CHAPTER VI.

The Hope of the Katzekopfs was alone once more: the Lady Abracadabra had brought her countrymen another apprentice, in his place, and Prince Eigenwillig’s term of servitude was ended. But, as has been already intimated, this measure was only the prelude to a further trial; for his Fairy-sponsor had no intention of allowing him to quit Fairy-land, till his mind had been so far disciplined as to give every reasonable hope that in spite of the temptations to which he was likely to be exposed at home, he would turn out a good man and a good king.

The Prince was once more alone; for the Lady Abracadabra had suddenly transported him to a district in Fairy-land, which he had not hitherto seen; but instead of being, as on a former occasion, an ill-tempered, unhappy, weary, hungry boy, he was there with a light heart, expecting companions whom his godmother promised should meet him, and anticipating no small pleasure, from being allowed to roam at will through the realm of the Fairies.

The part of the country in which he found himself was even more beautiful than that with which he had been made acquainted at first. The flowers were of a more dazzling brilliancy, and more perfect fragrance. The fruits upon the trees were even more tempting in their appearance. The waters sparkled like diamonds, and the mingled forms of hill and valley arranged themselves into the most exquisite landscape imaginable.

While the Prince stood gazing on the scene, listening to the enchanting songs of the birds, and watching the flight of butterflies, each more delicate in form and colouring than the other, he observed a figure approaching him out of a neighbouring thicket. The form was that of an aged man, with white hair, and white beard, and a long grey robe reaching down to his feet. He was very pale, and very thin, and his shoulders were rather bent. He was not different in height and size, from the generality of the inhabitants of Fairy-land; and so the Prince supposed, at first sight, that, in spite of the stranger’s unusual dress, he was one of the ordinary inhabitants of that country. And so, perhaps, he might have been. But there was a gravity in his manner, and calm severity in his eye, which was unlike other Fairies, whose countenances have generally a merry, sly, or mischievous expression.

The Prince continued to gaze on him, and as he gazed, their eyes met. Immediately, and without being able to account for the feeling, the boy felt himself fascinated. The old man’s expression was stern and even repulsive. Under ordinary circumstances, the Prince would have said to himself, “What an odd, disagreeable face is that!” would have turned away from it, and never thought of it again. But now the face rivetted him, and as he looked on it, its severity seemed to relax, and the mouth had something of inexpressible sweetness in it.

“Good-morrow to you, my Prince,” said the old man, “I have been long looking for you, and am glad to have found you at last.”

There was nothing peculiarly attractive in his voice, which, indeed, to Eigenwillig’s ears, sounded rather harsh and grating; but the old man’s manner was very kind and winning, though his words surprised the Prince not a little.

“I thank you, good father,” said he; “but how is it possible that you should have been long looking for me? Are you a friend of King Katzekopf, or of Queen Ninnilinda?”

“No, my son. I knew them once for a short time; but they have long since forgotten my very existence.”

“Then who are you, aged man?”

“Never mind who I am. I am not wont to tell my name at first. I have found that it raises a prejudice against me. But you may be satisfied of my good-will towards you, since it was by the Lady Abracadabra’s direction that I came to seek you here. I am ready to be your companion, if you are willing to accept my services.”

“I fear I should weary you out in a few hours,” replied the Prince, “you forget that I have the active limbs of youth, and that you, my father, guide your steps with a staff.”

“Nay,” answered the old man, “the fear is on the other side. I am more like to weary you, than you to weary me.”

“Have you ever travelled with any as young as I am?”

“I have set out upon pilgrimage with multitudes such as you are,” answered the stranger with a sigh, “and some,” he added, “have I accompanied to their journey’s end. And dearly have they loved me.”

“I think I should love you, too, and like you for a companion,” said the Prince, “for though you look severe, and speak gravely, your manner bespeaks kind intentions.”

“Stay,” said the old man, “perhaps you choose me because no more acceptable guide appears at hand. The Lady Abracadabra did not mean to restrict you in your choice. If I mistake not, we have another companion hard at hand. Lo you there!”

The Prince following the direction of the old man’s eyes, turned himself a little to the left, and there, close by his side, he perceived a tiny sprite, scarce a span high, who was eyeing the old man with a most malevolent and insulting expression of countenance.

The Prince gazed at him in wonder; he had never seen a creature so small, wearing the human form. “Surely!” he remarked to his aged companion, “this must be the most diminutive of elves.”

“All persons think him so,” replied the old man, “when first they see him; indeed, many declare that, except in a strong light, and after a good deal of exertion, they are unable to see him at all. And what is very remarkable, he never appears alike to two persons at the same time. For instance, I will be bold to say that he looks quite different in your eyes and mine at this very moment. I think him a very hideous little ape.”

“An ape!” exclaimed the Prince, “how you surprise me! To me he seems to have the features of a good-looking boy.”

The old man gave a glance of peculiar meaning at the Prince, and smiling, said, “Did you ever see any boy like him?”

“No!” answered the Hope of the Katzekopfs.

“There is nothing remarkable in that,” replied the grey-robed stranger, with the same smile, and quiet tone, “some persons are more quick at finding resemblances than others. What think you of his dress?”

“Oh,” said the Prince, “I see nothing to find fault with in that; it is just like _my own_.”

The old man smiled once more.

Meanwhile the little Sprite was fidgetting about uneasily, endeavouring to attract attention, as it should seem, and provoked at not finding his efforts more successful.

“Good day to you, my fair and gracious Prince,” it said at length, in tones which, to the Prince’s ear, sounded the softest and most agreeable he had ever heard; “may I venture to address your royal highness?”

“Wait a moment longer,” said the old man, waving his hand. The Sprite made a movement of impatience, which the Prince, involuntarily and unconsciously as it were, repeated. The old man saw it. “Bear with me, Sir, for a single instant. I was only going to say this to you. I am aware that the merry gentleman yonder is more likely to find favour in your eyes than I am. I can only engage that I will be a safe and faithful friend to you, and that I ever keep the promises which I make. If _he_ makes large professions to you, perhaps you will do well to consider his probable ability to fulfil them. I will now leave you to make your decision. I will not interrupt your colloquy, nor attempt to bias your judgment. You have heard me without interruption. You will now have an opportunity of hearing him. It may be that I already anticipate your decision; but of that I say nothing at present. If, hereafter, you find yourself in trouble or difficulty, and have need of me, I shall not be so far off as not to be within call. Clap your hands thrice, and I will speedily be at your side.”

There were some things in this speech which the Prince did not like, and others which he did not understand. But he felt that, at any rate, the old man’s intentions towards him were kind, and, therefore, he was about to express his thanks; but, as he turned to do so, the aged stranger had vanished.

“Ehem!” said the little Sprite, resolved to gain the Prince’s attention at last; “did your royal highness speak? Perhaps you wished that that venerable gentleman should be called back; shall I run after him, and endeavour to find him?”

“Why, no,” replied the Prince, with a little hesitation, “it is unnecessary; but perhaps you can do me the favour of informing me who he is?”

“He was an entire stranger to your royal highness, was he?”

“Yes,” answered the Hope of the Katzekopfs, “I am pretty sure I never saw him before.”

“Just what I apprehended,” observed the Sprite; “he is an old fellow of the most insufferable presumption; one who is continually endeavouring to obtrude himself into the best society; and if by any chance accident he gets admission therein, he is sure to meddle with matters that don’t concern him, to volunteer advice when nobody wishes for it, and to throw a restraint and gloom over any company into which he is allowed to enter.”

“His name?” inquired the Prince.

“Ah,” responded his companion, “it has escaped me; but I shall recall it presently. Meanwhile, allow me to tender my own allegiance, and to assure you that if you should so far condescend as to choose me for the companion of your leisure, your royal highness—”

“I observe that you have given me that designation very frequently,” observed the Prince, “what reason have you for supposing it belongs to me?”

“My Prince,” replied the Sprite; “had I never set eyes upon you till this moment, there is that in your form and figure which could not have failed to betray to the most unobservant that you could be sprung from none but the very highest. You bear that in your eye, and on your brow. But, my gracious Prince, though you see me now for the first time, you are no stranger to me. I am of a race who walk invisible, and, if I may be allowed to say such a thing without presumption, you have been the object of my tender regards since the very hour of your birth. In fact, I may say that I have never been parted from you during your whole existence.”

“You amaze me,” said Eigenwillig; “explain, I pray you, how such a thing can have happened without my being conscious of it.”

“I would gladly do so,” replied the Sprite; “but it is among the mysteries which we are forbidden to reveal to mortals.”

“But may you not tell me who you are? How call they you, and what is your name?”

“Selbst, at your service,” answered the tiny elf.

“And why have you sought me here?” asked the Prince.

“Because our interests are identical, and because the Lady Abracadabra, being well aware of my anxiety to befriend you, permitted me to offer myself as a companion to you on your travels.”

“You know this country then?”

“Intimately, my Prince; and I flatter myself that I am sufficiently conversant with your tastes to be able to make myself agreeable to you, which (I say it with all diffidence) is a great deal more than our friend in the gray habiliments undertook for himself. I can fly, while he can only creep. I am ready to join in any merry sport; but he seems fit for nothing but a hermitage in a desert. I can watch over you, and defend your interests; he, poor old gentleman, is fit for nothing but a scarecrow.”

“Why certainly,” answered the Prince, with a smile, “there is no denying that externals are in your favour. He looks so austere, and his dress and appearance are so unlike those of the rest of the world, that if I was to ask him to accompany me, every body would think I was travelling with an old schoolmaster.”

The sprite laughed contemptuously at the notion of the Hope of the Katzekopfs being so attended. And that laugh settled the matter, for the Prince was not accustomed to be laughed at, and the thought of appearing ridiculous to anybody was what his pride would not brook for a moment. So he said, “Well, Selbst, I fix my choice on you. Will you be my companion?”

“With the greatest pleasure imaginable, my gracious Prince, if you will grant me one condition.”

“And what will that be?”

“Oh, it is by no means an onerous one,” replied Selbst. “My limbs, though active, are so slight, that I am a bad walker, and soon wearied. Have you any objection to taking me on your back. I am as light as a feather.”

“None in the world,” answered Eigenwillig, “I can stow you away in my pocket if you like it. Come, jump up.”

The sprite waited for no second bidding.

“You’re heavier than I expected,” exclaimed the Hope of the Katzekopfs in some surprise.

“You’ll soon get used to it,” returned Master Selbst, in the most nonchalant tone imaginable. “Thank you, I’m quite comfortable now,” he continued, clasping his arms round the Prince’s neck.

“Why, Sprite, Sprite, how have you contrived to make your hands reach in front of my neck? A moment ago, and your arms scarce seemed two inches long?”

“Oh, I’m obliged to stretch them to the utmost; but I’m comfortable now,” replied the Sprite with an air of great self-satisfaction.

“Yes, but you are throttling me,” said the Prince, “unclasp your fingers.”

“No, I can’t do that, my Prince: you’ll soon get used to the pressure; and I am sure you would not wish me to be uncomfortable.”

“Let go your hold, I say,” cried the Prince angrily, “you are suffocating me;” and he endeavoured to unloose the tiny fingers which clutched round his throat. The sprite only increased his pressure.

“I shall be strangled,” cried the Prince, gasping for breath.

“Oh no, you won’t,” replied Selbst; “do not struggle, and you will be as comfortable as I am directly. Why should not we both be comfortable? It is useless to writhe about in that way, my Prince. See, it forces me to drive my knees into your side.”

And suiting the action to the word, the sprite contrived to shoot down those knees which, but a minute before, were so tiny as to be scarce perceptible, and to give them a very firm hold on the Prince’s ribs.

Now, if Prince Eigenwillig had only possessed the courage and resolution to have continued the struggle, and had remembered to have called the old man to his aid, he would have been able to master Selbst, to shake him off, and prevent him from gaining the upper hand. To be sure it was a grievous oversight to have allowed such a mischievous-looking elf to get upon his back at all; but for this there was now no help; the only question was, how to get rid of him. If the Prince had given himself time for consideration, it might have occurred to him as probable that such a boastful little creature, as Selbst had already shown himself to be, was not likely to have much resolution about him when fairly encountered. Selbst, in fact, was little better than a cowardly bully, full of presumption and bravado, who was in the habit of endeavouring to carry matters with a high hand, by using great swelling words, and who, when persons yielded to him, tyrannized over them more and more, the more they yielded. But though there was a good deal of obstinacy and importunity in his character, he was very mean and pitiful when he met with a determined opponent.

Unhappily for himself, Prince Eigenwillig was soon cowed. When he found that he could not shake off the sprite at once, his heart failed him, and he thought within himself that, having given Selbst such an advantage over him, there was no help for it, and he must e’en make the best bargain he could for himself.

“There!” cried the Sprite, as, breathless and exhausted, Prince Eigenwillig desisted from further efforts to free himself, “There! now I hope you will be satisfied. It is no use struggling with me. I am sure to carry the day. So, that point being settled, we shall be good friends directly, and I will see if I cannot make my weight less of an incumbrance to you.”

This was said so pleasantly that the Prince felt disposed to be appeased; and being immediately followed up by an effort on Selbst’s part to sit more lightly, and by an apparent relaxation of his hold, the royal traveller became much better reconciled to his companion, and proceeded cheerfully on his way, Selbst directing him as to the route which would prove most agreeable, and beguiling the path with narrative and song.

They had not gone far together before the Prince became so well used to his burden, that he would have disliked the thought of being released from it. He ceased to find it troublesome, and grew so intimate with Selbst, that he felt as if he must needs consult him, and take his opinion upon every thing, and that there would be no getting on without him.

This was precisely the object at which the sprite was aiming: he desired to make the Prince wholly subservient to him, but he did not choose that his victim should become aware of the extent to which he was enslaved, and therefore he contrived to appear to submit, when, in fact, he was dictating.

The Hope of the Katzekopfs was travelling with the object of seeing all that was most remarkable in Fairy-land, and he had been particularly anxious to witness the process by which dew-drops were crystallized into diamonds, and also to learn the method by which sunbeams can be extracted from cucumbers. Remembering how much his mother was apt to suffer from cold in the winter season, he felt desirous to be able to carry home a recipe which might materially increase her comforts, and also, being aware of her strong penchant for diamonds, he affectionately proposed to himself to acquire the secret by which diamonds could be made as plentiful as blackberries.

The sprite made no sort of opposition to the Prince’s proposal that they should visit these manufactories; but, while secretly resolving that he should see neither, this sly elf affected to give his cordial consent to the scheme. However, what with enlarging on the length of the journey, and the difficulties to be encountered, he contrived so effectually, though so skilfully, to work on the Prince, that his royal highness gave up the scheme in the full belief that the change of plan originated in himself, and that it was owing to himself only, that the evening found them in the self-same spot from which they had started in the morning.

Throughout the course of his long day’s walk, the Prince had been carrying Selbst on his back, and very much surprised he felt that the sprite had never offered to get down, and allow the Prince to rest himself. But no: no such thought ever seemed to enter his mind; he pointed out the road, complained, now and then, of the roughness of the ways, and expressed his own great satisfaction at finding himself in such a comfortable position; but he evidently thought of nobody but himself. If the wallet of provisions was opened, Selbst, while appearing anxious that the Prince should take refreshment, contrived to lay his own hands on the delicacies which were choicest: if the flask of wine was produced, Selbst drained it all but a few drops. And what was stranger still, even the little which the Prince secured seemed of no service to him, it appeared to refresh the sprite, and not himself; he continued as hungry and thirsty as if neither victuals nor drink had entered his mouth. And yet, all the while, Selbst talked so pleasantly, and was so amusing, and there was so little appearance of intentional greediness or ill-breeding in his manner, that the Prince did not feel that he had any cause of complaint.

But as he continued plodding on his way, wondering why it was that his food did him so little good, a circumstance occurred which afforded him a probable, though certainly a very strange explanation of his difficulty. Happening, while the sun was shining brightly, to catch a glimpse of his own shadow on an opposite rock, he perceived that Selbst had increased in bulk to such a degree that, instead of being any longer a span high, he was now larger than the Prince himself. By some mysterious process he was not only absorbing all the nourishment in the Prince’s body, but was intercepting, as it were, the supplies on which existence depended.

No wonder the Hope of the Katzekopfs felt low and sinking.

“Why, Selbst,” exclaimed he, “how enormously you are increased in size, since you mounted on my shoulders! I shall never be able to carry you.”

“Go on, go on,” answered the sprite. “I am quite comfortable. I dare say you will do very well.”

The Prince was very much alarmed when he perceived that Selbst was growing so rapidly, and that all the sustenance which he himself took was turning to his companion’s nutriment. But the excitement and alarm passed off almost immediately; somehow or other he got reconciled to the state of things, and grew quite apathetical about it. If he felt any increase of weight on his shoulders, he speedily became indifferent to it, and he even ceased to wonder that his food seemed to do him no good.

Thus they went on roaming about, with no particular object in view; Selbst directing the Prince to go in this direction or that, as the fancy happened to take him, and the Prince obeying implicitly, in a sort of listless, unresisting manner.

“Go to yonder fountain,” said the sprite, after they had journeyed some hours longer. “Your body is so warm it quite heats and fatigues me. Why don’t you keep yourself cool?”

“How can I,” asked the Prince, “under such a broiling sun, and with you on my back? I wish you would get down for a little while.”

“No indeed,” answered the sprite, “I shall do nothing of the kind. I am quite comfortable, all except the heat, and I shall be cooler when you have stood a little while in the fountain.”

“Oh, Selbst, surely you forget how hot _I_ am: to stand in a fountain would kill me.”

“And what does that matter to me, so long as I can keep myself comfortable? I am master now, and intend to remain so.”

“Master!” exclaimed Prince Eigenwillig, his natural disposition breaking out for a moment, “Tyrant, you mean.”

“Well, tyrant, if you like,” said the sprite. “Call me what you please, I care not; only do what I tell you. Go into the fountain.”

The Prince groaned, but obeyed mechanically, for resistance seemed to be useless; but when he approached the water’s edge, he saw a sight reflected on its glassy surface which made him start back. Selbst had become double the size which he was when the Prince had seen his shadow on the rock.

“What’s the matter? why don’t you go in?” cried the sprite impatiently.

Fear, and the strong impulse of self-preservation now aided the unhappy victim, and he replied, “Look at your own reflection in the water. How can you expect me who am but half your size, to carry you in there? Your weight is enough to drown me.”

“Do as you are bid, slave!” cried the sprite angrily, giving the boy a violent kick in the side. Hitherto he had contrived to keep his limbs out of the Prince’s sight, but Eigenwillig had now the opportunity of observing that his tormentor’s foot was the size of that of a full-grown man.

“You may drag me into the water if you will: you are stronger than I am, and I can’t help myself, but go, of my own free will, I won’t.”

The Prince spoke these words in a tone of resolute determination, and the sprite seemed to hesitate for a moment what he would do; but his mind was soon made up, for he gave the boy another kick, and much more severe than the first. It quite took the Prince’s breath away, and he was very near falling.

“If you kick me in that manner,” said he, “you will break my ribs, and then I shall be unable to carry you at all.”

“Go into the water, slave, or it will be the worse for you!” rejoined Selbst, and tried to force him forward. The Prince threw his arms round a young tree, and clung to it with all his strength.

“You’re as obstinate as a pig,” exclaimed the sprite, “and I have a great mind to throw you into the water, and hold you there till you are drowned,—only I don’t choose to make myself hotter than I am already.”

Thus he yielded the point, and proved himself a mere blustering bully.

As for the Prince, he was so amazed and confounded at so unexpected a change, that he was unable to avail himself of his own victory. Had he been sufficiently self-possessed, he would have reflected that now was the time to follow up his advantage, and never to rest till he had shaken off his troublesome companion. But the boy had been so cowed and alarmed at the sight of the prodigious size of his adversary, that he felt it would be hopeless to prolong the struggle,—that he must be worsted,—and so he hesitated and lost heart, at the very moment when Selbst was beginning to fear that his tyranny was at an end.

He, the crafty elf! had no lack of self-possession; and so, though foiled in his object, he contrived to make it seem as if his yielding was rather the result of good-nature than necessity, whereby he hoped that, before long, he should reduce the unfortunate Prince to his former condition of listless docility.

But if young Eigenwillig had not yet acquired sufficient resolution to enter on a further struggle with his oppressor, he was no longer inclined to look on him in the light of an agreeable companion. He had now learned the falseness and hollowness of his professions; he began to see through his artifices; he was no longer unconscious of his unwieldy size; he had contrived to catch a glimpse of his features, and to see that they were hideous and ape-like, and to perceive that his very breath was loathsome and pestilential.

And this was a great point gained, though much more remained behind to be accomplished. It set the Prince upon reflecting on the Lady Abracadabra’s last words to him, and on the ill-considered haste of his recent decision.

But why did he not summon to his aid the venerable stranger who had first appeared to him, and who had promised to be close at hand to help him?

It is not difficult to find an answer to this inquiry. Greatly as Prince Eigenwillig had been improved by his recent trials, he had a good deal of false pride still hanging about him, which disinclined him to own himself in the wrong; and then, though the old man had been so kind to him, it is sometimes difficult to get over first impressions, and the stern, austere countenance, and grave manners of that venerable person, rendered him unattractive. The Prince was afraid of him, and he felt as if he could not make a friend of any one of whom he stood in awe. Still he had grateful feelings towards the grey-robed stranger, and desired to have an opportunity of seeing more of him.

Moreover, he had a secret conviction that the old man was the only person who could protect him against the tyranny of Selbst, and he determined upon any fresh act of tyranny, to call the old man to his aid.

It was not long before his resolution was put to the test.

Though Selbst, like a cowardly bully, had given way when he found he was manfully resisted, and though, like a cunning knave, he had endeavoured to make his defeat appear like a voluntary concession, still he was too fond of having his own way, and of domineering upon all occasions, to go on for long without further exasperating his victim against him.

When he yielded the point upon the fountain, he commanded the Prince to carry him to the top of a hill at some distance; the air, he said, would be less hot and oppressive there than in the valley. This was his nominal reason; his real object was to punish the Prince, by wearing him out with fatigue and exhaustion.

The Prince, bending under his burden, accordingly set forth towards the hill; but he had now been on foot many hours, and every step he took, Selbst seemed to grow heavier and heavier; however, he contrived, though very weary and breathless, to reach the bottom of the hill; but there he stopped.

“Prithee, Selbst,” said he, “let us rest awhile.”

“Rest forsooth!” cried the sprite in a tone of surprise, “what should we rest for? I am quite comfortable. I am not at all tired.”

“Likely enough!” replied the Prince, “for you have not walked a step all day. But I, who have had to carry you, am quite tired out; so rest I must.”

“Get to the top of the hill first, then,” answered Selbst. The Prince, dispirited and unwilling to begin a fresh contest, made an effort to ascend the precipitous bank; but he had not gone many yards before he stumbled and fell. Nor was it a simple fall; for he continued rolling over the sharp stones, Selbst and all, till he reached the bottom of the hill.

He was not much hurt himself; but Selbst was a good deal scratched and bruised. This misfortune, however, as might be expected, threw the sprite into a great rage. He abused the Prince, called him all manner of evil names, declared that he had fallen on purpose, and ended by bestowing on him a shower of blows.

“Get up again, you idle hound,” cried he, “and mount the hill directly. I’ll soon teach you who is master.”

“Indeed I would get up if I could,” said the Prince, “but you know, Selbst, how weary I am.”

“Get up, or I’ll strangle you,” screamed the malicious sprite, tightening his hold round the Prince’s neck.

The poor boy made an effort to get up, but fell backwards. Harder and harder, tighter and tighter, grew the grasp upon his throat. His eyeballs seemed ready to start from his head; his ears were tingling and his veins swelling through the impeded circulation of the blood. He struggled, but his struggles were powerless; he endeavoured to shriek for help; but a gasping, gurgling sound was all that proceeded from his lips. In another minute he would have been strangled. Hitherto his hands had been employed in vain endeavours to wrest the sprite’s fingers from his throat; on a sudden, however, he looses them, and leaving his adversary to do his worst, claps his hands once—twice.

Selbst sees his object, and looses his hold round the boy’s neck, in order to secure his hands, and prevent his making the signal a third time.

The relaxing of the monster’s grasp enables Prince Eigenwillig to draw his breath, and with his returning breath, returns, in some measure at least, his strength. It is a struggle for life or death; long it continues. Longer far than could have been expected from the exhausted powers of the boy. But in his struggles lay the secret of his strength. The more he struggled, the stronger he became, and the weaker waxed his adversary, and not only weaker, but smaller. He shrank and shrank at each fresh effort of the Prince to master him, till from the size of a full-grown man, he became no bigger than a dwarf.

Who could fail to be encouraged to persevere in such a contest? Each effort of the Prince became more vigorous and effectual, till, at length, after a violent exertion, he contrived to liberate both hands, and, for the third time, made the required signal. The sprite no sooner heard the sound, than he howled like a maniac, and gnashed his teeth with disappointed rage.

The Prince had scarcely clapped his hands for the third time, when there seemed a change in the appearance of the air before him, as when a shadow is cast: and then the shadow assumed the form and consistency, as it were, of a thin vapour; and the vapour thickened and thickened till it became a dense grey cloud; and the outline of the cloud grew sharper and more defined, till the form of the old man with his white hairs and flowing beard, and long sombre robes, were developed, and Prince Eigenwillig saw before him the companion he had rejected, and whose aid had now come so opportunely.

“Well, my son,” said the old man, “you are now able to judge who was your truest friend; he who made few promises, and kept them; or he, who after multiplied professions of regard, has made you first his slave, and who then nearly destroyed you.”

No sooner had the old man begun to speak, than Selbst shuddered from head to foot, and ceased to struggle with the Prince, who now, breathing freely once more, looked up timidly at the old man, expecting to see nothing but severity depicted on his countenance. How was he surprised! Gravity, indeed, there was in the old man’s face and manner; but all sternness had passed from his eyes, and a smile of the utmost gentleness and benignity lit up his features.

“Oh, my kind friend and protector!” exclaimed the Prince, “how little have I deserved such a timely interference from you,—_you_ whom I treated so unthankfully and ungraciously!”

“If you _be_ grateful, as you intimate you are,” replied the old man, “give me now the proof of it by following my advice.”

“Advise me, father,” said the boy, “and you shall judge whether or no I be grateful.”

“My son, you know not yet to what you may be pledging yourself. My terms are hard,—my conditions difficult to be fulfilled.”

“I will not shrink from the hardest,” exclaimed the Prince with fervour, “if you will but free me from this clinging reptile. Command him to loose his hold.”

“Ha! ha!” cried the sprite in a mocking, gibing tone, “there go two words to that bargain. Old greybeard may command if he pleases, and as long as he pleases, but he cannot force me to obey.”

“It is even so, my son,” observed the old man, “I cannot compel him; nay, I can be of no service at all, without your hearty cooperation. And, even then, the most I can do for you will be to show you how to treat him; so that, for his own sake, he will be glad to quit you.”

“Oh, good Father, prithee teach me how to gain the mastery over him!”

“STARVE him, and CONTRADICT him continually,” said the old man; “keep him from every kind of food—from all that can, in any way, nourish him. And so soon as ever you ascertain what his wishes are—be the subject what it may—make it your rule to do the reverse. Follow this plan, and he will soon be your slave; you will be no longer his. My long experience enables me to pledge myself to this.”

“Then others, father, besides myself, have been exposed to his malignant influence; and you have befriended others as well as me!”

“My son, none ever mastered that odious sprite, but he received assistance from me. It is only by the aid of DISCIPLINE that any one can hope to conquer SELF!”

Then the Prince knew the old man’s name, and he ceased to wonder why he had been so unwilling, on a former occasion, to make it known; for it has a stern, repulsive sound in it, which is sure to disgust the thoughtless and the pleasure-seeking.

“Father,” said the Prince, “if thy name be Discipline, then will I be thy Disciple. Had I known thee sooner, from what faults and errors should I have been saved! If thou hadst but taken a part in the education of my earliest years, how different should I now be from what, alas! I am.”

“Prince,” replied his venerable friend, “heretofore you have been greatly to be pitied, for you have deserved, as well as possessed, the name of Self-willed. But sharp trials have brought you to your senses, and I trust that you have already laid the foundations of a character in which shall be united all the best qualities of your race. But you have still an arduous task before you, and your first and most pressing duty is, to effect the entire subjugation of that hateful sprite whom I still see clinging to you.”

“Father,” said the Prince, “will you now be my companion, and will you advise and help me to master Selbst!”

“That will I gladly, my child,” answered Discipline, and forthwith they wended on their way.

Steep, and rugged, and narrow was the route: now among tangled thickets of thorns and briers, now over parched and arid sands, now in a waste and howling wilderness. Often, when the Prince was most hungry and thirsty, did Discipline enjoin him to go without food or drink, or, just as he was about to partake of them, to give them to some wayfarer on the road. Often, when most weary, was he advised to pass the night in watching. Often, when he desired to go one way, was he recommended to pursue another.

Now all this was done in order to master Selbst, and make him glad to relax his hold, and quit a companion who would give him nothing to eat, and who led him through thorns and briers for the purpose of wounding and hurting him.

And all this Prince Eigenwillig continued to do day after day, and still he found the wisdom of those oft repeated sayings of his aged companion: “=Learn to live hardly=; =Deny yourself in things lawful=; =Love not comforts=; =Think of others first=, =and of yourself last=.” And thus, when they drew near to their journey’s end, and the palace of the Lady Abracadabra was in sight, the sprite Selbst, who had exercised such tyranny over the little boy, was no longer to be seen. For some time,—much longer than the sanguine Prince had expected,—for it was when Discipline had been for some time his companion, he continued to feel inconvenience from the presence of the malicious elf. But in due time, _starving_ and _contradiction_ did their promised work. The evil creature dwindled, and withered, and shrank, till at length, from sheer weakness and exhaustion, he relaxed his hold round the Prince’s throat, and fell to the ground.

The Prince himself was not aware of the precise moment when this event took place, and Discipline did not think good to make him acquainted with it immediately. And even when he made the circumstance known, he accompanied it with a word of caution.

“Prince,” said he, “you are released from the grasp of your adversary. He has fallen to the ground, mastered by your perseverance and resolution. But I entreat you bear this in mind, that, though invisible, he still runs at your side; and if ever you give him opportunity or encouragement, he will yet again be your master!”

They had now reached the palace of the Lady Abracadabra, and as they stood before its portals, the Fairy godmother came out to receive them. Once more she was radiant with smiles; the flame-coloured petticoat had faded into the palest primrose, and instead of seeming haggard and wrinkled, her complexion had that dazzling lustre which is peculiar to Fairy-land. She threw her arms round her godson and embraced him with tenderness.

“I have been a secret witness,” she said, “of all your trials and struggles. I have watched your endeavours to rid yourself of your selfish, and self-willed habits, and being satisfied of the pains you have taken, and are taking with yourself, I am not afraid to restore you to your family. The Court of King Katzekopf is not a wholesome atmosphere for you; but every place has its trials, and I am satisfied that you will profit by your past experience.”

“Lady,” replied the Prince, “the time has been that I have feared you, and even hated you; but I now know how much I owe to you. You have taught me that the secret of happiness is in myself, and that I am most happy when I am showing most consideration to others. I hope, dear Lady, that now you are about to send me home, you will not cease to befriend me, and that this venerable man may accompany me to the upper world.”

“Follow the rules he has given you here, and you will not need his bodily presence. They that dwell in kings’ houses, and the rich, and the indolent, and the lovers of comforts, bear a deadly hatred to him, and therefore he is not wont to expose himself to their insults. You, however, he has adopted as one of his children, and so long as you do not forget him, he will not forget you. For myself, you may count on my protection. If I loved you because I saw the elements of good in you, when I brought you into this country seven years ago, how much more do I love you now, when I have witnessed your endeavours to become master of yourself.”

“_Seven years ago!_” These were almost the only words in the sentence which the Prince heard. Why, the time he had spent in Fairy-land seemed hardly as many days. But so it was; and when he came to reflect, he remembered to have heard, over and over again, that nobody who enters Fairy-land is allowed to return under seven years.

So it was; and when he arrived at his father’s court (where he found himself already expected; for, little as Queen Ninnilinda deserved it, the Lady Abracadabra had never kept her in ignorance about her son’s place of abode, and general well-doing,)—when he arrived at his father’s court, he saw changes which soon satisfied him that a long period had elapsed since he had quitted it. King Katzekopf had become quite childish, and Queen Ninnilinda was so occupied with her lap-dogs and parrots, that, though very glad to see her son, she was not likely to spoil him again. The Baroness Yellowlily was dead, and the Ladies Rigida, Frigida, and Brigida had quitted the court for scenes more congenial to their taste.

But the greatest surprise of all to Prince Eigenwillig, was to hear himself spoken to as if he were almost a young man. It seemed but the other day, since he was a little naughty child, and now grave counsellors were discussing the propriety of appointing him Regent of the kingdom, and easing poor old King Katzekopf’s shoulders from the burden and cares of state.

Prince Eigenwillig had, however, too much distrust of himself, and felt the responsibilities of the position too deeply to desire such a charge; but when he saw that the welfare of the nation in a great measure depended on it, and found that the Lady Abracadabra heartily approved of it, he consented to become Regent.

And his first act, when he assumed the office, was to write an affectionate letter to Witikind, intreating him to forgive him his past misconduct, and come and give him his assistance in ruling the country.

Count Rudolf had been dead some years, and Witikind was in possession of his father’s estates, and he found such abundant scope for the best energies of his mind in contributing to the welfare of his neighbours and vassals, that he could not (especially after his past experience,) make up his mind to quit his beloved Taubennest for a court. So he declined the Prince’s offer of place and power; but was, through life, his sound adviser and faithful friend.

As for the Prince, though he could not shake off the _name_ of Eigenwillig, he entirely ceased to be the _thing_: in a few years he became king in his father’s place; reigned long and happily; ruled his subjects well; his family better still; and himself best of all: so that his name was cherished in his native land long after his bones were mouldering in the grave; and it is mentioned in the Chronicles of Carivaldus of Cologne, that he whose real name was Eigenwillig, and who for some years of his life was called the Hope of the Katzekopfs, is now only remembered by that name which the universal consent of his countrymen assigned him while still living, and that his designation in the annals of Christendom is that of King Katzekopf _the GOOD_.

_And so my Story ends._

“If we shadows have offended, Think but this, (and all is mended,) Think you have but slumber’d here, While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream; Gentles, do not reprehend, If you pardon, we will mend.”

J. MASTERS, PRINTER, ALDERSGATE STREET.

_By the same Author._

_In square 16mo., with bordered pages, and Frontispiece from Overbeck._

THE CHRISTIAN’S DAY, Price 3s. 6d.

CONTENTS.