo 
 had time to spend one regret on this second 
 most doleful catastrophe* the other Crumplecue 
 became aware of the great Adventurer standing 
 alone and unsupported within his reach. In- 
 stantly he snatched him up* tossed him on his 
 head* and set off in the wake of his late enemy* 
 as fast as twelve short waddling legs would carry 
 him. His tail curled crisply with pride to its 
 very tip ; and when his captive ventured to sug- 
 gest that two valiant Crumplecues would have 
 found finishing their fight much better sport than 
 stealing inoffensive travellers* he politely explained 
 that they were perfect friends* and only fighting 
 for amusement; while to catch a brace of Fairy- 
 kins astray near the Skihi mountains was such a 
 rare piece of good luck in their monotonous 
 existence* that they could by no means permit it 
 to pass unimproved. 
 
 Tuflongbo’s bearer soon overtook the other 
 Crumplecue* with poor Chickweed and Snub in 
 his pocket* clinging to his ears. The next mo- 
 
THE COMBAT OF THE CRUMPLECUES. 183 
 
 ment he was ahead of him, and then the hapless 
 young Wiseacre began to learn in good earnest 
 what a painful thing a game at “follow my leader” 
 may be when played in the land of Giants and 
 Dragons, with Tuflongbo and two Crumplecues for 
 playfellows. I can assure you he was quite as 
 much astonished as delighted — perhaps rather 
 more ; for his position was eminently uncomfort- 
 able, and nearly all the breath was shaken out of 
 his body. Also Snub was vexatiously noisy, 
 nearly barking himself inside out with vain rage, 
 which gave his master a longing to beat him into 
 silent philosophy. All his trials notwithstanding, 
 he contrived to keep up his spirits miraculously ; 
 and if now and then a doleful thought crossed his 
 mind, it soon disappeared before lively ideas of 
 the surprise and mortification he should inflict on 
 his former brother Wiseacres when he came to 
 lecture them on his wonderful adventures and 
 discoveries. 
 
 It was by a most rugged road that the Crum- 
 plecues went, and their peculiarly irregular gait 
 made the effects of it all the worse for their 
 hapless prisoners. Tuflongbo fared best; he was 
 already getting seasoned to adversity; besides, 
 he had gone through so many hazards, and accom- 
 plished so many hair-breadth escapes, that he could 
 comfort himself with the reflection that the pre- 
 
184 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 sent reverse of fortune would not last long ; and, 
 while it did last, everything strange and novel in 
 it was only so much more of fact and fancy to 
 store away in his wallet for the future delight 
 of Elfin Court and his juvenile friends. And 
 another thing, he expected he was on the high- 
 way to rejoin his recreant band, engaged in their 
 shameful game at nine-pins in the Crumplecues’ 
 den. If he could win them back to the path of 
 honour and duty, any suffering would be more 
 than compensated for. 
 
 When Chickweed had fully realized his perilous 
 and painful position, he braced his courage up to 
 endure it, and the invincible courage of his curio- 
 sity and good spirits bore him through gallantly. 
 As long as he was within earshot of the Leader, 
 Tuflongbo cheered him with homely proverbs fitted 
 to the the occasion ; but by-and-by his voice failed 
 to reach him, and, craning up his neck, he 'saw 
 his Captain on the point of vanishing within the 
 yawning arch of a deep cavern. Five minutes 
 after the Crumplecue’s head had disappeared, his 
 haughtily curled tail remained in sight — a fact 
 which will give a clearer notion of his size 
 than any more lengthy or laboured description. 
 Chickweed’s bearer made direct for the same 
 opening, and when he plunged into its damp and 
 hideous gloom, the young Wiseacre felt precisely 
 
THE COMBAT OF THE CRUMPLECUES. 185 
 
 as if he was going straight down into the bowels of 
 the earth. Indeed, the Crumplecues’ subterranean 
 abode did extend, with innumerable ramifications, 
 all under the range of the Skihi mountains, and, 
 having no outlet to the upper air, it was incom- 
 parably black and dreary. Twice or thrice, as 
 they rushed on through the blind darkness, 
 Chickweed heard, or fancied he heard, Tuflongbo’s 
 encouraging whistle; and at last, to his infinite 
 relief and comfort, he found himself alongside of 
 him, his Crumplecue having run himself quite out 
 of breath. 
 
 “Well, Chick, how are you now?” inquired 
 the more experienced Adventurer, in a tone of 
 profound sympathy. 
 
 “ Thank you, Tuflongbo, I am as well as can 
 be expected under the circumstances,” was the 
 poor jolted fellow’s cheerful reply. 
 
 “ That is all right ; that is the way to get on, 
 both in Sheneland and Wildwaste. Keep up 
 a good heart, and nothing ever gets to the 
 worst.” 
 
 “ This is a very strange and wonderful place. 
 I wish we had cats’ eyes and could see in the 
 dark,” said the inquiring Chickweed. 
 
 “ I can lend you a pair. I never travel with- 
 out, in case of emergency,” replied Tuflongbo; 
 and the young Wiseacre, having received them 
 
186 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 from his outstretched groping hand, fitted them 
 on carefully, and began to peer about in his in- 
 quiring, intelligent way, that suffered nothing 
 worthy of note to escape his scrutiny. 
 
 It took him a few moments to accustom himself 
 to the metallic glare of his new organs of vision ; 
 but that once accomplished, he made his observa- 
 tions with great care and accuracy. In the first 
 place, he perceived a marine flavour in the cavern, 
 the walls of which were festooned with dripping 
 weed and tangle similar to those found on the 
 sea shore. There was no splendour such as he 
 expected, no glittering pillars of crystal or lamps 
 of gems ; nothing but black and grey rocks, and 
 trickling, slimy water running down the walls. 
 The roof was filled with the noiseless flight of 
 innumerable bats, and the ground was slippery 
 with oozing mud. “ This is a horrible, dull 
 hole,” then said he. “ I don’t care, Tuflongbo, 
 how soon we are out of it.” 
 
 No sooner had he spoken than the scene was 
 suddenly transformed. The overhanging walls 
 retired, the roof sprang up into thousands of in- 
 terlacing arches, the floor gleamed in a polished 
 sheet of marble, and a soft light appeared, suf- 
 fusing the air with a delicious, perfumed warmth. 
 Chickweed put his cats’ eyes in his pocket and 
 resumed his own, the better to enjoy the beautiful 
 
THE COMBAT OF THE CRUMPLECUES. 187 
 
 revelations that seemed about to open on his 
 astonished imagination. 
 
 The Crumplecues now paused and sat down, 
 leaning their backs wearily against vast beds of 
 dried reeds ; and the captive Adventurers took this 
 opportunity of sliding down from their perilous 
 positions, and of shaking themselves straight in 
 their clothes. This brief toilette concluded, they 
 crept close to each other, and, gazing round, 
 perceived a circle of six lovely Mermaids coiled 
 up on their dolphin-tails, combing their sea-green 
 hair. A second glance convinced them that these 
 Mermaids were no other than the rescued Elves 
 transformed — poor bits of gossamer washed-out — 
 Pearl, Puff, Cherry, Snow-Flake, Flutter, and 
 Fleece. Their looking-glasses were each com- 
 posed of one bright ripple set in a rim of silver- 
 crisped foam, and supported by tiny coral crabs. 
 Round their white throats gleamed strings of 
 pearls, and all their eyes shone with a half-sweet, 
 half-sly serenity. Tuflongbo raised his peaked 
 cap to them with superb courtesy, and then gazed 
 about for his deluded followers, whom he detected 
 lurking in a corner, playing, as the Magic Kite 
 had stated, a game at nine-pins ; and a most 
 dejected, miserable amusement it was, to judge 
 from their flat and crest-fallen countenances. He 
 forbore to notice them then, and gave them time 
 
188 TUELONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 to recover their buoyancy, which they did by 
 degrees, when they saw their Leader again before 
 them. Sadly, sadly had they suffered in their 
 absence from him ! 
 
 When the exquisite Mermaids had combed their 
 sea-green hair until it was as smooth and sleek 
 as satin, they began to sing, and sang entrancingly 
 that song which sighs in shells that have been 
 stolen away from the shore. They had but one 
 melody, and that was it — a melody so softly 
 monotonous that it rocked the tired captives to 
 sleep, and when they awoke again the gentle choir 
 had vanished ; but the two Crumplecues were still 
 there, eating their supper of turtle and oyster- 
 sauce in a greedy, hungry fashion, as the manner 
 of Crumplecues is. 
 
 “ Do you think they will offer us anything to 
 eat, Tuflongbo ? ” whispered Chickweed. 
 
 “ I don’t expect they will. Hospitable Dragons 
 would have helped strangers first,” was the dis- 
 couraging answer. 
 
 “ They won’t give you a crumb ; they have 
 kept us on nothing a-day ever since they caught 
 us, when we were dropt by the Magic Kite,” here 
 interposed Larkspur, humbly. 
 
 “We have had cruel usage,” added Larch; 
 and each of the other White-Feather Fairy kins 
 spoke to the same effect ; and, to the honour of 
 
THE COMBAT OF THE CKUMPLECUES. 189 
 
 the magnanimous Tuflongbo, he neither reminded 
 them that it was nobody’s fault but their own, 
 nor told them how much they had deserved the 
 disasters of which they now complained. He said 
 to them no single word of blame, but regarded 
 their blank and haggard countenances with a true 
 pity and consideration ; and at length proposed 
 giving the Crumplecues the slip, and stealing 
 quietly away while they were busy with their 
 suppers. All his band, only too eager to return 
 to their allegiance, agreed to his proposition with 
 as much applause as their weak state allowed ; 
 and, watching their opportunity, they succeeded 
 in getting into the rear of the absorbed Crumple- 
 cues, who made so much unnecessary noise in 
 engulfing their turtle and oyster-sauce, that the 
 creaking of the adventurers’ shoes escaped their 
 notice ; then, taking the first mysterious passage 
 that presented itself, they set off running as hard 
 as they could go ; and when the Crumplecues 
 looked about for their prisoners, to entertain 
 them while they loitered over their dessert of 
 shrimps and winkles, they were a full league 
 away. 
 
 “ I should like to have another peep at those 
 curious Mermaids, Tuflongbo, should not you?” 
 asked Chickweed, whose curiosity revived in pro- 
 portion as the risks of pursuit lessened. “ How 
 
190 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTUKES. 
 
 was it they were transformed from Elves to 
 Dolphin Tails, I wonder.” 
 
 “ I believe they always were dolphin tails,” 
 cried Chamomile, angrily. u That was why they 
 led us into mischief. As soon as we were safe in 
 this dreadful den, their lovely forms vanished, 
 and when they appeared, it was in their odious, 
 natural shape. They mocked at us cruelly then ; 
 called us white-feather fairykins and all manner of 
 hard names. I daresay they have not done with 
 their beguilements yet. Oh, my bright Cherry, how 
 art thou transformed!” A wail, as of an Elf 
 bitterly weeping, answered him ; but while he yet 
 started and listened, it wound up with a rippling 
 sound of Mermaids 5 laughter. 
 
 “ It is a pity we ever rescued them out of the 
 Griffin’s Palace,” sighed Canary, and a sob echoed 
 his voice, then a taunt. 
 
 Tuflongbo was sorely puzzled what to 'think 
 of these double mysterious sounds. Could it be 
 that the wicked sea-sprites, jealous of Elfin beauty, 
 had enchanted their rivals asleep, and then, taking 
 some likeness to their faces, had made the lost 
 adventurers believe that they were their sweet 
 prizes won out of the hands of Rigituft and Gantlett? 
 It was possible ; but he would not mention his 
 suspicion yet, lest he should prematurely awaken 
 false hopes ; and the lesson of their sorrow and 
 
THE COMBAT OF THE CRUMPLECUES. 191 
 
 disappointment was therefore left for some time 
 longer to sink into their anxious, troubled minds. 
 One word he spoke, however, and that was to bid 
 them beware if they fell in with the Mermaids 
 again, which was more than probable. 
 
 “ They are a treacherous race,” said he, “ but 
 our craft is sufficient to circumvent their subtlety. 
 It has long been my wish to visit their deep-sea 
 caves ; and from the way the land lies, I expect 
 we are on the eve of an opportunity now. I hear 
 their beautiful song again. Do not you? Listen.” 
 
 All the adventurers listened, and heard it too. 
 Then a fresh salt air blew in their faces, growing 
 gradually sweeter and warmer, until they espied 
 what looked in the distance like a lance of flame. 
 Drawing nearer, they saw that it was a narrow 
 vertical split in the rocks, and creeping sideways 
 through it, they found themselves, to their great 
 joy and astonishment, on the golden sands of the 
 glorious Balmy Isles, where King Cloves reigned, 
 and where, many years after, Sir Arum went to 
 live when he married the beautiful and glad-hearted 
 Princess Myrrh. 
 
 The blue sky was blazing with noontide splen- 
 dour, and the tide was rolling boldly in over the 
 ragged reefs of rocks that fringe the islands with 
 a line of natural fortresses ; while round about 
 a deep gleamy pool, played the Mermaids, still 
 
192 TUELONGBO’S LITE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 singing and combing their sea-green hair, as they 
 did in the Crumplecues’ Den. As their susceptible 
 victims approached, they feigned not to see them, 
 and went on with their plaintive chant, looking 
 serenely sweet and sly, until they were close on 
 the edge of their bathing-pool, when they broke 
 into gestures of delighted surprise, and held out 
 friendly hands to bid them welcome. They were 
 now eight in number, and Tuflongbo frankly gave 
 his hand to one of the fair witches : it was softly 
 yet securely grasped, and immediately Chickweed 
 and the rest were caught, the Mermaids changed 
 their slow melody to a song of triumph, and 
 floating round in a dizzy, spiral dance, they carried 
 their charmed captives down, down, down , into the 
 purple depths of the sea, and cast them faint and 
 exhausted on the shining silver sands of their 
 ocean caves. Tuflongbo was willing to incur some 
 risks for the sake of investigating such wonders 
 of the water-world as are not fatally forbidden to 
 Elfin eyes ; but at this moment consciousness 
 forsook him, and he heard no sound but the sound 
 of the waves, moaning, incessantly moaning, as 
 they moan in the song-haunted shells that have 
 been carried away from the sea ! 
 
193 
 
 XIV. 
 
 IN THE DEEP-SEA CAVES. 
 
 This ocean cave was a marvellously beautiful 
 place. Tuflongbo and his companions awoke to 
 find themselves tenderly laid on a soft foam- 
 wreath under the vast green arches of the on- 
 flowing billows. Here there was perpetual change, 
 and each change surpassed in enchanting love- 
 liness all that had gone before. It was like a 
 dream — a vision. In all their wonderful adven- 
 tures, never had they beheld any scene more 
 magically splendid. There was light, but none 
 could tell whence it glowed ; there was warmth, 
 there was murmuring music ; and there were 
 colours that went and came on the springing 
 columns and arches as come and go the rainbow 
 reflections on April cloud. 
 
 Upon a quaint throne, which looked like the 
 phantom of a ship, incrusted with pearl, sate the 
 weird Sea-King, his Court of Mermen and Mer- 
 maids gathered around him ; behind, were heaped 
 the rich spoils of a thousand wrecks. His sceptre 
 was an anchor of gold, broken; his crown a circlet 
 of iron, jewelled with tears. Under his feet 
 crouched Storm and Tempest, watching with wild 
 
 13 
 
194 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 eyes for their hour of freedom. Now they lay 
 bound like slaves, with the strained cables, which 
 in their moments of power and fury, they could 
 have snapt like silken threads. 
 
 While the Adventurers gazed on this strange 
 assemblage with feelings of inexpressible awe, 
 there sounded suddenly a voice from above, rolling 
 in the vaulted stillness like an echo of thunder. 
 Storm and Tempest half rose and dragged at their 
 chains ; and w r hen a great shout broke over the 
 sea of the winds let loose, they cried hoarsely, 
 “ We must go ! we must go ! They are calling to 
 us ! they are calling to us with a thousand tongues !” 
 But the King smote them down to the sands again, 
 and they humbled themselves once more at his 
 feet, muttering out threats and curses as they fell. 
 
 Again through the solemn depths pealed the 
 long summons, and the blast of it blew sadly in 
 the Ocean Cave. Mermen and Mermaids stood 
 waiting obedient — those who had beguiled the 
 Adventurers amongst the rest — their watchful 
 eyes on the King, whose face began to darken as 
 darkens the sky when thunder broods over it, then 
 flashed as flashes the lightning from the heart of the 
 black cloud. And for a little while longer there 
 lay upon all an anguish of silence and suspense. 
 
 Then the deep walls and arches of the Cave 
 heaved and swelled, the silver sands broke up in 
 
IN THE DEEP-SEA CAVES. 
 
 195 
 
 tumultuous heaps, the phantom-throne swayed for 
 an instant, then toppled from its giddy height, 
 and the freed slaves sprang up, bursting their 
 bonds like tow. The King vanished, his golden 
 sceptre of an anchor broken, and his crown, 
 jewelled with tears, floated away; Mermen and 
 Mermaids disappeared together, weeping, and 
 chanting a dirge, and Storm and Tempest reigned 
 tyrants over the sea. 
 
 They churned it into foam, they lashed it into 
 fury ; they lifted up its mighty waves, and flung 
 them against the clouds that came down to meet 
 them, all ragged, frantic, and wild. They saw a 
 ship beaten by the cruel waves, and joined them, 
 and gave chase until they drove it on the rocks ; 
 then they broke it up and cast its spars upon the 
 beach, and drowned its crew : and that night 
 there were shed tears enough to jewel a thousand 
 Sea-Kings’ crowns ! 
 
 When the wild hurricane arose, Tuflongbo and 
 his companions gave themselves up for lost, and 
 clasping hands, they drifted away, swiftly, swiftly, 
 their eyes closed but their thoughts clear, until 
 out of the darkness that enwrapt them, there 
 gradually grew the hazy light of morn; when 
 they found themselves washed up once more on 
 the strand of the Balmy Isles, which looked now 
 quite lonely and deserted, but was strewn with 
 
 13—2 
 
] 96 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 tangle and seaweed of all kinds, such as are left 
 behind amongst fragments of wreck when Storm 
 and Tempest have worked their will and gone 
 back to the Deep-Sea Caves. 
 
 XV. 
 
 A BLISSFUL REUNION. 
 
 The gallant Leader and Chickweed congratulated 
 themselves and each other upon this happy issue 
 of their adventure with the Mermaids ; but Larch, 
 Larkspur, Mustard, Chamomile, Gooseberry, and 
 Canary were naturally much depressed in their 
 minds still for the loss of their bits of gossamer ; 
 though their Captain had indulged a hope that 
 their prolonged salt-water bath might have washed 
 some of the sentiment and susceptibility out of 
 them. It had not done so, however, and as soon 
 as they found themselves once more landed in 
 safety and escaped from the perils of the deep, 
 they gave themselves up to the indulgence of 
 regret in the weakest manner. Tuflongbo lost all 
 patience with them, and wished heartily they had 
 their Elves back again ; but as wishing would not 
 bring them, he organized a quick march instead, 
 to revive their spirits, and led the way towards a 
 
A BLISSFUL REUNION. 
 
 197 
 
 dense forest of spice-trees which appeared to half- 
 cover the largest of the beautiful Balmy Isles. 
 
 On entering this agreeable scene* they were all 
 reminded of home* of Tanglewood* and of the 
 sweet prospects about the Enchanted Bower* 
 matters which profitably engaged their thoughts 
 and conversation* until they were alarmed by 
 hearing a chorus of pathetic cries* like the voices 
 of Elves in distress. 
 
 “ To the rescue of suffering innocence ! ” cried 
 Tuflongbo* and instantly rushed forward to the 
 scene of strife* with Snub* Chickweed* and all the 
 band close upon his heels. And when they 
 reached it* what did they see but the despicable 
 Crumplecues bearing away six gentle Elves* who 
 proved to be no other than Pearl* Puff* Cherry* 
 Snowflake* Flutter* and Fleece ! 
 
 No need then to cry* “ Charge ! ” Larkspur* 
 Larch* Mustard* Chamomile* Gooseberry* and 
 Canary charged with a will* indeed* and being 
 reinforced by Tuflongbo* Chickweed* and the 
 impetuous Snub* they effected such a diversion 
 as made the atrocious Crumplecues thankful to 
 take to their legs and beat an ignominious retreat. 
 The poor little bits of gossamer were then almost 
 fainting, but they still had strength enough left to 
 throw themselves into the arms of their deliverers* 
 and to weep tears of joy upon their bosoms. It 
 
198 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 was altogether the most pathetic scene Tuflongho 
 had ever witnessed. 
 
 “ Then you were not those cruel* mocking 
 Mermaids* bright Elves ? ” demanded the sprightly 
 Captain. 
 
 “ Oh ! no ! no ! ” they replied* in silvery chorus. 
 “ We were charmed to sleep* and they stole our 
 beauty ; but before they went down to the Deep- 
 Sea Cave* they threw it away* and we have found 
 it again ; we have found it again ! ” 
 
 u You are lovelier than ever ! ” cried their 
 enthusiastic adorers* and there was immediately 
 a grand jubilation. 
 
 “ You have wiped the blot from your ’scutcheons, 
 and flung your white feathers to the winds* my 
 brave followers ! ” then said Tuflongbo. “ Let 
 the day when you took flight before the Ogres 
 be henceforth forgotten ! 99 
 
 And then having re-formed in the usual order of 
 march* they proceeded on their way through the 
 wood* and left it by a route directly opposite to 
 that at which they had entered the spicy avenue. 
 This route ran along a narrow isthmus* which* at 
 low water* connected the island with the main 
 land* and having left it behind* and advanced a 
 little way across an elevated plain* they found 
 themselves in a lovely country* diversified with hills 
 and dales* streamlets and copses* while the green 
 
A BLISSFUL REUNION. 
 
 199 
 
 turf was everywhere enamelled with gay flowers. 
 The same sense of familiarity that had struck Tuf- 
 longbo before* now startled him again; and standing 
 still* he exclaimed eagerly* “ Where are we?” To 
 which his comrades replied* shouting as with one 
 voice* “ Almost at home !— almost at home ! ” 
 
 And there* behold* they were* indeed* on a bright 
 hill-top* looking down on the chief city of Shene- 
 land* on the Royal Palace* on the Enchanted 
 Bower* and a thousand other charming and 
 beloved scenes. The shock of this delightful 
 surprise was too much for Tuflongbo’s patriotic 
 feelings* and he wept for joy at the prospect 
 of approaching reunion with all who were dear 
 to him ; while his gallant followers embraced 
 enthusiastically in the ardour of the moment* and 
 the fair Elves clapped their snowy hands for glee* 
 there swelled up towards them a sound of distant 
 music* and they espied a procession with banners* 
 winding in and out of the glades of Elfinwood* 
 apparently coming to meet and congratulate them 
 on their safe return. 
 
 Immediately they shook the dust from their 
 chameleon coats* which wore a beautiful green hue 
 in the freshness of morning, set their knapsacks 
 straight* took firm grip of their staves* and marched 
 gaily on* their pretty companions blushing like 
 roses at their heroes’ triumphant appearance. 
 
200 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Tuflongbo, Chickweed, and Snub, headed the 
 column, Snub exalting his mere stump of a tail 
 as if it were a handsome feathery member, and 
 perking up his ears with airs and antics such as 
 would have been unpardonable in any but a far- 
 travelled dog. Chickweed did not look very 
 exuberant, being in reality disappointed at the 
 abrupt conclusion of his adventures; but Tuf- 
 longbo trod as if upon air, so proudly did his 
 heart beat at having made his great journey in 
 search of Ogres successfully, and brought back 
 all his band safe and sound after their numerous 
 hazards and hair-breadth escapes. 
 
 Thus they marched leisurely on in the morning, 
 and gracefully as if returning from a party of 
 pleasure, until they approached the Enchanted 
 Bower, where they found Queen Osmunda wait- 
 ing with her bevy of Maids of Honour, • Court 
 Pages, Muffin, and Mother Dignity in attendance. 
 There was no formal state reception, such as the 
 great adventurer was honoured with later in his 
 famous career, but only a very cordial greeting 
 on all sides. Her Majesty shook hands with 
 Tuflongbo, and graciously conferred on him as 
 a pledge of her approval the Serene Order of 
 Complacency and Grand Cross of Vanity, which 
 made him feel superlatively bland and sleek within. 
 
 Chickweed was next recognized as an eccentric 
 
A BLISSFUL REUNION. 
 
 201 
 
 character, then Larkspur, Larch, Mustard, Canary, 
 Gooseberry, and Chamomile, were congratulated ; 
 and finally the Elves, who had gone through such 
 terrible persecutions at the hands of fiery-tailed 
 Griffins, of Crumplecues, and of envious Mer- 
 maids, were kissed, cried over, and bewildered 
 with thousands of questions, until Mother Dignity 
 took them under her protection, and sent mes- 
 sengers to apprise their mourning families of 
 their blissful deliverance. Meanwhile, the Queen 
 amiably ratified their betrothal to their gallant 
 adorers, and then returning to the palace with 
 them under her special care, left Tuflongbo and 
 his companions to receive the exuberant welcome 
 of the miscellaneous multitudes that had poured 
 forth to meet them as soon as the news of their 
 arrival spread. 
 
 Foremost amongst these came the eloquent Wild 
 Sorrel, who could hardly find terms to express his 
 ecstasy. Then came Poplar, Sycamore, Sardony, 
 Mezereon, Borage, Box, Dandelion, Fig, and hosts 
 of others, to all of whose good wishes Tuflongbo 
 hearkened with a joyous patience, while ever and 
 anon turning his head in the hope of beholding 
 his father and mother making their eager way 
 through the crowd. But they did not appear, 
 neither did Rudbeakia or Gourd, his old masters ; 
 so Tuflongbo bethought himself that they were 
 
202 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 old and therefore could hardly come out thus far 
 to meet him ; and as soon as he could conveniently 
 withdraw himself from the press he did so, and 
 sped away alone, light as a leaf upon the tree, 
 towards the chief city of Sheneland — that being 
 the nearest way to his father’s house : and on 
 the road he indulged his heart in a thousand 
 sweet visions of their glad meeting, the tears 
 swelling in his eyes again and again, though in 
 his breast there was no sense but one of intense 
 happiness and thankfulness. 
 
 XV L 
 
 THE OLD COBBLER’S MESSAGE TO TUFLONGBO. 
 
 Tuflongbo loitered not an instant by the way, 
 but walked his swiftest up the straight street that 
 runs through the midst of the city until he drew 
 near to the stall where lived the old Cobbler with 
 the big head and buckles to his breeches, court- 
 fashion, who had made him his famous shoes — 
 square-toed, double-soled, and with nails in the 
 heels. The Cobbler was sitting by the open 
 window, still at work, and raising his grey head 
 as Tuflongbo approached, he cried out — u Thou 
 
TUFLOXGBO VISITS THE OLD COBBLER 
 
 p. 202- 
 
THE COBBLER’S MESSAGE TO TUFLONGBO. 203 
 
 hast gotten back, then, Tuflongbo ! Didst thou 
 make a good journey ? ” 
 
 “ Very good,” replied the leader of the adven- 
 turers. “I will come and tell you of it anon; 
 now I go to rejoice the hearts of my dear father 
 and mother.” Thus speaking, he would have 
 hastened forward, but the old Cobbler said, 
 gravely, “ Step in hither, my friend, I have a 
 message to thee from them : ” and Tuflongbo 
 feeling, he knew not why, inexpressibly chilled 
 and saddened, turned aside into the Cobbler’s 
 stall. 
 
 “How long is it, Tuflongbo, since thou didst 
 bid thy father and mother farewell?” asked he, 
 still steadily plying his task. 
 
 “I know not — travellers take little heed of 
 time,” was Tuflongbo’s answer. 
 
 “ Thy beard is grown, and the fairykin curls 
 on thy head are thinner and less bright than they 
 were. Their heads were grey at thy departing, 
 if thou doest remember ? ” 
 
 “ I remember nothing but that I was very glad 
 to go.” 
 
 “ Still thou wast a good son, Tuflongbo : it is 
 only natural that fairykins should plume their 
 wings for flight when they are fully grown. They 
 bade me tell thee once more how they loved thee, 
 since they were not permitted to await thy return. 
 
204 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 They also have set off on a journey, but thou 
 wilt overtake them presently.” 
 
 “Whither are they gone?” asked the adven- 
 turer. 
 
 “ They are gone on before thee to Shadowland, 
 Tuflongbo. I also shall soon be on my way 
 thither, for my leather is nearly used up and my 
 work ended. Another winter over, and I shall 
 be setting forth too. Tell me how thy shoes that 
 I made thee have worn ? ” 
 
 “ They have worn well — I see not yet that they 
 are any the worse,” replied Tuflongbo. 
 
 “They are, nevertheless, imperceptibly losing 
 strength every day. But thou hast many another 
 long journey and wild adventure before thee, and 
 they will outlast them all. Be not cast down, 
 my friend ; time stands not still. Go back to thy 
 brave followers, and to thy work of traveller 
 through Sheneland until Shadowland and the Inn 
 of Rest are gained. You and I shall hardly meet 
 here again, Tuflongbo, and strangers are at home 
 in thy father’s house. Let us now say good-by, 
 and go. Good-by, Tuflongbo.” 
 
 “ Good-by,” responded the weary adventurer, 
 and with his trusty staff in his hand, he turned 
 away, leaving the days of his youth behind for 
 
 ever. 
 
205 
 
 fart ihq Jjoitrtlt. 
 
 TUFLONGBO’S SHOES WEAR OUT. 
 
 I. 
 
 A SUMMARY OF HIS MID-CAREER. 
 
 At this period of Tuflongbo’s busy and distin- 
 guished life it is expedient that a brief summary 
 should be given of those famous adventures, of 
 which fuller chronicles can be read elsewhere ; and 
 this his biographer will now proceed to offer, pre- 
 paratory to following him on his last brief journey 
 with the Young Observer in and out and round 
 about the remote parts of Sheneland, which closed 
 his public career with infinite honour and glory. 
 
 He remained at Elfin Court but a few months 
 after his triumphant return from Ogreland, and 
 then set out on a voyage of discovery to the 
 country of the Aplepivi. During this exploration 
 he was unaccompanied by any supporters what- 
 
206 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 ever, and travelled only with a simple knapsack 
 and walking-stick ; but, his humble appointments 
 notwithstanding, he made some most remarkable 
 and valuable additions to the astronomical learning 
 and agricultural wealth of his native land. In the 
 first place, he found out the use to which the old 
 Moons are put — namely, that men in blue aprons 
 cut them up and make them into Stars of all mag- 
 nitudes and every degree of brilliance — the story 
 of which he had the honour of relating before 
 Queen Osmunda and all Elfin Court in full state 
 assembled. Besides solving this wonderful astro- 
 nomical puzzle, he crossed the Great Sea, which 
 was but three sights over, landed on the snow- 
 white shores of the country of the Aplepivi, formed 
 an alliance with the people for commercial pur- 
 poses, and brought home honey and delicious 
 
 fruit as a tribute to the Queen of Sheneland. On 
 
 » 
 
 this occasion he wore a cloak of peacocks’ eyes — 
 an assumption which made him some enemies 
 amongst the Royal Society of Wiseacres; but the 
 feast he gave them with the Court after his lecture 
 was concluded ameliorated their prejudices, and he 
 ever afterwards continued on the best of terms 
 with them. At this epoch, in consideration of his 
 valuable scientific services, he was appointed State 
 Geographer and Astronomer. 
 
 Tuflongbo’s next commission was to discover the 
 
A SUMMARY OF HIS MID-CAREER. 207 
 
 whereabouts of the Puffraspabi and Alecompagni, 
 two lost tribes who emigrated from Sheneland in 
 the reign of Queen Russet’s predecessor* Queen 
 Dull; in this* also* he was eminently successful* 
 bringing back several families* and re-settling 
 
 O O J CD 
 
 them amongst the people. 
 
 After this he went down with Prince Glee into 
 Wildwaste* the stronghold of the Giants* whither 
 fair Princess Trill had been decoyed on her 
 wedding-day by the cruel machinations of her 
 wicked Aunt Spite. After her rescue he remained 
 at Court just long enough to see her safely and 
 comfortably married to her amiable Prince Glee* 
 and then set off with a large Elfin company on 
 that tremendous journey through the Enchanted 
 Forest of Stone* during which little Content fol- 
 lowed his vagrant fortunes. Returning thence 
 full of honours* spoils* and wonderful stories* the 
 Queen and Court gave him a State reception* and 
 he was made a Knight Fairy of the Most Noble 
 Order of Valour — the highest dignity that can be 
 conferred by a sovereign of Sheneland on a brave 
 and loyal subject. 
 
 A brief period of adversity and persecution 
 followed close on his exaltation* but out of this his 
 fame emerged all the brighter and clearer for the 
 temporary eclipse; and after sharing in various 
 festivities at Court* and attending the marriages of 
 
208 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 some of his Elfin Band, he was soon on the wing 
 again. His only follower on this occasion was the 
 Young Observer, a boy from the Country under 
 the Sun, who was staying with his sister Roly- 
 Poly on a charming visit to Professor Holiday, 
 just at the time Sir Tuflongbo happened to come 
 home after his adventurous travels through the 
 Enchanted Forest of Stone. They immediately 
 struck up a grand alliance of friendship, and one 
 night, when everybody else was at a Royal Feast, 
 eating like Kings and Queens, they set quietly oif 
 without leaving any clue as to whither they weve 
 gone; and the next morning, when their flight 
 was discovered, they were far away beyond the 
 Enchanted Bower, with a journey before them to 
 the remote parts of Sheneland; and the Young 
 Observer, then feeling himself safe from pursuit 
 and capture, got into high feather and the very 
 best of good spirits. 
 
 II. 
 
 TUFLONGBO ABOLISHES A BAD CUSTOM. 
 
 The first station where the travellers rested was a 
 curious place, where the Young Observer was 
 shocked to see an assemblage of infants teaching 
 
TUFLONGBO ABOLISHES A BAD CUSTOM. 209 
 
 their grandmothers to suck eggs. The old ladies 
 were sitting upon a narrow bench, with their 
 worthy toes turned in, their chins sunk on their 
 bosoms, and their minds generally in a state of 
 profound dejection. The famous Adventurer put 
 on his spectacles, and regarded them with tender 
 pity and sympathy ; many strange things had he 
 seen in his journeying, but never had he seen 
 anything that touched him with so indignant a 
 compassion as the position and aspect of these per- 
 secuted and venerable dames; and the Young 
 Observer felt precisely the same. 
 
 Up and down before them marched their dread- 
 fully clever grandchildren, some in knickerbockers 
 of poppy cloth, some in fan-tailed pigeon gos- 
 samer, but all bearing on their arms baskets of 
 poultry produce labelled with all sorts of hard 
 words. 
 
 “ Now, granny dear, this Egg is Physical 
 Geography ! ” cried one small pedagogue in petti- 
 coats. “ Apply it to your lips, take a good suck 
 — thus — and then be pleased to mention in the 
 order of their importance the great watersheds of 
 Sheneland.” 
 
 Granny wept behind her glasses, and was dumb. 
 Sir Tuflongbo could have wept, too, and he regis- 
 tered a silent vow to do his best to discourage 
 henceforward this abominable practice of the 
 
 14 
 
210 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 younger folks teaching their elders; but being 
 there with the Young Observer for the express 
 purpose of gathering useful knowledge* he gave 
 his attention diligently to the methods of instruction 
 pursued in this singular school of learning and 
 morals. 
 
 One irreverent monkey bade his mamsie look 
 alive* and give him the altitude of the nearest 
 fixed star; another demanded the animal products 
 of the moon ; a third preached up the new prin- 
 ciple of moral suasion ; a fourth talked physiology* 
 criticism* poetry* trigonometry* and heresy* like an 
 addled philosopher ; while a fifth set his grannie 
 sums that were of no more use than money gone 
 mad! 
 
 Sir Tuflongbo found his patience sorely tried* 
 but he had yet worse tortures of temper to suffer. 
 Presently* a small shrill-voiced prig got out an 
 Egg of Facts to correct Fancies* and was for 
 making his granny swallow it whole* while he 
 proved to her that there were no such creatures as 
 Ogres. Didn’t Sir Tuflongbo give him a tweak of 
 the ear for that ! Then a still more intolerable 
 little imp pulled a long face like a fiddle* professed 
 a preference for work over play* and for sweet 
 verses over funny tales — but that was the fairykin 
 who stole the jam. 
 
 The famous Adventurer was set fairly beside 
 
TUFLONGBO ABOLISHES A BAD CUSTOM. 211 
 
 himself on hearing these precocious goody pre- 
 tences. He sprang up from his seat suddenly, 
 with a jerk, as if till that moment he had been 
 wired down to it, and, making a rush on the 
 baskets, with half a dozen dexterous applications of 
 his toe, he did kick all those ridiculous Eggs out 
 of them, and the Young Observer gladly lent his 
 assistance to disperse them into dusty nooks and 
 corners, where nobody could ever find them again. 
 Then the grannies gave vent to a cheer of relief, 
 and after a momentary dismay the fairykins 
 threw off their sham airs of wisdom, joined in it, 
 and became quite naturally nice, noisy, and 
 naughty — a most agreeable variety on their pre- 
 vious primness. They then espied Sir Tuflongbo, 
 and gathered clustering round his knees, crying, 
 (i Tell us a story ! Oh, tell us a story ! Do, please, 
 dear, darling old Tuflongbo ! ” 
 
 “ What shall it be about ? ” asked the great 
 Traveller, who was easily propitiated when tiny 
 hands plucked at him, and tiny, soft warm faces 
 crowded up to his. 
 
 “ Oh, something jolly ! Don’t put a moral in it 
 to teach us how bad we are and how good we 
 might be,” whispered a sly rogue, curling a quaint 
 nose in confidence at his friend. Sir Tuflongbo 
 understood him perfectly, and when order was 
 restored, he narrated to his eager little audience 
 
 14 — 2 
 
212 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 the wonderful story of The Enchanted Dumplings, 
 while the Boy from the Country under the Sun 
 sat by taking notes of it. 
 
 HI. 
 
 THE STORY OF THE ENCHANTED DUMPLINGS. 
 
 Once upon a time there lived in Sheneland a 
 very poor couple on whom had been bestowed the 
 blessing of two sons — twins — whose names were 
 Lappit and Lob. Now, though their father and 
 mother loved them very dearly, it was often a 
 difficult matter to find their hungry, growing 
 children enough to eat ; so on a certain day they 
 called them into their presence, and after many 
 tears and embraces, gave them a benediction, and 
 bade them go into the forest, and seek food for 
 themselves. Lappit and Lob were not sorry to 
 become thus early their own masters, and they 
 turned away from their humble birthplace without 
 regret — life with its grand chances was all before 
 them — behind them was only love, and meek 
 poverty with contentment. But before they set 
 out their father gave them one piece of excellent 
 advice. 
 
THE ENCHANTED DUMPLINGS, 
 
 213 
 
 “ My beloved sons,” said he, gravely ; “ let me 
 warn you to neglect no passing joy in the ardour 
 of your pursuit after any single object. Our 
 journey is never very long, and the end of our 
 work comes soon enough; therefore stretch not 
 forward too eagerly, lest you neglect for a distant 
 phantom a present and substantial good. The 
 pleasure, the suffering, and the provision for each 
 day come with it — do not shut your eyes to be rid 
 of any one of them. Take them as they arrive 
 and be thankful.” 
 
 And Lappit and Lob started forth on their 
 travels and labours, faithfully intending to follow 
 their father’s sage counsel. It was then morning, 
 and very pleasant, fresh, spring weather. The 
 road they took had a thousand charms for their 
 unaccustomed eyes, but they began by and by to 
 wish for some change in its monotony, or, at any 
 rate, for some special object of attainment after 
 their hard work of walking hour after hour. 
 
 At length said Lappit, “ Dear Lob, do you 
 ever remember hearing tell of the marvellous 
 Enchanted Dumplings that are to be found in this 
 forest ? I think if I could only find one I should 
 be completely happy.” 
 
 “ Yes, I have heard of them, ” replied Lob. 
 “ Let us seek some — the very thought was in my 
 mind when you spoke ! ” 
 
214 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 “ What a remarkable coincidence ! Then, rely 
 on it, we are going to have good luck,” cried 
 Lappit. 
 
 “Fortune grant it!” answered Lob, and away 
 they went, quickening their pace, cheerfully and 
 hopefully together. 
 
 They had not gone far when they heard a sound 
 of chop, chop, chop, and that was the suet ; then 
 of stir, stir, stir, and that was mixing the dough ; 
 then of hiss, bubble, bubble, and that was dump- 
 lings boiling in the pot! The next thing that 
 happened was very singular indeed. A brace of 
 tidy little dumplings were flung out on the road 
 before them, which immediately began to roll and 
 bowl, and trundle themselves away in desperate 
 haste while Lappit and Lob gave hot and eager 
 chase. 
 
 Lappit, in his desire to capture one of them, 
 literally flung himself full length on the ground 
 with arms extended to the utmost stretch, and was 
 within an ace of reaching it when it gave a great 
 leap and swift! was miles ahead before he could 
 recover his feet. Then Lob, perceiving that his 
 brother failed in thus making a dash at the sweet 
 object of his desires, determined to try craft 
 with his dumpling, and executed many clever 
 manoeuvres in and out amongst the trees, and laid 
 many wily ambushes to entrap it, but none of 
 
THE ENCHANTED DUMPLINGS. 
 
 215 
 
 them succeeded; and the pursuers were already 
 breathless while the Enchanted Dumplings still 
 rolled on as merrily and mockingly as ever ! 
 
 Lappit, as it then appeared, was of a temper 
 easily discouraged, for he now began to protest 
 that he saw no chance of overtaking them, and 
 Lob was just on the point of agreeing with him, 
 when a husky voice said from amidst the brambles, 
 “ You must have more patience. Frantic bursts 
 of strength never avail in a race with Enchanted 
 Dumplings. You must run steadily to endeavour 
 to tire them down.” 
 
 Lappit and Lob looked about for the speaker, 
 but they saw no one, and as the Dumplings were 
 just vanishing on the edge of the horizon, they 
 determined to make a new effort to catch them ere 
 it was too late; and so they fell into a long 
 swinging trot, which did not exhaust their own 
 strength, but covered a great extent of ground, 
 and at length they became sure that they were 
 gaining on their prey. They kept up their pecu- 
 liar pace without ever flagging, for each moment 
 now visibly lessened the distance between pur- 
 suers and pursued, and the Enchanted. Dumplings 
 betrayed evident signs of distress. 
 
 “Five minutes more of steady running and they 
 are ours ! ” panted Lob ; and at the end of that 
 time they were theirs, and the brace of tidy little 
 
216 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Dumplings gave up the ghost with a jolly laugh, 
 owning themselves fairly caught. 
 
 Then the twin brothers gaily sat down under 
 the shade of a spreading tree and each plied a 
 gallant knife and fork upon his spoil. They ate 
 with excellent appetite, praised the cook, extolled 
 the puddings ; and, though very diligent in satisfy- 
 ing their own needs, both readily spared some 
 good solid slices to certain hungry poor folks w T ho 
 came to look on. 
 
 When they had eaten sufficient they rose and 
 proceeded on their way, cheerful and refreshed, 
 still singing the praises of the tidy little Dump- 
 lings which they had so much enjoyed. But the 
 sight of a middle-aged person in the very crisis of 
 capturing one twice as big, changed their merry 
 mood to one of extreme dissatisfaction, and they 
 began to make critical and sarcastic remarks upon 
 what had so recently been the object of their 
 ardent desire and pursuit. 
 
 “ After all, Lob, our Dumplings were not worth 
 the trouble we were at to overtake them,” said 
 Lappit contemptuously. “They were but very 
 plain puddings and must have been made in a 
 monstrous high wind; for, if you observed, the 
 plums were not on speaking terms with each 
 other.” 
 
 “ I was just making the same reflection, ” 
 
THE ENCHANTED DUMPLINGS. 
 
 217 
 
 answered Lob ; “I am sure I cannot resign my- 
 self to never tasting anything better than that 
 poor pasty stuff — pasty stuff without sauce too — 
 Ugh!” 
 
 “I wish we could have the chance of such a 
 prize as we saw that stranger picking up just 
 now/’ sighed Lappit. 
 
 “ So do I, and then we should be happy, indeed ! ” 
 responded Lob. 
 
 And with that they toiled on their way, envious 
 and despondent, until they heard the chop, chop, 
 chop, stir, stir, stir, hiss, bubble, bubble of Dump- 
 lings boiling in the pot ! 
 
 “I do believe we are going to have another 
 chance!” then cried Lappit; and immediately two 
 big, bouncing Enchanted Dumplings sprang full in 
 front of their feet, rested a moment to enjoy their 
 astonishment, and then took to flight precisely as 
 their tidy little predecessors had done ! 
 
 Then away went Lappit and Lob in chase, over 
 hill and dale, through bush, through briar, pant- 
 ing, puffing, tripping, stumbling, seeing none of 
 the pleasant beautiful scenes by the way, and with 
 eyes, hearts, and minds, intent on nothing but the 
 big bouncing Enchanted Dumplings which kept 
 well in front, and seemed twenty times and more 
 as if they were on the point of winning the race. 
 But the brothers, though heated and thirsty, still 
 
218 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 followed energetically* and at last their spoil 
 was secured, but not without immense pain and 
 difficulty. 
 
 “ Oh ! what a dreadful pain I have in my side ! ” 
 sobbed Lappit. 
 
 “And oh! how shockingly stiff are my poor 
 legs,” sighed Lob ; but they both nevertheless sat 
 down and ate their pudding. 
 
 Then again came starved waifs and strays and 
 eyed them hungrily; but though they had ten 
 times more than they could possibly enjoy, they 
 did not feel half so much inclined to be liberal as 
 when they had only just enough for themselves. 
 They talked of shams and impostors and felt them- 
 selves very wise, good, responsible people — but 
 not liberal, and it was with rather an effort that 
 they at last condescended to say, as the poor 
 starved folks were going empty away, “If you 
 can wait till we have finished, then you may pick 
 up our crumbs.” So the hungry folks picked 
 them up and being half filled were proportionably 
 grateful. Those who had shared the tidy little 
 Dumplings blessed them — these were dumb. 
 
 The brothers made a heavy meal and sat long 
 over it, but tiring at length even of that luxurious 
 indulgence, they got up and marched on; not 
 with half the spirit they had before, which they 
 attributed to advancing age. 
 
THE ENCHANTED DUMPLINGS. 
 
 219 
 
 “We are neither of us so young as we have 
 been,” said Lappit; “ and chasing Enchanted 
 Dumplings is certainly hard work.” 
 
 “ So it is,” agreed Lob ; “ but look — see that old 
 fellow with a Dumpling as big as a house ! If he 
 is not going to scoop a hole in the middle of it 
 and get in ! ” 
 
 “ He’s comfortable for life — I wish we were ! ” 
 gasped Lappit, swelling with covetousness till his 
 eyes nearly started out of his head. 
 
 “ How unjustly things are dealt to be sure ! ” 
 muttered Lob; “ we must toil on, while that de- 
 crepit creature has only to enjoy himself.” And 
 thus the brothers growled and grumbled until 
 the displeasing spectacle of another’s wealth was 
 lost to view. 
 
 So they went on, never much exerting them- 
 selves, nor at all amusing themselves ; their every 
 thought being bent on the possibility of Enchanted 
 Dumplings as big as houses being granted to them 
 in reward for their well-spent lives ; for they were 
 both of opinion that they deserved them. 
 
 “Consider how hard we have struggled and 
 striven with our lot,” said Lappit. “ What a 
 vigorous race we ran for our first Dumplings, 
 and how completely we forgot everything else 
 in our pursuit of the second? If we are not 
 meritorious, ivho is ? ” 
 
220 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 “ Perhaps if we give our whole minds to the 
 search, we may yet conquer a third brace vast 
 as that old fellow’s, who was scooping a hole out 
 of his to live in,” suggested Lob. “Do not let 
 us give up ambition yet.” 
 
 “ By no means. Not while there is a plum to 
 be had,” replied Lappit. And so they stretched 
 forward on their journey, eagerly looking out for 
 their great chance of a provision for life. 
 
 They were now travelling swiftly down hill, 
 and near the bottom of the descent they espied 
 two gigantic Enchanted Dumplings, apparently at 
 a stand-still in one place. They immediately 
 broke into a hobbling run, and, coming up with 
 them, each clapped a hand on the one he chose, 
 and shouted in a voice of husky triumph, “ Mine ! ” 
 Then both burst into feeble tears of pleasure, being 
 no longer strong enough to control their feelings. 
 As soon as they had a little recovered from the 
 weakness they set to work to make a hole in the 
 middle of their Dumplings, and when the task 
 was accomplished, in they got, and wearily curled 
 themselves up. 
 
 “ Ugh ! ” grunted Lappit. “ I don’t know that 
 it was worth while. I feel very much like falling 
 asleep, now it is done.” 
 
 “ Plague on it ! ” snarled Lob. “ When 
 one has a rich house one must keep one’s 
 
THE ENCHANTED DUMPLINGS. 
 
 221 
 
 eyes open, for fear of thieves ; and I am very 
 drowsy.” 
 
 These were private reflections, made by each 
 to himself, and not meant to be overheard ; but 
 they were overheard, and presently the voice that 
 had advised them in the pursuit of the first Dump- 
 lings, asked, quite close at hand — 
 
 “ Well, Lappit ; well. Lob, now you are com- 
 fortable for life, I hope you are satisfied.” 
 
 “ Moderately so,” responded the brothers, simul- 
 taneously. 
 
 Here there gathered round the rich castle- 
 puddings an immense crowd of destitute, hungry 
 folks with long grey wondering faces, and pallid 
 blank eyes ; their look, their attitude, their very 
 gaze, were prayers, and they chilled the atmo- 
 sphere with the cloud of their misery. The 
 brothers stared at them with angry surprise, and 
 then exclaimed — u Get out of our sunshine ! we 
 have nothing to give you. Go work, go race; 
 tire down Enchanted Dumplings for yourselves ! ” 
 But the poor Waifs and Strays stretched forth 
 lean hands and begged again, and again, and again, 
 but to no purpose. Lappit and Lob buried them- 
 selves in the sweet softness of their enchanted 
 dwellings, and would not spare them so much as 
 a crumb. Then gradually they faded away, and 
 
222 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 when they were gone the air was colder than 
 ever — cold as an icy east wind. 
 
 “ We appear well off, but it is shivering winter 
 here, brother, don’t you find it so ? ” presently 
 whispered Lappit. 
 
 “Yes, and desperate lonely. How is it with 
 your appetite now ? ” asked Lob. 
 
 “ Lost ! — quite lost ! There is neither freshness 
 nor savour in anything,” was Lappit’s dreary reply. 
 
 “Most true. I believe, after all, our first 
 Dumplings were the best,” said Lob. 
 
 “Not a doubt of it. I’m sure they were,” 
 agreed Lappit. “ What is the use of these un- 
 wieldy things to us ? They would feed a mul- 
 titude.” 
 
 “ Then why did you send away starving a 
 multitude ? ” demanded the stern, unseen voice. 
 
 “ Why, indeed ? Are we, with the fruits of oui 
 toils, to fatten all the poor folks in Sheneland?” 
 cried Lappit, indignantly. 
 
 “ I should think not ! ” sneered Lob. “ What 
 we have raced and wrought for is our own, and 
 shall never be lavished on the thriftless.” 
 
 “ Success has hardened vour hearts, brothers ! ” 
 said the invisible voice. “ You were richer when 
 you had nothing, than you are now with luxury 
 a thousand-fold greater than your needs.” 
 
THE ENCHANTED DUMPLINGS. 
 
 223 
 
 “ How do you make that out? ” inquired Lappit. 
 “ Then you had kind thoughts of charity and 
 mercy in your breasts* and they multiply bread 
 and sweeten it. Now you are full of self and 
 greed* which turn all things to stone ; useless to 
 you* and worse than useless ; heavy as sins round 
 your necks to strangle you* and to others cruel 
 stumbling-blocks* which should be helps.” 
 
 “ I wish you would go away with your dis- 
 agreeable speeches*” said Lob. “We have had 
 little enough pleasure in our lives* I’m sure ; we 
 saw very few charming sights as we raced — we 
 had to run so hard to get what was worth having 
 — or what seemed so. Do let us rest in peace* 
 I beg.” 
 
 “ Rest if you can. Not many rest who have 
 made so much haste to be rich as you ; especially 
 if* when their end is gained* they cannot look 
 outside the blinding halo of their wealth.” 
 
 “Wealth* indeed! don’t mock us. Do you 
 call this sickening Enchanted Dumpling wealth ? ” 
 shrieked Lappit* shrilly. “I cannot eat a scrap 
 of it* and am myself well-nigh starving for lack 
 of simpler food ; it is rich trash ! ” 
 
 “It is excellent pudding* but the way to enjoy 
 it is to give large portions away. Let me call 
 back those hungry poor folks,” said the voice. 
 “No* no; we have nothing else. We were 
 
224 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 at such pains to get it, pray let us keep it whole ! ” 
 entreated the brothers. “ Why, it has cost us 
 all our lives to earn ! ” 
 
 “ And it will end by choking you ! Too much 
 pudding, like too much money, always destroys 
 those who are over greedy to share it. If you 
 refuse to be advised, I have done with you.” And 
 the voice fainted off into a long echo of distress, 
 which ceased not to ring in the brothers’ ears until 
 they both fell fast asleep. 
 
 And as soon as that happened, down came a 
 flight of birds of the air, and pecked the puddings 
 to pieces, and strewed the crumbs all abroad on 
 the earth; eating some, but wasting ten times 
 more. And so the Enchanted Dumplings that 
 would have fed a multitude never came to any 
 good at all, and the names of Lappit and Lob were 
 forgotten, except “to point a moral and adorn 
 a tale ! ” 
 
 IV. 
 
 SIR TUELONGBO LAYS BY HIS KNAPSACK AND 
 WALKING-STICK. 
 
 “ Who would have expected Sir Tuflongbo’s En- 
 chanted Dumplings to turn out sad!” murmured the 
 Boy from the Country under the Sun ; and then he 
 
SIR TUFLONGBO LAYS BY HIS KNAPSACK. 225 
 
 shut up his tablets solemnly* and for three seconds 
 and a half* he felt quite out of sorts. “ If ever 
 I am rich*” thought he* “ I’ll try to make as many 
 poor bodies happy as I can. It must be miserable 
 work to have a pudding big enough for a score 
 all to oneself; I could not enjoy it if it were 
 drowned in sauce and all blue-blaze with brandy. 
 The real fun of it is for lots of folks to be merry 
 and thankful together. Lappit and Lob were 
 miserly churls who did not know how to be rich — 
 for it is a good thing to be rich if we have the 
 heart to use money well and wisely.” 
 
 Thus moralized the Young Observer* but the 
 little Fairykins* for whose special delectation the 
 legend had been told* took it very literally* and as 
 soon as it was finished* set gaily off to the nearest 
 wood to seek Enchanted Dumplings on their own 
 account. Sir Tuflongbo admonished them not to 
 let the grass grow under their feet* but to be 
 diligent in the quest* and then he took up his 
 knapsack and walking-stick to proceed on his 
 travels once more ; feeling* if the truth must be 
 told* rather stiffer in his limbs than he used to do* 
 and less buoyant and sanguine in his spirits than 
 was his wont. But he did his best to be cheerful* 
 and not in vain ; for he had always cultivated that 
 temper* and it was not likely to fail him when he 
 began to have most need of it. 
 
 15 
 
226 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 For many another day he and his young com- 
 panions journeyed on, making at each turn some 
 new discovery, some useful reflection or some 
 practical remark. Sir Tuflongbo’s renown had 
 gone before him to the remotest corners of Shene- 
 land ; and wherever he presented himself, he was 
 received with honourable welcome. Thus the 
 Observer enjoyed many high privileges. Under 
 the famous Adventurer’s wing, he passed safely 
 through the awful district of Marshollows, where 
 he saw the Electrical Serpentes at play, Gymnotus 
 the Ancient leading the revels. He explored the 
 Cavern of Subterranean Cataracts, dived down a 
 Wishing-well, crossed the Valley ojf a Thousand 
 Rills, and visited an Ogre at home, where he 
 received most hospitable entertainment for Sir 
 Tuflongbo’s sake. After this he went into Wild- 
 waste, ascended the highest peak of the Skihi 
 mountains, and formed the personal acquaintance 
 of a Crumplecue. At this point of their travels, 
 it became painfully evident that Sir Tuflongbo’s 
 great strength and energy were, at last, beginning 
 to fail him, and the Young Observer gently guided 
 his steps towards the haunts of civilization. 
 
 It was towards the close of a glorious autumnal 
 day that they entered the glades of the Enchanted 
 Forest, where still dwelt little Content with his 
 father and mother under their thatched roof 
 
SIR TUFLONGBO LAYS BY HIS KNAPSACK. 227 
 
 garlanded with evergreen clematis. The famous 
 Traveller leant wearily on his young friend, who 
 exhorted him to sit down and rest. 
 
 “ By-and-by,” said he, “ by-and-by — a few paces 
 more, a few paces more ; ” and his invincible 
 courage carried him in sight of his former merry 
 little comrade’s abode. Content was looking out 
 at the serene loveliness of the sky, and enjoying 
 the pleasant leisure that follows on well-done work, 
 when he espied his dear old Captain approaching. 
 Immediately he ran forward to meet him, brought 
 him in-doors, gave him of the best the house con- 
 tained, and made him most heartily welcome. 
 
 “ You will stay with me, you will not go any 
 farther, my beloved master,” cried he, and kissed 
 the aged Adventurer’s hand. 
 
 cs No ; I shall not go any farther now,” replied 
 Sir Tuflongbo, laying by his knapsack and trusty 
 staff. “ My shoes, as you see, are nearly worn 
 out. The toes are through, and the last nail 
 dropped from the heels as we crossed this peaceful 
 threshold. I have done with my labours, and they 
 have done with me. But, friend, put by the 
 curtain and set wude the door — let me see the last 
 of the sun, for I always loved it, and I want it to 
 warm me now, for my old bones are chill. Soon 
 I shall fall asleep — night comes.” 
 
 Content did the great Traveller’s bidding, and 
 
 15—2 
 
228 TUELONGBO’S LIEE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 the Young Observer hastened away to warn Sir 
 Tuflongbo’s many friends that he was returned 
 home, so they might come to bid him farewell ere 
 he went to rest; and at his first word, all who 
 knew him, big and little, great and small, high and 
 low, rich and poor, rushed in crowds to where 
 he lay, supported in the tender and faithful arms 
 of Content. 
 
 Queen Osmunda herself appeared, attended by 
 Prince Goldheart, Prince Glee, Sir Arum, and 
 many more of her Court, who loved the ancient 
 Adventurer ; and after a brief conversation with 
 him on his latest exploits, she remarked that it 
 was wonderful to see him so blithe and cheerful 
 at his years. He thanked his Gracious Mistress, 
 and thought his eyes must be failing him, for he 
 fancied he could perceive a white line in her hair 
 and a wrinkle on her lovely brow : he asked if 
 this were so, indeed. 
 
 “ Yes, Sir Tuflongbo, it is so; wrinkles and 
 white hairs come to queens as to subjects,” replied 
 she, with a smile ; “ but I heed them not, for I 
 and all whom I love are growing old together.” 
 
 “ Ay, ay,” said the great Traveller ; “ ’tis no 
 fancy — my chameleon suit has lost its brightness 
 also. There have been many changes in Shene- 
 land since it was new, and I think the old fashions 
 suited me best.” 
 
SIR TUFLONGBO LAYS BY HIS KNAPSACK. 229 
 
 Here some stupid person ventured to suggest 
 that perhaps the famous Adventurer was losing 
 his memory ; but his quick ear caught the harsh 
 insinuation* and he promptly denied it. “ Nothing 
 of the sort ! ” cried he : “ my last public service 
 was to abolish an odious custom amongst Fairy- 
 kins* of teaching their grannies to suck eggs ; and 
 your face I recollect as that of a little Prig who 
 wanted to make his swallow one whole ! ” On 
 which the stupid person retired in confusion* 
 amidst the jeers and frowns of everybody there 
 assembled. 
 
 Roly-Poly then came running in* breathless* 
 with a troop of playfellows* and having climbed 
 up on her dear* old* indulgent friend’s knee* she 
 entreated him to tell them all just one more story 
 before he went to sleep. So Sir Tuflongbo stroked 
 her golden head* took down his wallet from the 
 wall* where Content had hung it when he laid it 
 by* and picked out a short tale ; then passed the 
 receptacle* with all its multifarious collections of 
 legends* parables* puzzles* and riddles* to the 
 Young Observer* charging him to convey it to 
 Fancy* the Court Moralist and Story-teller* as 
 soon as he was fallen asleep ; and the Boy faith- 
 fully promised to do his behests. 
 
 Every one present then sat down in a circle* 
 and silence having been proclaimed* the Great 
 
230 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Traveller and Adventurer, with his toil-worn, 
 brown old hand resting on Roly-Poly’s golden 
 head, began to speak, and told his last story to 
 his little friends. 
 
 V. 
 
 SIR TUFLONGBO’S LAST STORY. 
 
 Long, long ago, in the reign of the venerable 
 Queen Dull, there was found in an acorn-cup a 
 most beautiful little Fairykin, to whom her 
 Majesty solemnly stood godmother, and because 
 a little crested curl rose up on his forehead like a 
 horn, she gave him the name of Prince Topknot. 
 
 Prince Topknot was educated at Court, and 
 was made learned in all the graces and elegancies 
 of manner then in fashion, and by reason of his 
 pure descent from the Royal Oak Tree, a great 
 deal more deference was paid to his whims and 
 fancies than was at all good for him ; in conse- 
 quence of which, he grew extremely conceited. 
 When he walked, it was always with his nose and 
 his crested curl in the air, as if his eyes were too 
 noble to look on the common earth ; and many an 
 awkward, humiliating tumble he got before he 
 could condescend to notice the ground he trod 
 on. 
 
SIR TUFLONGBO’S LAST STORY. 231 
 
 Now one day it happened that Queen Dull 
 wished for some poppy-seed to sow in her summer 
 garden where she slept of an afternoon, and Prince 
 Topknot being sent out to gather some, came back 
 with sand instead. 
 
 “What is this thou hast brought me. Prince 
 Topknot ? ” asked the Queen, much disturbed. 
 
 “ Poppy-seed ,” answered the Prince. 
 
 “ Never grew poppy from sand yet ! Some 
 jester hath befooled thee ! ” 
 
 “ A ragged little witling met me in the meads, 
 and when I told him what I wanted, he gave me 
 that, and said it was poppy-seed.” 
 
 “ Hadst thou no eyes in thy head to see that it 
 was mere sand-grains off the shore? Prince Top- 
 knot, thou wilt never be wise until thou hast 
 learnt to use thy own servants , instead of letting 
 the first knave that comes play thee ill tricks.” 
 
 “ Servants ! — who are my servants ? ” muttered 
 the Prince ; “ I have none ! ” 
 
 “ Hast thou no eyes to behold with, no tongue 
 to speak with, no feet to walk with, no hands to 
 handle with, no head to think with, no heart to 
 feel with ? ” 
 
 “Everybody has those f was the contemptuous 
 rejoinder. 
 
 “And though thou wert a King instead of a 
 foolish little Princekin, thou couldst have none 
 
232 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 better, and none so faithful ! ” And the Queen 
 was angry at his ridiculous pride, and commanded 
 him to leave her presence; and then came the 
 ragged little witling, and brought true poppy-seed 
 to sow in the summer-garden where she slept of 
 an afternoon. 
 
 From that day forth Prince Topknot was quite 
 out of favour at Court, and his rival, the ragged 
 little witling, was made Prime Minister; but then 
 he was ragged no longer, being clad in the best 
 silk that the looms of Sheneland could spin. This 
 reverse of fortune was extremely displeasing to 
 the Prince, as you may well imagine, and he 
 supported it with anything but dignity ; for not 
 only had the Queen withdrawn her countenance 
 from him, but all those parasites and sycophants 
 who had been foremost in upholding his vanity so 
 long as he was in her good graces, now very 
 obtrusively gave him the cold shoulder, and said 
 that but for the crested curl that rose up on his 
 forehead like a horn, and his descent from the 
 Royal Oak Tree, he would be nothing . 
 
 “ Take from any of you your chief gift of 
 nature and fortune, and you would be less than 
 nothing ! ” was the Prince’s retort, which betrayed 
 a certain shrewdness that might have stood him in 
 good stead, if he would only have used it on 
 common occasions. But as yet he could not 
 
SIR TUFLONGBO’S LAST STORY. 
 
 233 
 
 subdue his lofty mind to do that. He still found 
 a few inferior persons ready to think for him* feel 
 for him,, work for him, walk for him, and see for 
 him, because he was Prince Topknot, and for no 
 other reason ; and while he could thus keep his 
 own servants in the luxury of pure idleness, he 
 was quite contented to use theirs ; but it was a 
 very negligent duty they paid him in return for 
 his unwise confidence. 
 
 If he asked what sort of weather it was, one 
 would tell him, “ The sun shines, your High- 
 ness,” though the very sky was falling in torrents 
 of rain ; but the Prince took his walk, and of 
 course came back drenched to the skin. If he 
 remarked that he felt hungry, his cook sent him 
 word that he had had his dinner ; and though 
 he knew he was empty, he was bound to believe 
 him. At length, Princekin as he was, he fell 
 into such a miserable state of slavery to those 
 who surrounded him that there was not, perhaps, 
 any more abjectly wretched person in all Queen 
 Dull’s dominions than he. 
 
 He endured this state of things for some time 
 with passive pride, fortifying himself with ideas of 
 his crested curl and his pure descent from the 
 Royal Oak Tree. But sitting one afternoon in 
 solitary magnificence under his great grandsire’s 
 shadow, two ragged witlings — cousins to the 
 
234 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 Prime Minister — came peeping round by the 
 trunk, and after making several sly remarks on 
 his serene state of self-glorification, they broke 
 into a peal of mocking laughter, and declared 
 they would not change places with Prince Top- 
 knot for all the crested curls in Sheneland. The 
 Prince eyed them angrily and bade them begone, 
 but he had now so few claims to personal respect 
 that those who were independent of him did not 
 consider it worth while to pay any deference to his 
 dignity, and the pert witlings, instead of depart- 
 ing, only came round in front and danced a 
 defiant jig before him. The Prince shut his eyes 
 and pretended not to see them, but there were 
 plenty of people ready to din an account of their 
 insulting antics into his ears, and to magnify them 
 twenty-fold. 
 
 At last said poor Topknot, “ I won’t bear this 
 any longer ! ” and in a desperate moment he 
 shaved off his crested curl, disguised himself in 
 plain clothes and ran away from Court, leaving 
 friends and foes, parasites and mocking witlings 
 behind him, and carrying absolutely nothing away 
 but his own long lazy personal servants. 
 
 His first day’s journey carried him some leagues 
 deep into Tanglewood, and when he was preparing 
 to rest for the night, he was painfully reminded 
 that he had neither food nor bed. But these 
 
SIR TUFLONGBO’S LAST STORY. 235 
 
 needs notwithstanding, he felt easier and more 
 cheerful in his temper than he had ever done 
 since the day when he brought sand for poppy- 
 seed to Queen Dull, and thus fell out of her 
 favour. As long as the twilight lasted, he gathered 
 wild berries and ate them for supper ; and being 
 satisfied, he plucked up reeds by the armful and 
 made himself a couch under a tree, where he slept 
 a sound, sweet slumber. 
 
 The next morning he awoke betimes, perfectly 
 refreshed, and proceeding on his way, was joined 
 by an ancient wood-cutter going out into the 
 forest for his day’s work. The labourer carried 
 his axe on his shoulder, and being aged, he could 
 walk but slowly ; the Prince, therefore, feelingly 
 accommodated his own young feet to his com- 
 panion’s heavy steps, and when they reached that 
 part of the wood which was being cleared, he 
 offered to take the axe and do his task for him. 
 
 “ You may if you can,” replied the wood-cutter, 
 and he gave the stranger his tool. 
 
 “ If I can ! 99 echoed the proud Prince, with 
 laughing contempt. “ Why, of course I can ! ” 
 and seizing the axe he swung it round his head 
 with great demonstration of force, and aimed a 
 blow at the biggest and toughest ash-tree he could 
 find. 
 
 The Forester looked on, smiling to himself. 
 
236 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTUKES. 
 
 until the beads of sweat began to stand on the 
 eager Prince’s brow ; for though he had not yet 
 cleft one clean stroke through the bark, he had 
 struck it fifty times, and hundreds of little chips 
 and scraps strewed the ground about it ; but his 
 wild work did not look much like felling the tree, 
 either that day or any other day. 
 
 “ You are wasting your strength for nought, 
 friend,” then said the old labourer. “ Let me 
 give you a lesson.” And taking the axe from 
 Prince Topknot’s hands, he showed him how to 
 use it with due effect. 
 
 “ Now let me try again,” cried the young 
 Prince, when he perceived what he must do ; and 
 this time striking with a will and with wisdom 
 too, he began to make vast progress in his self- 
 set task. It was morning when he began it ; by 
 noon he was half-way through the trunk, and 
 towards evening down crashed the green tree 
 upon the sward. 
 
 “ That is well done ! ” cried the Forester, “ and 
 enough for one day.” 
 
 “ I never knew before what pleasure there is 
 in real work” said the Prince, delighted, and 
 stretched his frame and limbs, feeling new vigour 
 and energy in every nerve. 
 
 Never knew before w T hat pleasure there is in 
 real work ! ” echoed the wood-cutter. “ Why, 
 
SIR TUFLONGBO’S LAST STORY. 237 
 
 where have you wasted your youth until now ? 
 He who has not worked , has not lived” 
 
 “X was born a Prince/’ was the answer, “and 
 such have no need to work. They find the world 
 ready made for them.” 
 
 “ Oh, fool ! fool ! fool ! ” exclaimed the ancient 
 labourer ; “ ’tis they who help make the world ; 
 and whether they do their part well or ill, surely 
 the praise or the blame of it shall lie on them for 
 ever. Who made Princes, made the work for 
 Princes, and ^weariful work it must needs often 
 be, but nevertheless it must be done — it must he 
 done . Therefore if yours be still neglected, let me 
 beseech you go back whence you came, and make 
 amends for wrong. A Prince should be double- 
 sighted, readier of wit, keener of speech, quicker 
 of hearing, tenderer of heart, than all others, as 
 his work of governing is harder and nobler than 
 theirs. You need wiser personal servants to rule 
 fairies than to cut down trees. Now, go home 
 and do your task.” 
 
 “But I have shaved off my crested curl, and 
 determined to be a Prince no more. I like your 
 work better than my own,” said Topknot. 
 
 “ If you have shaved off your crested curl, it 
 will grow again ; and as to whether you like your 
 work or my work best, it matters not. You must 
 accomplish yours , and leave me to accomplish 
 
238 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTURES. 
 
 mine . The lots we have drawn we can neither 
 change nor throw away. Wisdom higher than 
 ours guided us in the choice. Farewell, friend, 
 our ways lie wide apart — yours up on those con- 
 spicuous heights, mine down into this humble 
 dell.” And with that the wood-cutter shouldered 
 his axe and parted company with Prince Top- 
 knot. 
 
 The Prince had the natural sagacity to see the 
 truth of his counsel and the courage to take it to 
 heart; for the same night he journeyed back to 
 Court, and resumed his proper place therein. 
 Many a mortification awaited him, and many an 
 hour of toil and disappointment before his long- 
 indulged personal servants could be brought to 
 work in obedience to his will. But at length 
 he had them in thorough control and discipline, 
 and by the time his crested curl had grown 
 again to its former height, he had won such a re- 
 putation for prompt, quick-sighted prudence, high 
 courage and honour, that Queen Dull, in an 
 anxious crisis of her country’s fortunes, was 
 glad to restore him to favour, and to act by his 
 counsels. 
 
 And the end of it all was that Prince Topknot 
 became as widely renowned for his wisdom as he 
 had formerly been for his folly. 
 
239 
 
 VI. 
 
 SIR TUFLONGBO PUTS OFF HIS SHOES. 
 
 “ Your face is very cold. Sir Tuflongbo,” said 
 Roly-Poly, stroking his weather-beaten cheeks 
 with her soft dimpled hands as he finished his 
 story. “ I wish I could warm you ! ” And if 
 anything could have warmed the famous old Ad- 
 venturer again it would surely have been her 
 dewy, loving caresses. 
 
 “Cold, are they, Petkin?” said he. “Well, 
 night is coming, and night is cold too. I am 
 very drowsy, and it is time for you to take a 
 nap as well. But to-morrow little Roly-Poly will 
 play again in the sun.” 
 
 “ And where shall you be, Sir Tuflongbo ? ” 
 “Far on my last journey — if not at the end 
 of it.” 
 
 “ You won’t forget your little Mouse ? ” 
 
 “ Oh, no ; I shall often think of her playing in 
 the sun ! ” 
 
 “ Good-night, then, Sir Tuflongbo.” 
 
 “ Good-night, Petkin ; now run away before it 
 is quite dark.” 
 
 So Roly-Poly ran home to Professor Holiday’s 
 wife, who laid her cosily in bed, and tucked 
 her up. 
 
240 TUFLONGBO’S LIFE AND ADVENTUKES. 
 
 “ And now, friends, since she is gone, I think 
 it is time I put off my shoes — I shall sleep better 
 without,” said Sir Tuflongbo, looking dimly round 
 on the rest. And so he put them off, and was 
 sound asleep in a moment. And the Young Ob- 
 server took up the far-travelled, worn-out things 
 and made relics of them. 
 
 The next morning Sir Tuflongbo was at his 
 journey’s end, safe in Shadowland, with his dear 
 father and mother, and bright little Roly-Poly 
 was playing again in the sun. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 London : Printed by Smith, Elder & Co., 15$ Old Bailey, E.C.