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’

V
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s rs Bo s t o n
 ON L YT NT C P R T R A T OF
A U H E I O I

WI LH ELM H EI N R I CH SEBA ST IA N V ON T ROOM P

!F R M E O L P
O THN T N G)
I A I I .
 BA R O N T RU M P S
’

W
I A RV ELLO U S

U NDERG RO U ND

J O U RNE

I N G E R S O LL LO C K W K XH )
A T
U H OR OF T A E LS
R A EN T ES
V L TTL E B A N T
A ND DV U RW N E OF I RO RU M P A ND H IS O D RF U L DO G
B L E
U G R W N E
”
L EE S
“
O N S
D L T L E GA N T B A B
RF U D D A ND DO I G OF I T I O A ND H IS

T A L N A EN T A B B
K I E T A N A E E EN ES L T L E
G R V I
“
X R O RDI RY XP RI C OF I T

A TA NC P S ES
I DO P P E LK O P O N T H E H OR OP BU B BLE LA N D ET C .

I LLU ST RA T ED BY

C H A RLES H O WA RD J O H N SO N

BO ST O N
LEE A ND SH EP A R D PU BLI SH ERS
I0 M I LK ST REET

1 89 3
 P
CO Y R I G HT , 1 892 BY IN G ER L L
SO LO C K WO OD

A ll R ig h t s R e ser v ed

M A RV E LL U O S U N D ER G U N J U RN E
RO D O Y
BI OGRA P H I CA L N OT I CE OF WI LH ELM H EI N RI CH
SEBA ST I A N V ON T ROOM P , COM M ON LY
CA LLED LI T T LE BA RON T RU M P

A s doubting Thomases se e m to take particular pleasure in

o
p pp g in up on all occasions J ack in the B ox like it may be well
,
- - - -
,

to head them o ff in this particular instance by proving that

B aron Tru m p was a real baron and not a mere b aron of the
,

mind The family was orig inally F rench H uguenot — D e 1a

.

Trompe which upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in

-
,

1 6 8 5 took refuge in Holland where its head assumed the name

, ,

of V a n der T r o o m p just as many other of the F rench Protes

,

tants rendered their names into D utch S ome years later upon .
,

the invitation of the Elector of B randenburg Niklas V an der ,

T r o o m p became a subject Of that prince and purchase d a large ,

estate in the province of Pomerania aga in changi n g his name , ,

this time to V o n T r o o m p .

”
The L ittle Baron so calle d from his diminutive stature
“
, ,

was born some time in the latter part of the seventeenth century .

He was the last Of his race in the direct line although cousins ,

of his are to d ay well known P omeranian gentry He began

-
.

his travels at an incredibly e arly age and filled his castle with ,

such strange O bjects picked up here and there in the far away
corners Of the worl d that the simple minded peasantry came to
,
-

look upon h im as half bigwig and half magician — hence the

v i BI O G RA P H I CA L N O T I CE

growth of the many myths and fanciful stories concerning this

indefatigable globe trotter The date of his death cannot be
-
.

fixed with any certainty ; but this much m ay be said : A mo n g

the portraits Of P omeranian notables hanging in the Ra t h h au s
at Stettin there is one picturing a man of low stature and with
, ,

a head much too large for his body He is dressed in some out
.

l an dish costume and holds in his left hand a grotesque image

,

in ivory most elabor a tely carved The broad face is full of intel
, .

l ige n c e and the large gray eyes are lighted up with a good
,

natured but quizzical look that invariably attracts attention .

’
The man s right hand rests upon the back of a dog sitting on a
table and looking straight out with an air Of dignity that shows
that he knew he was sitti n g for his portrait .

If a visitor asks the guide who this man is he always gets fo r ,

ans w er
O h th a t s the L ittle Baron I
,
’

B ut little Baron who that s the question ?

,
’

Why may it not be the famous Wilhelm Heinrich Se b astian

von T r o o m p commonly called Little Baron Trump and his
,
“
,

wonderf ul dog Bulger ?

 CO N T E N TS

C H A P T ER I .

PA G E
B U L GE R IS G R EA T LY A NN OY E D F A M I LI A R I TY O F T H E
BY TH E

V I LLA G E D O G S A N D T H E P R ES U M P T I O N O F T H E HO U SE C A T S
— H I S H E A LTH S U F F E R S TH E R E B Y A N D H E I M P LO R ES M E
.

TO SE T O U T O N M Y T R A V E LS A GA I N I R E A D I LY CO N SEN T .
,

F OR I H A D B EE N R EA D I N G O F T H E WO R LD WI TH I N A

WO R L D I N A M U S TY O LD M S WR I TT EN B Y T H E LEA R N E D
.

DO N F U M P A R T I N G I N T E R V I E WS WI T H T H E E LD E R BA R O N
A N D T H E G R A C I O U S B A R O N ES S M Y M OTH E R — P R E P A R A
.

T I ON S F O R D EPA RT U R E

C H A P T ER I I .

DON F U M S MY S T E R I O U S D I R ECT I O N S — B U LGE R A N D I SET

’
.

O U T F O R P E T E R S BU R G A N D TH E N C E P R O C EE D T O A R CH A N
G E L — T H E S TO R Y O F
,

O U R J O U R N E Y A S F A R A s I LI T C H

ON T H E I LI T C H I V A N T H E T EA M ST E R
. H O W WE M A D E .

O U R WA Y N O R TH WA R D I N S E A R C H O F T H E P O R T A LS T o
T H E WO R L D WI TH I N A WO R L D — I V A N S TH R EA T —B U L
.
’
.

G E R S D I S T R U S T O F T H E M A N A N D OTH E R TH I N G S
’

C H A P T ER I I I .

I V A N M O R E A N D MO R E T R O U B LE S OM E — B U L G E R WA TCH E S H I M
.

C LO S E LY H I S CO WA R D L Y A TT A C K U P O N M E M Y F A I TH

F U L B U L GE R T O T H E R E S C U E — A
. .

D R I V E R WO R TH H A V I N G
. .

H O W I WA S C A R R I E D T O A P LA CE O F SA F ETY IN

T H E H A N D S O F O LD Y U L I A N A — T H E G I A N T S
.

. WE LL ’

C H A P T ER I V .

WO U N D H E A LS — Y U L I A N A T A LK S A B O U T T H E G I A N T S ’

WE LL —I R ES O LV E T o V I SI T I T
.

= P R E PA R A T I O N S T o A s -

C E N D T H E M O U N T A I N S —WH A T H A PP EN E D T o Y U LI A N A
. .

—R E F LE CT I O N A N D TH EN A C T I O N —H O W I
.

A ND TO M E . .

C O N T R I V E D TO CO N T I N U E T H E A S C EN T WI THO U T Y U LI A N A
F OR A GU I DE
viii C ON T E N T S

CH A P T ER V .

PA G E
A ND S T I LL U P TH R O U G H T H E Q U A R R I ES O F T H E
A ND
D E MO N S — H O W T H E C A TT LE K E P T T H E T R A I L A N D H O W
,

.
,

WE C A M E A T LA S T U P O N T H E B R I N K O F T H E G I A N T S WEL L ’

— T H E T E R R A C ES A R E SA F ELY P A SSE D
.

BE G I N N I N G O F
T H E WELL I T S E L F —A LL D I F F I C U L
-
.

T H E D E S CE N T I N TO

T I ES O V E R C OM E — WE R EA C H T H E E D GE O F P O LY P H E M U S
.

’
.

FU NN EL

C H A P T ER V I .

D ES P A I R U P O N F I N D I N G T H E P I P E O F T H E F U N N E L TOO
S M A L L F O R MY B O D Y A R A Y O F HO P E B R E A K S I N U P O N
—F U LL A CC O U N T O F H O W I SU CC EE D E D I N E N T E R I N G
.

M E

T H E P I P E O F T H E F U N N EL — M Y
.

P A SSA G E TH R O U G H I T
. .

T I M E LY A I D T H E M A R B LE H I G H WA Y A N D
’
B U LG E R S .
-

S O M E C U R I O U S TH I N G S CO N C E R N I N G T H E E N T R A N C E TO T H E

WO R L D WI TH I N A WO R LD

C H A P T ER V I I .

OU R F I R ST N I G HT I N T H E U N D E R WO R L D A N D H OW I T WA S
F O L LO WE D B Y T H E F I R S T B R EA K O F D A Y — B U LGE R S
,
’

WA R N I N G A N D WH A T I T M EA N T — WE F A LL I N WI TH A N
.

WO R L D — H I S
.

I N H A B I T A N T O F T H E WO R L D WI TH I N A
—MY S T E R I O U S R ET U R N O F N I G HT
.

N A M E A N D C A LLI N G . .

T H E L A N D O F B E D S A N D H OW O U R N E W F R I E N D P R O V I D E D
,

C H A P T ER V II I .

” —
G OO D MO R N I N G A S LO N G A s I T L A ST S
-
P LA I N T A LK F R O M
M A ST E R C O LD SO U L — WO N D E R S O F G O G G LE LA N D — WE
.

—
.

E N T E R T H E C I TY OF T H E M IK K A M E N K I E S BR I EF DE .

SC R I P T I O N O F I T O U R A PP R O A C H T O T H E R O Y A L P A LA C E
. .

Q U EE N G A LA K A A N D H E R C R Y S T A L TH R O N E M A ST E R .

C O LD S O U L S T EA R S
’

C H A P T ER I X .

B U L G E R A N D I A R E P R E S E N T E D TO Q U EE N G A LA K A T H E LA D Y

H O W SH E R EC E I VE D U S — H ER
,

O F T H E C R Y ST A L TH R O N E . .

D E LI GHT O V E R BU LGE R WH O GI V E S P R OO F O F H I S WON

D ER F U L I N T ELL I GE N C E I N M A N Y WA Y S — H O W T H E Q U EE N
,

C R EA T E S H I M LO R D B U LGE R A LL A B O U T T H E TH R EE WI S E
.

M E N I N WHO S E C A R E WE A R E P L A C E D B Y Q U EE N G A LA K A
 C O N T EN T S ix

CH A P T ER X .

P A GE

A BR I E F A CC OU NT CO N V ER SA T I O N S WI T H D O CTO R N E B U
OF M Y

S I R A M BE R O P A K E A N D LO R D C O R N U CO R E WH O
’
LO S U S , , ,

T E LL M E M A N Y T H I N G S T H A T I N EV ER K N E W BE F O R E F O R ,

WH I C H I WA S V ER Y G R A T E F U L

CH A P T ER XI .

P LE A SA N T D A Y S PA SSE D A MO N G T H E M I K K A M EN K I ES, A N D WO N
D ER F U L TH I N GS SEEN B Y U S T H E S P E CT R A L G A R D EN
.
,

A N D A D ES C R I P T I O N O F I T O U R M EE T I N G WI T H D A MO Z E L
.

G LO W S TO N E A N D WH A T C A M E O F I T
,

C H A P T ER XII .

T H E SA D , SA D T A LE O F T H E S O R R O WI N G P R I N C ESS WI TH A S PEC K
I N H E R H EA R T A N D WH A T A LL H A PP E N E D WH E N S H E H A D
,

E N D E D I T WH I C H T H E R EA D ER M U S T R E A D F O R H I M S E L F
,

I F H E WO U L D K N O W

CH A P T ER XI I I .

H O WI SET T o WO R K T o U N DO A WR O N G TH A T H A D BE EN D O NE
IN TH E K I N G D OM O F T H E M I K K A M EN K I ES A N D H O W B U L ,

GE R H E LP E D Q U EE N GA LA X A S C O N F ESSI O N I A M
’

C R EA T E D P R I M E M I N I S T ER A s LO N G A S S H E LI V ES — WH A T
. .

TOO K P LA C E I N T H E TH R O N E R O O M —M Y S P EEC H T o T H E
.

-
.

M EN O F G O GG LE LA N A F T E R WH I C H I S HO W TH E M S O M E
D ,

T H I N G WO R T H S EE I N G H O W I WA S P U LLE D I N T WO D I F
.

F E R EN T D I R E C T I O N S A N D WH A T C A M E O F I T

C H A P T ER XI V .

B U LGE R A ND T U R N O U R BA C K S O N T H E F A I R D OM A I N O F
I

Q U EEN C R Y ST A L LI N A —N A T U R E S WO N D E R F U L SP EA K I N C ’

T U BE —C R Y ST A LLI N A S A TT E M P T T o T U R N U S B A C K :
.

H o w I K E P T B U LG E R F R O M Y I E LD I N G — S OM E I N C I D E N T S .

O F O U R J O U R N E Y A LO N G T H E M A R BLE H I G H WA Y A N D H O W ,

WE CA M E T O T H E G LO R I O U S GA T E WA Y O F S O LI D S I LV E R
X C ON T EN T S

C H A P T ER X V .

PA G E
TH E GU A R DS V E R GA T E WA Y
A T TH E SI LWH A T TH E Y WER E -

— —
.

K
LI E C
OU R R E E P T I O N B Y TH E M I M A K E A WO N D E R
— —
.

F U L D IS CO V ER Y T H E WO R L D S
. F I R S T T ELE P H O N E BU L
’
.

G E R A N D I S U CC EE D I N M A K I N G F R I E N D S WI TH TH E SE
T
S R A N G E R S — A B R I E F D ESC R I P T I O N O F
. T H E S O O D O P S I ES ,

TH A T I S M A K E BEL I E V E EY ES O R T H E F O R M I F OLK TH A T
A N T P E O P LE — H O W A
, , ,

IS ,
B LI N D M A N M A Y R EA D YO U R
WR I T I N G

C H A P T ER XV I .

I D EA S O F O N C E R N I N G O U R U PPE R WO R LD
T H E F O R M I F OLK C
T H E D A N CI N G S P E C T R E — TH E I R E F F O R T S TO LA Y
.

HO LD
O F H I M — M Y S O LE M N P R OM I SE TH A T H E S HO U LD B E H A V E
.

H I M SELF WE S E T O U T F O R T H E C I TY O F T H E M A K E
BE LI E V E E Y E S — M Y A M A Z E M E N T A T T H E M A GN I F I C E N C E
.

O F T H E A PP R O A C H E S TO I T WE R EA C H T H E G R EA T .

B R I D G E O F S I LV E R A N D I G E T MY F I R S T G L A N C E O F T H E
,

C I TY O F C A N D ELA B R A B R I E F A C CO U N T O F T H E WO N D E R S
S P R E A D O U T BE F O R E MY E Y ES —E X C I T E M E N T OC CA S I O N E D
.

BY O U R A R R I V A L — O U R SI LV E R BE D C H A M B ER
.

-
.

C H A P T ER X V I I .

WH I CH Y OU D D E A R F R I E N D S S OM E TH I N G A BO U T A
R EA , ,

L I V E A L A R M C L OC K A N D A SO O D O P SY B A TH E R A N D R U B BE R
S I LV E R — A
.

O U R F I R S T B R E A K F A S T I N T H E C I TY O F
N E W WA Y T o C A TC H F I S H WI THO U T H U R T I N G TH E I R F E E L
I N GS . H O W T H E S T R E E T S A N D HO U SE S WE R E N U M BE R E D ,

A N D WH E R E T H E S I G N B O A R D S WE R E A V E R Y O R I GI N A L
L I B R A R Y I N WH I C H B OO K S N E V E R G E T D O G E A R E D — H O W
.

V E LV E T S O LE S E N J OY E D H ER F A V O R I T E P O E T S —I A M P R E
-
.

S E N T E D T o T H E LE A R N E D BA R R E L B R O W WH O P R O C EE D S
T o G I V E M E H I S V I E WS O F T H E U PP E R WO R L D —TH E Y E N
,

T E R T A I N E D M E A M A Z I N GL Y A N D M A Y I N T E R E S T Y O U

C H A P T ER X V I I I .

EA R L Y H I STO R Y O F T H E SO O D O P S I ES A S R E LA T E D B Y BA R RE L
BR O W — H O W TH E Y WE R E D R I V E N TO
. T A KE RE F U GE I N
T H E U N D E R WO R L D A N D H O W TH E Y CA M E U P O N T H E
M A R B LE H I G H WA Y — TH E I R D I S CO VE R Y O F N A T U R A L GA S
,

.
 C ON T E N T S Xi
PA G E
WH I CH Y I E LD S TH E M LI G HT OF NA
A ND WA R MTH A ND

T U R E S M A GN I F I C EN T T R EA SU R E HO U S E — H O W TH E Y R E
,
’

P LA C E D TH E I R T A TT E R E D GA R M EN T S A N D B E G A N T o B U I L D
T H E C I T Y O F S I LV E R T H E S T R A N G E M I S F O R T U N E S TH A T
.

C A M E U P O N TH E M A N D H OW TH E Y R O SE SU P E R I O R T O
,

TH E M T ER R I BLE A s TH E Y WE R E
,

CH A P T ER X IX .

B E GI N S WI TH S OM E TH I N G
O U T T H E L I TT LE S O O D O P S I ES BU T
A B

A N OTH E R S U B J E CT ; T O WI T ; — T H E
,

B R A N CH E S O F F ON

S I LE N T S O N G O F S I N G I N G F I N GE R S T H E F A I R M A I D O F T H E
,

C I TY O F S I LV E R
!
B A RR E L B R O W I S K I N D E N O U G H T O
.
-

E N L I G HT EN M E O N A C ER T A I N P O I N T A N D H E T A K ES O CC A ,

S I O N T O P A Y B U L G E R A V E R Y H I G H C OM P L I M E N T WH I C H , ,

O F CO U R SE H E D E SE R V E D
,

CH A P T ER XX .

TH I S IS A O N G A N D A SA D CH A P T ER —I T T E LLS H O W D E A R
L ,

G E N T LE P O U T I N G L I P WA S L O S T A N D H O W T H E SO O D O P S I ES
-

G R I E V E D F O R H I M A N D WHOM TH E Y SU S P E CT E D — B U L GE R
, ,

GI V E S A ST R I K I N G P R OO F O F H I S WO N D E R F U L I N T ELL I

GE N CE WH I C H E N A B LE S M E T O CO N V I N C E T H E S OO D O P S I E S
T H A T M Y D A N C I N G SP E CT R E D I D N O T C A U SE P O U T I N G
“

L I P S D E A TH T H E T R U E T A LE O F H I S T E R R I B LE F A T E
’

WH A T F O LL O WS M Y D I SCO V E R Y — H O W A B E A U T I F U L B O A T
. .

I S B U I L T F O R M E B Y T H E GR A T E F U L S O O D O P S I E S A N D H O W ,

B U L GE R A N D I B I D A D I E U T O T H E LA N D O F T H E M A KE

B ELI E V E E Y E S

CH A P T ER XX I .

H O W WE WE R E LI G H TE D D O WN T H E D A R K A N D
ON OU R WA Y

SI L E N T R I V E R S U D D E N A N D F I E R C E O N S L A U G HT U P O N
-

S H E LL — A
.

OU R BEA U T I F U L B O A T O F F I G HT F O R L I F E
A G A I N S T T E R R I B LE O D D S A N D H O W B U L G E R S TOO D B Y M E

TH R O U GH I T A LL — CO LD A I R A N D LU M P S O F I CE — O U R
,

E N T R Y I N TO T H E C A V E R N WH E N C E TH E Y C A M E — T H E

B O A T O F S H E L L COM E S T O T H E E N D O F I T S V OY A GE — SU N . .

L I G HT I N T H E WO R L D WI TH I N A WO R L D A N D A LL A B O U T ,

T H E WO N D E R F U L WI N D O W TH R O U G H WH I C H I T P O U R E D ,

A N D T H E MY S T E R I O U S LA N D I T LI G HT E D
xii C ON TEN TS

CH A P T ER XXI I .

P GE
A

T H E PA L A C E O F I CE I NO LD EN SU N LI G HT A N D WH A T I
TH E G

I M A G I N E D I T M I G HT CO N T A I N — H O W WE WE R E H A LT E D
,

—T H E K O LT Y
.

B Y A CO U P LE O F Q U A I N T LY C L A D SE N T I N E LS

K WE R P S — H I S F R I G I D M A J ES T Y K I N G G ELI D U S —MO R E
.

. .

A B O U T T H E I CE P A L A C E TO GE TH E R WI TH A D E SC R I P T I O N
O F T H E TH R O N E R OOM —O U R R E C E P T I O N B Y T H E K I N G
,
-

—B R I E F M EN T I O N O F
.

A N D H I S D A U G HT E R S CH N E E B O U LE .

B U LL I B R A I N O R L O R D HOT H E A D
,

CH A P T ER XX I I I .

L ORD H OT HEA D T H I S T I M E A F U LLE R A C CO U N T O F

A GA I N , A N D
H IM H I S WO N D R O U S T A LE S
. CO N C E R N I N G T H E K O LT Y
K WE R P S : WH E R E TH E Y C A M E F R OM WH O TH E Y WE R E A N D
, ,

H O W TH E Y M A N A G E D T O L I V E I N TH I S WO R L D O F E T E R N A L

F R O ST T H E M A N Y Q U E ST I O N S I P U T T o H I M
. A ND H IS ,

A N SWE R S I N F U L L

C H A P T ER XXI V .

S OM E F EW TH I N G S CO N C E R N I N G T H E D E A R L I TT LE P R I N C E SS
SC H N E E B OU L E — H OW S H E A N D I BE C A M E F A S T
. F R I EN D S ,

A N D H OW O N E D A Y S H E CO N D U CT E D B U L G E R A N D M E I N TO

H E R F A V O R I T E GR OTTO T o SE E T H E L I TT L E M A N WI TH T H E

F R O Z E N SM I LE — s o M E T H I N G A BO U T H I M — WH A T C A M E
. .

O F M Y H A V I N G L O O K E D U P O N H I M Q U I T E F U LLY D E S C R I B E D ,
1 64

C H A P T ER XX V .

A S LE E P LESS N I G HT F O R B U LGE R A N D LI E A N D WH A T F O LL O WE D
IT T E R V I E W WI TH K I N G G ELI D U S
IN MY R E Q U EST A N D
—WH A T A LL TOO K P LA C E WH E N I LE A R N E D
. .

H I S R E P LY .

TH A T T H E K I N G A N D H I S CO U N C I LLO R S H A D D E C I D E D N O T
TO G R A N T MY R E Q U E ST — ST R A N G E T U M U LT A M O N G T H E
.

K O LT Y K WE R P S A N D H O W H I S F R I G I D M A J E STY S T I LLE D I T
, ,

A N D S OM E OTH E R TH I N G S
 O
C N TE N T S X iii

C H A P T ER XX V I .

PA G E
H O W TH E QU A RR Y
O F K I N G G E LI D U S C LE F T A SU N D E R T H E
M EN

C R Y ST A L P R I SO N O F T H E L I TT LE M A N WI TH T H E F R O Z E N
S M I LE — M Y B I TT E R D I SA PP O I N TM E N T A N D H OW I B O R E

I T —WO N D E R F U L H A PP EN I N GS O F T H E N I G HT TH A T F O L
,
.

L O WE D —B U LG E R A G A I N P R O V ES H I M S E L F TO B E A N A N I
.

M A L O F E X T R A O R D I N A R Y SA G A C I TY

C H A P T ER XX V II .

E X C I T EM E N T O V E R C A RR Y H I M TO T H E C O U R T
F U F F C OO J A H . I

O F K I N G GE L I D U S H I S I N S T A N T A F F E CT I O N F O R P R I N
-

C E SS S C H N EE B O U LE — I A M
.

A CC U SE D O F E X E R C I S I N G T H E

B LA C K A R T — M Y D E F E N C E A N D MY R E WA R D —A N X I E TY
.

. .

O F T H E K O L T Y K WE R P S LE ST F U F F C O O J A H P ER I S H O F
H U N GE R T H I S C A LA M I TY A V ER T E D A N OTH E R S T A R ES U S
.
,

IN T H E FA CE : H O W TO K EE P H I M F R OM F R EE Z I N G TO
D E A TH — I S O LV E T H E P R O BLEM B U T D R A W U P O N M E A
.
,

ST R A N GE M I SF O RT U N E

C H A P T ER XX V I I I .

H O WA LITT LE B U R D EN M A Y GR O W TO B E A G R I EV O U S O N E
S TO R Y O F A M A N WI TH A M O N K E Y I N H I S H OO D — M Y T E R
.

R I B LE S U F F E R I N G CO N C E R N I N G T H E A WF U L P A N I C T H A T
S E I Z E D U P O N T H E K O LT Y K WE R P S — M Y V I S I T TO T H E D E
.

SE R T E D I C E P A L A C E -
A N D WH A T H A PP E N E D TO F U F F C O O

J A H — EN D O F —
,

. H I S BRIEF BU T T
S R A N G E C A R EE R A .

F R O Z EN K I SS O N A B LA D E O F H O R N O R H OW SC H N EEBO U LE ,

CHO SE A H U S BA N D

CH A P T ER XXIX .

S OM E TH I N G C O N CER N I N G T H E M A N Y P O R T A LS T O T H E I CY D O
M A I N O F K I N G G E LI D U S A N D T H E D I FF I C U LT T A SK O F
CHO O S I N G T H E R I G HT O N E — H O W B U L GE R SO LV E D I T .

O U R F A R E WE LL T o T H E CO L D B L OO D E D K O L T Y K WE R P S-
.

SC H N EE B O U LE S S O R R O W A T L O S I N G U S
’
X iY O
C N TE N T S

C H A P T ER XXX .

PA G E
A LL A B O U T T H E MO ST T E R R I B LE B U T M A G N I F I CE N T R I D E I
E V E R TOO K I N MY LI F E .N I N E TY M I LE S O N T H E B A C K O F
A F L Y I N G M A SS O F I CE A N D H O W B U L G E R A N D I WE R E
,

L A N D E D A T LA ST ON T H E B A N K S O F A M O ST WO N D E R F U L
R I V ER . H O W T H E D A Y B R O K E I N TH I S U N D E R WO R L D

C H A P T ER XXX I .

IN WH I C H
'
Y OU R EA D OF TH E O R I O U S C A V E R N S O F WH I T E
GL
M A R B LE F R O N T I N G O N T H E WO N D E R F U L R I V ER IN TH E
.
-

T R O P I C S O F T H E U N D E R WO R LD H O W WE C A M E U P O N A
.

S O L I T A R Y WA N D E R E R O N T H E B A N K S O F T H E R I V E R MY .

C O N V E R S A T I O N WI TH H I M A N D MY J OY A T F I N D I N G M Y
,

SEL F I N T H E LA N D O F T H E R A TT LE B R A I N S O R H A PP Y F O R

G E TT E R S — B R I E F D E S C R I P T I O N O F TH E M
,

CH A P T ER XXX I I .

H O W WE EN T ER ED T H E LA N D O F T H E H A PP Y F O R GE TT E R S .

S OM E TH I N G MO R E A BO U T TH E S E C U R I O U S F O L K TH EI R
D R EA D O F B U L G E R A N D M E — O N L Y A S T A Y O F ON E D A Y
.

—D ES C R I P T I O N O F T H E P LE A S A N T HOM E S
.

A CCO R D E D U S .

OF T H E H A PP Y F O R GE TT ER S TH E . R E V O LV I N G D O O R
TH R O U G H WH I CH BU L GE R A N D I A R E U N C E R EMO N I O U SLY
SE T O U T S I D E O F T H E D OM A I N O F T H E R A TT LE B R A I N S A LL .

A B O U T T H E E X T R A O R D I N A R Y TH I N G S WH I CH H A PP E N E D TO
B U LG E R A N D M E T H E RE A F T E R O N C E MO R E I N T H E O P EN
.

A I R O F T H E U PP E R WO R L D A N D TH E N HOM E WA R D B O U N D
, ,
 I LL U S T RA T I O N S .

PA G E
On l y A th
u e nt c i P o r tr a i t of Wilh l m e H i i h Se bast i an v o n T r o o m p
e nr c

!f ro m p ai nt i n g )
t h e O il F
’

r o n tiep z ec e

De p a r t u r e f r o m C a s t l e T r u m p 9
A l o n g a H igh w ay o f t h e U n d e r Wo r ld 23
Be f o r e h e r M aj e sty Ga la x a Q u e e n o f t h e
,
M ikk a m e n kie s 35
A Di n n e r e asily p r o v id e d fo r 47

P r i n c e s s C r yst a lli n a u n c o v e r s h e r H e ar t 59

Cr ys t a ll in a H Sc r e e n 71
’
s e ar t o n a

Bu lg e r p ar ts h is M a st e r f ro m P r i n c e ss C r yst a lli n a 83
T he F o r m if o l k t r y t h e Be at of t h e Ba r o n H b y T e l e ph o n e 95
’
s e ar t

Bar r e l Br o w g a g e d in r e a di n g F o u r Bo o k s at o nc e
en 1 0?
A So o do p sy M a id e n r e a di n g h e r F a v o r i t e P o e t 1 19

T h e Gig a n t i c T o r t o i s e t h a t d e v o u r e d P o u t i n g Lip 131

Sa ili n g a w ay fr o m t h e La n d o f t h e So o do p sie s 1 43
T h e Batt l e fo r Lif e w i t h t h e Whi t e Cr a b s 1 55

T h e Li t t l e M a n w i t h t h e F r o z e n Sm il e 1 67
Bu lg e r Sh o w s t h e Ba r o n So m e t hi n g Wo n d e r f u l 179

T h e Ba r o n s F ligh t t o t h e I c e P a l a c e
’
1 91

De at h o f F u ff c o oj a h 1 97

K o l tyk w e r p ia n Q uai r ym e n h e w i n g a P a ss a g e t h r o u gh t he W ll
a Of Ic e 203
T h e IV o n de I fu l Rid e o n t h e Bl o c k Of I c e 207
T h e T r o pi c s o f t h e U n d e r Wo r ld 213
T h r o u gh t h e Re v o l v i n g Do o r 219
C a u gh t u p in t h e A r m s o f t h e T o r r e n t 2 25

H u r l e do u t in th e Su n shi n e 23 1
 A M A RV ELLOU S U NDERGROU ND
J OU RNEY

CH A P TE R I

BU LGE R IS G R EA T LY
OYE D BY T H E FA M I LI A R I T Y O F T H E
A NN
VI LLA GE D O G S A ND T H E P R ESU M P TI O N OF T H E H O U SE CA T S
’

H I S H EA L TH SU FF E R S TH ER E B Y A N D H E I M P LO R E S M E T o
,

SE T OU T O N M Y T R A V EL S A G A I N I R EA D I LY C O N SE N T F O R I
.
,

H A D B EE N R EA D I N G O F T H E WO R LD WI TH I N A WO R LD I N A
M U ST Y OLD M S WR I TTEN BY T H E LE A R N ED D ON F U M
. PA R T .
-

I N G I N T E R VI E WS WI TH T H E E LD E R B A R O N A N D T H E GR A C I O U S
B A R O N ESS M Y M O TH E R P R E P A R A T I O N S F OR D E P A R T U R E
. .

B U LGER w a s not himself at all dear friends There was a , .

lack lustre look in his eyes and his tail responded with only
-
,

a h a lf hearted wag when I spoke to him I say half he a rted fo r

-
.
-
,

I always had a notion that the other end of B ulger s tail w as ’

fa stened to h is heart His a ppetite too had gone down with

.
, ,

h is spirits ; a n d he rarely did anything more th a n sni ff at t h e

dainty food whi ch I set before h im although I tried to te m pt ,
’
him with fried chickens li v ers and toasted cocks combs two ’

O f his favorite dishes .

There was evidently something on his mind and yet it never ,

occurred to me What that something was for to be honest a bout

it it was something which of all th i n gs I never Should h ave
,

dreame d of finding there .

Possibly I might have discovered at an e arlier day wh a t it

was all about had it not been that just at this time I was very
,

busy too busy in fact to pay much attention to any one even
, , , ,
2 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R GR O UN D JO URN E Y

to my dear four footed foster brother A S you m ay re m ember

-
.
,

de a r friends my brain is a very a ctive one ; and when once I

,

beco m e interested in a s ubjec t Castle Trump itself might take

,

fir e a n d burn until the legs of my ch a ir had become ch a rre d

before I would hear the noise and confus io n or even smell the ,

s m oke .

It so happened at the ti m e Of B ulger s low Spirits that the ’

elder baron had th r ough the kindness Of an Ol d school friend

, ,

co m e into possession of a fi ft e e n t h century manu s cript from the

-

pe n of a no less celebrated thinker and philo s opher than the

le a rned Spaniard D on Co n stantino B artolo m eo St r e ph o lo fi dge
,

u an e r iu sfu m commonly known a m ong schol a rs as D on F um

g , ,
”
entitled A World within a World In this work D on F u m
.

advanced the wonderful theory that there is every re a son to

believe that t h e interior of our w orld is inhabited ; that a s is ,

well know n this vast earth ball is not solid on the contra ry
, , ,

being in many places quite hollow ; that a ges a n d ages ago ter
rible disturbances had taken place on its surface and had driven
the inhabitants to seek refuge in the s e va s t underground cham
bers so vast in fact as well to merit the na m e of World within
, , ,

”
a World .

This book with its cru m pled torn and time stained leaves
, , ,
-

e x h al in g t h e O dors of vaulted crypt and worm eaten chest e x e r

‘
-
,

c ise d a peculiar fascination upon me A ll day long and O ften .

,

far into the night I sat poring over it s musty and mildewed
,

p ages quite fo r getful of this surface world and with the plum
, ,

m e t o f thought sounding these subterranean depths a n d with ,

the eye a n d e ar Of fancy visiting the m and gazing upon and ,

listening to the d w ellers the r ein .

While I would be thus engage d B ulger s favorite position ,

’

w a s on a quaintly embroidered leather c u s hion brought fro m the

O r ient by me on one of m y journeys a n d n o w p la ced on the end
,

O f m y work table nearest the window F rom this point of van

-
.

t age Bulger co m m anded a full View of the park a n d the terrace

and of the drive leading up to the p o r t e c o c kér e Nothing -
.
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D ER G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 3

escaped his watchful eye Here he sat hour by hour amusing .

,

hims elf by noting the co m ings and goings of all sorts O f folk ,

fro m the hawkers of gewgaws to the noblest people in the shire .

O ne day my attention was attracted by his suddenly leaping

down from his cushion and giving a low growl Of displeasure .

I paid little heed to it but to my surprise the next day about

,

the same hour it occurred again .

My curiosity was n o w thoroughly aroused ; and laying down

D on F u m s musty manus cript I hastened to the Window to learn
’
,
’
the cause of B ulger s irritation .

LO the secret was out ! There stood half a dozen m ongrel

,

curs belonging to the tenantry of the baronial lands looking up ,

to the window and by their barking and antics endeavoring to

,

entice B ulger out for a romp D ear friends need I assure you .
, .

that such fa iliarity was extremely distasteful to B ulger

m ?

Their impudence was just a little more than he could stand .

Ringing my bell I directed my servant to hunt them away

, .

Whereupon B ulger consented to resume his seat by the window .

T he next m orning just as I had settled myself down for a

,

good lo n g read I was al m ost startled by Bulger boun di ng into

,

the roo m with eyes fl a shing fire and teeth laid bare in anger .

L aying hold of the skirt of my dressing gown he gave it quite a -

,

savage tug which meant , P ut thy book aside little master ,

“
, ,

”
and follow me .

I did SO He le d me down stairs across the hallway and into

.
-

the dining room and then this new cause of discontent on his
-
,

part became very apparent to m e There grouped around his sil .

ver breakfast plate sat an ancient tabby cat and four kittens all ,

calmly licking or lapping away at his breakfast L ooking up .

i nto my face he uttered a Sharp complaining howl as much as

, , ,
’
to say There little master look at that Isn t that enough
,
“
, ,
.

to roil the patience Of a saint ? Canst thou wonder that I am

not happy with all these disagre e able things happening to me
I tell thee little master it is too much for fles h and blood to
, ,

put up wit
4 A I II A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

A n thought so t o o a n d did a ll in m y power to co m fort my

dI ,

unhappy little fr iend ; but j udge of my s urprise upon reaching

my roo m and di re cting h im t o take his place on his c ushion , to
see h im refuse to O bey .

It was so m ething extraordin a ry and se t me to thinking He , .

noticed this a n d g a ve a joyful bark then dashed into my Sleep ,

ing a partm ent H e was gone for s eve r al m o m ents a n d then

.
,

returned bearing in his m outh a p a ir O f O riental shoe s which he

laid at m y feet A gain a n d again he disappeared coming back
.
,

e a ch ti m e with so m e a rticle Of clo t hing in his m outh In a few .

m o m ents he had laid a co m plete O riental costu m e on the floor

before m y eyes ; and would you believe me de a r f r iends it was , ,

t h e identic a l suit which I had worn on m y last travels in far

a w a y land s when he a n d I had be en wrecked on the I s land Of
,

Go gu lah the land of the Round B odies What did it all me a n ?

, .

Why th is to be sure
, ,

L ittle m aster ca n st thou n o t understand thy dear B ulger ?

,

H e is weary of this dull and Spiritles s existence He is tired O f .

this increasing fa m iliarity on the part Of th ese m ongrel curs Of

the neighbo r hood and O f the audacity Of t h e s é kitche n tabbies
a n d their f a milie s H e implores thee to bre a k a way fr o m this
.

life Of revery and inaction and for the honor of the Tru m ps to
,
”
be up a n d aw ay again Stooping down and winding my a r m s
.

aro u nd m y de a r Bulger I cried out , ,

Y es I unders tand thee now faithful co m panion ; and I

,
“

promise thee that befo r e this m oon h a s filled her horn s we shall
once m ore turn our b a cks on Castle Tru m p up and away in ,

se a rch of the po r tals to D on F u m s World Within a World ” ’

.

U pon hearing these words Bulger bro k e out into the wildest
, ,

m a ddest barking boun di ng hith er and thither as if the very

,

s pirit of mischief h a d suddenly nestled in his heart In the .

midst Of these m a d ga m bol s a low rap on m y chamber door

c a used m e to call out ,

Peace pe a ce good Bulger so m e one kn ocks Peace I

, , ,
.
,
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 5

It w a s the elder b a ron With so m bre mien and stately tread

.

he advanced and took a seat beside m e on the canop y .

Welco m e honore d father I I exclai m ed a s I took his hand

,

and raised it to my lips I was upon the very point O f seeking

.

”
thee out .

He s m ile d and the n said ,

Well little baron what thinkest thou Of D on F u m s World

’
“
, ,

”
within a World ?

I think m y lord was m y reply that D on F u m is right

, , ,

th a t such a wo r ld m ust exist ; a n d with thy consent it is my ,

intention to set out in se a rch of its portal s with a ll safe haste

and as soon as m y de a r mother the gra cious baroness m ay be , ,

”
a ble to bring her heart to p a rt with m e .

The elde r b a ron w a s silent for a mo m e nt and the n adde d ,

L ittle b a ron much as thy m other and I Shall dread to thi nk

,

O f thy being ag a in out from under the safe p r otection O f this

vene r able roof the mo ss grown tiles of which have sheltered SO

,
-

m a ny generations of the Trumps yet m ust we not be selfish in ,

this m a tter Heaven forbid th at such a thought should move

.

our soul s to stay thee I The honor Of our fa m ily thy fame as ,

a n explorer O f str a nge lands in far away corners O f the globe call -
,

unto us to be s trong he a rted Therefore m y dear boy m ake .

, ,

re a dy and go fo r th once m ore in searc h Of new m arvels The .

le a rned D on F um s chart will stand thee by like a safe and

’

trusty counsellor Reme m ber little baron the m otto of the

.
, ,

Trumps Per A rdua ad A stra

, the pathway to glory is strewn
with pitfall s and dangers but the co m forting thought Shall eve r
’
be m ine that when thy keen intelligence fails Bulger s u n e rr
, ,
”
ing instinct will be there to guide thee .

A s I stooped to kiss the elder baron s h and the gracious

’
,

baroness entered the roo m .

Bulger hastene d to raise hi m self upon his hind legs and lick
her hand in token Of r espectful greeting The tears were .

p ressing hard against her eyelids but she kept the m back and , ,

encircling my neck with her loving arms Sh e presse d many and ,

many a kiss upon my cheeks a n d brow .

6 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y .

I know what it all means my dear son she murm ured with
, ,

the saddest of smiles ; but it never shall be said that Gertrude

B aroness von Tru m p stood in the way of her son addi n g new
glories to the fa m ily Scutcheon GO go little baron a n d
’
.
, , ,

Heaven bring thee safely back to our ar m s and to our hearts in

”
its own good ti m e .

A t these words Bulger who had been listening to the conver

,

sation with pricked u p ears and glistening eyes g a ve one long

-
,

b o w l of joy and then springing into my lap covered m y face with

, ,

kisses This done h e vented his happiness in a string of ear

.
,

Splitting bark s a n d a series Of the maddest ga m bols It was one .

of the happies t and proudest d ays of his life for he felt that he ,

had exerted con s iderable influence in screwing to the sticking

point my resolution to set out on my travels once again .

A n d now the patter of hurrying feet and the loud mur m ur

Of anxious voices resounded thro u gh the c a stle corridors while ,

inside and out ever and anon I could hear the cry now
Whi s pered and now outspoken ,

The little baron is m aking ready to leave home again .

B ulger ran hither and thither surveying everything taking

, ,

note of all the preparations and I could hear his joyous bark
,

ring o u t as some fa m iliar article u sed by me on my former

journeys was d r agged from its hiding place -
.

Twe n ty ti m es a day m y gentle mothe r came to my room to

repe a t so m e good counsel or reiterate some valuable caution .

It see m ed to m e that I had never seen her so calm so stately , ,

so lovable .

She was very proud Of my great name and so in fact were , ,

eve r y m a n woman and child in the ca s tle H ad I not gotten

, ,
.

Off a s I d i d I s hould have been literally killed with kindness

,

and B ulger slain with s w e e t c ak e .

 A M A R V E LLO U S UN D ER G R O UN D J O URN E Y 7

CH A P TE R II

D ON F U M S M Y ST ER I O U S D I R EC T I O N S
’
BU LG E R A ND I SET O U T
.

F O R P E T E R SBU R G A N D TH E N C E P R O C EED T o A R C HA N GEL

, .

T H E ST O R Y O F OU R J O U R N E Y A s F A R A s I LI T C H ON T H E
I LI T C H .I VA N T H E T EA M ST ER
-
H O W WE M A D E OU R WA Y
.

N O R TH WA R D I N SEA R C H O F T H E P O R T A LS T O T H E WO R LD
W TH
I I N A WO RLD — I VA N S TH R EA T
.
’
B U LG ER S D I ST R U ST .
’

OF T H E M A N A N D O TH E R TH I N G S .

A CCO RD I N G to the lear n ed D on F um s manuscript the portals ’

,

to the World within a World were situated somewhere in

Northern Russia possibly so h e thought from all indication s
'

, , , ,

so m ewhere on the westerly slope of the upper U rals B ut the .

great thinker could not locate them with any acc uracy The .

people wi ll tell thee was the mysterious phrase that occurred

again and a gain on the m ildewe d pages of this wonderful wri t
in
g
.
“
The people will tell thee A h but what people
. will ,

be learned e nough to tell m e that ? was the brain racking q u es

tion which I asked m yself sleepi n g and waking at sunrise at
, , ,

high noon and at sunset ; at the crowing of t h e cock and in the

, ,

silent hours of the night .

The people will tell thee said learned D on F um

, .

A h but what people will tell me w here to find the port als
,
”
to the Worl d within a W orld ?
H itherto on m y travels I had made choice of a semi O riental -

garb b oth on account of its picturesqueness and its lightness

,

and warmth but now as I was about to pass quite across Russia
,

for a number of months I resolved to don the Russian national

,

costume for Speaking Russi a n fluently as I did a score or m ore ,

of languages living and dead I would thus be e n able d to come

,

a n d go without everlastingly displaying my passport or having ,

DE P A R T U RE F R M
O CA S T L E T R MP
U .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R GR O UN D JO URN E Y 11

waters of the Wit c h e gda River until we had reached the govern
ment post Of Y arensk and fro m here on we headed du e E ast,

until our h a rdy little horses had dragged us into the picture s que
Village of I lit c h on the I lit c h He r e we were obliged to aban .

don Ou r sledges for the snows had disappeared like mag ic

, ,

uncoveri n g long Vistas of green fields which in a few days the ,

May sun dotted with flo w ers and sweet shrubs A t Ilit c h I was .

obliged to relinquish fro m m y service the two faithful govern

m ent reta i n ers who h a d accompanied me from A rchangel for ,

the y had now reached the most westerly poin t which they had
been co m m issioned to v isit I had become very much attached.

to the m a n d so had Bulger and after their departure we both

, ,

felt a s if we were now for the first time among strangers in a

, ,

stra n ge land ; but I succeeded in eng a ging as I thought a trust , ,

worthy tea m ster Ivan by n a m e who m ade a contra ct with me

, ,

for a goodly wage to carry me a hundred miles farther north .

”
But not another step farther little baron I said the fellow ,

doggedly I was now reall y at the foot hills of the Northern

.

U rals fo r the rocky crests a n d snow clad peaks were in full

,
-

Sight .

I turned many a wi s tful look up toward the wild regions shut

in by their sh e er w alls a n d p a ra pets Shaggy and bristling with ,

black pines for a low mysterious voice ca m e a whispering in my

, ,
-

inward ear that so m ewhere ah somewhere in that awful wilder , ,

ness I Should one day come upon the portals of the World with
,

in a W orld ! In Spite Of all I could do Bulger took a violent

dislike to Ivan and Ivan to him ; and if the bargain had not been
m a de and the mo n ey paid ove r I s hould have looke d about m e ,

for another tea m ster A n d yet it woul d have been a foolish

.

thing to do for Ivan had two excellent horses as I saw at a

, ,
’
glance and what s more he took the best of care of the m at
, , , ,

every post rubbing them until they were quite dry and never ,

thinki n g Of his own supper until they h a d been watered and

fed.

His tarantass too was quite new a nd solidly built and well
, ,
12 A M A R VE L LO US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

furnished with soft blankets all in all as comfortable as you can

,

make a wagon which has no other s prings than the two long
wooden supports th a t reach fro m axle to a xle True th ey were .
,

s o m ewhat ela s tic but I could notice that Bulger was not over
fond of riding in this curious vehicle with its r a t t le t y bang gait -

up and down these mountain roa ds an d O ften asked permission ,

to le a p o u t and follow on foot .

A t length Iv a n r eported everything in readiness for t h e start ;

a n d a lthough I would h a ve fain taken my departure fro m I lit c h

on the Il it c h in a s quiet a manne r a s possible yet the whole ,

Village turned out to see us Off Ivan s family father mother ’

, , ,

si s ters a n d brothers wife and children uncles and a unts and

, , ,

cousins by dozens a lone making up people enough to stock a

s m all town They cheered a n d waved their kerchiefs B ulge r
.
,

ba rke d and I smile d and raised m y cap with all the dignity of a
,

Tru m p A n d SO we got away at last from I l it c h on the I lit c h

.
,

Ivan on the box and Bulger a n d I a t the back sit ting close
, ,

together like t w o brothers that we were — two breasts with but

a single heart beat and two brains busy with the same thought
-

that come perils or come sudden attacks come cove rt danger or ,

bold and open fa ced onslaug h t we should stand together and

-
,

fall together ! Many and many a time as Ivan s horses wen t ’

crawling up the long stretches of m ountain road and I lay

stretched upon the broad cushioned seat Of the tarantass with
-

a blanket rolled up for a pillow I would find myself u n c o n ,

s c io u sl y repea t ing those mysterious words of D on F um

“
The people will tell thee ! The peo ple will tell thee ! ”

SO s teep were the r oads that so m e days we would not m ake

m ore than five m iles and on others a halt of several hours would
,

’
have to be made to en a ble Iva n to tighten his horses shoes ,

g r ease the axle s or do so m e needful th ing in or about his wagon

, .

It was Slow work a y it w a s very s low and tedious but what

, , ,

m atters it how m a n y or gre a t the di fficulties to a m a n w h o h as ,

m ade up his mind to a cco m pli s h a certain ta sk ? DO the storks

or the wild geese stop to count the thous a nds of m iles bet w ee n
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 13

them and their far a way ho m es when the ti m e co m es to turn

-

their heads southward ? DO the brown a nts pause to count the

hundreds Of th ous a nds of g r ains of sand which they must carry
through their long corridors an d w indi n g pa ssages before they
have burrowed deep enough to escape the frost Of midwinte r ?

There had been m a ny Tru m ps but n ever one that had thrown ,

up his arm s and cried I surrender ! and should I be the first ,

to do it ? Never ! Not even if it meant never to se e dear Old

C a stle Trump ag a in I
O ne morni n g as we went zigzagging up a p a rticularly nasty
bit of m ount a in road Ivan suddenly wheeled about and without
,

e v en taki n g Off his hat cried out , ,

“
L ittle baron I cover the last m ile Of the hundred to d ay
, ,

I f thou wouldst go any farther north thou m ust hire thee

”
another teamster ; dost hear ?
”
“
Silence ! s a id I sternly for the fello w had broken in upon ,

a very important train Of th ought .

’
Bulger too resented the man s insolence and growled and
, , ,

Sho w ed his teeth .

But little baron listen to reason he continued in a more

, , ,

respectful tone removing his cap : my people will expect me

,

b ack I promised my father I m a dutiful son —I

.
’

”
Nay n a y Ivan I interrupted Sharply curb that tongue of
, , , ,
“

thine lest it har m thy soul Know then th a t I Spoke with thy .
, ,

father and he pro m ised m e that thou Shouldst go a second hun

,

dred m iles with m e if n eed were but on condition that I give ,

thee double pay It shall be done and on top of th a t a goodly

.
,

present for yo u r go lu bt c hika !darling ) .

“
L ittle baron thou art a h a rd m aster whi m pered the m an
, , .

If the whim took the e thou wouldst bid m e leap into the
’
Giants Well just to see whether it has a botto m or not St . .

”
Nicholas save me I ,
”
Nay Iva n said I kindly I know n o s uch word as cruelty
, , ,

altho u gh I do confess that right see m s harsh at ti m es but tho u ,

wert born t o serve and I to comm a nd Providence h a th made .

14 A M A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

thee poor and me rich We need e a ch other D o thou thy duty

. .
,

and thou wilt find me just a n d considerate D isobey m e and .

,

thou wilt find that this Short a r m may be s tretched from I lit c h
t o Petersburg .

Ivan turned pale at this hidden th r eat Of m ine ; but I deemed

it ne cessary to make it for I as well as B u lger had scented
,

treachery and rebellio n about this boorish fello w whose good ,

trait was his love of his horses and it has a lways been m y rule
,

in life to open m y eyes wide to the good that there is in a man ,

a n d close them to his f a u lts B ut in spite of kin d words and

.
,

kind treatment Ivan grew surlier a n d moodier the moment we

,

had p a ssed the hundredth milestone .

Bulger watched him with a gaze so ste a dy and thoughtful

that the man fairly quailed before it Hour by hour he became .

more and more restive and upon leaving a road s ide tavern for
, ,

the very first time S ince w e had left I lit c h on the I lit c h I noticed ,

that the fellow had been drinking t o o m uch kw a ss He let w

loose his tongue a n d raised his hand against his horses which
, ,

until that moment he had been wont to load down with caresses
and pet names .

“
L ook out for that driver Of thine little baron whispere d , ,
’ ’
the tavern keeper
-
He s in a reckless m ood H e d n o t pull
.
“
.

up if the Giants Well were gaping in front Of h im St

’
. .

”
Nicholas have thee in his s a fe keeping !
 A M A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 15

C H A PTE R III

I VA NM O R E A N D M O R E T R O U B LE SO M E WA T C H ES H I M
BU LG ER
U P O N M E — M Y F A I TH
.

C L O SE LY — H I S C O WA R D LY A TT A C K
. .

F U L B U LGE R T O T H E R ESC U E A D R I V E R WO R TH H A V I N G
. .

—H o w I WA S C A R R I ED T O A P LA C E O F SA F ET Y — I N T H E .

H A N D S O F OLD Y U LI A N A T H E G I A N T S WELL
’
. .

W H EN we h alted for the night it was only by threatening the

m a n with severe punishment upon my return to I lit c h that I
co uld bring h i m to rub his horses dry and feed and water them
properly ; but I stood ove r him until he had done his work
thoroughly for I knew that no such ho rses could be had for
,

love or m o n e y i n that country and if they should go lame from

,

standing with wet coats in the chill n ight air it might mean a ,
’
week s del a y .

Scarcely had I thrown myself on the hard mattress which the

tavern keeper calle d the best bed in the house whe n I was
-
,

aroused by loud and boisterous talking in the next room Ivan .

was drinking and quarrelling with the villagers I strode into .

the room with the arrows of in dignation s hooting from m y eye s ,

a n d the faithful B ulger close at m heels

y .

The mo m ent Ivan set eyes upon us he shra nk away half i n ,

e a rnest and half in jest and called out , ,

Hey look at the ma z u n t c hick

,
’
! L ittle D andy I
.
! H O W
smar t he looks ! He frightens me ! See his eyes h o w they ,

Shine in the dark ! L ook at the little de m on on four legs beside

him ! Save me brothers ! Save me — h e will throw m e down
,

into the Giants Well ! Marianka will ne ver see me again !

’

”
Never ! S ave me brothers I ,

Peace fellow I called out sternly

, , How da r e s t th ou .

e xercis e thy dull wit on thy maste r ? Get thee to bed a t once ,
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D ER G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 17

even then I am half inclined to believe that like an anxious

, ,

mother over her babe he never quite closed both e yes at once
, .

Though entirely sobered by daybreak yet Ivan went about ,

the task of harnessi n g up with such an ill grace that I was

obliged to reprove him several times before we had left the
tavern yard He was like a vicious but cowardly ani m al that
.

quails before a stro n g and steady eye but watches its o p p o r

,

t u n it y to Spri n g upo n you whe n your back is turned .

’ ’
I not only calle d B ulger s attentio n to the fellow s a ctions ,

and warned him to be very watchful but I also took the p r e c au

,

tion to examine the priming of the brace of Spanish pistols

which I carried thrust into my belt .

We had scarcely pulle d o u t into the highway when a l o w

growl from Bulger aroused me fro m a fit of meditation ; and this
growl was followed by such an anxious whine from my four
footed brother as he raised his speaking eyes to me that I
, ,

gl a nced hastily from one side of the road to the other .

L o and behold ! the treacherous Ivan was deliberately engaged

in an atte m pt to overturn the tarantass and to get rid of his
enforced task of transporting us any fa rther on our journ ey .

”
Wretch ! I cried s pringing up and laying my hand on h is
,

shoulder .
“
I perceive very plainly what thou hast I n m i n d but ,

I warn thee most solemnly that if thou m a kest another attempt

’ ”
to overturn t h y wagon I ll slay the e where thou sittest
, .

F or only answer and with a lightning like quickness he struck

-

a back hand blo w at m e with the loaded end of his whipstock

-
.

It took me full in the right temple and sent me to the botto m

,

of the tarantass like a piece of lead .

F or an instant the terrible blo w robbed me of my senses but ,

the n I saw that the cowardly Villain had turned in his seat and
had swung t h e heavy handled whip aloft with intent to de
s p a t c h me with a second and a surer blow .

P oor fool ! he reckoned without his host ; for with a shriek of

ra ge Bulger leaped at his throat like a sto n e from a catapult and
, ,

’
struck his teeth deep into the fellow s flesh .
18 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O U N D JO URN E Y

He roared with agony and attempted to shake o ff this u n e x

c t e d foe but in vain
p e , .

By this ti m e I had come to a full realizing sense of t h e terri

ble danger Bulger a n d I were both in fo r Ivan had dropped his ,

whip a n d was reaching for his she a th knife -

.

But he never gripped it for a well a i m ed shot from one of my

,
-

pistols struck h im in the forearm for I had no wish to take the ,

’
man s life and broke it
, .

The Shock and the pain so paralyzed h im that he fell over

against the dashboard half in a faint a ndthen rolled completely ,

out of the wagon dra gging Bulger with h im The horses now
, .

began to rear and plunge I saw no m ore There was a noise

. .

as of the roar of angry waters in m y ears and then the light of ,

life went out of my eyes e ntirely I h a dswooned dead away . .

It seemed to me hours that I lay there on m y back in the

bottom of the tarantass with my he a d hanging over the Side but ,

of course it was only minutes I w a s aroused by a prickling .

sensation in my left cheek and as I Slowly ca m e to m yself I

,

discovered that it proceeded from the gra vel thrown up against

it by o n e of the front wheels of the taranta ss for the horses were ,

galloping along at the top of their Speed and there on the driver s ,
’

seat sat my faithful Bulger the rei ns in his teeth bracing , ,

’
himself so as to keep the m taut over the horses backs ; and as I
sat up and pressed my hand agai n st m y poor hurt head the ,

whole truth broke upon me

The m oment Ivan had struck the ground B ulger had released
his hold upon the fellow s throat and ere he had had a chance to
’
,

revive had leaped up into the driver s seat and catching up the ’
, ,

rei n s in his teeth had drawn them taut and thus put an end to
,

the rearing and plunging of the frightened beasts and started

them on their way leaving the enr a ged Ivan bra n dishing h is
,
’
knife and uttering imprecations upon mine and B ulger s heads
as he saw his ho r ses and wagon disappear in the distance Now .

w a s it that a mad shouting a ss a iled m y e a rs and I caught a

gli m pse of half a dozen peas a nts who seeing this as they thought , , ,
 A III A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 19

empty tarantass come nearer and nearer with its galloping

horses had abandoned their work and ru shed out to intercept it
,
.

J udge of their amaze m ent dear friends as their eyes fell upon , ,

the calm and skilful driver bracing hi m self on the front s eat ,

and with oft repeated backward tosses of his head urging those
horses to bear his beloved ma s ter farther and farther away from
’
the treacherous Ivan s sheath knife -
.

A s the peasants seized the animals by the heads and brought

the m to a standstill I staggered to m y feet and threw my arms
, ,

around my dear B ulger H e was more than pleased with what .

he had done and licked my bruised brow with many a piteous

,

m oan .

“
S t Nicholas save us
. cried one of the peasants devoutly
, ,

m aking the Sign of the cross but if I Should live long enough “

to fill t h e Giants Well with pebbles I never would expect to se e

’
,

the like of this again .

”
“
The Giants Well the Giants Well ! I murm u red to m y
’
,
’

self as I followed one o f the peasants to his cot standing a littl e ,

back from the highway for I stood sore in need of rest after t h e
,

terrible experie n ce I had just had The blow of Ivan s whip .

’

handle had jarred my brain and I was Skilled enough in surgery ,

to know that the hurt c a lle d for immediate attention A S goo d .

l u ck would have it I found beneath the peasant s roof one o f

,
’

those old women half witches perhaps who have recipes fo r

, ,

everything and who know an herb for every ailment A fter s h e .

had examine d the cut made by the loaded whip handle she m u t -
,

t er e d o ut ,
It is not as broad as the mountain n o r as deep as the Giants ,
’

’ ”
Well but it s bad enough little master
, , .

” ’
“
The Giants Well aga in thought I as I laid me down on , ,

the best bed they could make up for me I wonder where it .

“

’
may be that Giants Well and how deep it is and who drinks
, , ,
”
the water that is drawn from it ?
20 4 M A R V E LLOU S UN D E R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y

C H A PTE R IV

M Y WO U N D H EA LS Y U LI A N A.T A LKS A BO U T T H E G IA N T S ’

WELL — I R ESO LVE T O VI SI T I T — P R EPA R A T I O N S T O A SCEN D

T H E M O U N T A I N S — WH A T H A PP E N ED T O Y U LI A N A A ND T O M E
. .

. .

R EF LE C T I O N A N D TH E N A C T I O N H O W I C O N T R I VE D T O -

C O N T I N U E T H E A SC E N T WI TH O U T Y U LIA NA F OR A G U I D E .

IT was a day or so before I could walk steadily and me a ntim e ,

I made unusual e fforts to keep my brain quiet but in spite of ,

’
all I could do every mention of the Giants Well by one of the
peasants sent a strange thrill through me a n d I would find m y ,

self suddenly pacing u p and down the floo r a n d repeating over ,

and over again the words Giants Well ! Giants Well ! ,

’ ’

Bulger was greatly troubled in his mind and sat watching ,

me with a most bewildered look in his loving eyes He had .

half a suspicion I think that that cr u el blow from Ivan s whip

, ,
’

handle had inj ured my re a soning powers for a t times he uttered ,

a low plaintive whine The m o m ent I took notice of h im how

, .
,

ever and acted more like myself he gamboled about me in the

, ,
’
wildest delight A S I had directed t h e peasants to drive Iv a n s
.

horses back towards I lit c h o n t h e I lit c h until they should meet

j
,

tha t m iscreant and deliver them to him I was now without any ,

means of continuing my journ ey northw a rd unless I set out , ,

like many of my famous predecessors on foot They h a d longer , .

legs than I however and were not loaded with so he a vy a brain

, ,

in proportion to their size and a brain too that scarcely ever , , ,

slept at least not soundly I was too impatient to reach the

, .

portals to the World within a World to go trudging a long a

dusty highway I m ust have horses and another tarantass or
.
,
’
at least a peasant s cart I must push on My head was quite
. .

healed now and my fever gone

, .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN DE R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y 21

Hearken little master whispered Y u lia n a ; such w a s the

, ,

name of the old woman who had taken care of me thou art ,
“

not what thou se e m s t I ne ver saw the like of the e before If . .

tho u wouldst I believe thou couldst tell me h o w h igh the sky

,

is how thick through the mountains are and h o w deep the

, ,
’
Giants Well is .

I smiled and then I sai d , ,

D idst ever drink from the Giants Well Y u lia n a ? ’

,

A t which she wagged her head and sent forth a low chuckle .

”
“
H earken little master Sh e then whispered coming close
, , ,

to m e and holding u p one of her lo n g bony fingers thou

, , ,
“

canst not trick me —thou k n owest that the Giants Well hath ’

”
n o botto m .

”
“
No bottom ? I repeated breathlessly as D on F um s mys ,
’

t e r io u s words The people will tell thee I flashe d through my

,

mind . No botto m Y u lian a ? ,

“
Not unless thine eyes are bette r than mine little m aster , ,

Sh e mur m ured nodding her head slowly ,

.

”
“
L isten Y u l ia n a I burst out impetuously where is this
, , ,
“

bottomless well ? Thou sh alt lead m e to it ; I m u st see it .

’
Co m e let s st a rt at once Thou shalt be well paid for thy
,
.

”
pains .

Nay nay little m aster not so fast Sh e replied

, , It s far , , .
’

up the m ountains The way is steep and rugged the paths are .
,

narrow and winding 3 false step might mean instant death , .

,

were there not some strong hand to save thee Give up such a .

m a d thought as ever getting there except it be on the stout ,

shoulders of so m e mountaineer .

”
“
A h good woman , was my reply thou hast just said that
“
, ,

I am not what I see m and thou saidst truly Know then thou , .
, ,

seest before thee the world renowned traveller Wilhelm Hein -

,

rich Sebastian V o n T r o o m p commonly called L ittle Baron ,

’
Trump that though Short of stature and frail of limb yet
, ,
’
what there is of me is o f iron There Y u l ia n a there s gold for .
, ,
” ’
t hee ; now lead the w ay to the Gi a nt s Well .
22 A ZII A R V E LLO U S UN D ER GR O UN D J O URN E Y
i

Gently gently little baron almost whispered the old

, , ,

pe a sant wo m an as her shrivelled hand close d upon the gold

,

piece . I have not told thee all F or leagues about I ween

“
.
, ,
’
no living being excepting me kno w s where the Giants Well is .

’
A sk them and they ll say It s up yonder in the mountains
’
“
, ,
’
a way up under the eaves of the sky That s all That s a ll ’
. .

they c a n tell thee But little master I know where it is a n d

.
, , ,

the very herb tha t cure d thy hurt head and s aved thee fro m
certain death by cooling thy blood was plucked by me from the ,

brink of the well ! ”

These words sent a thrill Of joy through
m e for now I felt that I was on the right road that the words
, ,

of the great master of a ll masters D on F u m h a d come t rue , , .

”
The people will tell thee I
A y the people had told m e for now there was not the faintes t
, ,

shadow of doubt in m y mind that I had found the portals to the

World within a World ! Y u lian a Should be my guide She .

knew how to th r ead her way up the n a r row pass to turn aside ,

from overha n ging rocks which a m ere touch might topple over ,

to find the steps which n atu re had hewn in the Sides of the
rocky parapets a n d to pursue her way safely through clefts and
,

gorges eve n t h e entr ance to which m ight be invisible to ordi

,

n ary eyes However in order that the s uperstitious peasants

.
,

might be kept friendly to me I gave it out th a t I was about to ,

betake myself to the mountains in search of curiosities for my

cabinet and begged them to furnish m e with ropes and tackle
, ,

with two good stout fellows to carry it for me promising gen ,

e r o u s pay m ent for the services .

They m ade haste to p ro v ide me with all I asked for and we ,

set out for the mountai n path at daybreak Y u lian a in order .

,

n o t to seem to be of the party had gon e on ahead b the light

y ,

of the moon telling her people that she wished to gather certain
,
’
herbs before the sun s rays struck them and dried the healing
dew that beaded t hei r leaves .

A ll went well until the sun was well up ov e r our heads when ,

s uddenly I he a rd a wo m an who proved to be Y u lia n a utter a, ,

A L G
ON A H G H WA Y
I OF TH E UN DER W L
OR D .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR NE Y 25

piercing screa m In a moment or so the m ystery was solved

. .

The old beldam ca m e rushing down the mountain he r thin wisp ,

of gray hair flutteri n g in the wind Her hands were tied behind .

her and two young peasants with birc hen rods were beating her
,

every chance they got .

Turn back turn back brothers they cried to m y two m e n

, , ,
.

The little wizard there has struck hands with this old witch .

’
They re on their way to the Giants Well They ll loosen a
’ ’
.

ban d of black Spirits about our ea r s We shall all be bewitched .

Quick ! Quick ! Cast OR the loads ye re bearing and follow us ’

.

The two men didn t wait for a se cond bid di ng and throwing
’
,

the tackle on the ground they all disappeared like a flash but
, ,

for several m o m ents I could hear the screa m s of poor Y u lia n a

a s these young wretches beat the old woman with thei r bi r chen

rods .

Well dear readers what say ye to this

, ,
? Was I not in a
pleas a nt position truly ? A lone with Bulger in that wild and
gloo m y mountain region the black rocks hanging like frowning
,

giants and ogres over our heads with the dwarf pines for hair , ,

clumps of white moss for eyes vast gapi n g cracks for mouths , , ,

and gn a rled and twiste d roots for terrible fingers ready to reach
'
,

down for m y poor litt le weazen frame .

D id I fall a— trembling ? D id I m ake has te to follo w those

craven spirits down the mountain side ? D id I Shift the peg of
my courage a Single hole lower ?
Not I If I h a d I wouldn t have been worthy o f the na m e I
.
’

bore Wh a t I did do was to throw myself at ful l length on a

.

bed of m oss call B ulger to m y Side and close m y eyes to the

, ,

outer world
I have heard of gre at men going to bed at high noon to give
the m selves u p to thought and I had often done it myself before
,

I had heard of their doing it .

In fif teen minutes by natur e s watch — the sun on the face

,
’

of the mountain —I h a d solved the proble m Now there were .

,

two difli c u l t ie s staring me in the face ; n a m ely to find some ,

26 A I II A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

body to Sho w me the w ay up the m ountain and if that body ,

couldn t carry m y t a ckle then to find somebody else who could

’
, .

It s uddenly occurred to me that I had noticed some cattle

g r a zing at the foot of the mountain an d what s more that these , ,
’

c a ttle wore very peculi a r yoke s .

Wh at a r e those yokes for ? I asked m yself for they were of

”
,

a m ake quite different from any that I re m e m bered ever h a ving

s een and con s i s ted of a stout wooden collar fro m the bottom o f
,

which there projected b a ckward between the beast s forelegs a ’

st r aigh t pie ce of wood a r m ed with an iron Spike pointing tow a rd

the ground A t the top the yoke was bound by a le a ther tho n g
.

to the ani m al s horns So long therefore as the beast held h is

’
. -

, ,

head naturally or even lo w ered it to graze the yoke w a s drawn ,

forward a n d the hook was kept free from the ground but the ,

very mo m ent the ani m a l raised his head in the a ir at once the ,

hook was thrown into the ground a n d he was prevented fro m

taking a nother step forward Now dear readers you may o r .
, ,

may not know th a t when a cleft hoofed an i m al starts to a scend -

a steep bank u nlike a solid hoofed beast he throws his he a d into

,
-
,

the air instead of lowering it a n d therefore it struck m e a t once

,

th a t the purpose of this yoke was to keep the cattle fr o m m aking

their way up the Sides of the m ountain a n d getting lost .

B ut why should they want to cl amber up the m ounta in sides

Si m ply bec a use there w a s so m e kind of g r a ss or herb a ge growing
up the r e which w a s a delicacy to them a n d knowing as I well , ,

did wh a t risks a ni m a ls will take and what fa tigue they will

,

unde r go to re a ch a fa vorite grazing ground it struck m e at once -

,

th a t if I would make it po s sible for them to reach this favorite

food of theirs they would be very glad to give me a lift on my
,

way .

No sooner said than d one I forthwith retraced my steps .

until I fell in with a group of these cattle ; and it did not take
me m a ny minutes to loos en their yoke s fro m thei r horns and tie
the hooks up under their bodie s so that their progre s s up hill
would not be interfered with .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O U N D JO UR N E Y 27

They were deli ghted to find themselve s so unexpectedly freed

from the hatefu l drawback which per m itte d the m m erely to
View the coveted grazing ground s fro m afar and then having
-
,

cut me a s uitable goad I again st a rte d up the mountain driving

, ,

my new friends leisurely on a head of me .

U pon reaching the spot where the superstitious peasants h a d

thrown the tackle to the ground I proceede d to load it upon the
,

back of the gentlest beast of the lot and was soon on m y way
,

again.
28 4 J I A R V E LLO U S UN D ER GR O UN D JO URN E Y

CH A PTE R V

U P A ND T
S I LL U P , A ND TH R O U G H
Q U A R R I E S OF T H E TH E
D M ON S
E — .H o w T H E CA T H E T R A I L A N D H o w WE
TTLE KEP T ,

C A M E A T LA ST U P O N T H E B RI N K OF T H E G I A N T S WELL
’

T H E T ER R A C E S A R E SA F ELY P A SSED — B E GI NN I N G O F
.

TH E .

D ESCEN T I N T O T H E WELL I T SELF A LL D I FF I C U LT I E S O VE R

.

COM E . WE R EA C H T H E EDGE OF P OLY P H EM U S F U NN EL ’

.

G EN ER A LLY speaking people with very large heads are fitted

,

out by nature with a pair of rather pipe stem m y legs but such -
,

was not my c a se I was blest with legs of the sturdiest sort

.
,

and foun d n o di ffi culty in keeping pace with my new four footed -

frie nds who to m y delight were not long in convincing me that

, ,

they had been there before Not for an insta n t did they h a lt at
.

any fork in the path but kept continu ally on the move often
, ,

passing over stretches of ground where there was no trail visible ,

but co m ing u pon it again with unfailing accuracy O nce only .

they halted and that was to slake their thirst at a mountain rill
, ,

Bulger and I following their exam ple .

It was only too evident to m e that they had in mind a certain

grazing ground and were resolve d to be satisfied with no other ;
-
,

so I let the m have their own way for as it w a s still up up up I , , , , ,

felt that it was perfe ctly s afe to follow their lead .

.
A t last the m ountain side began to take on quite another
ch a racter The gorges grew narrower and a t times overhanging
.
,

rocks shut out the sunlight al m ost entirely We were entering .

a region of peculiar wildness of fantastic gra ndeur , .

I h a d often read of what t r avellers ter m ed the Quarries of

”
t he D e m o n s in the Northern U r a ls b u t never till n o w had I ,

the fa inte s t notion of what the expression m e a nt .

Imagine to yours elf the u s u a l look Of ruin a n d devastation ‘

 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D ER G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 29

around and about a quarry worked by human hands then in ,

your thoughts conceive every chip to be a block and every block ,

a mass ; a dd four times its Size to e very s lab and post and pedi
me nt and then turn a mighty torrent through the pl a ce a n d roll
,

and twist and lift them up in wild co n fusion end on end and on ,

e a ch other piled till these wild waters have builded fanta stic
,

porta ls to te m ples more fantastic an d arche d wild gorges wit h ,

roofs of r ock which see m to hang so lightly that a breath or

footfall m ight bring the m down with terrible cras h and then , ,

dear friends you may succeed in getting a faint ide a of the wild
,

and awful grandeur of the scene whic h now lay Spread out
before m e .

Would the cattle that had now led B ulger and me so safely
up the mountain side kno w where to find an entrance to this
wilderness of broken rock and What was more important still , ,

would they when once engaged within its winding courts and
,

corridors its darkened m aze of wall and parapet it s streets and

, ,

plazas roughly pave d as if by demon hands imp a tient of the

t ask know how to find their way out again ?
,

D ear friends m a n h a s always been t o o distrustful of his four

,

footed co m panions They have much that they might tell us

.

h a d they but Speech to tell it w ith I have often trusted the m .

when it woul d have seemed foolhardy to you and never once

.
,

have I had cause to repent of doing so .

S o B ulger and I with stout hearts followed straight after

, ,

these silent guides although I must confess my legs w ere begin

,

ning to feel the terrible strain I had put them to ; but I resolved
to push on ahead at least until we had cleared the D emons
,
’

Quarry and then to bring my little herd to a h a lt and p a ss

,

the rest of the day and the night seaso n in well earned -

repose .

O nce with in the quarry however all se n se of fatigue vanished

, , ,

and my thankful mind entranced and fascinated by the deep

,

silence the a wful grandeur the mysterious lights and Shadows

, ,

of the place lent me n e w strength A t length w e had traversed

, .
30 A III A R V E LLO U S UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

this city of silence and gloom and once again we emerged i nto ,

the full glory of the afternoon sun .

Suddenly my little drove of cattle with playful tossing of ,

their heads broke into a run B ulger and I at their heels how
, , ,

ever I t was a mad race ; but dear friends when it ended I

.
, ,

t ook off my f ur cap and tossed it high into the air with a wild
cry of j oy and B ulger broke out in a string of ye l ps and barks
, ,

for look ye the catt le were grazing aw ay for dear life there in
, ,

front of me a n d as their breath reached me my keen nostrils

,

recognized t h e odor of Y u lian a s herbs which s h e had bound on ’

m y hurt head .

Y es we stood a l m ost upon the brink of the Giants Well

,
’

but I was too tired to take another step fa rther too tired in , ,

fa ct to eat although I had a stock of dried fruit in my pockets

, , ,

and noticed that the nests of the wild fowl were well supplied
with eggs H a ving unloosened the tackle from the back of the
.

good beast that h a d carried it up the mountain for me I threw ,

myself on the ground and was soon fast asleep with my faithful ,

B ulger coiled up close against m y breast .

In the morning the cattle were nowhere to be seen but I ,

didn t trouble myself abo u t them for I knew that old Y u lian a
’
,

would be sent up after the m the moment they were missed .

A fter a hearty breakfast on half a dozen roasted eggs of the

wild fowl with some dried fruit and Wintergreen b erries B ulger
, ,
’
and I advanced to the edge of the Giants Well or rather to the , , ,

edge of the v a st terr a ces of rock leading down to it each o f ,

w hich was from thirty to fifty feet in sheer height .

Before I go any farther dear friends I must beg you to , ,

re m ember that I am an expert in the use of tackle there being ,

’
no knot noose or splice known to a sailor which I did n t have
, ,

at m y fingers ends a fact n o t to be wondere d at when you t ake

’
,

into consideration the thousands of m iles which I have t ra velled

o n water .

Nor wo u ld I have you shake your heads and look o n ly h al f

’
persuaded when I go on describing our descent into the Giants
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 31

’
Well for of course you ll be asking yourselves how I succeeded
,

in getting the tackle down when there was no one left a t the
other end to untie it !
Know the n that that was the s m allest of my troubles ; for a s
, , ,

any sailor will tell you you only n eed to tie you r line in what
,

” ’
is known as a fool s knot to one end of which you make fast
“
,

a m ere cord The moment you have reached the bottom a

.
,
’
Sharp tug at the cord unties the fool s knot and your tackle ,
.

falls down after you My method was to lower B ulger down

.

first and then let m yself down after h im In this w ay we pro

,
.

c e e de d from p a rapet to parapet until at last we stood upon the ,

very edge of the vast well the existence of which had been so ,

m ysteriously h i n ted at in D on F um s manuscript

’
Its mouth .

was probably fifty feet in width and by straining my e yes I ,

satisfied m yself of t h e existence of a Shelf of rock on one Side ,

a s n early a s I could judge about seventy fi v e feet down It was -

.

a goo dl y stretch and would require every foot of m y rope

, .

Y ou will not Smile I m sure when I tell you that I pressed

,
’
,

B ulger to my breast and kisse d him fondly before loweri n g

,

away He re t urned my caresses and by his joyous yelp gave

.
,

me to understand that he had perfect faith in his little master .

In a few moments I h ad joined him on this n arro w shelf of

rock Below us now was darkness but think you I hesitate d
.
,

I knew that my eyes would soon be co m e accustomed to the

gloom and I also knew th at when my eyes fa iled B ulger s
,
’

keener ones were there to help me out .

I rigged my tackle now with extra ca r e for I was really low ,

ering my little brother on a sort of trip of di scovery .

He was soon out of sight and then in spite of m y c al nm e ss , , ,

I dre w a quick breath and my heart started upward a barley ,

corn or so B ut hark ! his quick sharp bark co m es plainly up

.
,

to m e It m eans that he has landed upon a safe shelf or ledge

.
,

and the next m oment my legs encircled the rope and I began ,

to glide noiselessly down into the stilly depths his glad voic e ,

ringi n g in my ears .
 A III A R V E LLO U S UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 33

CH A P TE R V I

M Y D E SPA I R U P O N F I N DI N G T H E P I P E O F T H E F U N N EL T OO
SM A LL F O R M Y B O D Y A R A Y O F H O P E B R EA K S I N U P O N
.
-

M E — F U LL A CC O U N T O F H O W I SU CC EED ED I N EN TER I N G
—
.

T H E P I P E O F T H E F U N N EL M Y P A SSA G E TH R O U G H I T
—
. .

T M Y T H E M A R B LE H I G H WA Y A N D S O M E
’
B U LG E R S I EL A I D .

C U R I O U S TH I N G S C O N CER N I N G T H E E N T R A N C E T O T H E NV O R LD

WI TH I N A WO R LD .

TH rocky Sides of Polyphemus F unnel were apparently as

E
’

well polished a s those of any tin f u nnel that I had ever seen
hanging in the kitchen of Castle Tru m p so m aking fast my ,

tackle and taking B ulger in my arms away we we n t sliding down ,

’
the side with the line passed under my arm for safety s sake .

It was nearly a hundred feet to t h e bottom for I had measured ,

o ff the full length of my line before I had come to the apex of

this gigantic cone and not cari n g to tumble headlong do w n its

,

pipe I proceeded to light a taper and look about me

, .

A h dear friends I can feel that Shudder now so terrible was

, , ,

it and what wonder too for a glance at the pipe of the funnel
, , ,

to ld m e that it was too s m all to let m y body pass through The .

agonizing thought flashed through m y mind th a t I had c o m

m it t e d a terrible error that I had m istaken Some vast pit for
-

the Giants Well that I had thrown B ulger s an d m y own life

’

,
’

aw a y in mad and unreasoning haste that I Should never reach ,

the wonderful World within a World that there in that thick ,

gloo m must we lay our bodies and bones .

O r thought I may not the learned M a ster of Masters D on

, , ,

F um have made an error hi m self in holding out the idea that

,

the pipe of Polyphemus F unnel was large enough to admit the ’

’
passage of a man s body ?
34 A !M A R VE LL O U S UN D ER G R O UN D JO URN E Y

In m y al m o s t fr enzy I advanced to the mouth of the pipe and , ,

lo w ering m yself into it let my body sink as fa r as it would

, .

It caught at the shoulders a n d a fter a careful examination

,

I w a s forced to reach the br a in racking conclusion th at my

-

fa ithful B ulger and I had travel led our last m ile together .

There w a s nothing for us to do but to lie down and die .

L ie down a n d die ? Never ! I had noticed in m ak ing the

de s cent into the Giants Well that its side h a d m uch the a p p e a r
’

a nce of bei n g walled around by blocks of stone With Bulger .

s tr a pped to my b a ck I would slowly cli m b up fro m shelf to shelf

until my strength fa iled m e a n d then I would wait until I

,

thought old Y u lian a had co m e back to gather herbs an d possi ,

bly I m ight m ake her hear me .

In my despai r I sighed and clutched my own arms and as I ,

did so one of my hands came into contact with something cold

and slippery h a vi n g the feel of tallow T a ki n g a pinch of the
.

s ubstance between m y th u m b a n d finge r I r ubbed it thoughtfully

,

fo r a m o m ent a n d then a ray o f h Op e broke through the awful

,
.

gloom that enshrouded me so pitiles s ly It was bl a ck le a d.

there could be no doubt of it It h a d made its w ay th r o u gh a

.

crack or crevice in P olyphemus F unnel and I had rubbed it

’
,

o ff in sliding down the side With th is greasy m aterial to r u b

.

on the i n side of the pipe to the funnel a n d a l s o to besme a r ,

myself with m ayhap I might yet slip through into the World
,

within a World !
A t any r a te I determined to make the trial even if I left some
, ,

of m y skin on the fl in ty rock .

In order to colle ct my thoughts thoroughly and that I m ight ,

proceed step by step in th a t syste m a tic order so characteristic

of all my wonderful exploits I sat do w n a n d putti n g m y ar m
, ,

a r ound de a r B u lger s n eck and drawi n g him up against m e I

’
,

co m m une d with m y s elf for a good h alf hour -

.

Then all w as in re a dines s for action and to prove to you de a r ,

fr iends h o w careful Bulger was not to interrupt m y tr a in of

,
-

thought I have to report to you that although a s m all ani m al of

,
B F
E OR E H E R M A J EST Y G A L A K A , Q U E EN O F T H E M I K K A M ENK I ES.
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D ER G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

the rat family ca m e out from a crevice in the rock while I s a t

ther e thinking a s I could see by the light of m y tiny wax t a per
, ,
’
and had the temerity first to sniff a t Bulger s tai l and then to
give it a playf u l nip yet the sag a cious animal never budged
,

’
a hair s breadth .

”
Mind hath ordered now let h a nds obey ! I exclai m ed as I
,
.
,

S prang up and bega n stripping off my outer gar m ents This .

done I cla m bered up on t he side of the funnel and beg a n to

,
,

colle ct a supply of the bl a ck lead which I deposited near the ,

opening of the pipe The next thing to do was to get Bulger

.

thro ugh the pipe ahead of me To this end I tied him up in my .

clothing bag fash ion and began to lower aw ay

, ,
.

A fter payi n g out sixty fi v e or seventy fee t of the line he

-
,

struc k bottom a n d by his loud barking g a ve me to understand

,

that it was all right that I might make t h e descent m yself

,
.

U pon hearing his voice I gave the line a few sharp tugs H e
,
.
-

was not slow to co m prehend my m eaning and in a mo m ent o r ,

s o h a d not only scra m bled out of the bag himself but pulled my ,

clothing loose so th a t I might draw the line up again

,
.

My next step was to contrive a w ay to weight myself when

the mo m ent arrived to begin the desce n t for I felt sure that I ,

never should be able to a r r ange it so as to slip through the pipe

unless somethin g w as pulling at my heels .

Cutting o fi about ten feet of the rope I made fast one end of ,

the piece to a long piece of rock weighing about a hundre d ,

pounds This I laid near the mouth of the pipe re a dy for use
. .

But now came the m ost di fficult thing of all — it was to dra w
m y shoulders in on m y breast and l a sh the m se curely in that
posit i on by which plan I expe cted to reduce my width by at
,

least two good inches .

Thes e two inches thus gained or rather lost might be the , , , ,

means by which I would be able to slip through the pipe of

Polyphemus F unnel and reach the v a st underground p a ssage
’

leading to the World within a World P utting a noose around .

my chest just belo w my collar bone I dre w my shoulders in as

, ,
38 A JU A R V E LLO U S UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

tight as I could be a r a n d ch a n ged the slip knot into a hard one ;

,

then having made the othe r end of the line fast to the side o f
the funnel I proceeded to wind myself up as the housewive s
,

often do a big sausage to keep it fro m bursting This do n e I .

,

set about rolling in the black lead until I was thorough ly

smeared with it .

There was now but one thi n g more to do before dropping m y

self into the pipe a n d that was to make fast t h e weight t o m y
,

feet It was no easy task wound up as I was with my arms

.
, ,

l a shed down ag a inst m y body but by the use of slip knots I ,

finally ac co m plished the fe a t a n d sitti n g do w n put m y legs into ,

the pipe and drew a long breath for I felt as if I w a s skewered ,

up in a straight jacket .

Bendi n g down I called out to B u l ger H e a n s wered with a

, .

yelp of j oy th a t brought fresh v igor t o my heart Now w as .

come the supreme m o m ent which w a s to witness success o r

failure F ailure ! O h w hat a d r e a d word is that ! a n d yet h o w
.
,

often must hu m an lips pronounce it a n d in so doing b r e a the o u t ,

the sigh in which it ends ! Quickly lo w eri n g the weight I ,

wriggled o ff the edge of the openi n g a n d straightened m ys elf ,

out as I slipped into the pipe .

Had I stopped it like a cork or w a s I movi n g ? Y es down

-

, , ,

down gently slowly n oiselessly I went slipping thro u gh the

, , , ,

pipe to Polyph emus F unnel Wh a t did I care how th at weight

’
.

caused the line to cut into my ankles ? I was m oving I w a s ,

drawing nearer a n d ne a rer to Bulger whose joyous b a rk I could ,

hear now a n d then ne a r er to t h e i n ner gates of the World

,

within a Wo r ld !
B ut woe is me I suddenly s t op and in spite of all m y effo r t s ,

to s ta rt again by twisti n g tu r ning and shaking my body it , , ,

refused to sink another inch a n d there I stick ,

.

O h Bulger Bulge r I m oan

, ,
fa ithful friend if thou
,
”
,
“
,

coulds t but reach me one t u g fro m thee m ight save t h y little

,

m aster !
In a sort of a wild and despe r a te w ay I now beg a n to feel about
 A JVI A R V E LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D J O URN E Y 39

me as well as I could with m y hands wedged in so close to m y

sides but in a mo m ent or so I had discovered t h e c a u s e of m y
,

co m ing to s uch a sudden stand s till .

I had struck a portion of the pipe that had a thread to it like ,

that which encircles a bolt of iron and m akes a s crew of it and ,

the thought came to me that if I could only s ucceed in giving

a revolving motion to my body I would with every turn twist
,

myself farther down toward the end of the pipe .

I could feel that my knuckles and finge r tips were being

.

bruised and lacerated by this arduous work but what cared I ,

for the keen pain that d a rted fro m hands to wrists and wrists ,

to elbows ! It was like twisting a screw slowly through a

long nut only the thread in this c a se w a s on the nut and the
,

grooves in the screw a n d that scre w was my poor bruised little

,

body !
A ll of a sudden by the swinging of the weight I could tell
, ,

that it had passed out at the lower end of the pipe It was pull .

ing cruelly h a rd on my ten der ankles but I could twist m yself ,

no more ; m y strength w a s gone I was at the point of swoon

.

ing when I heard B ulger utter a loud yelp and the next i n stant ,

there was such a strong tug at my ankles that I sent forth a

groan but that tug saved m e ! It was Bulger w h o had le a ped
,

into the air and catching the rope in his teeth had dragged h is
,

little master out of the pipe of P olyphemus F un n el ! ’

We all fell into the same heap B ulger I and the weight , , , ,

fully ten feet a n dvery serious m ight have been t h e conse quences
,

for me h a d my fall not been broken by my striking on the pile

of my clothing placed dire ctly under the opening ; and dear ,

friends if you t a lked until the crack 0 doo m you could not
,
’

’
m ake me believe that my four footed brother hadn t pl a ced
-

those clothes there to catch m e .

’
They weren t thrown higgledy piggledy into a heap either -
,

but were laid one upon the other the h eavie st at the ,

bottom .

H aving unwound m yself and ligh t ed one of m y wax tapers ,

 M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 41

snapped thei r t a ils at m e a t the sa m e inst a nt and filled the

,

vast place w ith a fl ash of light o f almost lightning like -

intensity.

Bulger was s o frightened by the re s ult o f h is applause that

he took good care to keep quiet after this .
42 A A I A R V ELLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

CH A P TE R V II

OU R F I R ST NIG HT IN TH E U N DER WO R LD , A ND H O W IT WA S
F O LLO V V E D BY TH E K O F DA Y F I R ST B R EA
BU LG ER S .
-
’

\V A R N I N G A N D \V H A T I T M EA N T — WE F A LL I N WI TH A N .

I N H A BI T A N T OF TH E NV O R LD WI TH I N A WO R LD H IS .
-

N A M E A N D C A LLI N G M Y ST ER I O U S R ET U RN O F N I GHT
.
-
.

T H E LA N D O F B ED S A N D H OW OU R N E W F R I EN D P R O V I D ED
,

ONE F OR U S .

So heavy with sleep did my eyelids beco m e at last that I k n ew

that it must be night in the outer world and so we hal ted and , ,

I stretched myself at full length on that marble floor which by , ,

the way was ple a santly warm bene a th us ; and the air too was
, , ,

strangely comfor t ing to the lungs there being a complete absence ,

of that s m ell of e a rth and odor of dam pness so common in vast

subterranean ch a m bers .

My sleep was long continued a n d most refreshing ; Bulger

-

w a s al ready awake however w hen I s a t up and tried to look

, ,

a bo u t me .

H e began tugging at the string which I had fastened to his

collar as if he wanted to lead me somewhere so I humored hi m ,

a n d followed along after To m y delight he led me straight to

.

a pool of deliciously sweet and co l d water Here we drank our .

fill a n d a fter a very frugal bre a kfast on so m e dried figs set out
,

a gain on our jou r ney a long the Marble Highway Suddenly to .

,

m y m ore th a n jo y the f a int a n d uncertain light of the place

,

began to strengthen Why it seemed almost as if the day of

.
,

the uppe r world were about to b r e a k so delicate were the vari ,

ous hues in which the ever incre a s ing light clothed itself : then
-
,

a s if a ffrighted a t its o w n incre a sing glory i t would fade a way ,

a gain to al m o s t gloo m Ere m a ny m o m ents again this fa int an d

.
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D ER GR O UN D JO UR N E Y 43

m ysterious glow would return beginning with the softest

, yellow ,

then ch a nging through a dozen different tints a n d like a fickle , ,

’
m aid uncertain which to wear put all aside and do n the lily s
,

garb Bulger and I wandered along the M a r ble Highway

.

almost afraid to break a stillness so deep that it s eemed to m e

a s if I co u ld he a r tho s e Sportive ra ys of light in their play

a gainst the many colored rocks arching this m ighty co r ridor

-
.

Now a s the M a rble Highway swept around in a graceful curve

, ,

a dazzling flood o f ligh t burst upon us .

It was sunrise in the World w ithin a World .

Whence ca m e this flood of dazzling light which n o w cau s ed

the sides and arching roof to glo w and s parkle as if w e had su d
’
de n ly entered one of Natu r e s vast sto r ehouses of polishe d gems
Shading my eyes with my hand I looked about me in order to
try and solve the mystery .

It did n o t take me long to understand it a ll Know then .

,

dear friends that the ceilings domes and a rched roofs of this
, , ,

underground world were fretted with a m etal of greater har dness

th a n a n y known to us c h ildren of sunshine Its seams r a n .

hither and thither like the veins of gigantic leave s and at certain
hours curre nts of electricity from s o m e vast internal reservoir
’
of N a tur e s o w n building streamed through these metal traceries
,

until they glowed with a he a t so white as to give off the flood

of dazzling light of which I have already spoken .

The current never ca m e with a sudde n rush or burst but ,

began gently and ti m idly so to speak as if feeling its w ay alo n g

, , .

Hence the be a utiful tints that always preceded sunrise in t h is

lo w er world and m ade it so m uch like the coming and goi n g of
,

our glorious sunshine .

The M a rble Highway now divided and the two h alves of the,

fork curving away to the right and left enclosed a s m a ll but

exquisitely orn amented p a rk or pleasure grou nd I might call it
, ,

provided with seats of so m e dark wood beautifully polished and

carved This park was o r n a m ented w ith four fountains e ach
.
,

spri n gin g from a crysta l basin a n d spre a ding out into a feathery
44 A M A R VE LL O US UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

s pray th a t glistened like whirling snow in the d a zzling white

light A s Bulger a n d I directed our steps towa rd one of the
.

benches with the intention of t a king a good rest a lo w growl ,

from h im warne d m e to be on the alert I ga ve a second look . .

A hu m an being w a s se a ted on the bench Beside m yself a s I .

,

was with curiosity to come fa ce to fa ce with thi s inhabitant of

,

the under world the first we had m et I m ade a halt dete r m ined, , ,

to ascertain if possible w hether he was quite h armless before

, ,

accosting him .

He was smal l in stature and cl a d entirely in bl a ck a sort of , ,

loose flowing robe much like a Ro m an tog a His he a d was bare

, .
,

and what I could see of it was round s m ooth a n d rosy with , , ,

a bout as m uch hair or rather fuzz upon it a s the head of an , ,

infa nt six weeks old His fa ce w a s hidden by a bl a ck fa n which .

he carrie d in his right hand and the uses of whic h you will ,

learn later on His eyes were shielded fro m the intense glare o f
.

the light by a pai r of colore d glass goggles A s he raised his .

h a nd between m e and the light I couldn t help c a tchi n g m y ’

breath I could see right through it : the bones were a s cle a r

.

as a m ber A n d his he a d too was only a little less O paque

.
, ,
.

S uddenly two wor ds fro m D on F um s m a nu s cript flas hed through ’

my mind and I exclai m ed joyously

, ,

B u lger we re in the L and of the Transparent F olk

,
’

A t the sound of m y voice the little m a n aro s e a n d m ade a

l o w bow lowering his fa n to his breast where he held it
,
His .

b a by fa ce w a s ludicrously s a d and s ole m n .

”
Y es Sir Str anger s a id h e in a low music a l voice thou
, , , , ,
“

a r t in de e d in the L a nd of the M ik k a m e n k ie s ! Mica Men ) in the

, ,

L and of the Tra n sp a rent F olk called a lso Goggle L and ; bu t if ,

I should show thee m y he a rt thou wouldst see that I am deeply

paine d to think th a t I should have bee n the first to bid thee
welco m e for know Sir Stra n ger that thou speakest with Master
, , ,

Cold Soul the Court D epresso r the s a ddest m a n in all Goggle ,

L and and by the w a y s ir perm it m e to o ffer the e a pair of gog

, , , ,

gle s for thyself a n d a l s o a pair for thy four footed co m p a nion

,
-
,
 A M A R VE LL O US U N DE R GR O U N D JO URN E Y 45

for our intense white light would blind thee bo t h in a fe w

”
days .

I thanked Master Cold Soul very warmly for the goggles and ,

proceeded to set one pair astride my nose and to tie the other in
front of B ulger s eyes I then in most cour t eous manner in
’
.

for m ed Master Cold Soul who I was and begged him to explain ,

the cause of his great sadness Well thou must kno w little .
, ,

b a ron said he after I had taken a seat beside him on the bench
, ,

that we the loving subje cts of Queen Gala x a whose royal

, ,

heart is al ost run down

m — excuse these tears living as we do
, ,

in this be a utiful world so unlike the one you inhabit which our ,

wise men tell us is b uilt strange to say on the very outside of

, ,

the e a rth s crust where it is most exposed to the full sweep of

’

blinding snow freezing blast pelting hail drowning rain and

, , ,
-
,

choking dust living as we do I say in this vas t te m ple by

, , ,

N a ture s o w n hands builded where disease is unkno w n and Where

’
, ,

our hearts run down like clocks that m ay have but one winding ,

we are prone alas to be too happy to l a ugh too much ; to spend

, ,

too m uch ti m e in idle gayety chattering the time away like ,

thoughtless children amused with baubles delighted with tins el ,

nothings Know then little baron th a t mine is the business to

.
, ,

check this gayety to put an end to this childish glee to depress

, ,
’
our people s Spirits lest they run too high Hence my garb of
,
.

inky hue m y rueful countenance m y frequent o u t fl o w in g of

, ,

te a rs m y voice ever attuned to sadne s s Excuse m e little

, .
,

b a ron m y fan slipped then ; didst see through me

, I would n o t
h a ve thee see my he a rt to day for some way or oth e r I cannot -
,

bring it to a slow pace it is dreadf ully unruly .

I a ssured him that I had not seen through him as yet .

A n d now dear friends I m il s t explain that by the laws of the

, ,

M ik k am e n k ie s each man woman and child must wear in their, ,

garments a heart shaped O pening on their bre a st directly over

-

their hearts with a corresponding one at the back so that

, ,

under certain co nditions when the law allows it each may have
, ,

the right to take a look at his neighbo r s heart and see exactly ’
46 A NI A R V E LLO U S UN DE R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y

ho w it is beating — whether fast or slow whether throbbing ,

o r l e a p in o r whether pulsating cal m ly and naturally B ut this

g , .
.

privilege is only accorded as I have said under certain condi,

-

tion s hence to Shut off inquisiti v e glances each M ikk a m e n k y is

,

allowed to carry a black fa n with w hich to cover the h e a rt

shaped opening above described and in thi s w a conce a l h is o r
y ,

her feelings to a degree I say to a deg r e e for I m ay a s well tell

.
,

o u right here th a t falsehood is unknown or m o r e correctly

y , ,

s tated i m possible in t h e land of the Tra n sparent F olk for the

, ,

re a son th a t s o wondrou s ly clear li m pid a n d crysta l like a r e , ,

-

t heir eye s that the slightest atte m pt to s a y one thing while they
a r e t h inki n g another roils and clouds the m a s if a drop of m ilk

h a d f a llen into a gl ass of the pure s t water .

A s I s a t gazing a t this strange little being seated on the bench

there beside me I rec a lled a conversation which I ha d had with
,

a learned Russian a t So l v it c h e o dsk Said he Spe a king of his

g .
,

people We are a ll born with light hai r br illiant eyes and

,
“
, ,
”
pale faces for we have Sprung up under the snow
, A nd I .

thought to m yself how delighted how ent r anced he would have , ,

been to look u pon this cu r ious being born not under the snow , ,

but far under the surface of the earth where in these va s t ,

ch a mbers of this World wi thin a World this strange folk h ad , ,

like plants grown in a dark deep cellar gradually parted with , ,

all their coloring until their eyes glowed like orbs of pure crys
t a l until their bones had been bleached to amber clearness a n d
, ,

their blood coursed colorle s s through colorless veins .

While Sitti n g there following out this train o f thought the ,

clear white light suddenly began to flicker and to play fa nt astic

t r icks upon the wall s by d a ncing in garbs of ever changi n g hue s -
,

now brightest yellow now palest green now glorious purple

, , ,

n o w de epe s t cri m son .

I
A h little baron ! excl a i m ed Master Cold S oul
, that was ,

an unco m monly short day Rise please .

,
.

I made haste to obey whereupon he touched a spring a n d the

,

bench O pened in the centre disclosing two very comfortable beds ,

.
A D I NN E R E A SI L P
Y RO V I D E D F O R .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 49

“
In a few moments night will be upon us continued the ,

M ik k a m e n k y but thou seest that we have not been taken by

,
“

surprise I should explain to the e little baron that owing to

.
, ,

the capricious manner in which our River of L ight is apt both to

begin and to cease flowing we are n ever able to tell how lo n g ,

a day or a night will prove to be This is w hat we call twilight . .

In thy world I suppose day goes out with a terrible bang for ,

our wise men tell us that nothing can be done in the upper world
without making a noise ; that your people really love noise ; and
that the man who makes the gre a test noise is considered the
greatest m a n .

O wing to the f a ct little baron that no one in Goggle , ,

L and can tell how long the day will las t or how long it may be ,

necessary to Sleep our laws permit no one to set any exact time
,

when a thing shall be done or to exact any promise to do this or ,

that on a certain day for bless thy soul that day may not be , , ,

‘
ten minutes long Hence we say If to morrow be over five -
,
.

hours long co m e to me at the beginning of the Sixth hour ; and

,

we never wish each other a plain good n ight but say Good ‘ -
, ,
’
night as long as it lasts
,
.

’
“
What s more little baron as night is apt to co m e upon us
, ,

this way unawares by law all the beds belong to the sta te ; no
,

one is allowed to own his own bed for w he n night overtakes ,

him he may be at the other end of t h e city and so m e other sub ,

e c t of Queen G al ax a m a be in front of his door and no matter

j y ,

where night m ay overta ke a M ik k a m e n k y he is sure to find a ,

bed There are beds everywhere By touching a s pring they

. .

drop from the walls they pull out like drawers they are under
, ,

the ta bles and di vans in the parks in the m arket place by the, ,
-
,

roadside ; benches bins boxes barrows a n d barrels by pressing

, , , ,

a spring m ay in a n instant be transformed into beds It is the .

L and of Beds little baron But ah ! behold the twilight goes

,
.
,
”
to its end Good night as long as it l a sts ! and with this Mas
.
-

ter Cold S oul stretched hi m self out and began to s nore h a ving ,

first carefully covered up the two holes in the front and back of
50 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D J O URN E Y
’
his garment so that I shouldn t have a chance to take a peep
,

through him in case I should w ake up fi rst B ulger and I were

.

right gl a d to lay our li m bs on a real bed although from the way

,

my four footed brother followed his tail around and around I

-
,
’
could see that he wasn t particularly delighted with the softness
of the couch .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D J O URN E Y 51

C H A P TE R V III

GOO D—M O R N I N G A s LO N G A s I T LA ST s P L A I N T A LK
—
.

F O M M ST
R A E R C O D SO U
L L WO N D ER S O F G O GG LE LA N D
WE E N T ER T H E C I T Y O F T H E M I K K A M EN K I ES — BR I EF DE
. .

SCR I P T I O N OF 1 T O U R A PP R O A C H T o T H E R OYA L P A LA C E
.
-
.

Q U N GA A A
EE L X A N D H ER C R Y S T A L TH R O N E — MA S T E R .

C O LD S o u L s T EA R S
’
.

I D ON T think the darkness laste d over three hours perhaps

’
,

it was lo n ger ; but Master Cold Soul was obliged to shake me

gently ere he could rouse m e .

”
Now little baron s aid he after he had wished m e a good
, , ,

morn ing with the usual as long as it lasts tacked to it if “

,
“

’
thou art quite willing I ll conduct thee to the court of our gra,

cio n s mistr ess Queen Ga lax a O ur wise men have often dis
, .

coursed to her concerning the upper world and the terrible

u fi e r in s of its people expose d as they are to be first froze n by
g ,

the pitiless cold and then burned by the scorching rays of wha t
they call their sun and she will no doubt deign to be pleased a t
,

igh t of thee although I must warn thee that thou art most
,

uncomely that tho u se e m st so black and hard to me as scarcely

,
‘
to be human but rather a bit of livi n g earth or rock I greatly
, .

fe ar me that thou wilt make our people extremely vain by com

parison . Thy four footed companion we know well by sight
-
,

havi n g often seen his petrified image in the rocks of the dark
”
chambers of our world .

Master Cold S oul said I as we walked along when t hou

, , ,

g e t t e s t to know me better thou wilt find me more comely and ,

although I Shall not be able to Show thee m y heart I hope to ,

”
be a ble to prove to the e and thine that I have such a thing .

“
NO doubt no doubt little baron exclaimed Master Cold
“

, , ,
52 A A I A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

Soul but be not o ffended It is not more pleasant for m e to

,
.

tell thee these disagreeable thi n gs than it is for thee to hear

the m but I a m p a id to do i t a n d I m ust e a rn m y wage V a nity
, .

grows apace in our world and I prick its bubbles whenever I

,
”
see the m .

To my great wonder I now discovered that the world of the

M ik k a m e n k ie s had its lakes and rivers like our o w n o n ly of ,

course they were smaller and m irror faced being never visited -
,

by the faintest zephyr To m y question as to w hether they

.

were peopled with living things Master Cold Soul info r m ed m e ,

that they literally swar m ed with the most delicious fish both ,

in sc a les and shells .

B ut think not little baron he a dded that we of G oggle

“
, , ,

L and have no other food than such a s we dra w fro m the w a ter
fo r in our g a rdens grow m a ny kinds of delicate vegetables ,

Springing up in a Single night a l m ost as light a s foa m and just

as white B ut we a r e s m all e a ters little baron a n d rarely find

.
, ,

it necessary to put to death a l a rge shellfish We m erely lay .

hold of his great cl a w which he obligingly drops into o u r

,

hand and forthwith sets about growing another

,
.

”
But tell m e I pray thee M a ster Cold Soul said I where
, , , ,

ye find the silk to weave s uch soft and beautiful stu ff as that
thy ga rm ent is fashioned fro m ? ”

In this unde r world of ours little baron replied M a ster

“
, ,

Cold Soul there a r e m a ny va s t recesses not reached by the

,
“

River of L ight and in these dark cha m bers flit a bout huge
,

n ight m oths like restless s pi r its forever on the wing but of

, ,

course they a r e not for we find thei r eggs glued against the
,

rocky Sides of these caverns a n d collect the m carefully The .

worms that ar e hatched fro m the m Spin huge cocoons so large

tha t one may not be hidden in m y hand and these unwound ,
”
give unto our loo m s all the thre a d they n eed .

”
“
A n d the beautiful wood I continued which I see about
, ,

m e carved a n d f as hioned into so m any articles whence comes ,

”
it ?
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 53

F rom the quarries answered Master C old S oul ,

.

”
Q uarries ? I repeated wo n deringly .

”
Why yes little b a ron said he for we have quarries of
, ,
“
, ,

wood as no doubt thou h a st quarries of stone O ur wise men .

tell us that thousands and thousands of years a go vast forests

grown in your world were in the upheavals and fa llings in of -

the earth s crust thr u st do w n into ou r s the gig a ntic trunks

’
,

wedged closely together and sta nding bolt u p right just as they
,

grew A t le a st so we find the m when we h a ve dug aw a y the

.
,

ha r dene d clay th a t has Shut them in these m any ages But see .
,

little baron we are n o w entering the city

,
Y onder is the .

roy al palace — wilt walk with me thither ? ”

A h dear friends would that I could make you see this beau
, ,

tiful city of the under world just a s it showed itself to m e then -

,

Spread out so glo r iously beneath the glittering domes and

A vaulted corridors from which poure d down u pon the exquisitely
,

carved and polishe d entrances to the living cha m bers of this

happy folk a flood of wh ite light a pp a rently more dazzling
,

than our noonday sun !

It was a Sight so strangely beautiful that many ti m es I paused
to gaze upon it Y oung and old all cl a d in the same gracefully
.
,

flowing garbs of Silk now purple n o w royal blue and n o w

, , ,

rich vermilion were hurrying hither and thither each arme d

, ,

with the inevitable black fan and the baby face of each aglo w ,

with life and sweet content while a h u ndred fountains spring ,

ing fro m cryst a l basins glistened in the dazzling white light ,

and te n times a hundred flags and gonfalo n s hung listless but

rich in splendor from invisible wires Strange music came .

floating along from the gracefully shaped barges with silke n

awnings which were gliding noiselessly over the surface of the
,

winding river the oars stirring the waters until t h e wake

,

seemed a path through molten silver .

A s Bulger and I followe d Master Col d Soul along the streets

of polished marble it was not long before a crowd of M ikk a
,

m e n k ie s was at our heels whispering all sorts of u n c o m p l i,

54 A M A R V E LLO U S UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR NE Y

mentary thi n gs about us mingled with n o t a few fits of

,

suppressed laughter .

The Court D epressor rep roved them sternly

‘

Cease your ill timed mirth said he a n d go about your

-
, ,
“

business Must I pause and tell you a gre w so m e tale to check

.

your foolish gayety ? Know ye not that all this Silly mirth
doth quicken your hearts and make them run down just s o
”
much sooner ?
A t these words of Master Cold Soul they fell back and put ,

an end to their giggling but it was only for a moment and by

, ,

the time we reached the portal of the royal palace a still ,

louder and noisier cro w d was close behind us .

Master Cold S oul suddenly halted and drawing forth a huge

,

pocket handkerchief began to we ep furiously It was not with

-
,
.

out its effect and from that moment I could see that the Mik
,

k am e n k ie s were inclined to take a more serious view of my

arrival in their city although it was only Cold S oul s presence
,
’

that kept them from bursting out into fits of violent laughter .

A b ove the portals of the queen s palace there were large

’

Openings hewn in the rock for the purpose of ad m itting light

into the royal apartm ents ; but these windows if they may be ,

called such were hung with silken curta ins of delicate colors so
, ,

that the light which entered the throne room was te mpered and
s oftened The room itself was likewise hung with silken stuffs
.
.

which gave it a look of O riental splendor ; but never in my

travels among strange peoples of far away lands had my eyes -

ever rested upon any work of art that equalle d the crystal
thr one upon which sat Galax a Queen of the M ik k am e n k ie s
,
.

In the upper world m ost diligent search had never been able
to unearth a piece of rock crystal more than about thr e e feet in
diameter ; but here in Queen Galax a s throne four glorious ’

columns at least fifteen feet in height and at their base three,

feet in diameter Shot u p in matchless splendor Their lower

,
.

parts Shut in spangles of gold that glittered with ever varying -

hues as a different light fell u pon them The cross pieces and .
 A M A R V E LLO U S UN DE R G R O UN D J O URN E Y 55

pieces making u p the back and arms had been chosen on account
of the exquisitely beautiful hair and needle shaped crystals of -

other metals which they enclosed A silken baldachin of rare .

beauty covered in the throne and from its edges dropped ,

heavy cords and tassels of rich color and the perfe ct i on of

human hand i craft as to fineness and fi n ish .

A t the foot of the throne sat the you n g princess Crystallina ;

and standing b ehind her and engaged in combing her long ,
'
s i lken tr e sses was her favorite waiting m aid Dam o z e l Glow
,
-
,

Stone while around and about in files and group wise stood
, ,
-
,

l ords and ladies courtiers and couns e l lors by the dozen

, , .

A s Master Cold Soul advanced to salute the queen a throng ,

o f the idlers who had followed at our heels crowded into the

anteroom w i th loud outburs t s of laughter The C our t D e - .

pressor was greatly incensed and turning upon the throng he ,

began weeping again with wonderful energy ; but I noticed that

it was nothing but sound : not a tear fell to obscure the crystal
clearness of his eyes Then he began chanting a sort of song
.

which was intended to have a depressing influence on the w ild

m irth of the M ik k a m e n k ie s I can only recollect one verse of .

this solemn chant of the Court D epressor It ran as follows .

Wp
ee ,
M ik k a m e n k ie s , w e e p , O w ee p ,

F or t h e e ye e s s l m an in t h e C i t y o f Li g t , h
F or the h
m o u t l e ss m a n in P l e n t y s b o w e rs ,
’

F or l
t h e e ar e ss m an in M i us c s rea
’
lm ,

F or th e l
n o se e ss m an in t h e K in gd o m of flo w e r s ,
W p
ee ,
M ik k a m e n k ie s , w ee p O w ee p
,

B ut they only l aughed the loud e r crying out , ,

Nay Master Cold Soul we will not weep for them ; w e e p

, ,

for them thyself A t last Queen Gal ax a raised the slender

.

golden wand t i pped with a diamond poi n t that lay within her
, ,

hand and instantly a hush came upon the whole place while
, ,

every e ye was riveted upon B ulger and me .

 A M A R V ELLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 57

wonder more th a n a ll the others put together was her h a i r so ,

lo n g so fine and silken was it such a ma s s o f it was there a n d

, , ,

so d a zzling white was it not the blue o r yellow white that

comes of age in our world but a m ilk white a cotton white , , .

’
A n d as we drew near to B ulger s but not to my amazement
, ,

her hair began to quiver and rustle and rise until it b u ried he r ,

Whole throne completely out of sight O f course I knew that .

,

seated as Sh e was upon a throne of glass it was only necessary ,

to send a gentle current of ele ctricity through her to make h e r

wonderful head of hair stand up in this m anner like the White ,

a n d fil m y tentacles of s ome gigantic creature of the s ea half ,

plant h alf a nimal

,
-
.

Rise little baron said Queen Gala x a as I dropped upon my

, , ,

right knee on the lowest step of the throne and be welcome to ,

“

our kingdo m Whilst thou may be please d to tarry here my

.
,

pe ople shall bestir themselves to show thee all that may see m
wonderful in thine eyes for although our wise me n h a ve ofte n
discussed to us of the U pper world yet art thou its first i n habit ,

ant to visit us a n d thy wonderful companion is right welcome

,
”
too . Can he t a lk little baron ?
,

“
Not exactly Quee n Galax a said I w ith low obeisance
, , ,

“
yet he can understand me and I h im .

”
“
He is quite harm less is he not ? asked the queen , .

Y ou m ay try to imagine how I felt de a r fr iends when as I , ,

was about to say Perfectly so royal l a dy to my a m azement

,
“
, ,

I s a w Bulger advance and sni ff at the Princes s C r yst allina and

then draw back and sho w his teeth as Sh e stretched out her
h a nd to caress h im .

Bending over him I reproved him in a Whi s per and bade h im ,

kneel before the queen This he proceeded to do s aluting her

.
,

with three very stately bows at which everybody laughed ,

heartily .

I would h a ve him come nearer said the queen so th a t I

“
, ,
”
may lay my hand upon h im .

A t a Sign from m e Bulger began to lick his fore paws very -

58 A A I A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

carefully and then having wiped them on the rug sprang u p

, ,

the steps of the throne and place d his front feet upon Queen
Galax a s lap
’
.

The fair ruler of the M ikk am e n k ies w as delighted w i th this

’
sample of B ulger s fine manners and in order to amuse her still ,

further I proceeded to put B ulger through many of his quaint

tri cks and curious feats bidding h im say his p rayers ”
feign
,
“
,
“

” “ ” ” ”
death weep for his sweetheart
, count ten walk upright , , ,
”
“
go lame and cry to tell how it hurts .

S carcely had he gone half around the circle feigning lame ,

ness w hen the damozel Glow Stone began to weep herself and
, ,

stoop i ng down co m menced to caress B ulger and to kiss his la m e

foot caresses which to my more than surprise B ulger was not
, , ,

slow in returning and later too when I bade him choose the
,

maiden he loved best and kiss her hand h e bounded straight .

,

toward Glow Stone and bestowed not one but twenty kisses
upon her outstretched hands while the princess Crystalli n a ,
”
shrank away i n fear and disgust from the ugly beast as she
“
,

termed him .

Bid him bring my h a ndkerchief to me little baron cried

“
, ,

Gal ax a throwing it on the floor I did as the queen co m m a nded

,
.
,

but Bulger refused to obey .

Thou s eest Que en Gal ax a said I with a low bow he

, , ,
“

refuses to lift the handkerchief without a co m mand from thy

royal self which delicate co m pliment pleased the l a dy mightily
”
,
.

‘H ow comes it little baron Sh e asked that thou Shoulds t

, , ,

be of noble lineage and thy brother as thou callest him plain , ,

B ulger ?
It comes royal lady said I right humbly as it often comes
“
, , ,

in the world which I inhabit that honors go to them that least ,

”
deserve them .

Well then little baron cried Galax a gayly though I be

, , , ,
“

but a petty sovereign compared with thine yet may s m a ll rulers ,

do acts of great j ustice Bid thy four footed brother kneel before
.
-

II S .
 P
! U S

P R NC E
I SS C R Y S T A LL INA U N C O V E RS H E R H EA R T .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 61

A t a word from me B ulger prostrated himself on the steps

,

of Galax a s crystal throne and laid his head a t her very feet
’

,
.

Leaning forward she touched h im lightly with her golden

wand and exclaimed Rise L ord Bulger rise ! Queen G al ax a
, , , ,

seated on her crystal throne bids L ord B ulger rise !

In an instant B ulger raised himself on his hind feet and laid
’
his head in the queen s lap while the whole room rang with ,

loud huzzas and every lady gently clapped her frail and glass
,

like hands s ave the princess Crystallina who feigned to be

,

asleep .

Queen Galax a now undid a string of pearls from her ne ck and

tied them with her own hands around L ord Bulger s —a n d so ’

it was that my four footed brother ceased to be plain B ulger

-
.

Then turning to her counsellors of state Queen Gal ax a bade ,

them assign a royal apartment to Lord Bulger and me a n d gave ,

strict orders that the severest punish m ent be at once visite d

upon an y M ik k a m e n k y who Should dare to laugh at us or to
m ake disrespectful re m arks concer n ing our dark eyes and skins
and weather beaten a ppearance for as the royal l a dy said to her
-
, ,

people Y e might look worse th an they were ye co m pelled to

“
,

live on the outside instead of the i n side of the world exposed ,

”
to biting blasts piercing cold and clou ds of suffocating dust
, ,
.

By the queen s orders three of the wisest of the M ik k a m e n

’

kies were selected to attend Bulger and m e look after our w a nts , ,

explain everything to us in a wor d do all in their power to ,

make our stay in Goggle L and as ple a s a nt as possible .

Their na m es as nearly as I can translate them were D octor

, ,

Nebulosus Sir A mber O P ak e and L ord Co r n u c o r e I should

,
’
,
.

explain to you dear friends the me a ning of these names for

, , ,

you might be inclined to think that D octor S omewhat Cloudy

Sir Clear as A m b er ; and Lord Heart o f Horn might indicate th a t
- - - -

they were more or less m uddled in their intellects F a r from it .

I have already stated to you they were th r ee of the very wisest

men in the L and of the Tr a nsparent F olk and the l a ck of cle a r ,

ness indicated by their names had r eference solely to their eyes .

62 A M A R VE LL O US UN D ER G R O UN D J O UR N E Y

Now as you kno w the learned me n of our upper world have

, ,

a di fferent look from ordinary folk They are stoop shouldered .

-
,

Shaggy eyebrowed
-
long haired pursed lipped near sighted
,
-
,
-
,
-
,

Shambling gaited
-
Well the only e ff ect that long years of
.
,

deep study had upon the M ik k am e n kie s was to rob their beauti
ful crysta l like eyes of more or less of their clearness
-
.

’
Now I think you ll understand why these three learned Mik
k a m e n k ie s were named as they were .

A t any rate they were in Spite of their strange names three

, , ,

most charmi n g gentlemen ; and no matter how many times I

might ask the same question over a gain they were always ready ,

with an answer quite as polite as the one first given m e They .

did everything that I had a right possibly to expe ct them to do .

Indeed there was but one Single th i ng which I would have fain
,

had the m do and that w a s to let me look through them

,
.

This they most carefully a voided doing ; and no matter how

warmed up they might become in their descriptions and no , !

matter how on the alert I was to catch the coveted peep the ,

inevitable black fan was always in the way .

Naturally not o n ly they but all the Transp a rent F olk felt a
, , ,

repugnance to have a perfect stranger look through them and I ,

couldn t blame them for it either I despaired of ever getting

’
.

a chance of seeing a human heart beati n g aw a y fo r dear life for ,

all the world just like the swing of a pendul u m o r th e vibration '

of a balance wheel .
 A A l A R V ELLOU S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR NE Y 63

C H A P TE R X

A F A CCO U N T OF M Y C O N VER SA T ION S WI TH D O C T O R

B RI E
SI R A M B E R o P A K E A N D LO R D
’
N EBU LO SU S ,
C O R N U C OR E , ,

WH O T ELL M E MA N Y THI NG S TH A T I NEVER K N E W BEF O R E ,

F O R WH I C H I WA S V ER Y G R A T EF U L .

L O R D B U LG ER and I were more than please d with our ne w

friends D octor N e bu lo su s Sir A mber O P ak e and L ord Cornu
, ,
’

core although so eager w er e they to make us thoroughly

,

co m fortable that they overdid the matter at times and left me

, ,

scarcely a moment to myself in which to make an entry in my

no t ebook They we re extremely solicitous lest in my ignorance
.

I should set do w n something wro n g about them .

F or said Sir A mber O P ak e n OW that thou hast found

”
,
’
,
‘

the way to this under world of ours little baron I feel assured , ,

that we shall have a nu m ber of visitors fro m thy people every

year or s o and I have already issue d orders to have extra beds
,
”
made as soon as the wood can be quarried .

D octor Nebulosus gave me a very interesting account of t he

various ailments which the M ikk am e n k ie s suffer from A ll .

”
sickness among o u r people little baron said he is purely
, , ,
“

mental or emotional ; that is of the mind or feelings There is

, .

no such thing as b odily infirmity among us Wine and s trong .

drink are unkno w n in our world and the food we eat is light ,

and easily digested We are never exposed to the danger of

.

breathing a dust laden atmosphere and while we are an active

-
,

and industrious people yet w e sle ep a great deal ; for as our

, ,

laws forbid the use of la m ps or torches except for the use of ,

those toili n g in the dark chambers it is not possible for us to ,

r u in our health by turning nig h t into day We go to bed the .

 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 65

of our bodies to you pe ople of the upper world Exposed as ye .

were to p i ercing winds and biting frosts ye contracted the habit ,

of shivering to keep w a rm and little by little this Shivering , , ,

habit so gre w upon you that ye kept up the Shivering whether

,

ye were cold or not ; only ye called it by a nother name Now .

,

my knowledge of the human body teache s m e that this quivering

of the flesh is a very wise provision of natu r e to keep the bloo d
in m o t ion and in this way to save the hu m a n body from perish
,

ing from the cold ; but why Should we quiver when we are
h a ppy little baron ? A ll pleasure is the thought and yet at the
, ,

very moment when w e should keep our bodies in as perfect

repose as possible we begin this ridiculous shivering D o we
,
.

S hiver when we look upon the beauties of the River of L ight or ,

listen to sweet m usic or gaze upo n the loving countenance of

,

our gracious Queen Ga l ax a ? But worse than all little baron , ,

this senseless quivering a n d shivering which we call laughter ,

unlike good deep long drawn wholesome sighs e m pty the lungs
, ,
-
, ,

of air without filling them ag a in and thus do we often see ,

these gigglers and laughers fall ove r in faint i ng fits absolutely ,

choked by their o w n w ild and unreasoning act i on I have .

al w ays contended little baron that we alone of all animals had

, ,

the laughing habit and I am now delighte d to have my O pinion

,

confirmed by my acquainta n ce with t he wise and dignified Lord

Bulger O bserve him He knows quite as well a s we what it
. .

is to be pleased to be amused to be delighted but he doesn t

, , ,
’

think it necessary to have recourse to fits of Shivering and shud

Through the brightened eye — true window o f t h e
'

dering .

soul — I can see h o w happy he is I can measure his joy ; I .

”
can take note of his contentment .

I was delighted with this learne d discourse of the gentle

D octor Nebulosus and made notes of it lest the points of his
,

argu m e n t might escape my me m ory the more pleased was I in ,

that he prove d m y faithful Bulger to be so wisely constructed

and regulated by nature .

I ma de p articular inquiry of my friends Sir A mber O P ak e ,

’
66 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

and Lord C o r n u c o r e as to whether Q u een Gala x a ever had any

,

trouble in governing her people .

“
None whatever w a s the answer In many a long year
, .

h a s it only been necessary on one or two occasions to summon

a M ikk a m e n k y befo r e the m agistrate and examine his heart
under a strong light The only p u nishment allowe d by our .

laws is confinement for a shorter or longer time in one of the

d a rk chambers The seve r est se ntence ever known to have
.

been passed by one of our m agistrates was twelve hours in

length But in all honesty we m ust admit little baron that
.
, , ,

falsehood and deception are unknown a mongst us for the simple

reason that being transparent it is impossible for a M ik k am e n k y
, ,

to deceive a brother without being caught in the act There .

fore why make the a ttempt ? The very m oment one of us

begins to s ay one thing while he is thinking another his eyes ,

cloud up and betray him j ust us the c r ysta l clear weather gl ass
,
-

clouds up a t the approach of a storm in the upper world But .

this of course little baron is only true of our thoughts O ur

, , , .

laws allow us to hide our feelings by the use of the black

’
fan No one m ay look upon another s hea r t unless its owner
.

wills it It is a very grave offence fo r one M ikk am e n k y to look

.

’
through another without that one s per m i ssion But as thou .

wilt readily understand inasmuch as we are by nature trans ,

parent it is utterly impossible for a marriage to prove an

,

unhappy one for the reason that when a youth declares his
,

love for a maiden they both have the right by law to look
,

upon each other s hearts and in this w ay they can tell ex a ctly
’
,

the strength of the love they have for each other This a n d
many other stra nge and interesting things did m y new friends ,

D octor Nebulosus Sir A m ber O P ak e and L ord C o r n u c o r e

,
’
,

imp a rt unto m e and right grateful w a s I to good Queen Gal a x a

,

for having chosen the m fo r m e Good friends are better th a n .

gold although we may not thi n k it at t h e ti m e

,
.
 A UN D ER G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

C H A P TE R X I

PLEA SA N T D A Y S P A SSED A M O N G T H E M I K K A M ENK I E S A N D ,

WO N DER F U L TH I N G S SE EN B Y U S — T H E SP E C T R A L G A R D E N
.
,

A ND A D E SC R I P T I O N O F I T
.
— OU R M EE T I N G WI TH D A M O Z E L
G LO W ST O N E A N D WH A T CA M E O F I T
,
.

F R O M now on L ord Bulger and I m ade ourselves perfectly at

h o m e among the M ikk a m e n k ie s O ne of the royal b a rges was
.

placed at our disposal and when we grew tired of walking about

,

a n d gazing at the wonders o f this beautiful city of the under

world we stepped aboard our barge and were rowed hither a n d

,

thither on the glassy river ; and if I had not seen it m yself I

never would have believed that any kind of shellfish coul d
ever be taught to be so obliging as to swim to the surface and
offer one of their huge claws for our din n er politely dropping
,

it in our hand the m o m ent we had laid hold of it O n one of .

the r iver banks I notice d a l ong row of wooden co mpartments

looking very m uch like a grocer s bins but yo u m ay think how
’

a m used B ulger and I were upon coming closer to this long row
of little houses to find that they were turtle nests and that quite ,

a n u m ber of the tu r tles were sitti n g comfortably in their nests

busy laying their eggs which let m e assure you were the most
, ,

dainty tidbits I ever tasted .

I think I informe d you th a t the river flowing through Gog

gle L and was fairly swar m ing with delicious fi sh the c a rp a n ds ole
,

being particularly delicate in flavor ; and knowing as I did what , ,

a te n der hearted folk the M ikk a m e n k ie s are I had been not a

-
,

l ittle puzzled in my mind a s to how they had ever been able to

summon up courage enough to drive a Spear into one of these
fish which were as tame and pl ayful as a lot of kittens or pup
,
68 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

pies and followed our barge hither and thither snapping u p the
, ,

food we tossed to them and leaping into the air where they , ,

glistened like burnished Silver as the white light sparkled on

their scales .

B ut th e m ystery was solved one day when I saw one of the

fisher m en decoying a score or m ore of fish into a sort of pen
shut off fro m the river by a wire netting Scarcely had he .

closed the gates when to my amazement I saw t h e fish one after

, ,

the other come to the surface and float about on their sides ,

s t one dead .

“
This little baron expl a ined the m an in charge is the
, , ,
“

de a th cha m ber Hidden at the bottom of this d a rk pool lie

.

s everal electric eels of great size and power and whe n our peo ,

ple want a fresh supper of fi sh we simply open these gates and

decoy a shoal of the m inside by tossing th eir favorite food into
the water The e x ecutioners a r e awaiting them and in a few
.
,

instants the fish while enjoying their rep a st and suspecting no

,
”
harm are painlessly put to de a th a s thou hast seen
, , .

O ne part of the city of the Transparent F olk which attracted

Bulger and me very m u ch w a s the roy a l g a rdens It was a .

'

weird and u n can n y place and u p o n m y first visit I w a lke d ,

through its paths a n d beneath its a rbors upon my toes and with
bated breath as you might steal into some bit of fairy land look
,
-
,

in g anxiously from side to side as if at every step you expected

some sprite or goblin to trip you up with a tough spider web or -
,

brush your cheeks with their cold and satiny Wings .

Now dear fr ien ds you must first be told that with the loss of
, ,

sunshine and the O pe n air the flowers a n d shrubs and vines of ,

this underg r ound world gradu a lly parted with their perfumes
and colors their leaves and petals and stems and tendrils grow
,

ing p aler and paler in hue like lovelorn maids whose swee t ,

he a rts had never come back from the war Month by m onth .

the dark greens the blush pinks the go lden yellows and the
, , ,
’

deep blues pined a w ay lo n gi n g fo r the lost sunshine and the

,

wooing breeze they loved s o de a rly until at last the transforma ,

 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR NE Y 69

tion was complete and there they all stood or hung bleached to
,

utter whiteness like th ose fantastic clu m ps of flowers and

,

wreaths of vines which the feathery snow of A pril builds in the

leafless shr u bs and trees .

I cannot tell you dear friends what a strange feeling ca m e

, ,

over me as I stepped within this spectral ga r den where ghost

like vines clung in fantastic forms and figures to the dark trel
lises and where tall lilies whiter than the down of ei der stood
, , ,

bolt upright like Spirits doomed to eternal silence denied even ,

the speech of perfume , and where huge clusters o f sno w y Chrys

anth e m u m s flu ffy feathery forms seemed pre s sing their soft
, ,

bodies together like groups of banished celestials in a sort o f

silent despair as they felt the war m th a n d glow of sunligh t
slowly and gradually quitting their souls ; where lower down ,

gre a t roses with snowy pet als whiter than t h e sea Shells hung -

motionless bursting O pen with eager effort as if listeni n g fo r

, ,

some sign a l that would dissolve the Spell put upon them and ,

give the m b a ck the sunshine and with it their color and thei r
,

perfu m e ; where lower still beds of violets bleache d white a s

fl e e c y clo u ds see m e d wrap t in Silent sorrow a t loss of the h e a v
e nl
y perfu m e which had been theirs on e a r th w h ere above t h e ,

lilies hea ds shot long Slender Spectral stalks of sunflowers almost

’
, ,

invisible loaded at their ends with clusters of snowy flowers

,

thus suspended like white f a ces looking down through the silent
a ir a n d waiting waiting for the sun s hine that never came ; and
, ,

higher still all over and above these spectral flowers intwini n g ,

and in w r ap p in g and fa lling festoon and garland wise crept and -

,

r a n like unto long lines of escapi n g phantoms ghostly Vines ,

with ghostly blosso m s bent and twisted and wrapped and coile d
,

into a thousand strange and f a nt a stic form s a n d figures w hich

the w h ite light with its inky Shadows made alive and h a lf human ,

so that movem ent a n d voice alone were needful to m ake th is

garden seem people d with sorrowing sprites b a nished to these
subterra nean cha m bers for strange misdee ds done on earth and
co n demned to wa it ten thousand years ere s unlight and their
color a n d their perfu m e should be given back to them aga in .
70 A M A R V ELLOU S UN D E R G R O UN D JO U R N E Y

While strolling through the royal gardens one day B u lger ,

sudde n ly gave a l o w cry and bounde d on a head as if his eyes ,

had fa llen upon the fa mili a r for m of some dear friend .

When I ca m e up with him he was crouching beside the damo z el

Glow Stone who s eated on one of the garden benches w as , ,
’
caressing B u lger s he ad and ears with one of her soft han ds
with its fi lm y like skin while the other held its black fan press ed
-
,
-

tightly against her bosom .

She looked up at me with her crystal eyes and s m ile d fa intly ,

as I dr ew near .

Thou seest little baron she m urmured L ord B ulger and

, , ,
”
I have n o t forgotten each other Since our presentation at .

cour t I had been going through and th r ough m y mind in search

of s ome reason for Bu lger s sudden a ffection for da m ozel Glo w ’

Stone but had found none

, .

I was the more perplexed as she was b u t the m a id of honor ,

while the fair princess Crystallina sat on the very steps of the
throne .

B ut I said nothing save to reply th a t I was greatly pleased to

see it a n d to add that where Bulger s love went m ine was sure ’

to follow .

”
O h l ittle baron if I co u ld but believe that ! sighed the
, ,

fair d a mozel .

Thou m ayst said I in deed thou mayst

“
, ,
.

”
Then if I may little baron Sh e replied I will and prit hee
, , , ,
“
,

co m e and sit be s ide me here only till I bid th ee look not through , ,

me D ost promis e
.

I do fa ir d a m ozel w a s m y ans w er
, ,
.

A n d thou L ord B ulger lie there at my feet she continued

, , , ,

and keep thy wise eyes fixed upon m e and thy keen ears wide
open .

L it t le baron if both thine and our worlds were filled wi th

,

sorrowing he a rts m ine would be the he aviest of the m a ll ,

.

L ist ! oh list to the s a d s a d tale of the sorrowing m aid with the

, ,

Speck in her he a rt and when thou knowest all give me of thy , , ,

”
wisdom .
 A JlI A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y 73

C H A PTE R X II

T H E SA D , TA LE O F T H E SO R R O WI N G P R I N CESS WI TH A
SA D
SP E C K I N H E R H E A R T A ND WH A T A LL H A PP EN ED \V H E N
,

S H E H A D EN D ED I T WH I C H T H E R EA D E R M U ST R EA D F OR
,

H I M SELF I F H E WO U LD K N O W .

L I TTLE ba r on and dear L ord B ulger began the crystal ,

eyed damozel after Sh e had ease d her soul of its load of w o e

,

by three long and deep deep sighs kno w then that I am not
,
“

the damozel Glow Sto n e but none other than the roy a l princess
,

Crystallina herself ; that Sh e whose hair I co m b should comb

m ine ; that she wh om I have served for te n long years should
have served me
“
A n d to think O princess I burst out joyfully that my
,
“
, ,

belove d Bulger should have been the first to discover that she
who was seated on the steps of the crystal throne was not
entitled to the seat ; to think that his subtle intellect should
have bee n the first to scent out the wrong that had been done
’
thee ; his keen eye the first to go to the bottom of truth s well
but fair pri n cess I am bursting with impatience to k now how
, ,

thou thyself didst ever discover the wrong that has been done
thee .

“
That thou sh a lt speedily know little baron answered , ,

C rystallina and that thou mayst k n o w all that I know I ll

,
“ ’

begin at the very begi n ning : The day I was born there w a s
great rejoicing in the land of the M ikk am e n k ie s and the people ,

gathered in fr ont of the royal palace and la u ghed and crie d by

turns so happy were they to think they were to be governed by
,

another princess after Queen Gala x a s heart s hould run down ; ’

for many years ago a bad king had made the m very unhappy
, , ,
74 A M A R VE LL O US UN DE R G R O U N D JO UR NE Y

and they had hoped a n d pra yed that no more such would come
t o reig n over them A n d pretty soon one of them began to tell
.

the others wh a t he thought the little princess would be like .

‘She will be the fairest that ever sat U pon the cryst a l throne .

'

Her hands a n d fe e t w ill be like pearls tipped with coral ; her

h a ir whiter than t h e river s foa m ; a n d f r o m her be a utiful eyes
’

will burst the ra diance of her pure so u l and her heart O h her , , ,

heart will be like a little lump of frozen water so clear and so

tran s p a rent will it be so like a bit of purest crystal bright an d
, ,

fl a wles s as a diamond of the first water a n d therefore let her be ,

called the princess Crystallina or the Maid with the Cryst al ,

II e a r t f
F orthwith the cry went up : let her be called Cryst a l
A y,
lina o r the Maid wi t h the Crystal Heart and Queen Ga la x a
, ,
’

heard the cry of her people and sent the m word that it should
be as they wished that I should be the Princess Crystallina .

B ut ah m e that I should have lived to tell it ! after a few

, ,

days the nurse ca m e to m y royal mother wringing h e r hands and

po u ring down a flood of tears .

Throwing herself on her knees she whispered to t h e queen , ,

Royal mistress bid me die rather than tell thee What I

,

’
know .

Bei n g ordered to speak t h e nurse inform ed Queen Galax a

,

th a t Sh e had th a t day for the first time held me up to the light

a n d had di s covered that there was a s peck in my he a rt .

The queen uttered a cry of horror an d swooned When .

Sh e c a m e t o herself she dire cted that I Should be brought to her

and held up to the light so that she might see for herself A l as .
,

too true ! there was the speck in my heart sure enough I w a s .

not worthy of the sweet n a m e which her loving people had

bestowed upon m e They w ould turn fro m me with horro r
.

they would never consent to h a ve m e for their queen when the

t r uth should beco m e known They would not be m oved by a
.

m other s p r a yers they would turn a deaf ear to every one who
’

should be bold enough t o a dvise the m to a ccept a p r incess with

 A M A R V E LLOU S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 75

a speck in her he art when they had thought they were

,

getting one well deserving of the title they had besto w ed upon

Queen Galax a kne w that so m ethi n g must be done at once ;

t ha t it would be ti m e and labo r lost to a tt em pt to reason wit h
the dis a ppointed people so she set to work thinki n g up so m e
,

way out of her trouble Now it so happened little baron that

.
, , ,

the ve r y day I had co m e into the world a babe h a d been born

to one of Quee n Gal a x a s serving women ; and so h a stily s u m
’

moning the wo m a n she ordered her to bring her b abe into the
roy a l bed chamber and leave it there p r o m ising that it s hould
-
,

be brought up as m y foster sister But n o s ooner had the serv

-
.

ing wo m an gone her way rejoicing than the nu rse w a s o r dered

to ch a nge the children in the cradle and I n a few moments ,

Glow S tone w a s wra pt in m y richly embroidere d blanket and I

swa thed up in her plain coverlets .

H ow things Went for severa l years I know not but one day , ,

ah how well I recolle ct it ! my little m ind was puzzled by hear

,
’
ing Crystallina cry out : Nay nay dear ma m m a tis not fair ; I
, , ,

like it not E a ch day when thou co m est to us thou givest

.

’
Glow Stone ten kisses and m e but a single one Then would .

Queen Galax a smile a s a d s m ile and bestow so m e bauble upon

Crystallin a to co a x h e r back to content m ent again .

“
A n d so we went on Crys tallina and I from one year to
, ,

another until we were little m a ids well grown and s h e s a t on ,

the throne and wore roy a l purple stitche d with gold and I plain ,

White ; but still m ost of the ki s ses fell to m y sh a re A nd I .

m a rvelled not a little at it but dared not ask why it was

, How .

ever once when I w a s alone with Q u ee n Gal ax a seated on m y

, ,

cushion in the corner plying m y needle and thinking of the s ail

we were to have on the river that day suddenly I was startled ,

to s ee the queen thro w hers elf on her knees in front of m e a n d ,

to feel her c l asp me in her arms a n d cove r my fa ce a n d he a d

with tears and kisses as she sobbed a n d m oaned
, ,

O m y babe my lost babe m y blessing a n d m y joy wilt

, , ,
76 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D ER G R O UN D JO URN E Y

never n ever never come back to me ? A r t gone forever ?

, ,
’
Must I give thee up oh must I ? , ,

“ ‘Nay Royal L ady I st a m mered in my more than wonder ’

, ,

at her words and actions T h ou art in a drea m A wake and . .

,

see clearly ; I a m not Crystallina I am Glow Stone thy foster .

,
’
child I ll hie me straight and bring my royal sister to
.

th ee .
’

B ut Sh e would not let m e loose and for all answer showered ,

mo re kisses on me till I was well nigh sm othered so t ight she -

,
.

held me pressed against h er boso m while around and over me ,

her long thick tres s es fell like a woven mantle .

A n d then she told m e all all that I have told thee little “

baron and charged m e never to impart it unto any soul in

,

Goggle L a nd ; and I made a solemn pro mise unto her that I

”
never would .

A n d thou h a st kept thy word like a true princess as thou

”
art , said I cheerily for I am not of thy world fair Crystal
,
“
,
”
lina .

“
Now that I have told thee the sad tale of the sorrowing
”
pri n cess with the Speck in her heart little baron m urmured , ,

Crystallina fixing her large and ra di a nt eyes upon m e there

, ,
“

is but one thing m ore for m e to do a n d it is to let thee look ,

through m e so that thou m ayst kno w ex a ctly what counsel to

,
”
give A n d so saying the fair princes s ro s e fro m her seat and
.
,

having placed herself in front of me with a flood of white ligh t

f a lling full upon her back she lowered her bl a ck fan a n d bade ,

m e gaze u pon the he a vy heart which she had carried about with
her all these ye a rs and tell her ex a ctly how large the speck
,

w a s and whe r e it l a y and what color it w as , .

I w a s overjoyed to get a n opportunity at l a st to look through

one of the M ik k a m e n k ie s and m y Ow n heart bounded with s a tis ,

fa ction as I looked and looked upon that myste r ious little thing ,

na
y rather
, a tiny bein
g living b r eathing palpitating within , , ,

her breast ; now slow a n d measured as Sh e dwelt in thought

u pon her sad fate n o w beating faster and fast e r as the hope
!

,
 A NI A R V ELLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 77

bubble d up in her mind that possibly I m ight be a ble to counsel

her s o wisely that an e nd wo uld co m e to all her sorrow .

”
“
Well wise little baron she m urmure d anxiously wh a t
, , ,
“

seest thou ? Is it ve ry large ? In what part is it ? Is it black

as night or s ome color less fatal ?
“
Take courage fa ir princess said I it is very small and
, , ,
“

lies just beneath the bow on the left side Nor is it black but .
,

re ddish rather as if a single drop of blood fro m the veins of thy

,

fa r distant ancestors had outlived them these thous a nds of years

”
a n d hardened there to tell whe n ce thy people c a m e The .

princes s wept tears of joy upon hearing these comforting words .

If it h a d bee n black she whispere d I woul d h a ve lain me

,
“

down in this bed of Violets and never ris en more till m y people
had co m e t o bear me to my gra ve in the Silent biI r ial cha m ber
”
unvisited by the River of L igh t .

A t this s a d outbre a k B ulger whined piteously and licked the

’
princess s hands a s he looked up at her with his dark eyes radi
ant with sympathy .

She was greatly cheere d by this message of comfort and it ,

moved m e t o o by its heartiness

, , .

L ist fair princess said I g r avely

, I own the task is not
, .

a light one but hope for the best I would that we had more
, .

ti m e but as thou kno w est Queen Gala x a s he a rt will soon run

,
’

down therefore m ust we act with despatch as well as wisdom

, .

B ut first of all must I speak with the quee n and gain her con
sent to act for thee in this m atter .

That I fear me she w ill never grant moaned Crystallin a

, , , .

However thou ar t so much wiser than I

, do as best see m s to
”
thee .

“
The next thing to be done fair princess I adde d s ole m nly , , ,

“
is to Show thy h eart boldly and fearlessly to thy people .
”

“
Nay little baron she exclaimed rising to her feet th a t
, , , ,
“

m ay not be that may not be for know that our law doth m ake it
, ,

t r e a son itself for one of our people to look through a person of

royal blood O h no oh no little baron that may never be !
.
, , , , ,
78 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO U RN E Y

Stay s w eet princess I urged in gentlest tones

, , not so ,
“

fast Thou dost not kno w what I mean by showing thy heart
.

boldly to thy people Never fear I will not bre a k the law of
. .

the l a nd and yet they Shall look upon the speck within thy
,

heart a n d see how small it is and hea r what I have to say a bout
,

it and thou shalt not even be visible to the m

,
.

”
O little baron murmured Crystallina if this may only
, ,
“

be ! I feel th ey w ill forgive m e Thou art so Wise a n d thy .

words carry such strong hope to my poor heavy heart that I ,

al m ost
“
Nay fair princess I interrupted
,
hope for the best no
, ,
“
,

m ore I a m not wise enough to read the future and fro m what
.
,

I know of thy people they se e m but little di fferent from m ine

o wn Perchance I may be a ble to s w a y them toward m y views
.
,

‘
and m ake the m cry L ong live princess Crystallina ! but I ’
,

can only pro m ise thee to do my best B etake thee n o w to the .

p al ace and scorn not fo r yet a day or so to t ake up the golden

,
”
co m b and pl a y the damozel Glow Stone in all humility .
 A M A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 79

CH A P TE R X III

H o w I SET T o WO R K T o U NDo A WR O N G TH A T H A D BEEN D ON E

I N T H E KI N G D O M O F T H E M I K K A M E N K I ES A N D H o w B U LG ER
,

H ELP E D Q U E EN GA LA X A S C O N FE SSI O N
.
-
’
I A M C R EA T E D .
-

P R I M E M I N I ST E R A S L O N G A s SH E LI VE S WH A T T OO K .
-

P LA C E I N T H E TH R O N E R OO M — M Y SP EEC H T o T H E M EN OF
.

G O GGLE LA N D A F T E R WH I C H I S H O W TH EM SO M E TH I N G WO R TH
S EE I N G — H o w I WA S P U LLED I N T w o D I FF E REN T D I B BO
T I ON S A N D WH A T CA M E O F I T .

TH first thing I did after the genuine princess Cry s tallina

E

had left me was to se ek out D octor N e b u l o s us and le a rn fro m

’
him the exact number of hours before the queen s heart would
run down .

A s he had just been making an examination he was able to tell ,

the very m in ute : it was seventee n hours a n d thirtee n m inutes ,

rather a Short time you must confess dear frie n d s in which to , ,

acco m plish such an i m por t a nt piece of bu siness as I h a d in mind .

I then made my way di r e ctly to the royal palace and demande d

a private audience with the L ady of the Crystal Throne .

With the advice of Sir A m ber O P a k e and L ord Co r n u c o r e

’

she firm ly but graciou sly refused to receive me giving as an ,

excuse that the excite m ent that would be sure to follow an

interview with the Man of Coal “ — s o the M ikk a m e n k ie s had

named me would shorten her life at le a st thirteen minutes .

B ut I was n o t to be put off in so u n cere m onious a m a nner .

Sitting down I seized a pen and wrote the following words

,

upon a piece of glazed Silk

To Ga la x a , Q u ee n Of t he M ikk a m en kie s La dy of
, t he Cr yst a l
Thr o n e .

I L ord Bulger a M ik k a m e n k ia n Noble B earer of this who

, , , ,

w a s the first to discover that the real princess was not sitting on
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D ER G R O UN D J O UR N E Y 81

My L ord Co r n u c o r e said I with a low bow I make bold to

, ,
“

raise my voice against th ine and I crave permission from Queen

,
”
Gal a x a to parley with her peop l e .

F orbid it roy al lady ! cried Sir A mber O P ak e savagely

,
’

at which B ulger gave a low gro wl and Showed his teeth .

”
Queen Gal ax a I added gravely a wrong confessed is half
, ,
“

’
redressed This fair princess tis true hath a spe ck in her heart
.
, ,

which ill accords with the na m e bestowed upon her by thy people .

Bid m e be master until thy heart runs down and by the Knight ,

hood of all the Trumps I promise thee that thou shalt have three
hours of happiness ere thy royal heart has ceased to beat
”
B e it so little baron exclaimed Gal ax a j oyfully
, , I pro .

c lai m thee pri m e minister for the rest of my life A t these .

words B ulger broke out into a series of glad barks and rais i ng , ,
’
upon his hind legs licked the queen s hand in token of his grati
,

tude while the fair princess looked a love at me that was too
,

deep to put into words .

I had now but a few hours to act The excitement so D oc .

,
’
tor N e bu l o s u s assured me would shorten the queen s life a full
,
”
hour .

It had alwa ys been my custom to carry about with me a small

but excelle nt m agnifying glass a double convex lens for the
-
, ,

purpose of m aking ex a mination s of minute objects and also for ,

r eading inscriptions too fine to be seen with the n a ke d eye .

Hastily summo n ing a skilful metal worker I i n structed h im to ,

set the lens in a sho r t tube and to enclose that tube within
another so that I could lengthen it at my pleasure Then hav
, .

ing called together as m any of the head m e n of the n ation as

the throne room wo u ld hold I re quested L ord C o r n u c o r e to in
,

form them o f the confession which Queen Gal ax a had m a de ;

namely th a t in reality da m ozel Glow Stone was princess Crys
,

tallina and princess Crystallina was da m ozel Glo w Stone .

They were stricke n spee chless by this piece of infor m ation ,

but when L ord C o r n u c o r e went on to tell the whole story and

to expl a in to the m why the queen had practised this de ception
82 4 M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

upon the m they broke out into the wildest lame n tation repeat
, ,

ing over and over again in piteous tones ,

A spec k in her he a rt ! A speck in her heart ! O dire mis

,

fortu n e ! O woful da y ! She neve r can be our princess if she

hath a speck in her heart ! ”
By this ti m e m y arrange m ents
were co m plete I h a d placed the princess Cryst allina just out
.

s ide the door of the throne roo m where she stood conce a le d be

h ind the thick hangings a n d ne a r her I h a d stationed D octor

,

Nebulosus with a large circul a r m irr or of burnishe d Silver in his

hand Cal ling out in a loud voice fo r silence I th u s addressed
.
,

the weeping s ub j ects of Que en Gal ax a :

“
O M ik k am e n k ie s Men of Goggle L an d Tr a nsparent F olk
, , ,

I count myself m ost h appy to be a m ong you at this ho u r and to

be perm itted by your gra cious queen to raise my voice in de
, ,

fence o f the unfortun a te princess with the Spe ck in her heart .

B eing of noble birth and a n inhabitant of a nother world it w a s ,

lawful for me to look through the sorrowing princess and I h a ve ,

done it Y es M ikk am e n k ie s I have ga zed upon her h eart ; I

.
, ,

have s een the s peck within it ! Give e a r Men of Goggle L and , ,

and you s hall know how that speck ca m e there for it is n o t as ,

you doubtless think a coal black s pot within that fa ir enclosure

,
-
,

clearer than the colu m ns of Gal ax a s throne O h no M ikk a m e n ’

.
, ,

kies a thousand times no : it is a tiny ble m ish of reddish hue a

, ,

drop of princely blood fro m the U pper world which I inhabit , ,

and this drop in all these countless centuries has coursed through
the veins o f a thousand kings and still kept its roseate glow , ,

still re m embered the glorious sunshi ne which c a lled it into being ;

and now Men of G oggle L and lest you think that for some
, ,

dark purpose of m ine own I speak other than the pure and sober
truth behold I Show you the fair C r ys t all in a s heart in its v e r v
, ,
’

life and being as it is be a t ing a n d th r obbing with hope and fear

,

co m i n gled L ook and judge for yours elves ! A n d with this I

.

signalled to those on the outs ide of the pal a ce to c a rry out my

in s tructions .

In a n instant the thick cu rt ains were drawn and the throne

B UL G ER PA R T S H IS M A ST E R F R OM P RI NC ESS C RY STA LL I NA .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D ER G R O UN D J O UR N E Y 85

room was wrapped in darkness and at the sa m e m oment D octor ,

N e bu lo su s with his mirror caught the strong White ra ys of light

, , ,

and threw them upon C r ys t a llin a s body while I th r ough an ’

opening in the hangings m ade haste to apply the tube to which

the lens had been fitted and catching the reflected image of her
, ,

heart threw it up in plain and startling Vie w upon the opposite

,

wall of the throne room U pon s eeing how small the speck was
.

and how truthfully I had des cribed it the M ik k a m e n k ie s fell ,

—
a weeping for purest j o y and then as if with one voice they
, , ,

burst out ,

L ong live the fair princess Crystallina with the ruby speck
in her heart ! and ten thous a nd blessings on the head of little
Baron Trump and L ord Bulger for saving our land from cruel
dissensions
’
The people on the outside took u p the cry and ,

I n a fe w m oments the whole city was thronged with bands of

Quee n Galax a s subjects Si ng i ng and dancing and telling of their

’
,

love for the fair princess with the ruby speck in her heart I .

had kept m y word — Queen Galax a would have at least three

hours of co m plete happiness e r e her heart ran down .

But suddenly the River of L ight began to flicker and dim its
flood of brilliant white rays .

Night was coming Noiselessly as if by magic the M ik k a

.
, ,

m e n k ie s faded from my Sight s teali n g aw a y in search of beds , ,

and as the gloom crept into the gre a t throne room s ome one ,

plucked me gently by the hand and a soft voice whispered ,

I love ! I love thee ! O h who other t han I c an tell how I ,

”
love thee ! and then a grip stronger than that gentle hand
seized me by the skirt of my coat an d dr a gge d me away slowly .
,

but surely away through the darkness through the gloom out
, , , ,

into the silent streets ever away until at last that s oft voice
, ,

choking with a sob ce a se d its ple a ding and gasped

, F are ,

well oh farewell ! I dare go no farther

, , A n d so B ulger in ,

his wisdom led me on and ever on out of the City of the Mik
,

k am e n kie s out upon the Marble Highway !

,
86 A J II A R V E LLOU S UN DE R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

C H A P TE R X IV

B U LG E R A ND I TU RN OU R BA C KS ON TH E FA IR D OM A I N OF
Q U EEN CR Y S TA T U R E S WON DER F U L SP EA K I N G
LLI N A . NA
’

T U BE C R Y ST A LLI N A S
. A TT EM P T T o T U R N U s BA C K
’
.

H ow I KE P T B U L G E R F OM Y D ING
R I E L — S O M E I N C I D EN T S .

OF O U R J O U R N E Y A LO N G T H E M A R BLE H I G H WA Y A N D H o w ,

WE CA M E T o T H E G LO R I O U S GA TE WA Y OF SO LI D SI LV ER .

M E, the sorro w ing Sebastian loaded with a s heavy a he a rt ,

as ever a morta l of m y size h a d borne away with h im did the ,

wise Bulger lead along the broad and silent highway farther ,

and yet farther fro m the city of the M ik k am e n k ie s until at ,

last the m u s ic of the fount a ins pattering in their crysta l basins

died aw ay in the distance a n d the darkness far behind me I .

felt th a t m y wise little brother was right and so I followed on ,

after with not a sigh or a syllable to s ta y him

, .

But he halted at last and as I felt about me I discovered

, , ,

that I was standi n g beside one of the richly carved seats that
one so often meets with along the M a rble Highway I w as .

quite as foot we a ry a s I was heart he a vy a n d reachi n g out

- -
,

I touched the Spri n g which I knew wo u ld transform the seat

int o a bed a n d cla m bering upon it with my wise Bulger
,

nestled beside me I s oon fell into a deep and refr eshing sleep
,
.

When I awoke and sitting up looke d back tow a rd Queen

, ,

Cr yst al lin a s capital I could see the River of L ight pouring

’
,

down its flood of Whit erays far away in the distance but only
a faint refle ction ca m e out to where we h a d passed the night ,

and then I knew th at my fa ithful co m panion h a d led me to the

very utter m o s t limit of the M ik k a m e n k y do m ain before he h a d
halted Y es sure e n ough for as I ra ised m y e y es there tower
.
, , , ,

ing abo v e the bed stood the slender crystal colu m n which
 A J I A R V E LLO U S UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 87

m a rked the end of Goggle L a nd and upon its face I read the ,

extract from a royal decree forbiddi n g a M ik k am e n k y to over

’
step th is li m it u n de r pain of incurring the queen s most serious
disple a sure .

Before me was darkness and u n ce r ta inty ; behind m e lay the

fair Kingdom of the Tra n sp a rent F olk yet in sight lighted up ,

like a long li n e of happy home s in which the fires were blazi n g

bright and warm on the hearthstone s .

D id I turn back ? D id I hesitate ? No I could see a p a ir .

of speaking eyes fixed upon me and could hear a low whine of ,

impatience coaxing m e along .

Stooping down I fastened a bit of silke n cord taken from the

,
’
bed to Bulge r s collar and bade him lead the way .

It was a long while before the light of Quee n Cr yst allin a s ’

city faded away entire ly a n d even when it ceased to be of any

,

s ervice in making known to me the grandeur and beauty of the

v a st u ndergrou n d passage I co u ld still see it glitter like a

,

S ilver star away away behind me ,

.

But it disappeare d at l as t a n d then I felt that I had parted

,

forever with the dear little princess with the s p eck in her
h eart .

’
B ulger didn t seem to have the slightest di fficulty in keepi n g
in the centre of the M a rble Highway and never allowed the ,

leading string to slack up for a m o m ent However it was by .

,

n o m eans a tramp through u tter d a rkness for the lizards of ,

which I have a lre a dy spoken aroused by the sound of m y foot

,

falls snapped their tail s and lighted up their tiny flash torches
,

in eager atte m pts to discover whence the noise proceeded a n d ,

what sort of a bei n g it was that had invaded their silent

domains We had covered possibly two leagues when s u ddenly
.

a low and mysterious voice as soft and gentle as if it had ,

droppe d from t h e cle a r starry heavens of my own beautiful

,

World reached my ear

, .

“
Sebastian ! Sebasti a n ! it m urmured B efore I could stop .

to thi nk I uttered a cry of wonder a n d the noise of my voice

, ,
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y
’
S pot for Cr ys t allin a s voice sounding t hus U nexpectedly in his
, ,

ears had aroused all the deep affection which he had so ruth
,

lessly smothered in order to bring his little master to his senses

and free him from the charm of Cr ys t all in a s grace and beauty ’

B ut in vain A ll my strength all m y entreaties were powerless

.
‘

, ,

to move him from the place .

Evidently Crystallina had heard me pleading with Bulger

and had i m agined that now I would waver and stand irresolute .

”
Heed dear Bul g er s prayer O beloved Sh e pleaded and
’
, , ,
“

turn back turn b a ck to thy disconsolate Crystalli n a whom thou

, ,

madest so happy for a brief mo m ent ! Turn back ! O h turn ,

back ! B ulger now began to whine and cry most piteously .

I felt that something must be done at once or the most direful ,

—
consequences might ensue that B ulger crazed by the sweet ,

tones of C r ys t allin a s voice might break away from me and dar t

’
,

aw a y in m a d r ace b a ck to the city of the M ikk a m e n k ie s back ,

to the fair yo u ng queen of the Crystal Throne .

It bec am e necessary for m e to resort to trick a n d artifice to

s a ve m y dear little brother from his own loving heart D rawing .

his head up against my body and covering his eyes with my left
arm I quickly unloosened m yneckerchief and thrusting it into
, ,

this wonderful speaking tube closed it effectively

-
.

A n d thus I saved my f a ithful Bulger fro m himself thus I ,

closed his ears to the music of Cr ys t all in a s voice ; but it was ’

’
n o t until after a good hour s waiting that he could bring himself

to believe that his beloved friend would speak n o more .

A fter several hours more of j ou rneyi n g along the Marble

Highway a speck of light caught my eye far on ahead and I , ,

redoubled my pace to re ach it quickly I w as soon rewarded .

for my trouble by entering a wonderful chamber circular in ,

form with a do m ed roof In the centre of this fair temple of

, .

the underground world sprang a glorious fountain with a mighty

r ush of waters which brought with the m such a phosphorescence
that this vast round chamber was lighted up with a pale yello w
light in which the countless crystals of the roof and Sides
S parkle d magnificently .
90 A M A R V ELLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

Here we passed the night or wh a t I called the n ight refresh

, ,

ing ou r selves with food which I h a d brought fro m the Ki ngdom

of the M ikk a m e n k ie s and drinking and b a thing in the wonder
,

ful fountain which le a ped into the air with a rush and a whir ,

a n d fil led it with a strange and fi t fu l radiance U pon awaking .

both B ulger and I felt greatly refreshed both in body and mind ,

a n d we m a de haste to s e e k o u t the lofty portal O pening upon

the M a rble Highway and were soon trudging along it a ga in

, .

H o u n a ft e r hour we kept on our feet for so m ething told me that

,

we could not be far awa y fro m the confines of some other

domain of th i s World within a World ; and this in ward prompt
ing of mine proved to be correct for B ulger suddenly gave a
,

joyful bark and began to caper about as much a s to say ,

'

O little master if thou only hadst my keen scent thou

, ,

wouldst know that we are drawing near to hu m an habit a tions of

some kind !
Sure eno u gh in afew m oments a faint light came creeping in
,

beneath t h e mighty arches of the broad corridor a n d every ,

instant it gat h e r e d in strength until now I could see clearly

‘ '

about me and then all of a sudden I caught sight of the source

,

of this shy and unsteady light There in front of m e towered

.

two gigantic candelabra of c a rved and chased and polished sil

ver both crowned with a hundred lights one on each side of
, ,

the M arble Highway not the dull soft flames of oil or w ax

, ,

but the white tongues of fire produced by ignited gas escaping

fro m the che m ist s reto r t
’
.

It was marvellous it was magnificent and I stood looki n g

, ,

up a t these great clusters of tongues of flames Spellbound by ,

the glorious illumination thus set in s ilent m ajesty at this gate

way to some city of the under World .

Bulger s warning growl brought me to myself but I must end

’
,

this chapter here dear friends and halt to collect my thoughts

, ,

before I procee d to tell you what I s a w after passing this g lo

r io u s gateway illumined by these two giganti c ca n delabra of

solid silver .
 A NI A R V E LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 91

CH A PTE R XV

TH E G U A R D S A T V
T H E SI L T W A Y —
ER G A WH A T TH EY WE RE
E .

LI KE . OU R R E C EP T O
I N B Y TH ME — I M A K E A WO N D E R F U L
.

D I SC O V ER Y T H E WO R LD S F I R ST T E LE P H O N E
’
. BU LGE R .

A N D I SU CC EE D I N M A K I N G F R I E N D S WI TH TH E SE ST R A N G E R S
—A BR I EF D ESC R I P T I O N O F T H E SOODOP SI ES TH A T I s M A K E
.

, ,

B ELI EV E EYE S O R T H E F O R M I F O LK
, TH A T I S A N T P E OP LE
, , .

H o w A B LI N D M A N M A Y R E A D YO U R WR I T I N G .

O G R EA T D on F um Master of all Masters What do I not owe

, ,

thee for having made known unto m e the existence of th is

wonderful World within a World ! Would that I had been a
worker in meta l ! I wo u ld not have passed the glorious portal
at which I had halted without having set i n deep intaglio upon
its silver colum n s the full name of t h e m ost glorious scholar
whom the world has ever k n own B ulger had warned me that .

this gateway was guarded and therefore I entered it cautiously

, ,

tak i ng care to p e e r in t o the dark corners lest I m ight be a tar

’

get for some invisible ene m y to h url a weapon at .

No sooner h a d I passed the gateway than three curious littl e

bei n gs of about my own height threw them s elves swiftly and
silently across the pathwa y They wore short jackets knee
.
,

bree ches and leggings re a chi n g to their ankles but no h a ts or

,
-
,

shoes and their clothes were profusely decorate d with beautiful

,

silver buttons .

Their hands and feet a n d heads see m ed much too large for
their little bo dies a n d pipe ste m m y legs an d gave the m an u n
-
,

canny and brownie look which was greatly increased by the

,

staring an d glassy expression of their large round eyes When ,

.

I first ca u ght sight of them they had hold of hands but now ,

they stood each with his pair stretched out tow a rd B u lger and
 A M A R V E LLO U S UN DE R G R O UN D J O URN E Y 93

they relied and which in the m was of most marvellous k e enness

, ,

was the sense of feeling The stra nge motions of their hands
.

and fingers so much like the beating and waving of an inse ct s

,
’

feelers were simply to intercept and measure the vibrations of

,

the air set in m otion by the m ovements of m y body Their .

l arge round eyes too had but the sense of feeling but so won
, , ,

dr o u sly acute was it that it was al m ost like the power of sight ,

enabling the m by the vibration of the air upon the balls to tell
exactly h o w near a moving object is to them Their purpose in .

t hrowing the silken cord and silver disk to m e was by m e a s u r

ing the beating of my heart and co m paring it with their own to

determine whether I was human like the m .

J udge of my astonishment dear friends upon seeing one of

, ,

their number point to the sil v er disk a n d by means of sign lan ,

-

guage give m e to understand that they wante d to feel the heart

,

of the living creature in my co m p a ny .

Stooping down I h a stened to gratify their curiosity by apply

,
’
ing it over m y dear B ulger s heart .

A t once there was an expression of m ost comical amaze m ent

depicted on their faces as they passed the disk from one to the
other and pressed it against different parts of their bodies — now
against their breasts now again s t their cheeks and even against
, ,

their closed eyelids O f cours e I knew that their a maze m ent

.

’
proceeded from the rapid be a ti n g of Bulger s heart and I ,

enjoyed their childlike surprise very m uch A l l expression of .

fe a r now vanished from their f a ces and I was deligh t ed wit h ,

the look of sweet te m per and good hu m or that played about

their fe a tures now wreathe d in s m iles
, .

Slowly and on tip toe they drew near to B ulger and m e and
-

for several m inutes amused the m selves mightily by run n i n g

their long flexible fi n gers hither a n d thither over our bodies
, .

It did not take them long to discover that I was to all inten t s
and purpose a creature of their own kind bu t not so with ,

Bulger Their round faces beca m e seamed and lined with

.

w on der as they made the m selves a cquainted with h is to t hem , ,

94 A M A R V E LL O U S UN D E R G R O U N D JO UR N E Y

strange build and ever and anon as they fel t h im over would
,

they pause and in lightning like motion s of their fingers on -

’
e a ch other s hands and arm s and faces exchange thoughts as to
the wonderful being which had entered the portal of their city .

No doubt you are dying of imp a tience de a r friends to be told , ,

s o m ething more definite concerning these strange people among

whom I had fallen Well know then that their existence had
.
, , ,

bee n darkly hinted at i n the m a nuscript of the Great Master ,

D on F u m I s ay darkly hinted a t for yo u must bear in mind

.
,

that D on F um never Visited thi s World within a World ; that his

wonderful wisdom e nabled him to reason it all out without see
ing it j ust as the great n a tu r a lists of our day upon finding a
, ,

single tooth belonging to some gigantic cre a ture which lived

thousands of years ago are able to dra w co m plete p ictures of ,

him .

Well these curious beings whose city B ulger and I h a d

,

entered are called by two differe nt n a mes in D on F um s won ’

de r fu l book In so m e pl a ce s he Speaks of the m as the So o dOp

.

sie s or Make believe Eyes and in others as the F o r m ifo lk or

,
-
,

A n t People Either na m e w a s most a ppropri ate their l a rge

.
, ,

round clear eyes being really m a ke believe ones for as I have

,
-
, ,

told you they had absolutely no sense of Sight while on the

,

o t her hand the fact that they were de a f du m b a n d blind and

, , , ,

l ived in underground homes m ade the m well entitled to t h e ,

n a m e of A n t People In a fe w moments the three So o do psie s

.

h a d succeeded in te a ching me the main principles of their p r es

.

r e l a nguage so that I was to their great delight enabled to

-
, , ,

a n s wer a numbe r of their questions .

But think not dear friends that these very wise and active
, ,

little folk skilled in so many arts have no other language th a n

, ,

o n e consisting of pressures of different degree m ade by their ,

fi n ge r tips upon e a ch other s bodies

-
They h a d a most be a utiful
’
.

l a ngu a ge so rich that they were able to express the most diffi
,

cult thoughts to give utterance to the m ost varied e m otio n s ;

,

in short a language quite the equal of ours in a ll respects s a ve

,
T H E F O R M I F O LK T RY TH E BE T
A OF T H E B ’
A RO N S H E RT
A BY T E L E PH O NE .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D ER G R O UN D JO URN E Y 97

one it contained absolutely no word that could give them the

faintest notion what color was This is not to be wondered at
.
,

for they themselves neither had nor could have even the faint
est conception o f what I meant by color so that when I a t ,

tempted to make them understand that our stars were bright

p oints in the sky
, they asked me if they would prick my finger
if I should press upon one of them But you doubtless are
.

anxious to know how the F o r m ifo l k can possibly make use of

an
y other language than that of pressures Well I will
. tell ,

you Every So o dOp sy carried at his girdle a little blank book

.
-
,

if I may so term i t the covers bei n g of thin Silver plates v a ri

,
’
o u sl
y carved and chased as the owner s taste may pro m pt The .

leaves of this book als o co n sist of thin Sheets of s ilver not much
thicker than o u r tin foil ; also fastened to his girdle by a silken
-

cord hangs a silver pen or rather a stylus Now when a S oo

, , .
,

dOp sy wishes to say something to one of his people something ,

too di fficult to express by pressures of the fi n ge r tips he si m ply -

,

turns over a le a f of the silver against the inside of either cover ,

both of which are slightly padded and taking up his stylus

,

proceeds to write out what he wishes to say ; and this done he

deftly tears the leaf out and hands it to his companion who ,

taking it and turning it over runs the wo n derfully sensitive

,

tips of his fingers over the raised wri t ing and reads it with the
gre a test eas e only of course he rea ds from right to left instead
of from left to I igh t as it was written S o hereafte r when I
,
.
, ,

repeat my co nversations with the F o r m ifo lk you will under ,

s tand h o w they were conducted .

98 A AI A R V E LL OU S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

C H A P TE R XV I

I D EA S O F T H E F OR M I F OLK C O N C E RN I N G O U R U PPE R WO R LD .

T H E D A N C I N G SP EC T R E — TH EI R E FF O R T S T O LA Y H O LD O F
H I M — M Y SO LE M N P R O M I SE TH A T H E S H O U LD B E H A V E H I M
.

SE LF —WE SET O U T F O R T H E C I T Y O F T H E M A K E—BELI EVE

.

E Y E S — MY
. A M A Z E M EN T A T T H E MA G N I F I C EN C E O F T H E
A PP R O A C H E S T O I T WE R EA C H T H E G R EA T B R I D G E O F
.

S I LV E R A N D I G E T M Y F I R ST G LA N CE O F T H E C I T Y O F C A N
,

D E LA B RA B R I EF A C C OU N T O F T H E WO N D E R S SP R EA D O U T
.
.

B EF O R E M Y E Y ES E X C I T ElVI EN T O CC A SI O N ED BY OU R
O U R SI LVER B ED—
.

A R R I VA L . C H A M BE R .

A L TH O U G H thousands and thousands of years had gone by

since the F o r m ifo lk had by constant exposure to the flicker
,

and glare of the burning gas which their ancestors had dis
covered and made use of to illumine their underground world ,

gradually los t their sense of sight and then in conse quence of ,

the deep and awful silence that forever rei gned about them had
also lost their sense of hearing and naturally thereafter their
power of Speech yet marvellous to relate they still kept within
, , ,

their minds di m and shadowy traditions of the upper world and ,

the mighty lamp as they called the sun which burned for
“
, ,

twelve hours and then went out leaving the world in darkness ,

until the Spirits of the air could trim it again A n d strange to .

,

say many of the u nreal things of the upper world had been by
,

the workings of their minds transformed into realities while the ,

realities had become the merest cobwebs of the brain F or .

instance the Shadows cast by our bodies in the sun light and
,

forever following at our heels they had come to think were

actual creatures our doubles so to speak and that on account
, , ,
”
of these dancing spec t res as they called them which dogged , ,
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R GR O UN D JO UR N E Y 99

our footsteps for our life long sitting like m arjo ys at our feasts
, ,

it was utterly impossible for the people of the upper world to be

'

e ntirely happy as they were and it occurred to them at once ,

that I must have such a double following at my heels so several ,

times they suddenly joined hands and forming a circle abou t , ,

me gradually closed up with intent to lay hold of the dancing

,

spe ctre This they did too after I had assured the m that what
.
, ,

they had in mind was the mere shadow cast by a person walking
in the l ight But as they had a bsolutely no idea of the nature
.

of light I only had my trouble for my pains

,
:

Nor did they give over mak i ng every now and then the most
frantic and laughable eff orts to catch the little dancing gentle
m a n who as they were bound to think was quietly trudging
, ,

alo n g at my heels but who so they informed me was far

, , ,

quicker in his motions than any escaping water or falling object .

F inally they held one of their silent but very excited powwows
, ,

during which the thousand lightning lik e pressures and tapp i ngs -

’
which they made upon each other s bodies gave the Spectator
.

the idea that they were three deaf and dumb schoolboys engage d
in a scrimmage over a ba g of marbles and then they informed ,

me that they had resolved to perm it Bulger and me to enter

their city provided I would give them the word of a nobleman
that I would restrain my nimble footed double from doing the m -

any har m .

I made them a most solemn promise that he should behave

hi m self Whereupon they greeted both B ulger and me as
.

brothers stroki n g our hair patting our heads and kissing me o n

, , ,

the cheeks and what was more they told us their names w hi ch
, , , ,

were L ong Thumbs Square Nose and Shaggy Brows

, , .

A ll this time I had been every now and then casting anxious
glances on ah ead of me for I was dying of impatience to enter
,

the marvellou s city of the A n t People .

I say marvellous dear friends for though many had been the
, ,

wonderful things I had seen in my lifetime in the far away -

corners of the upper world yet here was a sight whi ch as it

, ,
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y 1 01

many of our people will be suspicious of thee and for the first ,

time in thousands of years a So o do psy will lay him down to

sleep and in his dreams feel the touch of the dancing spectre
,
”
of the upper world I promised L ong Thumbs that he Should
.

h a ve mo reason to be dissatisfied with me a n d then making an ,

excuse that I was a weary I feasted my eyes for several moments

-
,

upon t h e glorious scene spread out before me .

It was the city of the F o r m ifo l k in all its splendor a splen

dor a las unseen by unknown to the very people d w elling in
, , , ,

it for to them its silver walls and arches its endless rows of
, ,

glorious candelabra uplifting their countless clusters of n ever

dying j ets of flame its exquisitely carve d and chiselle d portals
,

and gateways its graceful chairs and settees and beds and
,

couches and ta bles and lamps and basins and ewers and thou
sands of articles of furniture all in purest silver hammered or ,

wrought by the cunning hands of t heir ancestors while they

still were possessed of the power of sight could only be known ,

to these their descendants by the sole sense of feeling

, , .

F rom the lofty ceilings of corridors and archways from the ,

jutting ornaments of the house fronts from cornice and coping

-
, ,

from the four sides of columns and fro m the corners of cupolas
,

and minarets here and there and everywhere hung silver la m ps

W
,

of more than O riental beauty of form and fini s h all ith their ,

never dying tongue s of fla m e sending forth a soft though

-

unsteady light to fa ll upon sightles s eyes

B ut yet these countless flames by the aid of which I was ,

enable d to gaze upon the Splendor of this city of silver palaces ,

were life if not light to the So o do psie s for they war m ed these ,

vast subterranean depths and filled the m with a deliciously s oft

and strangely balmy air .

A n d yet to think that B ulger and I were the only two living
creatures to be able to look upon this scene of a lmost celesti a l
beauty and radiance !
It made me s ad and plunged me into such a fit of deep
,

abstraction that it required a se cond gentl e tug of L ong

’
Thumbs hand to bring me to myself .
 A I l I A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

A s we crossed the bridge and entere d the city proper I was ,

delighte d to note that the streets and open squares were orna
m e n t e d with hundred of statues all in solid silver and that ,

they represented specimens of a race of great beauty of person

and then it occurred to me how fortunate it was that the Soo
dOp s ie s could not gaze upon these images of their ancestors
and thus become living witnesses of their own woful falling
away from the former physical grace of their race .

Now like human ants that they were the F o r m ifo lk began to
, ,

swarm forth from their dwellings on every side of the city and ,

my keen ear caught the low shu ffling sound of their bare feet
over the Silver streets as they closed in about us their arms ,

flashing in the light and their fac es lined with strange emotions
as they learned of the arrival among the m of two creatures from
the upper world They were all clad men a n d women alike in
.
, ,

silk garments of a chestnut brown and I at once concluded th a t ,

they drew this material from the same sources as the M ikk am e n
kies for dear fri e nds you must not get an idea that the F orm i
, , ,

folk were not well deserving of the name which D on F um had

bestowed upo n them They were genuine human ants and ex
.
,

cept when Sleeping always at work , .

It was t rue that since their blindness had come u pon them
th ey had not been able to add a single column or archwa y to the
Silver City but in all the ordinary concerns of life they were
,

quite as indust rious as ever chasing carving chiselling planting

, , , , ,

We a ving knitting and doing a thousand a n d one things that you

, ,

and I wi th our two good eyes would fi n d it hard to accomplish .

I had m ade known to L ong Thumbs the fact that Bulger and
I were both very tired and We a ry from our long tramp a n d th a t ,

we craved to h a ve s ome refresh m ent set before us a n dthen to be ,

permitted to go to rest a t once promising that after we had had

,
’
several hours good Sleep we would take the greatest pleasure in
being presented to the worthy inhabitants of the Silver City .

It was astonishing with what rapidity this request of mine

Spread from m a n to man Long Thumbs made it k nown to two at
.
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D J O URN E Y 1 03

the same time and these two to four and these four to eight and
, , ,
’
these eight to sixteen and so on Y ou se e it wouldn t take long
, .

at that rate to tell a million .

Like magic the F o r m ifo lk disappeared from the streets and ,

in a sort of orderly confusion fa ded from my sight Bulger and .

I were right glad to be conducted to a silver bed chamber where

-
,
’
the traveller s every want seemed to be anticipated The only .

thing that bothered us was we had not been accustomed to keep

,

the light burning upon going to bed and this made us both a
,

little wakeful at first ; but we were too tired to let it keep us

from dropp i ng o ff after a fe w mome n ts for the mattress was
,
’
soft and springy enough to satisfy any o n e and I m sure that
,
’
no one could have complaine d that the house wasn t quiet
enough .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 1 05

silver cha m ber in which I had slept O n Silver shelves lay silver
.

co m bs and silver shears and Silver knives ; on a silver stand stood

a silver ewer within a Silver basin ; on Silver pegs hung silke n
towels while spread upon the silver floor lay soft silken rugs
, , ,

and above and around on ceiling and walls the tongues of fla m e

were a thousand times repeate d in the panels of burnished
Silver .

I had made trial of all sorts of O riental rubber and bat h a t

t e n da n t s in my day but the silent little So o do p sy who laved
,

and rubbe d and t a pped and stroked me exceeded them all in

dexterity added to which was a new charm for I was not obliged
, ,

to listen to long and senseless tales of adventure and intrigue ,

but was left quite a lone to my own thoughts B ulger was also .

—
treated to a sponging a d a rubbing a luxury which he had
n

not enjoyed since we had left C a stle Tru m p .

My toilet was no s oone r completed than L o n g Thumbs made

his a ppearance to inquire after m y health and to superintend
the servin gof my breakfast which consiste d of a pie ce of most
,

delicate boiled fish flanked with oysters of delicious flavor and ,

tri mm ed with slices of those m onstrous mushrooms which I had

e a ten among the M ik k a m e n k ie s the whole served in a beautiful
,

silver dish on a silver tray with silver eating utensils .

Remembering the strange way in which the fish were caught

and kille d in the L and of the M ikk a m e n k ie s I was curious to kno w ,

h o w the So o do p sie s m an a ged it for I knew enough of them to

,

know that the sensation of anything struggling for its life in

their hands would su ffice to throw them into fits of great su ffer
ing to fill their gentle hearts with nameless terror
, .

“
A t the end of one of the m any corridors leading out of our
city explained L ong Thumbs there is a rocky chamber which
, ,

was called by our ancestors U p h as l o k or the D eath Hole be , ,

cause any being which breathes its air for a few m o m ents is sure
to die So they closed it up forever leaving only a s m all pipe
.
,

projecting thro u gh the door but strange to s a y those who , ,

breathe this air su ffer no pain whateve r but presently drop o ff ,

 A YII A R V E LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

into a pleasant dre a m a n d unless they be rescued would of

, , , ,

cours e never wake again Now as our laws forbid us to cause

, .
,

an p a in to the m ost insignific a nt creature it occurred to our

y ,

a ncestors that by m eans of a lo n g pipe they could turn this

poisoned air into the river whenever they wanted a supply of

fish for food This they did and strange to say the mo m ent the
.
, , ,

fish felt the gas bubbling into the river they at once swam u p ,

t o the m outh of the pipe and struggled with each other for ,

a chance to catch the deadly bubbles as they left its m outh so ,

pleasant a sensation do they cause as they gradually plunge ,

the creature breathing the m into his last sleep A n d in this .

way it is we a r e enabled to feed upon the fish in our river with ,

”
out breaking the l a w of the l a nd .

I began to understa n d th a t I had fallen in with a very original

and interesting folk but Bulger was not altogether pleased with
,

the m for several reasons as I soon observed

, In the first
, .

’
place he couldn t accustom hi m self to the cold and glassy look
"

of their eyes and in the next he was a bit jealous of their won
,

de r fu lly keen scen t — a sense which with them was so stro n g

that they invariably gave signs of being conscious of B ulger s ’

a pproach even before I could see him and alway s turned their ,

faces in the direction in which he was coming .

Y ou will re m ember dear friends that I mentioned the fact

, ,

th a t the F o r m ifo lk went barefoot and that their fe et as well as ,

their han ds seemed altogeth er too large for their bodies and I ,

wish to add that while B ulger and I were being led through
,

t h e long corridors and win d i ng passages on our way into the

City o f Silver the three So o do p sie s frequently half h alted a n d
,

see m ed t o be feeling on the floor for something with the ba lls of

t heir feet I thought no more about it until B ulger and I
.
,

sta rted out for our first stroll through their wonderful town ,

when to my great deligh t I m ade the discovery that the

, ,

n umbers of the houses the names of the occupants t h e na m es of

, ,

the stree t s as well as all signboards so to speak and all

, , ,

guide posts were in slightly r a ised letters on the floors and

-
BA RR E L B RO W EN GA GE D IN R EA D I N G F UR
O BO O K S A T O NC E .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 1 09

pave ments and then the truth dawned upon me that Long
, ,

Thumbs and his companions were simply halting now and then
to read the names of the streets with the balls of their feet in ,

order to know if they were taking the right road .

A y more than this dear friends the first time B ulger and I
, , ,

passed through one of the O pen squares of the City of Sil v er ,

you may imagine my satisfaction upon the discovery that the

S ilver pavements were literally covered with t h e wr i tings of
the So o do psy authors in raised char a cters .

Now in D on F u m s wonderful book he had in his m asterly

,
’
,

manner given m e the key to the language of the F o r m ifo lk s o

, ,

that with very slight effort I was able to make t h e additional

discovery that some of the streets were given up to the writers
of history and so m e t o s t o r y writers while others were fille d
,
.

with the learned works of philosophers and others still contained ,

many thous ands of lines from the best poets which the nation
had produced .

A n d I had very little di fficulty in discovering which were the

favorite poems of the So o do p sie s for as you may readily suppose , , ,

these were polished like a silver mirror by the shu ffling of the
many thankful feet over their sweet and S oulful lines .

I noticed that the writings of the philosophers in this as in ,

m y own world foun d few readers for t h e raised letters were in

, , ,

many cases tarnished and bl a ck fro m lack of soles tra m pling

,

over them in search of wisdom .

So m ewhat later when I had become a cquainted with V elvet

,

S oles the daughte r of L ong Thumbs a gracious little being

, ,

as full of inward light a s she was blind to the outer world ,

and she invited m e to co m e for a re a d I had a hard task “

,

of it in persuading her that I could not re m ove what she c a lled

m y ridiculous foot boxes and join her in enjoying so m e
“

of h e r favorite poe m s It was to me a delicious pastime to

.

acco m pany this happy little maiden when she went for a “

”
read to walk b eside her and watch the ever varying expression
,
-

of her beautiful face as the soles of her tiny feet pressed the
110 A III A R V E LLOU S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URNE Y

words of love and hope and joy and her heart expanded and she , ,

clasped her hands in attitudes of blissful enjoyment seemingly ,

j u s t a s deep and fervent a s if the blessed sunlight rested on her

“

bro w and her eye s were drinking in the glory of a summer

,

sunset O dwellers in t h e upper world with the light

.

streaming into the windows of your souls with your ears O pe n ,

to the music of pipe and flute and Violin and to the sweeter ,

music of the voice of love how much more have ye than she , ,

and yet how rarely are ye as h a ppy h o w rarely do ye know ,

that sweet contentment which as in this case came from within ? , ,

Go to the ant ; consider her ways and be wise which having , , ,

no guide overseer or ruler provideth her meat in the s ummer

, , ,

and ga thereth her food in the harv e st .

In a Short time the F o r m ifo lk seemed to be come quite accus

t o m e d to having B ulger and me among them and they appar ,

ently touched hands with m e in quite as friendly a fashion

“

as if I had been one of them .

O ne day L ong Thumbs conducted me to the house of the

most aged and learned of the So o dOp s ie s Barrel Bro w by name , .

He received me very cordially although I interrupted h im at ,

his studies for as I entered his apartment he w a s in the act o f

, , ,

reading fou r di ff erent books at the same time : t w o were lying

on the floor and he was perusing their raised characters with
,

the soles of his feet and t w o others were set up on a frame in

,

front of h im and he was deciphering the m with the tips of his

fingers .

But when informed who I was he stopped work at once and

taking up his tablets asked me a number of questions con
,

cerning the upper world of which he had however n o very , , ,

ex alted O pinion .

Y ou people said he if I understand correctly the ancient

, ,
“

writings of those of our nation who still preserved certain tradi

tions of the upper world are endowed with several senses which
,

are utterly lacking in us I am happy to say for if I understand

, ,

correctly ye have in the fir st place a sense which ye call hearing ,

 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y III

a most troublesome sense for by means of it ye are being con ,

s t an t ly disturbed and annoyed by vibrations of the air co m ing

fro m afar Now they can be of no possible good to you Y e

.
,
.

might as well have a sense that would inform you what was
going on in the moon Therefore my conclusion is that the .
, ,

sense of hearing only serves to distract and weaken the brain .

”
“
A nother sense that ye are possessed of continue d Barrel ,

,
“ —
Brow ye call the sense of Sight a power even more useless
and distracting than hearing for the reason that it enables you ,

to know things which it is utterly bootless to know such a s ,

what your nex t door neighbors may be doing h o w the moun ,

tains are acting on the other side of your ri v ers how your sky , ,

as ye call it m ight feel if you could touch it with your fi n gers

, ,

which ye c a n t do ho w ever ; h o w soon rain will fall which is a

’
, ,

useless piece of knowledge if ye h a ve roofs to cover you as I ,

suppose ye have ; but the most ridiculous use which ye make

of thi s sense of Sight is the manufacture of what ye c a ll pic
t u res by m e a ns of which ye seem to take the greatest pleasure
,

in deceiving this very sense of which ye are so very proud If .

I understand correctly these pictures if felt of are quite as , ,

smooth as that panel there but so cunningly do ye draw the ,

lines a n d lay in the colors whatever they may be that ye really , ,

succeed in deceiving yourselves and stand for hours in front of

one of these bits of trickery when ye might if ye chose feast , ,

your eyes as ye call it upon the very thing which the trickster
, ,

h a s i m ita ted Now as life is much shorter I n the upper world

.
,

than in ours it seems very strange to me that ye should wish to

,

w aste it in this foolish m anner Then there is another thing .

, ,

little baron continue d the learn ed Barrel Bro w which I wish

, ,
“

to mention It is this : The people of the upper world pride

.

themselves very much upon what they term the po w er of Speech ,

which if I understand correctly is a faculty they have of express

, ,

ing their thoughts to each other by violently expelling the air

from their lungs and that this air rushing into the ventil a tors
, ,

of the brain which ye call ears produces a sensation of sound

, ,
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R GR O UN D JO UR N E Y 113

sound which the air made when it was set in motion years ago
by the angry puffs of the two parties I sincerely trust l i ttl e
.
,
”
baron wrote the learned Barrel Brow on his tablet of s i lver
, ,

that when thou r e t u r n e st to thy people thou wilt make known

to them what I have written for thee to day for i t i s never too
-
,

late to correct a fault and the longer that fault has lasted the
,
”
greater the credit for correcting it .

I p romised the learned So o do p sy to do as he reque s ted and ,

th e n we touched each other on the back of the head which is ,

the way they say good by in the l a n d of the F o r m ifo lk a touch

-

’ ”
on the forehead meaning How d ye do ?
,
“
 114 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y

CH A P TE R X V III

EA R L Y H I ST O R Y OF TH E SO OD OP SI ES A S R E LA T ED BY BA RR EL
B Ro w — H o w TH EY WERE D R I VE N T o TA K E R EF U GE I N
.

T H E U N DER WO R LD A N D H o w TH E Y CA M E U P O N T H E ,

M A R BLE H I G H WA Y TH EI R D I SCO VER Y OF N A T U R A L GA S

.

WH I C H YI ELD S TH EM LI G HT A N D WA R MTH A ND OF N A ,

T U R E S MA GN I F I C EN T T R EA SU R E H O U SE H o w TH E Y B E
’
.

P LA C ED TH EI R TA TTER ED G A RM EN T S A ND B EGA N T o BU IL D
T H E C I T Y O F SILV E R — T H E ST R A N GE M I SF O R T U N E S TH A T
CA M E U P O N TH EM A N D H o w TH EY R O SE SU P ERI O R T o
,

THEM T ER R IBLE A S TH EY WER E

,
.

A ND ,no doubt d e ar friends you would be glad to hear some

, ,

thing about the early history of the So o dOp sie s : who they were ,

where they came from and how they happened to find the ir ,

way down into the World with in a World .

A t least this was t h e way I felt after I had been presented to

,

the learne d B arrel Brow and so the next ti m e I called u pon ,

h im I waited patiently for him to finish reading the four books

in front of hi m and then I said , ,

B e pleased dear Master to tell me something concerning

, ,

t h e early history of thy people and t o explain to me h o w they ,

came to make their way down into this underground world .

”
A ges and ages ago wrote the learned Barrel Brow my
, ,

people lived upon the shores of a beautiful land with a vast

ocean to the north of it and in those days they had the same ,

senses as the other people of the upper world It was a very .

fair land indeed so fair that in the words of the ancient

, , ,

chronicles the sun looked in vain for a fairer Its rivers were
,
.

deep and broad it s plains were rich and fertile and its moun
, ,

tains stored full of silv r and gold and Oopper and t in and so
e ,
 A !M A R VE LL O US UN DE R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y

easily mined were thes e metals th a t our people be came famous

as metal workers so deft in their workmanship that the other
nations from far and near came to us for swords and shields and
spear heads and s uits of armor and table service and armlets and
bracelets and abo v e all for l a mps most gloriously chased and
, ,

carved to hang in their palaces and temples A n d so we were .

very happy until one terrible day the great round world gave a
,

twist and we were turned away from the sun so that its rays ,

went slantingly over our heads and gave us no warm th .

”
“
A h me I could weep now , exclai m ed the learned B arrel
,

Brow after all these cent u ries when I think of the cruel fate
,
“
,

that overtook my people In a few months the whole face of

.

our fair land was covered with ice and snow and our cattle di ed , ,

a n d many of our people too before they could weave thick

, ,

cloth to keep thei r delicate bodies fro m the pinching cold .

B ut this was not all ; the great blue ocean which had until then
dashed its warm waves and white foam up against our sh o res
n o w breathed its icy breath f u ll upon u s driving uS into our ,

cellars to escape its fury ; and in a fe w brief months to o u r ,

horror there came drifting down upon us fields a n d mountains

of ice which the tempestuous w a ters cast up against our shores
,

w ith deafening crash To re m ain there meant death swift and

.
,

terrible so the command was given to aba n don homes and fi r e

,

sides and escape to the southwa rd a n d this most of them did ,

.

B ut it so happened that several hundred fa m ilies belo n ging to

the m etal working guilds w h o kne w the underground passages
-
,

to the mines as foresters know the pathless wood had taken ,

refuge in the vas t underground caverns with all the good s they
could carry Poor deluded creatures ! they thought that this
.

sudden coming of the winter blast of the bli n ding snow a n d ,

vast floating fields of ice was but a freak of n ature and that in
, ,

a few months the old war m th and the old sunshine would come
back again .

A las months w ent by and their supply of food w a s a l m ost

,

e xhausted and the entrances to the mines were closed by

 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D ER G R O UN D JO URN E Y

haste to set up clusters of gas jets here and t here s o that they ,

might view the won drous treasure house -

.

“
Here they determine d to remain for here was food and ,

w a ter in never failing supplies and here they would have light
-
,

and warmth and here they could forget their miseries by work
,

ing at their calling using the precious metal with lavish hand
,

to build them living cha m bers and to fashion the thousand and
-
,

one things necessary for every day life S o great was their -
.

delight as metal workers to come upon this exhaustless supply

-

of pure silver that they could hardly sleep until they had set up
clusters of gas jets throughout these vast caverns for no doubt , , ,

little baron thou hast already guessed that this is the spot I am
,

telling thee of ; that right here it was where our people halte d
to build the City of Silver .

But one thought troubled them and that was where to fi n d

needful clothing fo i the old was fast falling into shreds and
,

tatters when to thei r delight they came upon a bed of mineral

, , ,

wool and with this they managed to weave some cloth A l .

though it was rather stiff and harsh yet it was better than none , .

“
While exploring a new cavern one day one of m y wise ,

ancestors saw a large night moth alight near him and gently , ,

loosening some of its eggs he carried them ho m e more as a , ,

curiosity than aught else .

“
I m a gine how rejoiced he w a s however to see one of the , ,

worms which hatched out set to work spinning a cocoon of s ilk

half a s big as his fist There was great feasting and merry mak
.
-

ing am ong our people upo n hearing of this glad news a n d it ,

was not very long before many a silver shuttle was rattling in
a silver loom and the soft bodies of our people were warmly
,

and comfortably clad N o w long periods of time went by

.
, ,

which cut up into your months would have made m any many
, , ,

years O ur people had everything but sunlight and this of

.
, ,

course those who were born in the under world kne w nothing
,

about and therefore did not miss .

But as was to be expected gre a t changes gradually took place

, ,
 A A I A R V ELL O U S UN D ER G R O UN D J O URN E Y

i n our people To their inexpressible grief they noticed that as

.
,

t hey busied t hemselve s beautifying their new homes by erecting

arches and bridges and terraces and lining them with glorious ,

candelabra and statu es all in cast and wrought or hammered ,

silver their sight was gradually failing them and that in

, ,

not a very great length of time they should be totally

’

blind .

This result little baron continued the learned Barrel Brow

, , ,
“
was very natu ra l for the sense of sight was in reality cre a ted
,

for sunlight ; for as thou no doubt knowest all the fish that ,

swim in o u r rivers have no eyes having n o need of them It hap , .

pened just as they had expecte d — in a few generations more

our people discovered that their eyes could no longer s ee things '

as thou dost but yet they could feel them if they were not too
,

far away j ust as I can feel t hy presence n o w and tell where

,

thou sittest and how tall thou art and how broad thou art and
, , ,

whether thou m o v e st to right or left forward or backward but , ,

I cannot tell ex a ctly how thou art made until I reac h out and
touch thee ; the n I know all ; yes far better than th ou canst ,

k now for our s ense of feeling is keener than thy s o called

,
-

sight O ne of my people can feel a grain or roughness upon

.

a silver mirror which to thy eyes seems smoother than glas s .

Well strange to relate and yet not strange our ancestors with
, , ,

the goi n g out of their sense of sight also felt their sense of
-

hearing on the wane O ur c ar s as thou callest them having

. , ,

nothing more to listen to for eter n al silence as tho u knowe s t

, , ,

reigns in this under world became as useless to us as the tail ,

o f the p o l w o would be to the full grown frog ; and of course

y g
-

with the loss of our sense of hea r ing our children were soon
'

unable to learn to talk and in a certa in lapse of time we ca m e

,

to merit full well our new na m e of F o r m ifo lk or A n t People , ,

for we were now blind and deaf and du m b .

“
It is long very ve ry long little baron continued the
, , , ,

learned So o dOp sy Since all recolle ction of sII n ligh t of color

, , ,
’
of soun d di ed out of our m inds T O day my people don t even
,
.
-
A SO O D O P S Y M A I D E N RE A D I N G H ER F A V O R T E PO ET
I
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D ER G R O UN D J O URN E Y 1 21

kno w the names of these things and thou wouldst have as ,

much chance of success wert thou to atte m pt to tell them what

light or sound is as thou woulds t have if thou Shoul ds t try to
explain to a savage that there is nothing under the world to
’
hold it up and yet it doesn t fall
, B ut if thou Shouldst lay .

several pieces of metal in a row and ask one of my people to

tell thee what they were he would try the weight of each and
,

feel its grain carefully possibly smell the m or touch his

,

tongue to them and then he would make ans w er : That is ‘

,

gold ; that is Silver ; that is copper ; that is lead ; that is t in ;

’
that is iron .

“ ‘
B ut thou wouldst say They all are differently colored ;
,

canst not perceive that ? ’

‘I know not what thou meanest by color he would reply ’

.
,

B ut mark me now I hide them all beneath this silken kerchief

and still by touching them with my finger tips I can tell W
,

hat
metal each one is If thou canst do it then art thou as good a
.
,
’
man as I .

”
What sayest n o w little baron ? asked the learne d B arre l
,

Bro w while his face was wreathed in a smile of tri u mph ; dost
,

think thou wouldst be as good a man as this So o dOp sy ?

”
Nay indeed I do not wise Master wrote I upon my silver
, , ,

table t ; and I tha n k thee for all thou has told me and taught
me a n d I ask leave O B arrel Brow to come again and converse
, , ,
”
with thee .

That thou mayest little baron traced the learned So o do psy

, ,

upon his silver tablet ; and then as I turned to leave his cham
b er he reached quickly after me and touched me with a bent
forefinger w h ich meant return
, .

”
“
Thy pardon little baron he wrote but thou art leaving
, , ,
”
my study without thy faithful B ulger ; am I not right ?
I was astounded for indeed he was right and though with
, ,

out the sense of sight he had seen more than I with two good
eyes wide O pen There lay B ulger fast asle e p on a s ilk e n
.

c o ver e d hassock .
 A DI A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D J O URNE Y

O ur silent conversation had so wearied him that h e h ad

s aile d o ff into the L a nd of Nod on the wi n gs of a dream .

He hung his head and looked very Shame faced when my call
-

aroused him and he discovered that I had actually reached the

doorway Without his knowing it .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 1 23

CH A PTE R X I X

BE G I N S WI TH SO M ETH I N G A B O U T T H E LI TT LE SO ODOP SI ES ,

B U T B R A N C H E S O F F O N A N O TH E R SU B J EC T ; T O WIT TH E -

S I LE N T SO N G O F S I N G I N G F I N G ER S T H E F A I R M A I D O F T H E
,

C I T Y OF SI LV ER B A R R E L B R O W I s K I N D EN O U G H T o
.
-

E N LI G HT EN M E O N A C ER T A I N P O I N T A ND H E TA KE S ,

O CCA SI O N T o P A Y B U LGER A V E R Y H I G H C O M P LI M EN T ,

WH I C H OF C O U R SE H E D E SER V ED
, ,
.

TH E longer I stayed among the So o do p sie s the m ore did I

beco m e convinced that they w ere the happiest the lightest ,

hearted the most contented human bei n gs that I had met in all
,

my travels If it were possible for the links of a long chain

.

suspen ded over a chasm to be living thinking bei n gs for a short,

while it see m s to me they would hang together in the most

,

perfect accord for each link would discover that he was no

,

better than his neigh bor and that the welfare of all the other
,

links depende d upon h im and his U pon theirs So it w a s with .

the F o r m ifo lk having no sense of sight they knew no such

,

thing as envy and all hands were alike when reached o ut for a
,

greeting .

I was amazed at times to see how they could feel my ap

pro a ch when I would be ten or fifteen feet away from the m ,

a n d I often amused myself by trying to steal by one of the m in

the street But no it was i m possible a hand would inv a riably

.
,

he held out for a greeting L ittle by little they got over their
.
,

distrust of me and made up their minds that I had told them

,

the truth when I Said that no dancing Spectre was forever fol
lowing a t my heels O ne of the m ost interesting sights was to
.

see a group of So o do p sy children at play building houses with ,

Silver blocks or playing a game very much like our do m inoes

,
.
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 1 25

F rom the little I have told you about the names of the F or
m ifo lk , dear friends you have no doubt understood that their
,

names took their rise from some physical quality defe ct or , ,

peculiar i ty B esides the names I have already mentioned

.
,

I rem e mber Sharp Chin L o n g Nose Silk Ears Smooth Palms

, , , ,

Big Knuckle Nail O ff Hammer F ist Soft Touch Hole in

, , , ,
-

Cheek or Hole in chin !D imple ) Crooked Hair !Cowlick )

,
- -
,

and so on and so on ,
.

Bu t to m y amazement one day when asking the name of a

, , ,

young girl whose long and delicate fingers had attracted my

attention I was informed that her name was Si n ging F ingers or
, , ,

possibly I might translate it Music F ingers

, .

I had noticed that the So o do p sie s had some idea of music for ,

the children often amused themselves dancing ; and while s o ,

’
engaged beat time with their finger tips on e a ch other s cheeks
,

o r foreheads .

B ut I was completely in the dark as to what they meant by

Singing F ingers or why the young girl sho u ld have be e n s o
,

named ; hence was I greatly pleased to hear the maiden s ’

mother ask m e whether I would like to feel one of her dau gh

’
ter s songs as she termed it , U pon my acquiescing the .
,

mother approached me and proceeded to roll up the sleeves of

my coat until she had laid my arm s bare to the elbow then she ,

took my ar m s and clasped them across my breast one above the

other .

Bulger watched the proceeding with somewhat of dis pl e as

ure i n his eyes he had half an idea that these silent people m ight
play some hurtful trick upon his little master But my smil e .

soon disarmed his suspicion .

Singing F ingers now drew near and as her sweet face with ,

its sightless eyes turne d full upon me I could hardly keep back
the tears .

A n d yet why grieve for any one who seemed to be so per

,

fe c t ly happy ? A smile played around her dainty little mouth ,

disclosing her tiny s i lvery white teeth like so many real pearls ,
1 26 A III A R V E LLO U S UN D ER G R O UN D J O UR N E Y .

and her boso m rose and fell quickly sending forth a faint breath ,

ing s ound She looked s o like a radiant child of some other

.

w orld that before I thought I cried out , ,

Speak O h speak b eautiful child !

, , ,

I II an instant she drew back affrighted fo r the sudden vibr a ,

tion o f the a ir had startled her ; but I reached out and touched
h e r hand t o give her to understand th a t she nee d fear nothi n g ,

and then she drew near to me again S ud denly her beautiful .

hands with their long frail delicate fingers were lifted into the
, ,

a ir and Sh e began to sway her body and to wave her hands in

,

gentle and gra ceful motions as if keeping t i me wit h s ome

music Gradually she drew nearer to me and ever and anon
.
,

her silken finger tips touched m y hands or arms a s if they were

a keyboard and she w a s about to begin to execute a soft and dainty
bit of m usic and I noticed that her fingers had some delightful
perfume upon them Now fa st and faster the gentle taps rain
.

upon me with rhy t hmic regularity They soothe me they thrill .

,

me they reach my heart as if they were the sweet n otes of a

,
’
flute o r the soft tones of a singer s voice The maiden is really .

singing to me It seems to me that I can un derstand what she

is saying or rather thinking as her dainty finger tips fairly fly
, , , ,

hither a n dthither and I can hear her l o w breathing gro w louder

,

and louder Suddenly she leaves my hands and a r m s and I feel

.

her gentle tapping on my cheeks and bro w So gently O h so .

, ,

gently and soothingly her fingers touch m e th a t at last they feel

like rose leaves dragged across my fa ce The sensation is so .

delightful so like the soft touch of sleep to weary eyes that I

, ,

drop o ff in good earnest and when after a moment or s o I , , ,

opened m y eyes the re sat the smiling F o r m ifo lk waiting for me

to awa ke and there stood the radiant Visage d Singing F ingers
,
-

in front of me child like waiting to be commen ded

,
-
,
.

A n d so you see dear friends that it is not so h a rd to be

, ,

h appy a fter all if you only set about it in the right way The .

F o r m ifo lk seemed to have set about it in the right way judging ,

by results and they are the only things we have to judge by

,
.
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D J O UR NE Y 1 27

Some m e n will fish all day and not have a bite and some p eople ,

will try their whole lives to catch happiness and not ge t any
’
more than a nibble They don t use the right kind of b ait
. .

Le t em try a kind act a live o n e

’
.
,

There was s omething I wanted to ask of the learned Barrel

Brow so t h e n e xt call I made on him I put this question t o
,

him !

Is it poss ib le learned Master that thy people have abs o

, ,

l a tely no guide no overseer no rulers ?

, ,

The great scholar of the F o r m ifo lk ceased r e ading the four

books which lay o p ened before him one under each hand and
one under each foot as I handed him my silver tablet .

”
L ittle baron was his re p ly if there were only a b ramble
, ,
“

bush big enough for all you people of the u pp e r w o r ld to jump '

into and if you could only get rid of your ears too you would ,

soon be rid of your rulers who O ppress you who prey upon you ,

for no one would have any desire to be a ruler if there was no

’
one left to look at him and if he couldn t h e ar what the :

fl a t t e r e r s said about him V anity is the soil that rulers spring

.

fro m as the mushrooms Spring from the rich loam of our dark
,

caverns .They pretend that it is the exercise of power that

they are so fond of Believe them not . It is the gr a t ifi c a .

tion of their vanity and nothing else .

If it were only in thy po w er to say to every man who itched

to be a ruler ,

‘Well and good brother a ruler thou shalt be

, ; but be a r
,

in mind w eak man that when thou hast do n ned thy g a udy
, ,

uniform and mounted t hy gayly caparisoned steed when thou ,

r ide s t at the head of troop and cavalcade with ten thousand

armed men follo w ing thee on foot as slaves the ir m aster and
‘

, ,

the plaudits of the foolish multitude rend the air no eye shall ,

witness the Splendor of thy triumph no ear catch a sound of ,

’
the deafening cheers take my word for it little baron no one
, , ,

would want to be a ruler any more .

“
Where there are no rulers little baron continue d the , ,
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 29

CH A P TE R XX

TH I s IS A L ON G A ND P T ER A
IT T ELLS H o w
SA D CH A —
D EA R GE N T LE P O U T I N G LI P WA S L O S T A ND H o w T H E so o
, , ,

D O P SI ES G R I EVE D F O R H I M A N D WH O M TH E Y SU SP E C T E D .

B U LGE R G I V E S A ST R I K I N G P R OO F O F H I S WO N D E R F U L

I N T ELLI G E N C E WH I C H E N A B LE S M E T o C O N V I N C E T H E so o
”
D O P SI E S TH A T M Y D A N C I N G S P E C T R E D I D N O T C A U SE
“

P O U TI N G LI P S D EA TH
-
’
— T H E T R U E T A L E O F H I S T ER R I B LE
.

FA T E — WH A T F O LLO WS M Y D I SC O VER Y — H O W A B EA U T I .

F U L B O A T I s B U I LT F O R M E BY T H E G R A T EF U L SOO D O P SI E S ,

A N D H O W B U LG E R A ND I B I D A D I E U T o T H E LA N D O F T H E
M A KE B ELI E VE E Y ES
-
.

’
T WA S the custo m in the City of Silver to touch all around “
,

as it was called before going to rest The touch all around

, .

began in a certain quarter of the city a n d passed with wonder

ful rapidity fro m man to m an Exactly how it was done I .

never could understand but the purpose of the m yste r ious sig
,

n al lin
g was to mak e an actual count of all the F o r m ifo l k If a .

single one we r e m issing it would be m ost s urely di s covered by

,

the time the touch all around had bee n co m pleted It pro .

c e e de d with lightning l ike rapidity throughout the

-
city a n d ,

then if n o return signal was m ade the people knew th a t every

, ,

one was in his proper place th at no So o do p sy had lo s t his way

or fa llen ill in so m e u nfre quented passage .

I don t think that I had m ore than dropped o ff to Sleep when

’

I was aro u sed by Bulger s gentle tugging a t m y sleeve Ru b

’
.

bing m y eyes I sat up in bed a n d listened Insta ntly m y e ar

, .

caught that fa int shu ffling sound which w a s alway s perceptible

,

when a n y number of the F o r m ifo lk were hurrying hither a n d

thither over the polis h ed Silver pavement .
 A NI A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O U N D JO URN E Y

I spra ng o u t of be d and rushed to the door B ulger close ,

at m y heel s What a strange sight confronted me ! I could

.

co m pare it to nothing save to the appearance of a large ant hill

when so m e mischievous bo y suddenly drops a stone among the
crowd of petty patient ploddi ng people peacefully pursuing
, ,

their work .

In an inst a nt all is ch a nged : lines are broken workmen ,

jostle workmen order beco m e s di s order regularity is changed

, ,

to confusion Hither and thither the a ff righted cre a tures rush

.

w ith waving feelers seeking for the cause of the m a d outburst

,

o f terror .

So it was with the F o r m ifo l k a s I looked o u t upo n them .

With outstretched h a nds and tre m ulously m oving fin gers the y

rushed fro m Side to side jostling and bu m ping one a nother
, ,

while a nameless d r e a d was depicted upon their upturned fa ces .

A non a group would ha l t join hands a n d begin to exchange

, ,

thoughts by lightnin g like pressures tappings and strokes

-
, , ,

when others would dash against the m bre a k them apart and , ,

confusion would reign g r e a ter than ever .

B ut gradually I noted that s ome sort of order seemed to be

coming out of the m ovements of this m a d throng Here and .

there groups of three and fou r would form and clasp h a nds ,

then thes e smaller circles would break and form into larger
ones and I noted too that this ever incre a sing circle w as formed
,
-

on the outside of the p a nic stricken crowd and as it grew it-

,

shut them in so that when a fleeing So o do p sy hurtled up against

this steady line his terror left h im at once a n d he took his place
,

in it In a few m oments the madly pu shing jostling throng

.
,

had disappeare d entirely a n d the whole city was girt round

abou t by these long steady lines , .

The Great Circle had been for m ed .

A fter half a n hour the deliberation was co m pleted and to my , ,

surprise the Great Circle broke up into s quads and companies

,

of fours and Sixes and tens and then each di sappeared slowly
,

and steadi ly with lock step passi n g out of the C i ty into the
,
T '‘
I IE G I G A N I IC T RT
O O IS E T II \
. T D E V O U R E I) P UT NG
O I LI P .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 1 33

dark or only partially lighted chambers and passages that sur

rounded it The search for the missing So o dOp sy had been
.

begun .

It was hours before the last squad had r eturned to the s quare
and the Gre a t Circle had been for m ed again A las ! t h e new s .

w a s sad indeed There ca m e no tiding s of the missing m a n

. .

He was lost forever ; a n dwith clasped hands and slow and heavy
step the grieving F o r m ifo l k m ade their way back to their
homes where the sighing women and children were awaiting
,

their coming A s B ulger a n d I went back to bed again it

.
,

almost seemed to m e a s if I could hear at ti m es the deep and

long drawn sighs that escaped from the gentle b r easts of the
-

sorrowing So o dOp SI e s I noticed a very touching thing on the

.

following day It w as that every man woman and child in

.
, ,

the City of Silver grieve d for the lost So o dOp sy as if he were

actually brother to e a ch of them L ove was not as with us in
.
,

the upper world a thing besto w ed upon those in whom we see our
,

own faces repeate d an d in whose voices we heard our own ring

out again sweet and clear as in our childhood ; in other words
, ,

a love almost of our very selves O h no ! while it was true that

.
,

’
a mother s touch was most tender to her own child yet no little ,

hand stretched out to her went without its caress She was .

mother to them all ; to her they were all beautiful and as their ,

little frocks were all woven in the sa m e loo m there never could ,

co m e into her mind a temptation to feel whether a rich neigh

’
bor s child was playing with hers and that therefore it ought to
,

re ce ive a more loving caress In that portion of the city where

.

the children had their playgrounds the silver pavement was

in some places marked o ff with raised lines and letters some ,

thing after the manner of our hop scotch for the purpose of a ,

game which was very popular with the little So o dOp s ie s I t s .

name is hard to transl a te but it m e a nt something like L ittle

,
”
Bogyman and many an hour had Bulger and I stood there
,

watching the s e silent little gno m es at play fa scin a ted by the ,

wonderful skill which they would display in feigning the draw

 A A I A R V ELLO U S UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

ing near of the L ittle Bogy m an their hiding from him his , ,

stealthy approach the incre a sing d a nger the attack the escape
, , , ,

the new d a ngers wild flight and m a d pursuit F ancy there

, , .
,

fore my a stoni sh m ent one m orning to note that Bulger w as

,

coaxing me thither although the place was quite deserted the

, ,

children being all a t their lessons .

But a s it was a rule of min e always to humor Bulge r s

,
’

whi m s I we n t patiently along

, .

In a moment as we ca m e to the Spot where the pave m ent

,

was marked o ff and inscribed as I have explained he halte d ,

and with an anxious whine began to play the game of The “

L ittle B ogyman turning every n o w and then to see What

”
,

e fi e c t his actions had upon me .

H e made no mistakes A s he entered each compartment he

.
,

rested his paw upon the raised letters as he had so often seen
the childre n do w ith their little bare fee t and then mimicke d ,

with wonderful fidelity their actions beginning with the firs t ,

scent of danger a n d ending with mad terror at the close pursuit

of the bogyman .

I was more than surprised ; I was bewildered by this piece o f

mimicry on Bulger s part To my mind it boded so m e terrible
’
.

accident to him for I have a supers titious notion that great

,

danger to an a n imal s life gives him for the m oment an almost

’

hu m an intelligence It is nature caring for her own

. .

B ut all of a sudden the real truth in this case burst upon

me : it was not my dear little brother giving m e to understand '

that some peril was thre atening him but that some danger was ,

h a nging over m y h e a d the m ore real in that it was unseen and

'

unsuspected by me .

I called him to me and rewarded h im with a caress He w a s .

overjoyed to note that I had apparently understood him I .

now m a de h a ste to seek out B a rrel Brow H e was surprised to .

feel m y sa lutation In a m o m ent or s o I h a d told him all

. .

Nor was he slow in detecting my excitement H e no doubt .

, ,

felt th a t in the changed chara cter of m y h a ndwriting .

 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R GR O UN D JO UR N E Y

Calm thyself little baron he wrote

,
The wise Bulger
,
.

has told thee the tru th Thy life is in danger I had resolved
. .

to send for thee this v ery day to warn thee of it : to bid thee quit
the land of the F o r m ifo lk in all h aste for the notion has spre a d
,

among our people that it was the dancing spectre at thy heels
which caused the death of the gentle Pouting L ip who dis ,

appeared so mysteriously the other day I therefore counsel .

thee that thou make ready at once and quit our city to morrow -

before the clocks rouse the people from their sleep .

I thanked Barrel Brow and promised that I would heed hi s

,

advice alth ough I confessed t o h im that I would fa in have

,

bided a fe w weeks longer there were so many things in and

,

a bout the wonderful City of Silver that I had not seen B ut .

I owed it to the dear hearts of my own world to take the best

care of my life insignificant though it might appear to me
,
.

Then again I felt that it w ould be madness to attempt to

, ,

reason with the So o dOp s ie s To the m the danc i n g spectre at

.

m y heels was a real being of flesh and blood although they had ,

n o t been able to se ize h im an d it was really natural for them to

,

suspect th at we h a d made awa y wi t h Pouting L ip .

Calling out to Bulger to follo w m e I left Barrel Brow s home ,

’
,

resolved to make one more round of the won derful city and ,

then pack up so m e food and clothing and be a ll re a dy for a

sta rt before the clocks began their tapping .

I should explain dear fr iends that as happen s in all cities the

, , , ,

’
people of this one i m agined at ti m es that they hadn t q uite elbow
roo m enough a n d hence they surveyed othe r cham bers a n d set
, ,

u
p new candel a bra within the m in o r de r to ch a se the cold and
,

da m pness a w ay a n d m ake the m fit for hu m an habitations

,
.

In the la s t one which they had in this way a nnexed to their

fa ir city fitting it with a silver doorway and tiling the floor
,

w ith polished plates of the sa m e beautifu l m etal they h a d d is ,

covered a hard mound apparently of rock in one corner and had ,

resolved that they would come some day with their drills and
picks and begin the task of re m oving th i s m ound .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 37

sleep on for other ages to co m e had not the industrious F ormi ,

folk lighted the clusters o f burning jets of gas in the m onster s ’

bedroom Gradually the warmth had penetrated the roof of shell

.

m a de thicker by earth and layers of broke n rock which the ,

tooth of t ime had dropped upon it a n d reached his great heart , ,

and set it beating again slo w ly very slowly but fa ster and , ,

fa ster until he really felt that he had awakened from his long
,

sleep .

By a terrible misfortune Pouting L ip the gentle So o dOp sy , , ,

had happened to be left behind when his brother laborers qui t

work and the new silver doors of the chamber had b een closed
,

upon him .

O h it was terrible to think of but true it must have been

, ,

the poor little So o dOp s y sh u t in by his o w n eyeless folk in this

,

ch a mber which he w a s helping to beautify by his patient skill

, ,

had served to sa t isfy t h e hunger of this a w ful monster after his ,

long a ges of fa sting .

B ut why you ask dear friends was all this not discovered
, , ,

when the Great Circle had been formed and the search was ,

made for him ? Simply because the monster after devouring ,

the lost So o do ps y retreated to his nest and drew the dirt and
,

crumble d rock up around h im with his gigantic flippers and ,

went to sleep again as all gorged reptiles do so that when the

, ,

searchers entered the new chamber all was a s they had left it ,

the mound of rock as they had supposed it to be in the corn er

, ,

undisturbed .

With B ulger at my heels I n o w turned and ran with such

m a d haste to Barrel Brow s that the whole city was thro w n into
’
,

the wildest disorder for of course they h a d felt me fly past

, , ,

them .

With all the quickness I could co m mand I wrote an account ,

of what I had witnessed and when Barrel Bro w co m municated

,

it to the assemble d So o dOp s ie s a thous a nd hands flew into the ,

air in toke n of mingled fright and wonder and a wild ru sh was

, ,

made for B u lge r and me and we were well nigh s m othered with
,
-

kisses and cares s es .

1 38 A M A R VE L LO U S UN D ER G R O UN D JO URN E Y

The moment the excitement had quieted down a little a ,

G re a t Circle was im m edi ately formed and I was honore d with ,

a pl a ce in it and when my tablet was passed about a thousand

, ,

h a nds m a de signs of a ssent .

My plan w a s a simple one : it was to m ake a pipe connection

between U p h aslo k and the n e w chamber and to turn the deadly ,

vapor into the sleeping apartment of the gigantic monster In .

this m anner his despatch would be a happy one merely a be ,

ginning o f a nother one of his lo n g naps so far as he would ,

know any thing a b out it ’

.

This was do n e a t once care first being taken to make the ,

doors of the new chamber perfectly air tight I was the first to .

enter the cavern after the execution of the monster and found , ,

to my delight that my estimate of his length and width was

,

corre ct almost to an inch .

I alway s had a wonderful eye for dimension and distances .

Seeing B ulger raising himself upon his hind legs and make ,

an e ffort to dislodge something from the wall I drew near to ,

as sist hi m .

A l as it was de a r gentle P outing L ip s tablet

’
, H e had been
, .

writing upon it and as the terrible monster advanced upon him

, ,

he h ad reached up and hung i t upon a silver pin on the wall .

When the So o do p sie s read what their poor brother had writte n ,

there they a ll s a t do w n a n d wrung their hands in silent but

awful grief it ran as follows
“
O m y people ! why have ye abandoned me ? The a ir
tre m bles the whole place is filled with s u fi o c a t in g odor Must .

I die ? A las I fear it ! a n d yet I would so love to feel m y dear

,
’
ones touches once m ore The ground trembles a stifling breath
is pu ffed into my face ; I a m wearied al m ost fainting by trying , ,

to esc a pe it I can write no m ore D on t grieve too long over

. .
’

me . It w a s m y fault I s tayed behind when I Should have

.
,

followed O h horrible horrible ! F a r ewell ! I m going now

.
, ,
’
.

A loving touch to all fa rewell

A fte r waiti n g a few days for the grief of the F o r m ifo lk to
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 39

lighten a little I a sked the m t o s end a nu m ber of their m ost

,

skilful work m en to a ss i s t m e in r e m oving the magnificent shell

fro m the dead m onster w ho s e body w a s fed to the fi shes .

They not only did thi s but they al s o offered to transfor m the
,

shell into a beautiful boat fo r me so th a t w hen I resolved t o ,

bid the m adieu I might s a il a w a y fro m the City of Silver a n d

,

n o t be obliged to trudge a long the Marble Highway The .

work went on apace A t first the polishe r s began their task

.
,

a n d in a few days t h e m ighty carapace glowed like a lady s

’

comb Then the dainty and cunning crafts m en in silver beg a n

.

their part of the work and ere many days the Shell w a s fitted
,

with a silver prow curiously wrought like a swan s neck and ,

’

head w hile quaintly ca r ved tri m m ings ran here and there and
, ,

a dainty pair of S ilver sculls with a silver rudde r be a utifully ,

ch a sed fro m which r a n t w o little silken ropes were added to

, ,

the outfit I never h a d seen anything half so rich and rare

.
,

and I was as proud of it as a young king of his throne before

he fi nds it is so m uch like m y ship of shell .

A t last the da y ca m e when I w a s to bid the gent le So o do

p
s ies a long farewell .

They lined the shore as B ulger a n d I proceeded to take our

place I n the bark of shell which sat upon the water like a thing
of life .

It was with a great Show of dignity that Bulger took his

position in the stern with the tiller ropes in his m outh ready to -
,

pull on either side as I m ight dire ct ; and setting the silver oars
in place I threw my weight upon the m and away we glided
, , ,

s wiftly a n d noiselessly over the surface of the dark and sluggish

,

str e a m .

In a few m oments nothi n g but a fa int gli m m er w as left to

re m ind us of the wonderful City of Silver where the silent ,

F o r m ifo l k live and love a n d l a bor without ever a thought that

hu m an beings could be a n y happier th a n they D e a r happy .
,

folk they have solved a m ighty proble m which we of the upper

,

world are still struggling over .

.
 A M A R V E LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 41

it as a keepsake I did so and upon leaving the City of Silver

.
, ,

I filled it with fi sh oil a n d fitted a silken wick to it It was

-
.

well that I had done so for a fter a while the fi r e liz a rds dis
,

a ppeared entirely and Bulger a n d I would have been left in

,

tota l darkness had I not drawn forth m y beautiful silver lamp

, ,

lighted it and suspended it fr o m the beak of the silver s w an

,

which curved its graceful ne ck a bove the bow of our boat .

A fter lying on my oars long enough to set some food before

Bulger and p a rt ake of some m yself I again started on my ,

voyage down the silent river no longer s h roude d in impene ,

t r a bl e gloo m .

I had not taken over half a dozen strokes when suddenly one ,

of m y o a rs w a s almost twisted out of m y hand by a vicious tug ,

fro m so m e inhabitant of these dark and sluggi s h waters I r e .

solved to quicken m y stroke in order to esc a pe a nother such a

wrench for the silver o a rs fashione d by the So o dOp sie s for me
,

were of very delicate m ake intended only for very gentle ,

usage Suddenly a nother viciou s sn a p w a s m ade at my other

.

o a r ; a n d this ti m e the anim a l succeeded in retaining its hol d for ,

I d a red not attempt to wrench the o ar out of its grip for fe a r ,

of br eaking it It was a l arge crusta cean of the crab fa m ily and

.
,

it s m ilk white shell gave it a gh o st l ik e look as it struggled

-
r

a bout in the black waters fiercely intent to keep its hold upon
,

the oar The next inst a nt a similar creature had fastened firm ly
.

upon m y other oar and there I sat utterly helpless B ut worse

,
.

th a n this the dark waters were now fairly alive with thes e
,

white arm ored guards of this underworld s tream each apparently ,

bent upon setting an immediate end to m y progress through

their do m ain They now began a series of furious efforts to lay
.

hold of the sides of m y bo a t w ith their huge cl a ws but h a ppil y ,

it s polished surface made this impossible for them to acco m plish .

U p to this m oment B ulger had not s tir r ed a m uscle or uttered

a sound but now a s harp growl fro m h im told m e tha t some
,

thing serious had happened at h is end o f the bo a t It w a s .

s e r ious indeed for several of the l a rge s t of the fierce crustaceans

,
 A NI A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

h a d l a idhold of the rudder and were w r enching it from side to

S ide as if t o tear it o ff Every a ttempt of course cause d a tug
.

at the tiller ropes he ld be t ween Bulger s teeth ; but bracing

-
’

him s elf fir m ly he resi s te d their furious e fforts as well as he

,

could and s ucceeded in savi n g the rudder for the time being
, .

A ll of a sudden our fra il bark of shell crashed into some sort

of obstruction and ca m e to a de a d s tandstill Peering into the
, .

d a rkness to my horror I s aw th a t the wily enemy had spanned the

,

river with chains m a de up of living links by e a ch laying hold of

his neighbo r s claw the chain thus for m ed being then re n dered
’

a l m ost as strong as steel by the interweaving of thei r double

rows of small hooked legs .

O ur adva nce w a s not only blocked but death an awful de a th

, , ,

seemed to be staring us in the face for what possible hope of

escape could there be if B ulger and I should leap into the water ,

n o w alive with these fast sw i m m i n g creatures whirling their ,

huge claws about in search for some way to get at us F I o m .

the brave manner in which Bulger was holding the m adly

swinging helm I saw that he was deter m ine d not to s urrender
, .

B ut alas bravery is but a sorry thing for two to fight a thousand

,

with ! A n d yet I had not lost m y head don t think that ’

.

True I was hard pressed the very dust of the balance if thicker
, ,

on their side m ight make my scale kick the beam

,
.

I had haule d both oars into the boat by reachi n g over and
beating o ff the claws fastened upon them and had up to this ,

m o m ent driven back every one of the fierce creatures which had
s ucceeded in throwing one of his claws over the edge of t h e
boat ; but n o w to my horror I felt that our little craft was being
, ,

Slowly but surely dr a wn stern first to w ard the river bank In .

order to acco m plish this the crustacea n s had thrown out a line
,

co m posed of their bodies gr ipped togethe r and had made it fast ,

to the rudder Not a n instant was to be lost

.

O nce upon the river bank the fierce creatures would swarm
,

around us by the tens of thousan ds drag us down pinch us to , ,

de a th a n d te a r us piece m e a l !
,
SA I L G W
IN A A Y F RO M TH E L A ND OF T H E S O O D O P S I ES .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 1 45

A nide a flashed upon me it was this : it is folly to atte m pt

to resist these co u ntless s w arms of crustaceans by the use of o n e
pair of weak hands even though they be aided by B ulger s keen
,
’

a n d willing teeth We should after a brief struggle go down as

.
, ,

t h e brave m a n in the sewer went down when the fami s hed r a ts ,

leaped upon h im from every side at o n ce or as the s tray bu ffa lo ,

goes down when the pack of ravenous wolves closes up its ci r cle
about him If I a m to save m y life it must be by striking a blow
.
,

that will reach every one of these s m all but fierce enemies at
the same instan t and thus p a ralyze them or at least bewilder
, , , ,

the m until I can su cceed in making m y e s cape !

,

Quickly drawing my brace of pistol s I held their muzzles ,

close to the w a ter and discharged them at the same instant

, .

The effect was terrific Like a crash of a terribl e thu n derbolt

.
,

the report bur s t for th and echoed through these vast and silent
chambers until it seemed as if the gre a t vaulted roof of rock had
,

by some awful convulsion of nature been cast roaring and rat

tling down upon the face of the s e black and sluggish waters !
When th e smoke had cle a red aw a y a str a nge but welcome Sight ,

m e t m y gaze Tens of thousands of the huge crabs floa t ed life

.

less upon the surface of the river with their shells split by the ,

concussion the full length of their bodies .

It proved to h a ve been a masterly st r oke on my part and dea r , ,

friends you will believe m e when I tell you that I drew a deep
,

bre a th a s I set m y silver oars ag a inst the thole pins and h a vin g -
, ,

wo r ked my boat clear of the s w a r m s of stunned crustace a ns ,

rowe d away for dear life

D ear life ! A h yes dear life for whose life is not dear to
, , ,

him even though it be dark and gloo m y at times ? Is there not

,

a lways something or some one to live for ?

, Is there not a lways
,

a glimmer of hope that the morrow s s un will go up brighter

’

than it did this morning ? Well a nyway I repeat th a t I rowed , ,

aw a y for dear life while Bulger held the tiller ropes a n d kept
,
-

our frail bark of polished shell in the m iddle of the s tre a m .

Whether the air was actu ally colder or whether it was m erely ,
1 46 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

the natural chill th a t so often s trikes the h u man heart after it

h as be en beating and throbbing with alte r n a te h Op e and fear I ,
’
couldn t say at the time but I kne w t his much that I suddenly ,

found myself su ff ering from the cold .

F or t h e first ti m e since my descent into the World within a

\V orld the air nipped m y fi n ge r tips ; that soft b a lmy J une like
,
-
, ,
-

a tmosphere w a s gone and I made haste to put O II my fur trim m ed

,
-

t o p coat which I had not m a de much use of lately

-
, .

A t that moment one of m y oars struck against some hard

s ubstance floating in the waters I p u t out my hand to feel of.

it T o m y great s urprise it proved to be a lump of ice and

.
,

very soon another and another went floating by us .

We were most surely entering a region where it was cold

enough to make ice I was not sorry for this ; for to tell the
.
,

truth B ulger a n d I w ere both beginning to feel the e fi e c t s of o u r

,

long sojourn i n the rocky chambers of this under world whose ,

atmosphere though soft a n d warm yet lacked the elasticity of

, ,

the O pen air .

Ice caverns would be a complete change and the cold air ,

w ould no doubt send our blood tingling through our veins j us t

, ,

as if we were o u t a sleighing in the upper world on a winter s

-
’

night when the stars t w inkle over our he a ds and the snow
,

crysta ls cre ak be n eath our runners .

S oon n o w huge icicles b egan to dot the roof of rock tha t

s p a nned the river and shafts and columns of ice dimly visi b le
,

a l ong the shore s ee m ed to be standi ng there like silent sentries ,

w a tching our bo a t as it threaded its way through the ever narrow -

in g channel A n d n o w too a faint glow of light reached us

.
, ,

from I knew not where s o that by straining m y eyes I could see

,

that the river had taken a sweep and entered a vast cavern with ,

roof and walls of ice fretted and c a rved into fantastic depths and
niches and shelves a n d co r nices with here and there shapes so ,

fanciful that it seemed to me I h a d entered some vast hall of

s tatu a ry where hero and w a rrior nymph and maiden shepherd
, , ,

a n d bird c a tcher filled these shelves a n d niches in glorious arra y

-
,
.
 A !M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 47

F arther advance by wate r was impos s ible for the blocks of ice , ,

knitted together like a flo e close d the ri v er co m pletely

, I .

therefore determ ined to m a ke a l a ndi n g dra w m y bo a t upo n

the shore a n d continue m y journey on foot
,
.

The m ysterious light which up to this moment had shed its

pale glim m er like an arctic nigh t upon the roofs a n d walls
of ic e of these silent ch a m bers now began to s trengthen so that
Bulger and I had no di fficulty in picking our w ay along the
shore In fact we crossed and recrossed the river itself whe n
.
,

the whim seized us for it now went winding on ahead of us like

, ,

a broad ribbon of ice through caverns and corridors .

S uddenly I ca m e to a h a lt a n d stood a s motionless as the

fantastic forms of ice surrounding m e What could it mean ? .

Were my ey es weakene d by m y long sojo urn in t he World wit h

in a World playing m e cr u el tricks ? S urely there can be no
,

mistake ! I whispe r ed to m yself That light yonder which

.

pours its glorious e ffulgence upon those s pires and pinnacles

.
,

those towers and t u rrets of ice is the sunshine of the uppe r

,

world Can it be that my m arvellous underground journey is

ended that I stand upon the threshold of the upper world once
,

m ore
Bulger too recognizes this flood of sunshine and breaking o u t
, , ,

into a fit of joyous barking das hes on ahead to be the firs t one to

, ,

feel its gentle warmth after our lo n g journey throug h the dark
and silent passages of the World within a World .

But I dare not trust my eyes and fearing le s t he should fal l

,

into so m e ambush or meet wit h some dread a ccide n t I called ,

h im back to me .

Together we hurry along as rapidly as possible Now I note .

that we are drawing near t o the end of the vas t corridor through
which we have bee n m a king our way for some time and that ,

we stand upon the portal of a m ighty subterranean region

lighte d with real sunli ght It stretches away as fa r as the ey e
.

can reach and so high is the roof that spans thi s vast unde r
,

world that I cannot see whether it be of ice or not A ll that I .

 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D J O URN E Y 1 49

t he real and ye t w as so powerles s to set them free as once it di d

,

when the springtime came in the upper world A l l these .

thoughts and many others besides flit t e d through my mind as

I stood looking up at th a t m ighty lens in its setting of mightie r
rock .

A n d s o deeply i m pressed w a s I by t h e sight of such a gre a t

’
flood of sunlight pouring through this gigantic bull s eye which
nature h a d set in the rocky side of the hollo w m ountain peak
and illumining this under world that the longer I gazed upon
,

the wonderful spe ctacle the more firmly inthralle d my senses

bec a m e by it .

The deep silence the deliciously pure air the ever varying
, ,
-

tints of the light as the mighty ice columns acting the part of
prisms literally filled those vast cha m bers with the rainbow s
,
' ’

glorious glow imparted unto the spell resting upo n me such

,

une arthly power that it might have held me there until m y

li m bs hardened into icy crystals and m y eyes looked out wit h
a frozen stare had not the ever watchful B ulger given a gentle
,
-

tug at the skirt of my coat an d arous ed me fro m my inthralling

me di tation .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

C H A P TE R X X II

TH E PA LA C E OF I CE I N TH E G O LD EN SU N L IG HT , A ND WH A T I
I MA GI N ED M I G HT C O N TA I N
IT H O W WE WE RE H A LT ED B Y
.

A C O U P LE O F Q U A I N T LY C LA D SE N T I N ELS T H E K O LT Y
F R I GI D M A J ESTY K I N G GELID U S — M O R E
.

K WE R P S H IS. .

A B O U T T H E I C E P A LA C E T O G E TH E R WI TH A D E SC R I P T I O N O F
,

T H E TH O N E— R OO M O U R R E C EP T I O N B Y T H E K I N G A ND H I S
.

D A U G HT ER SC H N EE BO U LE B R I E F ME N T I O N O F BU LLI B R A I N
.
,

O R L O R D H O T H EA D .

S C A R C ELY h a d I advanced a hundred yards beyond the portal

where I had halted when hap p ening to turn my eyes to the
other side a sight met the m which sent a thrill of wonder and
,

delight through m y form There upon th e highest terrace stood

.

a palace of i ce its slender m inarets

, its high lifted towers its ,
-
,

roun ded turr e t s its spacious platform and its broad flights of
,
'
,

steps all glittering in the s u nl igh t a s if gem studded and jewel -

set.

It was a spectacl e to stir the most indi fferent h eart let alone ,

one so full of a rdor and buoyancy as mine B ut ah dear .

,

friends even admitting th at I can succeed in awa keni n g in your

,

min ds even a fa int conception of the beauty of thi s ice pal a ce as ,

the sunlight fell full upon it a t that m oment how can I ever ,

hope to give yo u an idea of the unearthly beauty of this pal a ce

of ice and its glorious surroundings when the moon went up in
the outer world a t a later hour and i ts p ale m ys terious light w a s ,

pour ed through the mighty len s in the mountain side and fell ,

with celestial shi m m er upon these walls of i ce ?

But t h e o n e thought that O ppressed m e now was : Can this
beautiful a bode be without a tenant without a living soul within ,

its wo n derful h alls a n d ch a mbers ? O r may not its dwellers , ,

 A M A R VE LL O US UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 51

overtaken by the pitiless cold sit with wide opened eyes and ,
-

icy glare stark as marble in chairs of ice white fro s ted h a ir

, ,

pressed against icy cushions and hands st ifi e n e d around crysta l

,

’
cups filled with frozen wine of top a z hue while the harper s ,

fingers cling cra m ped to the wires sti ff as the wires the m selves ,
’
a n dthe las t tones of the singer s voice lie in feathery cryst a ls of

frozen breath white at his feet ?

Co m e what m ay I resolved to lift t h e crystal knocker th a t
,

might h ang on the outer door of this p al a ce of ice and awaken the
castellan if his slu m ber were not that of death
, In a few .

moments I had crossed the level space between m e and the first
terrace which it would be necessary for me to sc a le in or der to
,

reach the second and then the third upon which stood the p alace
o f ice .

Imagine my more th a n surprise upon finding mys elf now at

the foot of a m agnificent flight of steps hewn into the ice with a ,

ma s ter hand and leading to the terrace above

,
.

Springing lightly up this flight with B ulger close at m y heels ,

I suddenly set eyes upon two of the quaintes t looking hu m a n -

beings that I ever re m e m bered seeing in all my travels They .

looked for all the world l ike t w o big a ni m ated snowballs being ,

clad fro m top to toe in garm ents m ade of s no w whi te fleece their -
,

s kull caps likewise of white f u r le a ving only their fa ces vi s ible

-
, .

In h is right h a nd each of the m c a rried a very prettily sh a ped

flint axe m ounted upon a helve of polished bone
, .

,
Striding up to m e and swinging thei r a xes over m y he a d in
altogether too close proxi m ity to m y poll to be p a rticul a rly
ple a s a nt one of the m cries out
, ,

H a lt sir ! U nle s s his frigid Majesty G e l idu s King of the

, ,

K o l t yk w e r p s awaits thy co m i n g his gu a rds wi ll at a sign a l

, , ,

fro m u s roll a few thou sa nd ton s of ice down upon thee if thou
,

dar e s t procee d another step Therefore stand fa s t and tell us

.
,

who thou art a n d whethe r thou a r t expected ”

.

”
Gentle m en s a idI kindly lowe r tho s e a xes of y ours a n d I
'

, ,

will convince you th a t his fr igid M a jesty hath n o t h in g t o dread

 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 53

I was wonderstruck with the beauty of the three s taircases

leadin g up to the ice palace M a ssive balust r a des with curiou sly
.

carved b a lu s ters Spri n ging from towe r ing pedestals crowned ,

w ith be a utiful la m p s all all I say all a n d everything to the

, , , , ,

crystal clear sides of the l a mps the m selves w a s fa shioned

-
,

from blocks of ice It prove d to be a good cli m b to the

.

top of the third terrace and I was not put out when the ,

gu a rd s o l e nm ly lowered his battle axe of flint to bri n g m e to -

a s tandstill .

The sun in the upper world was no doubt nearing the horizon , , ,

for a deep and be a utiful twilight sudde n ly s a nk upon the icy

dominion s of King Ge l idu s and to my surprise and delight , , ,

through the great sla bs of crystal clear ice which served fo r -

win dows to the palace s trea m ed a soft radi a nce as if a thousand

,

wax tapers were burning in the cha m bers and galleries in doors -
.

It w a s a sight to gladden the eyes of any mortal ; but if I had

been spellbound by the beauty of its exterior how shall I tell ,

you dear friends of the c u rious splendor of t h e inte rior of Geli

, ,
’
dus p a lace of ice as it burst u pon m e when I had crossed its
,

th r eshold
Hall w a y led into hallway ch a mber opened into chamber , ,

through portals gracefully arched an d winding sta ircases ,

cli m be d to upper rooms while hanging fro m lofty ceilings or

,

resting on gracef u l pedestals were a thous a nd a l a ba s ter la m p s , ,

s hedding lig ht and perfume upon thi s glorious ho m e of h is

fr igid Majesty Ge l idu s King of the K o l t yk w e r p s L ong r o w s
,
.

of retainers all in snow white fur lined the wide h all w ay a s

,
-
, ,

the guards conducte d B ulger and me into the p al a ce a n d bowe d

in s ilence as we passed .

To my m ore than wonder I saw th a t the inner roo m s we r e ,

most su m ptuously furnished chairs and divans being scatte r ed ,

here and there all covered with superb ski n s of white fur while
, ,

the floor too w a s carpeted with the m and as the soft ra diance of
, , ,

the a lab a ster lamps fell upon the s e magnifi cent pelts and se t ten
thousand jewels in the wa ll s and ceilings of ice I w a s ready to ,
 A JII A R V E LLO U S U N D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

a d m it th a t I h a d never s een a n ythi n g half s o be a utiful A n dye t

.
.

I was still outs ide the thro n e roo m of h is frigid Majesty !

-

A t le n gth we c a m e t o one end of a bro a d hallway which

s eemed s hut o ff fro m the res t of the palace by a wall thick ly

incru s ted with s trings of great dia m onds each a s big as a goose ,

egg extendi n g from the ceili n g to the floor and turning back
, ,

t h e shi m m er of the l a m ps with such a flood of cryst a lline

r a diance that m eyes involuntarily clos ed before it
y .

Think of m y a m a zement when the two guards laying hold o f

“
,

this w a ll of j ewels a s I dee m ed it drew it to the right and left

, ,

till there was roo m for m e to pass What I h a dtaken for a w a ll .

of jewels w as but a curtain m ade up of round bits of ice s tru n g

u pon stri n gs a n d ha n ging like a shower of dia m onds there before

m e a s th ey glittered in the light of the lamps each side of them

, .

I now stood in the thro n e room of his frigid M ajesty the -

,

King of the K o l t yk w e r p s Now I realized th a t what I had seen

.

elsewhere in his palace of ice w as in reality but a sam ple of its

m agnificence for here the splendor of King Ge lidu s castle
’
,
’

bu r s t u p o n me in its fullest str eng th I m a gine a gre a t round .

chamber lighted with the soft flames of perfu m ed oil streaming ,

fro m a hundre d al a baster la m ps the walls line d wi t h broad ,

div a ns cove r ed with snow white pelts the floors thickly c a rpeted
-
,

with the s a m e glorious r u gs while on one s ide glittering in the

, ,

s hi m m er of the hund r ed m assive l a mps stan d s the icy throne of ,

the King of the K o l t yk w e r p s decked with snow white skins a n d

,
-
,

he upon it with Sc h n e e bo u l e his fa ir d a ughter sitting at h is

, , ,

feet a n d all a round a n da bout him group wise a hundre d K o lt y

, ,
-
,

kwerps t h e king the princess and the courtiers a ll clad in ski n s

, , ,

whiter than t h e driven snow a n d you dear friends will h a ve

, , ,

so m e fa int ide a o f the Splendor of the scene which burs t upon

me a s the t w o gu a rd s d r e w aside the s tr a n ds of ice jewels at the
end of the h a llw a y in the p a l a ce of ice !
L ike a ll h is s ubjects King Ge l idu s looked out through the
,

ro u nd window of h is fur hood j ust a s a big good natu r ed boy ,

-

does th r ough h is s k a ting— c ap .

T H E B A T I LE
’

FOR L F
I E “1 1 1 ! T H E \V II I T E C R A B S .
 A M A R V E LLO U s UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 57

The K o l t yk w e r p s we r e not much t aller than I but we r e very ,

stocky built so that when broadened o u t by their thick fu r s uits

,

they really took on at ti m es the a ppe a rance o f ani m a te d s n o w

balls It would be hard for the finge r s of the defte s t h a nd to
.

dra w faces fuller of kindline s s a n d good nature than those of

the K o lt yk w e r p s Their s m a ll honest gray eyes s pa r kle d with
.
,

a bonifor m glint and so broad were their s m iles tha t they were
,

only a bout half visible through t h e round hole s of their fur

hoods I was delighted with the m fro m the ve r y start and the
.
,

m ore so when I heard King G e l idu s cry out in a cheery voice

.

A right crisp and cold welcome to our icy court little b a r on ; ,

but fro m what our people tell us thou c a rriest a pair of hands
,

so hot that we beg thee to ta ke a fe w d ays to cool o ff before

thou t o u c h e s t pal m s with any of the K o l t yk w e r p s a n d we also ,

beg thee to be careful a n d not to lean a ga in s t any of our richly

c a rved panels or to Slide down any of our highly polished ra il
,

ings o r to h a ndle the strands of our jewels o r Sit do w n fo r

, ,

an length of time on the fron t steps of our palace A n d we

y .

m ake the S ame reque s t of thy four footed co m panion who is said
-
,

to be of even a w a r m e r dispo s ition than thou .

I bowed and kissed m y hand to his frigid Maj esty and a ssu r ed ,

h im that I sho uld m ake every e ffort to lowe r m y t e m pera tu r e

as s peedily as possible and in the m ean time that I s hould be
, , ,

extr e m ely careful not to come into contact with a n y of the

artistic carving of his palace of ice .

A s I pronounced these words the whole co m p a ny began to

,

cl ap their h a nds ; and as they did so a cold shiver r a n down m y ,

b a ck for there was a sound m ethought very m uch like the

, , ,

ra ttling of dry bones to th a t a ppl a use but I took good c a re not ,

t o let King Ge l idu s no t ice m y fright .

H is frigid Majesty n o w presented m e to his d a ughter Schnee

boule a pretty little m aid o f about Sixteen cryst a l winters with
, ,

cheeks round as a pples a n d a s deeply di m pled a s the furrows of

,

a c r oss bun Her eye s twinkled as she looked upon B ulge r a n d

-
.

me a n d turning to h e r frigid p ap a sh e asked fo r le a ve to touch

, ,
 A A IA R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

the tip end of m y thu m b whic h being done she g a ve a s queaky

, ,

little sc ream a n d began to blow on her tiny finger as if I had

blistered it .

King Ge lidu s a l s o p r esented me to s everal of his court

fa vorites a ll men of the coldest blood in the nation
, Their .

n a m es were J e l lik in P h r o s t yp h iz I c ik u l and Gla c ie r bho y

, , , .

They we r e all dreadfully s lo w thinkers when you questioned

the m very closely upon a n y s ubject .

It di dn t ta ke me very long to discov er this

’
In fa ct they .
,

requested me to be less warm in my manner and not to as k ,

them a n y posers as they inv a riably found that deep thought

,

caused a rise in their temperature .

This was to be honest abo u t it very annoyi n g to me fo r yo u

, ,

kno w dear friends what a loa ds tone m y m ind is never as leep

, , , ,

always in a quiver like a mariner s co m p ass pointing thi s w a y ’

,

and that in search of the polar star of wisdo m

, .

U pon m a king known m y trouble to his f r igid Maje s ty King ,

G e lidu s he most gracefully ordered one of his trusty attend a nts

,

to conduct me to the triple walled ice cell of a certai n K o l t y -

k w e r p by the name of B ullibr a in that is literally Boiling , , ,

”
Brain a man who had been born with a hot head a n d co u se
, ,

quen tly with a very active brain F or fifty ye a rs King Ge l idu s

.

had been doing his very best to refrigerate this s u bject of his ,

bu t without success A s I was just bursting with i m patience to

.

ask a whole string of questions concerning the K o lt yk w e r p s you ,

m ay i m a gine how delighted I w as to make the acquaintance of

Bu llibr a in or L ord Hot Head a s he was called a mong the
,

K o l t yk w e r p s ; bu t dear frien ds you mu s t excuse m e if I make

, ,

this the end of a ch a pte r and stop here for a brief rest .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D ER G R O UN D J O UR N E Y 1 59

CH A PTE R XX III

L O R D H O T H EA D A G A I N A N D TH I S T IM E A F U LLE R A CC O U N T
,

OF H IM .H I S VV O N D RO U S T A LES C O N C E R N I N G T H E K OLT Y
K WE RP S : WH ER E T H EY C A M E F R O M WH O T H EY WER E A ND , ,

H O W TH EY M A N A G ED T O L I V E I N TH I S WO R LD OF ET E R
N A L F R O ST — T H E M A N Y Q U E ST I O N S I P U T T O H IM
. A N D H IS ,

A N SWE R S I N F U LL .

LO LD BU was never allowed to set foot inside the

LL I B R A I N

p a lace of ice Ki n g Ge l idu s backed by the opinion of his

.
,

favorites s till indulged the belief th a t he would be able in the

,

end to refri gerate h im True he h a d been m a ny years at the

.
,

t a sk so that it had now become a sort of hobby of his and

, ,

al m ost daily did his frigid Majesty pay a visit to his hot headed -

s u bject and test his te mperature by p r e s s ing a s m all ball of ice

aga inst his temples To King Ge lidus m i n d a m a n of so hig h
.
’
,

a temperature was a continual menace to the peace and quie t

of his kingdom Wh a t if L ord Hot H ead in a dream should
.

wander forth some night and fall asleep with his back again s t
one of the walls of the ice p a lace ? Migh t he not m el t awa y
enough of it to throw the whole gloriou s fa bric i nto a slu m p
and sl sh of debr is
u ? It w a s terrible to th i nk of when he did ,

think of it and he thought of it quite often

, .

But Bu llibra in had no terrors for m e nor for B ulge r either in

,

fa ct Bulger was delighted to be stroked by a warm hand and he

, ,

and Bu llibr a in and I soon be c a me t he ve ry best of friends ; bu t

his frigid Majesty was so al a rm ed when he heard o f this friend
ship that he was seized with quite a s p a s m of warmth for
, , ,

thought he the united heat of three hot heads m ight work s o m e

,

terrible h a r m to the welfa re of his people S o he issued the.

c o lde s t kind of a de cree carved on a t a ble t of ice that Bu llibr ain ,

 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 61

home I saw at a glance that it w a s Gree n land wh i ch B ulli

.

brain was thus unconsciously describing ; a n d knowing as I did

that in past ages Greenland had been a land of blue skies ,

warm Winds green m eadows a n d fertile valleys before moving

, , ,

m ountains of ice ca m e down from the North and crushed all

life out of it I listened with breathless interest to his wonderful
,

tales of its beautiful lakes nestled at the foot of vine cl a d

,
-

m ountai n s a ll of which Bu ll ibr a in now looked upon in fa ir

,

visions inherited from his ancestors A n d I also kne w tha t it .

must have been the A rctic O cean which h a d been traversed by

the ships of the K o l t yk w e r p s who h a d then landed u pon t h e
, ,

in those days sunny shores of Northern Russia

,
.

B ut the mountains of ice could sail too and they followed the ,

fleeing K o lt yk w e r p s like mighty monsters dashin g themselves ,

with terrible roar and crash upon the peaceful shores which ,

they soon transformed into a wilderness of berg of glacier and , ,

of fl o e .

O nly a handful of the K o l t yk w e r ps survived ; and these in ,

their dumb desp a ir taking refuge in the clefts and caverns of the
North U rals could fro m their hiding places look upon one of
,
-

the strangest S ights that h a d ever greeted human eyes So .

rapid had been the advance of these m ighty masses of ice ,

crashing against the m ountain sides and rending the very rocks
in their fury that the a ir gave up its warmth and the sun was
, ,

powerless to give it back a gain The animals of the wild wood .

and the be a s ts of the field overtaken in their flight perished as

, ,

they ran and stood there stark and stiff with heads uptossed ,

and m uscle s knotted Them by the thousands a n d ten ti m es

.

thous a nds the crushed crystals of t h e pursuing floods caught

up like moss and leaves in a mount a in torrent a n d p a cked in
every cave a n d cavern on the way tearing bro a der and loftier ,

portals into these subterranean chambers so that they might do ,

their work the better

“
A n d these then O Bu llibr a in a r e your meat quarries
, , ,
I ,
-

”
ex clai m ed whence ye draw your daily food ?
,
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

Eve n so little ba r on replied the hot headed K o l t yk w e r p

, ,
-
,

a n d not only our food but the skins which serve us so a dm ir ,

a bl for clothing in this cold under ground world and the o il

y , , ,

too which burns in our beauti ful a l a baster lamps besides a bu n

, ,

dred other things such as bone for helves and handles horn for
, ,

needles and buttons and e a ting utensils wool for the we a ving ,

o f our under gar m ents and m a gnificent p elt s of bear and seal
-
,

a n d walrus which laid upon our benches and divans of crystal

, ,

ice tra nsform them into be ds and couches which even an

,

i nhabita nt of thy world might envy

“
B ut O Bu llibr a in I cried out have ye not almost ex
, , ,
“

ha nsted these supplies ? Will not dea t h from starvation soon

s t are ye a ll in the fa ce in these deep and icy caverns of the under
’
world visited by the sun s light yet unwarmed by it ?
,

”
“
Nay little baron ans w ered Bu ll ibr a in with a smile a lmo s t
, ,

as warm as one of my own ; let not that thought give thee a “

m oment s alarm for we have a s yet barely raised the lid of this
’
,
’ ”
ice box of nature s packing We a r e not large eaters any way
-
.
,

continued Lord H o t Head for while it is true that we are n o t ,

“

indolent people for his frigid Majesty s palace and our dwellings
,
’

need constant repair and new hatchets and axes must be chipped ,

out in the flint quarries and new la m ps carved and n e w garmen t s

woven yet it is also true that w e take life rather easy We
, .

h a ve no e nemies to sl a y no quarrels to settle no gold to fight , ,

over no land to drive our fellow creatures fro m and fen ce in ;

,
-

nor c a n we be ill if we were willing to be for in this pure cold

, , , ,

crisp air di s ease would try in vain to s o w her poison germs ;

hence needi n g no doctors we have none as we have no lawyers
, , ,

either or m e r chants to s ell us what belongs to us already

, .

H is f r igid Maj esty is an excellent king I never read of a better .

one I doubt that his like exists in the upper world A lways
. .

cool headed no thought of conqu est no dreams of power no

, , ,

lo n gings for empty po m p a n d Sho w ever ente r his mind Si n ce ,

the day his father died and we set the great K o l t yk w e r p cro w n
of crystal ice upon his cool brow h is te m p e ratu re h as n e ver ,
 A M A R VE L LO US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

ri s en but a ha lf a degree a n d that was only for a brief hour or

,

so and was occasioned by a m a d propos a l of one of his council

,

lors who clai m ed that he had discovere d an explosive compound

, ,

so m ething like the gunpo w der of thy world I fancy by whic h , ,

he could shatter the glorious windo w of rock crystal se t in the

mou ntain do m e of our under world and let in the warm sun
”
s hi ne .

D id his frigid Majesty Ge lidu s put this da r ing K o l t yk w e r p

”
to death ? I asked .

”
O h dear no replied Bu llibr a in he merely ordered him to
, , ,
“

be refrigera te d for so m any hours a day until all his feverish

projects had be en chilled to death ; for no doubt little b a ron a , ,

m a n of thy dee p le a rning knows fu l l w e l l that all the ills which

thy world su ffers from are the chil dren of fe vere d brains of ,

m inds made restless and visionary by the high temperature of the

blood which gallops through the approaches to the dome of
thought stirring up wild dreams and visions as thy sun lifts the
,
”
poisonous v a por from the stagnant pool .

The more I listened to Bu llibr ain the m ore I liked him The .

fact of the matter is I preferred to sit in his n arrow ce ll with its

,

plain wa lls of ice lighted up by a single ala b aster lamp a n d con

verse w ith h im to loiteri n g in the splendid throne room of his -

frigid Majesty King Ge lidu s ; but B ulger had discovered that

the pelts of Princess Sc h n e e bo u l e s divan were much thicker
’

s ofter and warmer than the Single one allowed L ord Hot H ead
, ,

and therefore he preferred Spending his time w ith her ; but fear
’
ing lest he might ge t into mischief I didn t dare to leave him
,

alon e with the p rincess too long at a time .

 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 65

S pring up between Sc h n e e bo u le and me for he hoped to make ,

use of m y influence to bring her to set the neces s a r y kiss on

some youth s che ek befor e I took my departure f r om the cold
’

Kingdom of the K o l t yk w e r p s I gave him the word of a no ble

.

man that I would do my best to carry out his wishes .

With Sc h n e e bo u l e for a guide B ulge r and I often went for ,

walks through the Sple n did ice grottos of her father s kingdom ’
,

selecting days when the sunlight of the outer world poured

strongest through the m ighty lens set in the Si de of the moun
tain Then these grottos took on a Splendor th a t my poor
.

tongue is powerless to describe Their crystal mazes glittered .

as if their w alls were set with massive j ewels most wonderfully

cut a n d polished and as if thei r ceilings were fretted with gems
so peerless that all the gold of the upper world W
,

ould fall far

short of paying for them Here there and e ve r ywhere the skill
.
, ,

o f the K o l t k w e r s had carve d and chiselled gra ceful flights of

y p
steps broad l a ndings with maje s tic colu m ns a n d winding corri
, ,

dors lined with long rows of statues single and groupwise ; and ,

ever and anon the Visitor ca m e upon a terr a ce where seated upon ,

a fur covered divan he might look out upon the bewildering

-
,

beauty of King Ge lidu s icy do m a ins a rch touchi n g a rch and

’
,

dome springing from dome while ove r and a bove all thro u gh the
, ,

giganti c lens in its granite set t ing a m ile above our heads , ,

strea m ed a flood of glorious su n light lighting up this World ,

within a World with a radiance so grand and so complete as to

se e m to be a sun of a fa r greater splendor than the one that .

w a rmed the upper world a n d bathed it in so many gorgeous hues

at m orn and eve Hardly a day went by now that the p r incess
.

o f the K o l t k w e r s did not surprise either B ulger or me with

y p
s o me gift or other .

To tell the truth dear friends although my Russi a n coat was

, ,

fur trim m ed yet I began to feel the need of war m er ga rments a fter
-
,
’
a week s s ourn in the icy do m ain of King Ge lidu s a n d I think ,

Sc hn e e bo u le must have heard my teeth c h a ttering for one m orn ,

ing upon entering the Palace of Ice I w a s delighted to be pre

, ,
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN DER G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

sented with a full suit of fur p re c i sely Si milar to the o n e worn

by King Ge l idu s himself .

Nor was B ulger forgotten by the lov i ng little P rincess for ,

with her own hands she had knitted him a blanket of the soft
est wool which she belted so snugly around his body a n d
,

tied so tightly around his neck that hencef orth h e felt per
fe c t ly comforta ble in the chill air o f the home of the K o l t y
kwerps .

O ne day the P rincess Sc h n e e bo u l e said t o m e ,

O h come little b aron come to my favo r ite grotto now that

, , , ,

the sun s rays are b right within it ; there shalt thou see a
’

”
wonder .

A wonder P rincess Sc h n e e bo u l e ?
,
”
Y es little baron a wonder she repeated :
, , the L ittle Man
,
”
with the F rozen S m ile .

”
Little Man with t h e F rozen Smile ? I echoed .

”
Come and see come and s e e little baron ! cried S chnee
, ,

b oule hurrying on ahead

, .

In a few moments we had reached the grotto and bou n ded

i nto it with the Princess leading the way .

Su dde n lv she halted in front of a m a gnificent block of crystal

i ce clear a s polishe d glass and cried out
, , ,

There look There i s the L ittle Man with the F rozen

,

Smile
Even now as the thought of that mome n t co m es over me I
, ,

feel somethi n g of the thrill of half fear half j oy as my eyes fell , ,

u pon the little creature shut in that superb b l ock of ice himself ,

a part of it himself its he art its contents its mystery There

, , ,
.
,

in its centre in easy posture with wide opened eyes a n d with

, , ,

what might be called a s m ile upon its face —th a t is a glint of

kindliness and affection in its strange eyes w ith their overhang
ing brows sat a small ani m al of the chimpanzee race He h a d
, .

possibly been asleep when the i cy flood struck him dreaming of ,

be a utiful trees bending beneath purple fruit of cloudless s k ies ,

above and a coral b each below and death had come to him so ,
TH E L TT L
I E M A N \V I TH TH E FR O Z EN S ML
I E .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

quickly that he h a d be come a brother to this block o f ice while

the happy dre a m was still in his thought
It was wonderful it was more than wonderful
, Spellbound
by the strange specta cle I stood there I know not how long wit h
, , ,

my eyes looking into his A t last Sc h n e e bo u le s voice aroused

.
’

me
”
“
H a ! ha ! she laughed ; look little baron Bulger is try “
, ,
”
ing to kiss his poor dead brother .

In truth B ulger did have his no s e pressed firmly against the

,

block of ice i n his e ffort to scent the strange animal im p r I so n e d

in that crystal cell s o near a n d yet s o far beyond the reac h of ,

his keen scent .

Well little baron cried Sc h n e e bo u le did I not s peak

, , ,

truly ? Have I not shown thee the L ittle Man wit h the F roze n
S mile
Indeed thou hast fair prince s s was m y reply ; and I canno t
, ,
”
tell thee h o w grateful I am to thee for having done so .

Then as she plucked me by the slee v e I pleade d

, Nay , , ,

gentle Sc h n e e bo u le not yet not yet let m e bide a bit longer

, , , .

The L ittle Man with the F rozen Smile seems to beg m e not to
go I can almost i m a gine that I hear him whisper : O little
.
‘

baron break O pen the crystal cell of my prison and take me with
,

thee back to the world of sunshine back to the l a nd of the ,

ora nge tree whe r e the soft war m winds used to rock me to sleep
-
,

in the cradle of t h e sw aying boughs while the wise a n d watchful ,

patriarch of our flock stood gua r d over us all .

’

’
Sc h n e e bo u le s big round gray eyes filled with tears a t these
, ,

words .

Would that he were a live little baron she murmured and , , ,

“

that I could give h im some of my happiness to pay hi m back for

”
all the long years he has been spending in his icy p r i s on .

In a few mo m ents Sc h n e e bo u le took me by the hand a n d led

me away from the great block of ice with its silent p r isoner .

My heart was very heavy and both Sc h n e e bo u le an d B ulge r did

,

their utmost to divert me but all to no purpose , .

1 70 A M A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

L e a vi n g t he prince ss at the portal of the palace I went t o ,

m y dwelling which was ablaze with the s oft glow of its alaba s
ter l a m ps a n d there I found a beautiful new pelt spread over
,

m y divan a n ew gift fro m King Ge l idu s

, B ut I could ta ke no .

pleasure in it My thoughts were all with the Little Man with

.

t h e F roze n Smile locked in the icy e m brace of that crystal

m ould which , in its cold irony let him seem to be so free and
, ,

unfettered a n dyet held him in such vise like grip A fter a while -
.

I dismi ssed my serving people and laid me down for the night
with m y dear B ulger nestled against my breast B ut I could .

not sleep A ll night long those strange eyes with their n u

.

canny glint followed me about pleading strong but silent for ,

me to come again for me to soften my heart like a chil d of t h e

,

sunshi n e that I w a s to shatter his crystal dungeon and s e t h im

, ,

loose to be a r h im away fro m the ic y dom a in of the K o lt yk w e r p s

,

out into the warm air of the upper world What was I drea m .

in g about ? Was he not dead ? Had not his Spirit left his body
thousands a n d thousa n ds of yea r s ago ? Why Should I let such
w ild thoughts vex my m ind ? What good would come of it ?
None none whatever I was a reaso n able creature I must n o t
,
.
,

give lodgment within my br a in to such silly ideas .

The L ittle Man with the F rozen S m ile had bee n through al ,

most playful fate laid away in a beautiful to m b I must not

, .

disturb it No doubt in his lifeti m e he had been the pet o f

.

a n oble m a n or brought to the N o r t hla n d from some sunny

,

cli m e by m aster of powerful a rgosy L et him rest in pe a ce I . .

must not da r e to m ar the be a uty of his crystal tomb so glo r i ,

o u sl tr a n s parent !
y
I was even sorry that Sc h n e e bo u l e had led me into her beauti
ful grotto and re s olved to go thither no more
, .

Wh a t poor weak creatu r es are we so fertile in good resolu ,

tion s a n d yet so unfruitful of results p l anting whole acres with ,

fair promises but when the tender shoots pierce the ground
,

turning our back upon the crop as if it didn t belong to us ! ’

 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 71

C H A P TE R XX V

A P
SLE E LE SS HT F OR BU LGER A N D M E A N D WH A T F OL
NI G
LO WED I T I N T E R VI EW WI TH K I N G G E LI DU S
. M Y R EQ U E S T .
~

A N D H I S R E P LY —WH A T A LL T OO K PLA C E WH EN I LE A R N ED
.

TH A T T H E K I N G A N D H I S C O U N C I LLO R S H A D D ECI DED N OT T O

GR A N T M Y Q
RE U ES T — ST R A N G E T U M U LT A M O N G T H E K O LT Y
.

K WE RP S A N D H OW H I S F R I GI D M A J EST Y ST I LLED I T A ND
, ,

S O M E O TH E R TH I N G S .

NO T only h a d I been un a ble to Sleep but by my to s sing ,

about I had kept poor dear B ulger awake so that when morn i n g
ca m e we both looked haggard enough I felt as if I h a d been .

thr ough a fit of sickness a n d no doubt he did too A t a n y rate

,
.

I had no a ppetite for the heavy m eat diet of the K o lt yk w e r p s ,

'

and seei n g m e refu s e m y br e ak fa s t B ulger did likewise ,

.

I h a d pro m ised Sc h n e e bo u l e to co m e early to the palace for ,

she had a number of questions which Sh e wished to a sk m e con

cerning the upper wo r ld .

Good m orning little b a ron she cried in her s w eete s t tones

-
, ,

as I entered the throne roo m D idst Sleep well l a st night on

-
.

”
the n e w pelt which papa sent thee ? I was about to m ake a
reply when Sc h n e e bo u l e s hand comi n g in cont a ct with m ine
’

for we had both re m oved our gloves in order to Shake hands ,

she uttered a piercing s crea m and drawing back stood there ,

blowi n g her breath on her right p a lm a s she exclaimed ag a in ,

and a gain ,

F ir e br a n d! F irebrand !
In an in s tant King Ge lidu s and a group of his councillors
drew near and pulling over their gloves one after the other
, , ,

laid his hand in mine .

”
Glowin g coals ! cried his fri gid M ajesty .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 73

I quickly repented me of my r a sh action B ut it was too .

late and I determined to stand by it .

”
L ittle baron spoke royal Ge l idu s in icy tones
’
“
, never a ,
“

he a rt beat in a k i ngly breast that was purer and colder than

m ine freer fro m the warmth of selfishness with not a sing l e
, ,

hot corner for ire or anger to nestle in or for weakness or folly ,

to make their hidi n g places F or thousands of years my

-
.

people have inhabited this icy domain and breathed this pu r e

cold air and never yet hath o n e desired to strike an axe of flint
,

into t h e walls of that crystal prison Howeve r little baron .

, ,

there may be so m e warm corner in my heart wherein cold and

limpid wisdom may not be at home Therefore come to me .
,

to— morrow for my answer meanwhile I ll take council with the

,
’

coolest brains and coldest hearts about me If t hey see no .

harm in thy request thou mayst crack open t h e crystal ga tes

,

that have for so many centuries shut the m a nlike creature in his
silent cell and ta ke him forth in order to study the mystic words
,

graven on his collar ; but upon the s trict condition that in c le av

ing open his house of crystal m y quarry men so apply their
wedges of flint as to break the block into two e qual pieces ,

that w hen thou h ast read what m ay be there the two parts be ,

closed upon the little man again edge fitting edge like a per, ,

feet m ould so exactly that to the eye no sign of line or joint be

,

v isible . D ost pro m ise little b aron that this shall be as to our
, ,
”
royal will it seems meet that it s h ould be ?
,

I promised most solemnly that the crystal cell of the L ittle

Man with the F rozen Smile should be O pened and closed
exactly as his frigid Majesty had directed .

It would be h a rd for m e to tell you dear friends how happy , ,

I went to rest that night upon my icy div a n and how as t h e ,

tiny flame of my alab aster lamp s h ed its soft glow upon the
walls of ice I lay there turning over in my mind the strange
,

a n d mysterious pleasure which was soon to fall to my lot when

the quarry m e n of King Ge lidu s should set their wedges of flint

in this glorious block of ice a n d cleave it asunder .
 A !M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

Eve n D on F um Ma s ter of M a s ters h a d neve r dreamed of

, ,

receiving a m es s a ge from the people who lived in the ve r y

childhood of the world and in anticipation already I e n joyed
,

the s plendid triu m ph which would be mine when I came to

lecture before le a rned s ocietie s upon the mysterious letteri n g
o n the curious collar cla s ping the neck of the L ittle M a n with

t h e F rozen Smile .

I m agine m y a ngui s h then dear frie n ds upon receiving a mes

—
, ,

s a ge from King Ge lidu s the next day that his councillors had

with one voice decreed ag a i n st the opening of the cry s tal prison
which stood in Sc h n e e bo u le s grotto ! ’

IW a s a s if smitten with some sudden a n d awful ailment I .

had never felt until that m oment how keen the tooth of dis ap
pointment could be I shivered first with a chill that made me
.

brother to the K o l t yk w e r p s a n d then I burned with a fever so

,

r a ging that a wild rumor spread through Ge l idu s icy domain ’

that I was setting fire to the very w a lls a n d roof Wi t h wild .

outcries and faces dra wn with nameless dread the s ubjects of

, ,

h is frigid M ajesty rushed pell mell up t h e wi de flights of stairs

leading to the palace of ice and pleaded for t h e king to Sho w
,

himself .

In cold and frigid m ajesty Ge lidu s w alked out upon the plat
,

form and listened to the prayers of his people .

”
We Shall burn they c r ied ; our beautiful homes will fall
,

about our e a rs These crystal step s will melt away a n d all

.
,

these fa ir columns and a rches and statues and pedestals wil l

turn to w a ter a n d empty th emselves into the lower caverns of
the e a rth The great window of our sky will fall wi t h a w ful
.

cras h upon our he a ds putting an end forever to this fair domain

,

of cryst a l splendor O Ge lidu s haste thee haste thee ere it

.
, , ,

be too late le t t h e little baron have his way before bitter disa p
,

pointment transfor m s his body and li m bs into tongues of flame

t o lick up this magnificent palace in a single night and dash its ,

thousand a l a baster lamps to the ground a heap of Sh e ar ds no , ,

fra g m ent m a tching its brother f rag m ent but a ll a wretched ,

”
mass of worthless matter !
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 75

King G e lidu sand his frosty councillors s a w th a t it would be

'

u se l e ss t o attempt to rea s on with the people and therefore turn ,

in g toward the m he coldly waved h is chilly right hand a n d

, ,

with an icy smile Spoke frostily as follows ,

Go K o lt yk w e r p s to your homes a n d be h a ppy Wh a t

, ,
.

think you have I a heated brain doth my heart steam with fool
, ,

—
is h n e ss that yo u should think m e c a pable of wishing harm t o
,

the ti niest K o l t yk w e r p th a t s pins h is top of ice in m y fair king

dom ? Go to your ho m es I say the little b a ron is already cool
,

ing OR for he hath m y full consent to cle a ve a sunder the crystal

,

prison of the L ittle Man with the F rozen Smile There is noth .

to be frightened about my children So eat hearty suppers a n d

,
.

sleep soundly to night for my royal word for it by to morro w

-
, ,
-

morning the little baron w ill cease to be the lea s t bit dangerous
to the peace and welfare of our icy kingdo m A Cold good night .
-

”
to you all .

In a s h o r t h al f hour the panic stricken K o lt yk w e r p s were all

~ -

back in their homes again and when a messenger came from

,

King Ge lidu s to measure my temperature he found such a

great i m provement that he O pene d his chilly heart and sent m e
a beautiful present from his treasure house to wit : A s m a ll ,

block of ice clearer than any gem I had ever seen in the heart
, ,

of which lay a gloriou s red rose in fullest bloom each velvet ,

petal opened out eagerly U pon con s ulting my di a ry I found

.

that it was just six months to a day since I h a d left C a stle

Trump and the love d ones sheltered by its time worn tiles a n d -
,

cold as was the covering of this thrice beautiful child of t h e

u pper world I cl a spe d it to m breast and shed tears
y .

A n d this was the way it ca m e about dear frie n ds that Ki n g , ,

Ge lidu s and his frosty councillors were brought to give their

con s ent to my cleaving asunder the icy prison wherein lay the
Little Man with the F roze n Smile .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 77

take wh a t I say so m eti m es with a grain of salt although a s a ,

rule you may accept my s t a teme nts with child like confidence
,
-
.

With such wonderful skill did the K o lt yk w e r p ian quarry men

use their axes and wedges that in a few moments to my great ,

delight the huge block of ice fell asunder in perfect halves in

, ,

one of which th e little manlike creature lay on his side like a

casting i n a mould .

I made haste to lift him out and wrap him a soft pelt which ,

I had brought along for that purpose and then I turned to ,

retrace my steps to my chamber where I intended to begin at ,

once my study of whatever inscr ip tions should b e found upon

his curious collar .

Remember little baron said Glac ie r bh o y

, by express ,

command of his frigid Majesty the L ittle Man with the F rozen ,

Smile must be returned to his crystal cell to morrow morning at -

this very
I bowe d assent and then havi n g accompanied Princess
, ,

Sc h n e e bo u le a s far as the bottom of the grand staircase leading

to the ice palace I turned away and was soon in the p rivacy of
,

my own apartment .

Now came for me one of the bitterest disappointments of my

life ; but I sub m itted with a good grace for it was fit punish ,

ment visited upon m e for m y foolish vanity in striving to u n

earth some older record of the human race than had yet been
done by any of the great searchers and philosophers not even ,

excepting that Master of Masters D on St r e p h al o fi dge gu a n e r iu s ,

fum !
Know then dear friends that the quaint collar made up of
, , ,

gold and silver coins or disks cunningly linked together which

, , ,
’
encircl e d the animal s n eck contained not a single word or ,

letter of any language the undersides being quite blank a n d

, ,

the upper m e rely h a ving roughly carved outlines of an obj ect

which might possibly have been intended for the sun .

Wrapping the animal up in the soft pelt I laid him away in ,

a corner of my divan and betook myself to the palace of his

1 78 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

frigid M ajesty where I fr a n kly in fo r m e d K in g Ge lidu s of my

,
‘

great disappointment in n o t finding some few words or even a

single word of a l a nguage unknown to the wisest heads of the
upper world .

Sc h n e e bo u l e was s o touched by my sadness that had I not ,

s kilfully kept out of her w a I verily believe she w ould have

y ,

thrown her arms a round m y ne ck and i m printe d upon m y cheek

t h e kiss which would have made m e the king of the K o l t
y
kwerps ; but I h a d no longing to Sp end the r est of m y life in
the icy do m ains of his f r igid Maj esty even though my brow ,

would be crowned with the cold crown of the K o lt yk w e r p s If .

I h a d been an old man with slow and feeb l e pulse it would

, ,

h a ve been very different ; but m y heart was t o o w a r m and m y

blood too hot to fill such a position with ag r eeableness t o m yself
or satisfaction to the people of this icy under world So I k ept .

the little princess busy e nough I c a n a ssure you first with songs
, , ,

then with dance and then with story telling

,
-
.

That n ight King Ge l idu s ordered a m agnificent f ete t o be held

in m y honor F ive hundred more alabaster la m ps were lighted
.
,

a n d the royal divans were l a id with the riche s t pel t s in the pal

a c e and after the dancing and singing h a d ended frozen tidbits

, ,

fro m the royal kitchen were passed around on a labaster salvers ,

a n d Bulge r a n d I a t e until our teeth ached .

It was late when we reached our own apart m ent and so full ,

were m y thoughts of the beautiful Sights which we had gazed

upon in the throne room that I had quite forgotten about the
-
,

p oor L ittle Man with the F roze n Smile whom I had covere d up

and t u cked a way on my divan ; but Bulger had not bee n s o

hard he a rted
-
.

Twenty times during the eve ning he h ad given me a Sly tug

a t my sleeve as much as to say ,

Co m e little m aster let s hurry back ; dost not remember

, ,
’

that we left m y poor little frozen brother tucke d a way in th a t

icy chamb er all a lone by hi m self ? ”
I was very weary and I fell
o ff to Sleep a l m o s t i m m edi a tely a n d yet I h a d an indistinct rec
,
B UL G ER S H OW S T H E B A R O N SO M TH
E I NG W O ND ER F UL .
 A A I A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO U RN E Y 1 81

that B ulge r was not in his place again s t my breast

o lle c t io n .

’
I remembere d feeling for him but that s all It never flashe d , .

upon me that he had gone and lain do w n beside the poor little
s t r anger who m I had so unfeelingly lifted from his last resting
,

place and yet such must have been the case for about midnight
, , ,

it seemed to me I was awakened by a gentle tugging at my sleeve

, .

It was my faithful B ulger but half awake and half asleep as , ,

I was I merely thought that he was only asking for a caress as

, ,

w as ofte n his wont when he fell a thinking a bout ho m e so I -

,

reached o u t and stroke d his head several times and drop p ed Off
again .

Bu t the tugging began ane w and this time twas more vigor
’
,

ous and with it c a me an impatie nt whine which meant ,

Come come little master rouse thee ; dost suppose I would

, , ,

”
b reak thy rest unless there were g ood reasons for it ? I did n t ’

n ee d a third reminder but with a single bound lande d on my feet

, ,

and reach i ng out for one of the tiny tapers which the K o lt yk w e r p s
make use of as lighters I carried the flames from the single lam p
,

burning on the wall to the three others hang i ng here and there .

The icy walls of my chamber were now ablaze w ith light .

There sat B ulger on the fur covered divan beside the place -
,

where the L ittle M a n with the F rozen Smile lay hidden under
the pelt His t a il was wagging nervously and his large lus
.
, ,

trous eyes were fixed first upon me and then upo n t h e cover i ng
of his dead brother with an expression I never remembered hav
ing seen in them before and then with a sudden movement he
,

laid hold of the pelt and dr awing it aside showed me what

, , ,

think you dea r friends what I as k in a tone half whisper half

, , , ,

gasp for now years after I still can feel that wonderful thrill
,

which I felt then ? Why it was alive That ape like creature -
,

had come to life after his Sleep of thousands of years in that

narrow crystal cell ! B ulger had lain down beside his frozen
,

brother and warmed him back to life again

O h it was wondrously wonderful to see that pair o f little
,

eyes beadlike in brightne ss look up and blink at me ; a n d then

, ,
1 82 A M A R V E LLOU S U N D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

to he a r that low m oani n g voice so hu m a n like as if it whim

, ,
-
,

pered with a s h ake and a shiver

, ,

O h h o w cold it is how very cold it is ! Where s the

,
’

’
su n ? Where s the soft warm wind and where are the cloudles s ,

skies so blue oh s o beautifully blue that used to hang over my

, ,

head
Bidding B ulger lie do w n again beside him and snuggle up as
close as possible I made haste to cover them both with the
,

softest skins I could find .

In a few moments there ca m e fro m underneath the pile a low ,

”
contented cry of Co o jah ! C o o jah ! Co o jah ! followed by a
curious addition soun di ng like F u ff ! F u ff ! F u fi ! so I put
them all together and n a med the strange new comer to the icy
domain of King Ge lidu s F u ffc o o jah !
Sleep any more that night ? Not a wink The same joy . .

came over me that I use d to feel on Christm as morn i ng lo n g

ago when Kris Kringle brought me some wonderful bit of
m echanism move d by a s e cret spring — for I al w a ys scorned to
accept ordin a ry toys like ordin a ry children ; a n d oh how I ,

longed for the morning when it would be time for me to bundle

,

up the L ittle Man — no longer him w ith the F rozen S mile but ,

F u ffc o o ja h the L ive Boy from F a raway with his curious little
, ,

face screwed u p into such a funny look and carry him to the
palace .

How delighted Sc h n e e bo u l e will be ! thought I a n d Ki n g ,

Ge l idu s too how he will unbend from his frigid m a jesty as he

,

w a tches the antics of F uffc o o jah and h o w pleased all the dign i ,

fi e d K o l t yk w e r p ia n s including even P h r o s t yp h iz and Glacie r

,

bhoy will be when I tell the m that the L ittle Man with the
,

F rozen S m ile h as come to life again !

What crowds of K o l t yk w e r p s men women a n d children w ill , , ,

rush up the long flights of steps leading to the I c e P alace beg ,

ging and entreating King Ge lidu s to let them have just a little
look at F u ffc o o jah the little man set free from his icy cell by
,

the fa mous tra veller B a ron S ebastian von T r o o m p !

,
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 1 83

CH A P TE R XX V II

EX CI T EM E N T O VE R F U F F C OOJ A H . I C A RR Y H IM TO TH E C OU R T
O F K I NG G ELI DU S T A N T A FF E C T I ON F OR P R I N C E SS
.
-
H I S INS
SC H N E EB OU LE I A M A CC U SE D O F E X E R C I SI N G T H E B L A C K
.
~ -

A RT . M Y -
D F C
E E N E A N D M Y R E WA R D — A N X I ETY OF T H E .

K O LT Y K WE R P S LE ST F U F F CO OJ A H PE R I SH O F H U N G ER .

TH I S CA L A M I T Y A V E R T ED A N O T H ER ST A R ES U S I N T H E ,

F A C E : H O W T O K EEP H I M F R O M F R EEZ I N G T O D EA TH
’

— I .

SO LV E T H E P R O B LE M BU T D RA W U P O N M E A , STR A N GE
M I SF O R T U N E .

I T all turned out j u st as I had thought it would ! The mo

ment it became known th at the L ittle Man with the F rozen
Smile had actually come to life the wildest excite m ent prevailed ,

in every part of the icy do m a i n of h is frigid Majest y I was .

astounde d at the cha n ge in the actions of the K o lt yk w e r p s .

They m oved more quickly they talked faster they made more , ,

gestures than I had ever seen the m do before In some cases .

,

you will hardly believe it dear friends I actually n oticed a , ,

faint glow in the cold cheeks of a few of the m .

I had hoped to be a ble to bundle F u ffc o o jah up w armly a n d

.

m a ke my escape to the ice palace before the people learne d of

his coming to life but in v a in Whe n I made m y a ppeara nce
, .

at the door there was a large c rowd of K o l t yk w e r p s pushi n g

,

and pulling in front of m y quarters .

Most of them were good natured and crie d out -

, ,

Show h im to us little baron show us the L ittle M a n with

, ,

the F roze n Smile who m thou hast bro u ght to life L et us look .

upon his fa ce
”
“
Nay nay K o l t yk w e r p s ! I exclai m e d it must not be !
, , ,
“
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 1 85

and Gla c ie r bh o y were holding a whi s pered con

P h r o s t yp h iz
ference with his frigid Majesty A t once I g u essed the subject .

of their conversation .

Rising to my feet I made a S ign that I wished to a ddress the

,

king and when he had nodded his head with stern and icy
,

dignity I began to speak Y ou know dear friends h o w elo

,
.
, ,

quent I can be when the mood is upo n me Well standing there .

,

almost upon the steps of King Ge lidu s throne of ice I proceede d ’

to defe nd myself against the charge of being a master of the

black art I will not tell you all I said but this was my en ding
.
,

M ay it please your frigid Majesty

Here beside me stands the only magician in the c a se and the ,

only art the only trick or charm which was exerci s e d by h im

,

w as that sweet po w er we call love When first he set eyes upon .

his four footed brother locked in the crystal cell of Sc h n e e bo u le s

-
’

Grotto he pressed his nose again and again a gainst its icy w a ll
,

in vain attempt to know his kinsman and turne d away with a ,

cry of sorrow to fi n d t hat his keen scent could not penetrate t o

h im . I cannot tell you how great was his joy when I laid F u ff
c o o ah sti ff and stark upon my divan for I kne w not then the
j ’
,

scheme ripening in Bulger s mind But later all was plain .

,
’
enough The loving dog le aves his master s breast and carries
.

his true and tender heart o v er to where F u ffc o o jah lies raise s ,

the pelt crawls in beside h im and presses his warm breast fi r m

, ,

a n d hard against his brother s ice locked he a rt and warms him

’
-
,

into life again the n wakes me and tells m e what he hath done
, .

This Royal Ge lidu s a n d most noble K o lt yk w e r p s is the only

, ,

art th a t h a th been used to bring F u fi c o o jah back to life again ,

a n d to call it black is to slander the sunshine rail a t the lily and , ,

call the sweet breath of heaven a vile and detest a ble thing
When I had e nded my speech I s a w that Sc h n e e bo u l e had
been weeping and that several of her tears s t e p p e din the ir course
,

down her cheeks hung there sparkling like tiny diamonds in the
soft light of the alabaster l a m ps where the chill air of Ge lidu s
,
’

palace had turned the m into ice .

1 86 A M A R VE L L O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

A n d
therefo r e when h is frigid M ajesty said th a t my words
had touched his he a rt and ba de m e a s k for a gi ft fr om his hand
, ,

I s ai d ,

O cold king of this fa i r icy do m ain let those tears that now ,

h a ng like tiny jewels on Sc h n e e bo u l e s cheeks be b r u s hed i nto an

’

alabaster bo x and given to me I covet no other guerdon .

”
Even if I did n o t love thee little baron cried King Ge lidu s , ,

with an icy s m ile I would be persuaded ; but loving make s

,
“

e asy believing Go P h r o s t yp hiz and bid one of the princes s s

.
, ,
’

wo m en brush those tiny jewels that hang on Sc h n e e bo u le s ’

cheek into an alabaster cup and bestow them upon the little
”
b a ro n .

Scarcely h a d this been done when F u ff c o o jah thrust his head

o u t fro m under the pelt and fixing his eyes pleadi n gly upon me , ,

thrust out his tongue and O pened and shut h is m outh with a
faint s m acking noise Q u ick a s a flash it d a wned upon m e th a t
, .

these signs m eant that F u ffc o o jah w a s hungry !

A n d then as I suddenly re m embered that the K o l t yk w e r p s
,

were strictly a me a t eating people that only m eat w a s to be

-
,

had in their chill do m ain quarr ied almost like marble itself fr om,

’
nature s great ref r igerators a gasp escaped my lips a n d I , ,

whispered ,

O h he must die H e must die

, My words had not miss
ed the keen ears of Princess Sc h n e e bo u l e .

”
Speak little baron she cried why why must little F u fi
, , , , ,
”
c o ah die ? A n d when
j ? What dost m ean by such a saying
King Ge l idu s a n d Sc hn e e bo u l e had heard me voice my fear that
h e would die rather than feed on meat they both b eca m e very ,

h e a vy hearted
-
.

”
“
Poor little F u ff c o o jah ! m oaned the pri nces s can it be ,
“

possible t hat he must be c a rried back so soon to his crystal cell

”
in my grotto ?
Bid the m a ster of m y 'm e at quarries approach the throne ,

cried Ki n g Ge lidu s suddenly in a voice of icy dignity ,

“

This important function a ry soon made h is a ppe a rance .

 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 87

Turn ing t o me t h e king ba de me expl ain the case to h im

, .

This I did in a few w ords when to the gre a t jo y of all present

, ,

the master of the meat quarries spoke a s follows

L ittle baron if that s the only trouble give thyself no fu r
,
’
,

ther uneasiness for I Shall at once send o n e of my men to thee

,
”
with a supply of most delicious nuts .

”
“
D elicio u s nuts ? I repeated in a tone of a m a ze m ent .

Why yes little baron I have a goodly supply on hand

, , , .

Know the n that h a rdly a day goe s by that my men don t come
, ,
’

upon some fine Specimen of the family of gnawers most gener ,

ally squirrels in whose cheek pouches we inv a riably find from

,
-

o n e to half a dozen dainty nuts stowed away It has always .

been my custo m to lay these a s ide and so I have to inform thee ,

that if F u ffc o o jah s hould live to be a hu n dred years old I or my

”
successor could guarantee to keep h im supplied with food .

These word s lifted a terrible lo a d o ff my heart for now at , ,

lea st F u ffc o o jah would not die of starvation

,
.

F or a few days everythi n g went well The K o l t yk w e r p s .

bec a m e quite satisfie d in their own minds that I had not been
practising the black art in the chilly kingdom of his frigid
Majesty and each and every o n e of them became greatly a t
,

t a c h e d to the curious little creature with the droll little face

and droller manner .

B ut it see m e d as if we were no sooner out of one trouble

than we were plu m ped iht o another fo r n o w F u ffc o o j ah began ,

to object to the attendant selecte d to look after him by King

Ge l idu s .

The man was about t e n degrees too cold bloode d for h im a n d -

ere long it was only necessa r y for t h e K o l t yk w e r p to a pproach

F uff —,a s we called h im for short in order to th r ow him ,
-

into convulsions of shivering and to cause him to utter pit iable

cries of discontent which only ceased upon my app e aring and
,

comforting him by my caresses .

I now set to work to devise some way to make F u ff s life ’

m ore agreeable to him for everybody seemed to hold m e r e

,
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y 1 89

plenty of warmth stored a way in h is body he hath enough for

,

both himself and F u ffc o o ja h into the barg ain Therefore .

,

frigid father command that a deep warm hood be m a de to the

, ,

little baron s coat and that F u ffc o o jah be placed therein and
’
,

be borne about by the little baron wherever he goeth He will .

soon grow accustomed to the slender burden and note it no

more .

It shall be as thou w ish e s t re p lied the king of the K o l t y

kwerps and c a lling his trusty councillor Gla c ie r bh o y he, ,

directed him to summon me at once to the throne room When-

.

I heard this terrible order issue from the icy lips of King
Ge lidu s my heart sank within me and yet I dared not disobey
, ,

I dared not m ur m ur for I it was who had cleft asunder the

,

crystal prison of the L ittle Man with the F rozen Smile I w h o

had made it possible for Bulger to warm h im back to life again .

O h poor vain weak foolis h boy that I had been what was to
, , , , ,

become of me now ?
1 90 A III A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

CH A P TE R X X V III

H O W A LI TT LE BU R D EN V O U S ON E
M A Y GR O W T O BE A GR I E
—M Y
.

ST OR Y O F A M A N WI TH A H I S H OO D M O N K EY I N
T ER R I BLE SU FF ER I N G —C ON CER N I N G T H E A WF U L P A N I C
.

TH A T S EI Z ED U P O N T H E K O LT Y K WER P S M Y V I SI T T O T H E .

D E SER T ED I CE PA LA C E A N D WHA T HA PPEN ED T O F U FF

-

S T R A N G E C A R EE R —A
,

C OO J A H — E ND O F H I S B R I E F BU T
. .
~

F R O Z EN K I SS ON A B LA D E O F H O RN O R H OW SCH N EEBO U LE ,

C H O SE A H U S BA N D .

A H little princess how e a sy was it for thee to s ay that I

, ,

would s oon g r ow accusto m e d to the slender b u rden and note it

n o mo r e ? H o w prone a r e we to c a ll light the burdens which
we lay upon the shou l ders of others for our own benefit ? True ,

F u ffc o o jah was not as lo n g a s a horse nor a s bro a d a s an ox an d , ,

w hen in accord a nce with the king s decree the hood h a d been
’

completed and the little anim al was stowed away therein close ,

a gainst m back so a s to get a goodly Share of the war m th o f

y
my body it see m ed to m e that Sc hn e e bo u le was right that I
, ,

would soon become a ccustomed to the load and note it no more .

A n d so it seemed the second and t h e third day but n o t on the ,

fourth ; fo r on that day the little load appeared to have ga ined

so m e w h a t in weight and although I was quick to feign that it
,

w a s no t so when P rincess Sc h n e e b o u l e quizzed me saying ,

“
There little baro n did I n o t tell thee that thou wouldst
, ,
”
soon forget th at F u ff c o o jah Slept upon thy shoulders ? yet in
m y heart I felt th a t he really had grown a mite heavier .

O n the fifth day Bulger a n d I were bidden to a merry making -

a t the p a l a ce of ice and a s I ro s e from my divan to betake m e

,

thither methought I w as s trangely he a vy hearted and so did

,
-
,
TH E B ’
A RO N S F L G HT
I T O T H E IC E PA L A CE .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y

Bulger for he made several e fforts to draw a s m ile or a chee r y

, ,

tone from me but in vain

, ,
.

S uddenly I realized that there was a weight pressing against

my back no not a heavy weight but a weight all the sam e a n d
, , , ,

then I whispered to m yself Why if I a m going to a merry ,

“
,

making I ll cast it o ff ! and then I wakened from my deep

,
’

abstraction and murmured ,

H ow strange that I Should h ave forgotten th a t F u ffc o o jah

was in my hood ? A n d so I went to t h e m erry m a king with -

F u ffc o o ja h n estled bet w een m y s h oulders and the K o lt yk w e r p s ,

laughed at the little baron and his c h ild as they called him and , ,

drew near and raised the flap and peeped in a t the curious cre a
ture within the hood and wh en F u ffc o o jah felt their icy b reaths, ,

he buried his nose in the fur and sighed and whim p ered Then .
,

for a moment when the Pri n cess Sc h n e e bo u le came and sat beside
,

me and praised me for my readiness to carry out her wishes and ,

thanked me so sweetly for my goodness to her I forgot all ab out ,

the little load laid upon me and I ate the frozen tidbits from the ,
,

royal kitchen and laughed a n d joked w ith L or ds P h r o st yp hiz

,

and Gl ac ie r bh o y just as had been my won t before Ge lidu s had

,

decreed that F u ff c o o jah should m ake h is bed on my shoulders .

B ut when the fete was over and I stepped from the broad por
tal of the ice palace and looked up at the mighty le n s set in the
-

mountain side through which the moonlight of the outer world

,

was streaming in subdued but glorious sple ndor I suddenly felt ,

my legs bend under me I st aggered from right to left I clutched , ,

at shadows I was it seemed to m e about to be crushed beneath

, , ,

a terrible burden I quickened my pace I broke into a run I

.
, ,

thre w my arms into the air as if I would cast off the weight that
was smothering me A n d so I came to my lodging pu ffi ng .
,

panting gasping
, .

”
“
Why what a fool am I ! was my first word when I h a d
,

got my breath ; it s only little F u ffc o o jah on my b a ck stowed

“ ’
,

away in my fur hood I must be beside myself to h a ve thought .

that a great monster was seated there and th a t he was gradually

 A M A R VE LL O US UN DE R GR O UN D JO URN E Y

pressing me down crushing the life out of me by degrees flat

,
,
;

teni n g m e to the very ground a n d I not able to escape from his ,

terrible e m brace or to squirm out from under his awful limbs

wr a pt a round my ne ck and body !
A ll night long this mon s ter was clinging to me and urging ,

me to a fa ster p a ce up and down across and around I knew not

, , ,

where o n bootless errands ending only to begin again on searches

, ,
,

a fter nothing hidden nowhere trying a thousand lids and fi ding

n ,

every on e locked returning ho m e only to go forth again up and

,
,

away and out on interminable highways vanishing in a point far

on ahead with that grievous burden forever on my shoulders
,

growi n g heavier and heavier till it se emed that I must go down ,

with it into the dust But no it knew full well that it must
.
,

not ride me to the death so when I was ready to drop i t th rew , ,

o ff part of its weigh t to give me courage to begin again When .

the morning came m y pulse was galloping and my cheeks were

0 11 fire . I could fe el the blood pounding against my temples ,

and it was natural that my face should be cri m sone d over with
the flush of fever Half in a daze I walked fo rth towar d the
.

grand staircase leading up to the ice palace when s udde nly I ,

was startled by a fearful scream I halte d and looked up when ,

.
,

another and another burst upon my ears .

The terrified K o l t yk w e r p s wer e fleeing before me in every

direction shrieking as they fl e d
, ,

F ly fly brothers the little baron is burning the little baron

, , , ,

is burning fly brothers fly !
, , ,

In a few moments terror had seize d upon every living .

creature in the icy domain of King Ge lidu s They fled from .

me in mad haste taking refuge in the distant caverns and cor

,

r ido r s filling the air with their wild outcries no one being brave
, ,

enough to h a lt and take a second look My infla m ed c o u n t e .

nance filled them with s u ch awful terror that they could only
te a r along and cry ,

F ly brothers fly ; the little baron is burn i n g the little baro n

, ,
‘
,

is burning !
 A M A R V E LLO U S UN D ER G R O UN D J O UR N E Y 1 95

With Bulger at my heels I turned and sprang up the stair ,

case with the intention o f seeking out King Ge lidu s and ex ,

plaining th e matter to him .

B ut he too had fled and with h im every sentinel and serv

, , ,

i ng man every courtier and councillor The palace was as still

,
.

as death I hastene d through its silent corridors calling out

.
,

Sc h n e e bo u l e ! Princ ess Sc h n e e bo u l e ! S urely thou art not

’
a fraid of me ? Turn back I will not h a rm thee I m not burn
, ,
~

”
m g ! Turn back oh turn back ! , ,

With this I reached the throne roo m; not a living creature

,
-

was to be see n ; the vast ch amber was a s still as death I stag .

e r e d t o a divan a n d pillowin my poor aching head on a

g g ,

cushion I fell into a sound and refreshing sleep

,
.

When I awoke I rubbed my eyes a n d looke d a bout me and

, ,

at first I t hought that I w a s still alone in the great round

chamber with its walls of ice ; but no there on the divan s at ,

Sc h n e e bo u l e and she smile d and said in mock displeasure

, ,

Tho u art not a very watchful nurse little baron for in t hy , ,

sleep thou di dst squeeze F u ff c o o jah so tightly against a cushion ,

”
tha t he crawled out from thy hood and nestle d in my arms .

”
“
In thy arms Sc h n e e bo u le ?
, I exclaimed breathlessly for ,
-

I feared for the w orst and springing up I dr ew aside the s of t

,

pelt which she had w ra ppe d a round F u ffc o o jah and there he ,

lay dead ! P oor little beast he had bee n s o hap p y to crawl

, ,

into the arms of one he loved so dearly and had cuddled u p ,

closer and closer to her in S earch of greater warmth ; b ut only

to come nearer and nearer to a heart that could not warm h i m ;
and so the i nsidious chill of death which b ring e th swe e t and ,

pleasant drowsiness with it had stole over him and h e had ,

died .

A n d Sc h n e e bo u le s tears freezing as they fe ll n o w showere d

’
, ,

like a gentle h a il of tiny gems upon the little dead b east no ,

longer F u fi c o o jah but once again the L ittle M a n with the F ro z e n

,

Smile P resently the K o lt yk w e r ps recovere d from their sense

.

less fear and first one b y one and the n group wise they returned
, ,
-
,
D EA TH OF F U F F CO OJ A H .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 1 99

h i s b reath white u p on h i s beard and he saw the youth lying

,

there and the frozen kiss on his cheek and h e bade Glacier
, ,
’
bhoy scrape the delicate frost crystals from the youth s fa ce
with a blade of polished horn .

”
“
What hast there father of mine ? asked the princess
, ,

when she saw him bearing the blade of horn along so c a re

fully
A kiss which someone pressed upon the cheek of one of my
lamp trimmers now lying on the staircase overcome wi th
,

sle ep replied King Ge lidu s in ringing icy tones

, , ,
.

“
Why father of mine exclaimed Princess Sch n e e bo u l e
,
”
, ,

now that thou sp e ak s t of it I really believe the kiss is mine

, ,

for I recollect ki s sing someone as I entered the palace I was ,

deep in thought but no doubt the youth pleased me as he lay

,
-

”
there asleep with lamp i n one hand and wick in the other
, .

A n d that lamp trim m er trimmed no more lamps in the ice

palace of his frigid Majesty Ge lidu s King of the K o l t yk w e r p s
, .

No doubt h e m ade Sc h n e e bo u l e a very good husband and I m ,

’

quite sure that she m ade him a good wife I w ould have been
.

glad to tarry for the nuptial feast but that was out of t he
,

question I had stayed too long already

. .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 201

the kingdom carved upon h u ge tablets of ice and stored a way

, ,

in the vaults of the pal a ce .

The fact of the matter is Ki n g Ge lidu s was so desirous of ha ving

m e assist at the marriage feast of Princess Sc h n e e bo u l e tha t he ,

threw e very obstacle in my way th a t he could without O penly ,

showing his hand A n d Sc h n e e b o u le herself by the dancing o f

.

her clear gray eyes g a ve m e to understand that she too was , ,

h Op in g th a t I would make a mistake when I ca m e t o point out

the door which I wante d O pened .

B ulger saw th a t I was in trouble but couldn t co m prehend

,
’

clearly what that trouble was He kept his eyes fastened upon
.

m e however watching my every move m ent hoping no doubt

, , , , ,

to solve the m ystery .

While sitting one day lost in thought o v er the very serious

problem which I found m yself called upon to solve an idea ,

struck m e : I had noticed th a t in the meat quarries the work -

,

men often m ade use of sounding rods which were long pie ces
-
,

of polished bone ending in fl int tips A K o l t yk w e r pian quarry

, .

m a n by dexterously twisting this rod was able to bore a hole ,

six feet deep or more into the solid bed of ice whe n desirous o f
ascertaini n g the position of a c a rcass in the m eat quarry and it ,

o c c u r e d to me that by piercing the portals of ice which closed

’
their various corridors I have Spoken of possibly B ulger s kee n ,

scent m ight recognize that current of air which would have in

it the odor of earth an d rock ; in other words m ake choice for ,

me of the portal which opened on that corridor leading awa y

from the icy domain of King G e l idu s and not merely into so m e
outlying chamber of his kingdom .

His frigid Majesty could not object to s uch experi m ents for ,

the law only forbade the hewing of O penings large enough fo r

the hewer to pass thro u gh .

King Ge lidu s and half a dozen of h is courtie r s looking stern ,

and frigid and conversing in freezing tones were present to see ,

the experi m ent tried Methought their icy lips cl a cked to

.

gether with satisfaction when at m y request one portal a fter

, ,
202 A WA
J R V E LLOU S UN D E R G R O U N D J O URN E Y

a nother was pierced bu t Bulger a fter sni ffi ng at the hole

, , ,

turn ed away with a bewildered look in his eyes as if he didn t ’

half understand why I was ordering him to thrust his warm

n ose into such cold places .

A n d so we tramped fro m corridor to corridor until t h e ,

quarrymen beg a n to Show signs of fatigue and the soun di ng ,

rod turned slower a n d Slower in their hands .

P h r o st yp h iz bli n ked his cold gray eyes as m uch as to say ,

L ittle baron thou must bide with us for another year !

, But
I merely turned to the quarrymen and ordered them to pierce ,

one more portal of ice ere we abandoned t he tas k for the day .

They went at the work of piercing the eleventh door with t h e

pace of pack mule s up a m ountain side But at las t the sound
- -
.

ing rod bored a way through and at a wave of my hand the

-
,

quarrymen fell back In an instant Bulger had his nose at t h e

.

hole and took three or four quick nervous s n ifi s ending with a

, , ,

long deep drawn one and then bre a king out into a string of
,
-
,

Sharp j erk y j oyf u l barks he began scratching furiously a t the

, , ,
.

bottom of t h e portal .

Y our frigid Majesty said I with a low and s tately bend of

, ,

m y body such as only t hose born to the m an n er can m ake by ,

“
:

this portal at the coming of to morro w s sun I Shall p a ss fr om

,
-
’
,

your M ajesty s i cy do m inion ! ’ ”

A n d when P h r o s t yp h iz an d
Gl a c ie r bh o y he a rd these words o f mine uttered so loftily their ,

eyes glea m ed cold as s teel and they followed the King in silence
,

back to the palace of ice Sc h n e e bo u l e met them in the grand

.

h allway ; a n d when Sh e had looked upon their f a ces she began

to weep for she loved m e a n d she love d Bulger too a n d her
, ,

cold little heart could not bear the thought of our going .

King Ge lidu s howeve r soon recovered his Spirits and ordered

, , ,

a feast with song and dance in honor of Bulger who during the ,

festivities sat on the highest di v a n with the softest pelt beneath

him ; and so m a ny were t h e frozen tidbits which the K o l t yk w e r p s
presented to h im du r ing the progress of t h e fe a st that I grew ,

alarm ed lest he m ight overload his sto m a ch a n d not be in a fit

K O LT Y K WE R P I A N Q U A R RY M EN H E W NG
I A P A S SA G TH U G H
E RO TH E W LL
A OF IC E .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D ER G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

condition to make t h e early start on our journey of which I ,

had given notice to the K o lt yk w e r p ia n m onarch But h is good .

sense saved him from doing so foolish a thing ; I n fact I was ,

greatly a m used to see that while he accepted every tidbit ,

handed to h rm and s olemnly we n t through the motions of

,

chewing it yet watching his chance he slyly dropped it out of

, ,

his mouth and flirted it aside with his paw Thus was spent .

our l a st night at the icy cour t of his frigid Majesty and on the ,

morro w the K o l t yk w e r p s collec te d in great crowds on the di ffer

e n t terraces to say good b I pressed a kiss O II the cheek of
y
-
.

Pri n cess Sc hn e e bo u le and when it had turned to ice crystals

, ,

one of her men b rushed it into an ala b aster box .

Prince Chillyc h Op s the former lamp trimmer was on hand

,
-
,

with the rest of the K o lt yk w e r p ian n o bles but I flattered m y ,

s elf that Sc h n e e bo u l e loved me better than she did him How .

e ver ,I wishe d him joy and gripped his cold palm with such
,

w armth that he stood bl owing it for a whole minute Whe n .

we reached the lofty portal we found that the quarrymen had

already hewn a passage thro u gh it and near by I observed a ,

pile Of massive blocks of ice crystal clear , .

These when Bulger and I should pass through the O pening

, ,

were to be used in walling it up again ; and when I saw this pile

of blocks and remembered the solid work m anship of t he K o l t y
,

k w e r p ian quarrymen the thought fl it t e dthrough my mind S up

,

pose Bulger hath not chosen wisely what us e would there be i n , .

turning back for my own weak hands would be powerless

,

a gainst a wall built of such blocks and knock I ever so loud , ,

how could the sound ever traverse this long and w i nding corri
dor and reach the e ar of a K o l t yk w e r p ? N 0 said I to m y ,

self if B ulger hath not chosen wisely it will be good by to

,
“
,
-

”
both upper a n d under worlds A n d the n bearing an alabaster
.
,

l a mp in one hand and in the other holding the cord which I had
tied to B ulge r "s collar I stepped through the narrow passage
-

hewn by the q uarry m en a n d turned my back forever on the cold

,

dominion of Ge lidu s King of the K o lt yk w e r ps O nce I halted

, .
206 A NI A R V ELLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y

an d lookedback I could see nothing but I could hear the sharp

.
,

click of the flint axes as the qu a rry m e n closed up the door that
shut me out from so m any cold bu t loving hearts A n d then I .

dr ew a long breath and went on my way again .

A n d that w a s the last I ever saw of the K o l t yk w e r p s save in

day drea m or night vision .
TH E W O N D ER F UL RI D E O N T H E BL OC K OF IC E .
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN DER G R O UN D JO URN E Y

CH A P TE R XXX

A LL A BOU T T H E M O ST T ERRI BLE B U T MA GN I F I CEN T R I D E I

E VE R T OO K I N M Y LI F E —N I N E T Y M I LE S O N T H E B A C K O F
.

A F LYI N G M A SS O F I C E A ND H O W B U LG ER A N D I WE R E
,

LA N D E D A T L A ST O N T H E B A N K S O F A M O ST WO N D E R F U L
R I V E R — H O W T H E D A Y B R O KE I N TH I S U N D E R WO R LD
. .

H my hand at that moment not graspe d a cord tied to the

A D

n eck of my wise and keen eyed B ulger I really believe I -

,

would have come to a halt faced about retraced my steps , , ,

and begged t h e inhabitants of this crystal realm to ad m it me

once more into the cold kingdom where Ge lidu s held h is icy
court ; for a sudden fit of depression came upon m e as the chilly
air struck against my cheeks and I saw the deep darkness made
visible by the tiny flame of my alabaster lamp .

Cold though it might be I would have sunshine in the icy

,

land of the K o l t yk w er p s bu t now how could I tell what fat e

,

awaited me
L uckily I had asked the captain of the m e a t qu a rries to allow
,

me to retain one of his sounding rods with its flint point fo r -

,

I feared lest in descendi n g some icy decli v ity I m ight fall and
bruise or even break a li m b
, , .

I was determined to advance cautiously along this icy pass a ge ,

shrouded as it was in i m penetrab l e gloom and so different from ,

the broad and polished pavement of the Marble Highway ; a n d

hence han ging the lamp about m y neck I proceeded to m a ke
, ,

use of the sounding rod as an alpenstock for w hich purposes it

-
,

was admirably adapted Suddenly Bulger halted g a ve a low

.
,

whine of warning and turned back In an i n stant I knew that

, .

there was danger ahead and letting myself drop on my hands

,
210 A A I A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

and knees crawled carefully along to m ake a n investigation o f

the dangerous spot in our route sign a lled by the watchful
B ulge r
.

It was only too true we stood app a rently upon the very edge
of a s heer p a ra pet how high I had no w ay of ascertaining bu t
, ,

I w as unable t o reach a n y bottom with the s o u ndi n g rod -

.

Wh a t w a s t o be done ? Turn b a ck ?
It was not yet too late the K o l t yk w e r p ian quarry m en co u ld
,

not h ave co m pleted their t a sk in so short a ti m e they would ,

hear m y knock they would tear do w n their wall of ice and

, ,

G e l idu s and Sc h n e e b o u l e would welcome u s back to their ic e

pal a ce with a cold but honest s ati s faction
, .

A s I sat there plu n ged in thought I half u n consciously began ,

to twirl the sounding rod a rou n d until I had s u nk it half it s

-

length into the floor of ice and then re a chi n g out I encircled
,

Bulger with m y a r m a n d d r ew him up against m e as was m y

wont when prep a ring fo r profound meditation .

I had scarcely done so when the ice bene a th me gave one of

those sh a rp cle a r cracking noises s o unlike the sound m ade by
, ,

the breaking of any othe r substance ; and thereupon I felt the

cryst a l mass o n which Bulger and I were S itti n g tremble a n d
vibrate for an instant and then w ith a sudden downward cant
, , ,

bre a k a way from the m as s behind it and begin to m ove !

Instinctively a se n se of my awful peril prompted me to cling
to the sounding rod which I had sunk drill like into the ice
- -
.

L uckily it was between m y legs and quick as a flash I intwined ,

them around it assu m ing a Turkish sitting post u re while my

, ,
’
left ar m was wr apped tightly around B ulger s body .

’
I don t know how it was done done a s it was a ll in an ,

instant ; but there I sat now firmly saddled so to speak upon , ,

th a t crystal monster s back as with a creak and a crash it

’
,

sn appe d the crystal links which bound it to the wall of ice

a n d plunged headlong down the glassy Slope .

In my fright I had dropped my l a mp and now the deep gloom ,

of this under world inwra pped me But no it was not so for .

, ,
 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D J O UR N E Y 211

as the escaping block of ice creaked and cra unched its way
along the two cold crystal surfaces gave forth a weird glim m er
,

of phosphoresce nt light which made the flying mass seem like a

monstrous living thing out of whose thousand eyes were dart
,

ing tongues of fla m e a s it rushe d madly along now gaining ,

speed upon striking a steeper stretch of way n o w fouling with ,

s o m e obstruction and dashing against the rocky sides of the cor

r ido r and sending a Shower of crystals sparkling and glittering
,

in the black air !

A non the esc a ping block comes upon a gentle slope and with ,

the l o w music of crushing crystals slips softly along in its flight

a s if mounted upon runners of polished s teel and then with a ,

sudden dip it glides upon a sharper de s cent and fairly leaps into
the a ir as it bounds along hissing over the slippery roadway
, ,

and leaving a train of fi r e behind it A n d n o w it strikes a.

s tretch of way piled here and there with clumps and blocks of

Ice .

With a m a d fury it springs upon the lesser ones with a growl

of ra ge grinding them to powder which like Showers of icy
, , ,

foam it hurls upon B ulger and me se a ted on its back Bu t

,
.

some of the blocks resist its terrible onslaught and our m ighty
s tee d is hurled fro m side to side with crash and creak as it ,

drives its crystal corners fiercely against the j utting rocks ,

leaving mark s of its white flesh on these black heads of

adamant .

It seems an hour since the crystal monster broke away and ,

yet ever downward he threads his wild flight butting bumping , , ,

jostling veering staggering along bearing Bulger and me to

, , ,

the lowest level of the World within a World .

Will he never end his mad flight ?

Is there no way for m e to curb him ?
Must he fly until he has ground his very body to such a thin
ness that the next obstruction will shatter it into t e n thousand
pie ces and hurl B ulger a n d me to death ?
,

A s these thoughts are flitting through my mind the flying ,

TH E T RO P IC S OF T H E U N D ER W L
OR D .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN DE R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 215

betw e en the fleeing monster of ice a n d the gigantic icicles hang

ing from the ceiling like the shining teeth of some huge creat u re
of this under world .

But could it be dear friends that Bulger and I had only

, ,

escaped a quick and merciful ending to be brought face to face

with a death ten times nro r e terrible in that it w a s to be slow ,

and gradual denied even the poor boon of looking upon each
,

oth er for darkness i m penetrable was folded about us and silence

,
-

so deep that m y ears ached in their longing for so m e sound to

break it A n d yet there was someth ing i n the sound of my
.

o w n voice that startled me when I used it : it see m ed as if the

awful stillness were angered at being disturbed by it and smote ,

it back into m y teeth .

Where are we ? This was the questio n I put to myself and ,

then in m y m ind I strove to recall every word which I had read

in the musty page s of D on F u m s m anuscript concerning the ’

World within a World but I could recollect nothing to enlight

en me not a word to give m e hope o r cheer and I w as about to
, ,

cry out in utter despair when happening to raise m y eyes and ,

look o ff in the di s tance I saw wh a t see m ed to me to be a jack

,

a lanter n dancing along o n the ground

-
.

It was a strange and fant a sti c sight in this region of inky

darkness and for a mo m ent I stood watching it with b a te d
,

bre a th and wide O pene d eyes ; but no it could not be a will

-
,

with the wi s p for n o w the faint and uncertain glim m er h a d

- -
,

increased to a m ild but steady glow re a ching away off in the ,

distance like a long line of dying camp fi r e s seen through an -

e nvelopi n g mi s t .

B ut in a m o m ent s ti m e this wide enci r cling ring of light had

’

so incre a sed in bri ghtness that it looked for all the world like a
bre ak 0 day in the land 0 s unshine and here a n d there where
’ ’

its mild effulgence overca m e the dark n ess of this s ubter r anean
region I caught sigh t of walls and arches and columns of snow
,

w lrit e m arble A n d then as I called to mind D on F um s m ys

’
.

”
t e r io u s reference to sunri s e in the lower world I swung m y
“
,
 A M A R V E LLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y 21 7

CH A P TE R XXX I

IN WH I C H Y OU R EA D OF O R I O U S CA V E R N s O F WH I TE
T H E GL
MA R BLE F R O N T I N G O N T H E WO N D E RF U L R I V ER — I N T H E
T R O P I CS O F T H E U N D ER WO R D L — H o w WE C A M E U P O N A
.

S O LI T A R Y WA N D E R E R ON T H E B A N K S O F T H E R I VE R .

M Y C O N V E R SA T I O N WI TH H I M A ND M Y
, J OY A T F I N D I N G
M YSELF I N T H E LA N D O F T H E R A TT LEBR A I N S OR H A PP Y ,

F O R G ETT E R S — B R I EF D ESC R I P T I O N O F TH EM
. .

W I TH every turn in the winding way that skirted the whit e

shores of this wonde r ful strea m its swarm s of light emitting
,
-

a nim a ls lent i t a n e w beauty ; for as the day adva n ced if I -

may so express it — they lifted their glowing bodies nearer and

nearer to the surface until now the river s hone like m olten sil
,

ver ; and as the sheer walls of rock on the O pposite bank held
set in them va st slabs of m ic a the effect was th a t these gigan
, .

tic natural mirrors reflecte d the glowing stream with startling

fidelity a n d threw the flood of s oft light in dazzling shi m mer
,

against the fa ntastic portals of the white m arble caverns o n

this side of the stream It was a scene never to forget a n d
.
,

again and again I pause d in silent w onder to feast my eyes upon

so m e newly discovered be a uty No w for the first I note d that
.
, ,

e very white m a rble basin of cove and inlet was filled with a dif
fe r e n t glow according to the n a ture of the tiny phosphorescen t
,

ani m als which h a ppene d to fill its waters one being a delicate
,

pink another a glorious red the third a deep rich purple the
, , ,

fourth a soft blue the fifth a golden yello w and so on the charm
, , ,

of each tint being greatly enhance d by the snowy whiteness of

these marble ba s ins thro u gh which long lines of curious fish
,

s e al e d in hues of polished gold and Silver swam slowly along ,

turning up their glorious sides to catch the full splendor of t he

21 8 A M A R VE LL O U S UN DE R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

l ight eflected fro m the mic a m irrors

r A n d now the chill y .

b r eath of King Ge lidu s domain no longer filled the air I

’
.

s tood in the tropics of the under world so to S peak and but one,

thing was lacking to m ake m y enjoyment of this fairy region

complete and that was some one to Share it with m e
, .

True B ulger had an idea of its beauty for he testified h is

, ,

h appiness at being once more in a w a rm land by exe cuting some

m a d c a pers for my a m use m ent and by s campering along t h e
,

s ho r e of the glowing river and barking at the stately fish as they

slowly fan n ed the water with their many colored fins ; bu t I

m ust admit th at I longe d for the Princess Sc h n e e bo u l e to kee p
m e company But it was a rash wish ; for the war m air would
.

have thrown her into convulsions of fear and she would have ,

preferred to m eet her death in the cool river r a ther than attempt
to breathe such a fiery atm osphere By this time I had a d .

V a n c e d several miles along the white shores of the glowing

Stream a n d feeling somewhat fa tigued I was a b out to sit down
, , ,

on the jutting edge of a natural bench of rock which see m ed ,

almost placed on the river banks by huma n h a nds for human

.

"

for m s to rest upon and watch the wonderful play of tints an d

hues in this wide sweeping i n let when to m y am a zement I saw
, , ,
'
that a human creature was a lre a dy sitting there .

His eyes were fixed u pon the water and m eth ought that his ,

fa c e w h ic h was gentle and placid wore a ti r e d look Ce rtai n ly

'

.
, ,

he was plunged into su ch deep meditation that he either t ook

or fe igned to take n o notice of my approach Bulger was ln .

c lin e dto d a sh forw a rd a nd a ttract his attention by a string of ear

Splitting barks but I shook m y head This wanderer alo ng the

, .

glow ing stream of day wore rather a: gracef u l cloak like garm ent -
,

wove n of some substance that shi mm ered in the light and so I ,

conc luded that it must be m ineral wool His head was bare a n d .
,

so were his legs t o the knees his feet being shod with white
,

meta l sand als tied on with wh a t looke d like leathern thongs .

A ll in a ll he h a d a friendly though somewhat peculiar look

,

about him and his attitu de struck me as being th at of a person

,
TH RO U G H T H E R EV O L V NG
I DO OR .
 A M A RVE LL O US UN DE R GR O UN D JO UR N E Y

eithe r plunged into deep thought or possibly listening for some ,

anxiously expected signal A t any rate accusto m ed as I was .

,

to meet all sorts of people on my travels in the four co r ners of

the globe I determined to make bold enough to interrupt the
,

gentleman s medita t ions and wish him good m orro w

’
-
.

Whom have I the pleasure of m eeting in this be a utiful s ec

”
tion of the Wo r ld within a World ?
The man looked at m e in a dazed sort of w a y and replied
” ’ ’
I really don t kno w I m happy to say ,
.

B ut sir thy name !

,
I insisted
,
.

F orgot it years ago was his remarkable an s wer , .

” ‘

But surely sir I exclaimed rather testily thou art not

, , ,
“

the sole inhabitant of th i s beautiful under world — thou hast ,

”
kinsman wife fa m ily ?
, ,

A y gentle stranger
, he replied in slow a n d measured ,

tones there are people farther along the shore and they are
,
“
,

good dear souls although I have forgotten their names and I

, , ,

have too a very faint recollection that two of those people ar e

, ,

sons of mine St o p ! no their n a mes are gone from me too I

.
, ,
”
forgot t he m the day m y own name slipped from m y m ind !
and as he uttered th ese words he threw his head back with a
sudden jerk and I heard a strange cli ck inside of it a s if so m e ,

thing had Slipped from its place an d that instant a mysterious ,

expression used by that Master of Masters D on F um fl a shed , ,

thr o u gh my mind .

Rattlebrains Y es that was it ; and now I felt sure that I was

,

standing in the presence of one of the curio us folk inh abiti n g

the World within a World to whom DOII F u m had give n the ,

strange name of Rattlebrains or Happy F orgetters ,

.

I was so delighted that I could b a rely keep m yself from rush

ing up to this gentle vi s aged and m ild m annered pers on whose
- -
,

head had just given fo r th the sha r p click and g r asping h im by ,

the hand B ut I feared to shock him by such a friendly greet

.

ing and s o I contented m yself with cryi n g out

, ,

Sir thou seest before thee none other than t h e fam ous trav
,
222 A M A R V ELLO U S U N D E R G R O UN D J OURN E Y

ell er Baron Sebastian von T r o o m p I but to my great amazement

,

and greater chagrin he si m ply turne d his strange eyes with the ,

fa ra wa y look upon m e for a n instant a n d the n resu m ed his con

, ,

t e m p la t io n of the beautifully tinte d sheet of water as if I hadn t

’
,

opene d m y m ou t h It was the m ost extraordinary treat m ent that

.

I h a d experienced since my descent into the under world and ,

I w a s upon the point of resenting it as became a true knight and ,

especially a von T r o o m p when D on F um s brief description of

,
’

the Ra ttlebrains or H appy F orgetters fl it t e d through m y mind

, , .

S a id he , By the exercise of their strong wills they have

been busy for ages s triving to unload their brains of the to them
n o w useless stock of knowledge accumul a ted by their ancestors ,

and the natur a l conse quence has been that the brains of these
curious folk who call the m selves the H a ppy F orgetters relieved
, ,

of all labor and strain of thought h a ve absolutely shrunke n ,

rather t han incre a sed in size so that with m any of the H a ppy
,

F o r ge t t e r s their bra ins are like the shrivelle d kernel of a l ast

year s nut and give forth a sharp click when they move their
’

heads su ddenly with a jerk as is often their wo n t for they take

, ,

g r eat pride i n proving to the listener th a t they deserve the name

o f Rattlebrain .

Nor do I need remind thee 0 reader concluded D on F u m

, , ,

in h is celebrated work on the World within a World that the ,

”

chiefest a m ong the Happy F orgetters is the m a n whose head

gives forth the loudest and s harpest click ; for he it is who has
”
forgotten most .

Y ou can have but a fa int idea dear fri ends of my deligh t at

, ,

the prospect of spending some ti m e a m ong the s e curious people

pe ople who look with absolute dread upon knowledge as the
one thing necessary to get rid of before happiness can enter the
hu m an heart .

N 0 joy c an e qual the Happy F orgetter s when upon clasping a ’

,

friend s hand he find s that he h a s forgotten his very name ; and

’
,

no day is well spent in this l a nd at the close of which t h e

inhabita n t m ay not exclaim ,
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO URN E Y

This day I succeeded in forgettin g so m eth in g th a t I kne w

ye s terday
A t last the Happy F o r ge t t e r rose f r o m h is s e a t and cal m ly
w a lked away without so m uch a s wishing m e good day ; but I
,
-

was resolved not to be so easily gotten rid o f so I calle d afte r ,

h im in a loud voi ce and B ulger following my exa m ple r aised a

, , ,

r a cket at his heels whereupon he f a ced a bout a n d re m a r ked

, ,
’
“
B eg pardon I had quite forgotten thee I m happy to say a n d
, , ,
’
thy na m e too I ve forgotten th a t let me see A r t thou a r adiate ?
, ,

! O ne of the animals in the w a ter ) I was m ore

. th a n half i n

c lin e d to lose my temper at this slur cl a ssing m e a back boned

, ,
-

a nimal with a mere jelly fi sh

, but unde r al l the circumstances
-

I thought it best to contro l myself for I could well imagine that

,

from the size of my head a n d the utter absence of all click in

s ide o f it I w a s not destine d to be a very welcome visitor a mong
,

the Happy F orgetters ; and therefore swallowing m y injured ,

feelings I m ade a very low bo w and begged this curious gentle

, ,

m a n to be kind enough to conduct m e to his pe ople — among

whom I wished to abide for a fe w days .
CA U G HT U I’ MS
IN T H E A R OF TH E T O RR EN T .
 A M A R VE LL O U S U N D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y 2 27

horror at the infor m a tion fo r you m u s t know dear friends that , ,

the Happy F o r ge t t e r h as more dr e a d of kno w ledge than we

have of igno r ance To h im it is the m o t her o f all di s content
.
,

the source of all unh a ppiness the cause of a ll the dr eadful ills ,

that have co m e upon the world and the people in it , .

”
“
The world said one of th e Happy F o r ge t t e r s to m e sadly
, ,

was perfectly happy once and m an had no nam e for h is brother,

and yet he loved him even a s the turtle dove loves his m a te al -
,

though he lIa s no n a m es to call her by But a las one da y this .

, ,

happiness came to an end for a strange m a l a dy b r oke out among

,

the people They were seized with a wild de s ire to invent na m es

.

for things ; even many n a m es for t he s ame thing and different ,

ways of doing the sa m e thing This strange pas s ion s o g r ew .

upon the m that they spent their lives in m aking them in every
possible w ay h a r de r t o live They built different roads to the .

same place they m a de different clothes fo r different days a n d

, ,

different dishes for different feasts To each child they gave .

two three a n d even four di ffe r e n t names ; a n d di fferent shoes

, ,

were fa shioned for different fe et and one family was no longer ,

satisfied w ith o n e d r inking gourd D id they stop here ? -

.

“
Nay they n o w busied the m selves learning how to make dif
,

fe r e n t faces to diffe r ent friends covering a frown with a smile , ,

and Singing gay songs when their hearts were sad In a few .

centuries a brother could no longer read a brother s f a ce and ’

one half the world went about wondering what the other half
-

was thinking about ; hence a rose misu n derstandings qu a rrel s , ,

fe u ds warfare Man was no longer content to dwell with his

,
.

fellow man in the spacious cavern s which kind nature had hol
-

low e d out for h im pier cing the mountains with Winding,

p a ssages beside which his narro w streets dwindled to merest

pathways .

In the L and of the H a ppy F orgetters care never comes to

trouble Sleep nor anxious thought to wear the dread mask of
,

To morrow !
-

Happy the day on which this child of nature might exclai m

 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D ER G R O UN D JO URN E Y

The Happy F orgetters were strictly veget a ble eaters feeding ,

upon the various fungous plants growing in these caverns in

gre a t profusion together with a very nutritious and ple a sant
,

ta s ting jelly m ade from a hardened gu m of vegetable origin

which abounded in the crevices of certain rocks There was .

still another source of food ; namely the nests of cert a in shell ,

fish which they built against the face o f the rock just above
, ,

the surface of the river These dissolved in boiling w a te r .

made an excellent broth very m uch like the soup from edible,
’
birds nests .

The cloth es worn by the Happy F orgetters were entirely

woven fro m m ine r al wool which in these caverns g a ve a long,

a n d strong fibre of a stonishing softness The Rattlebrains were .

tolera bly good m etal wo r kers too but contented themselve s wi t h

-
,

fashioning only such a rticles a s were actually ne cess a ry for

daily use Their beds were stuffed with dried seaweed and
.

lichens and Bulger and I passed a very comfortable night

,
.

A s I w a s forbidden to Spe a k a loud to ask a question or to , ,

w a lk abroad unless in co m pany with one of the select m en I was ,

not sorr y when the mo m ent came for the revolving door to be
opened The H a ppy F orgetters h ad been le d to believe that
.

B u lger and I were a thous a nd ti m es more dangerous than scaly

m onsters o r black winged va m pires and he n ce they held th em
-
,

selves a loof fro m u s the children hiding behind their m others

, ,

and the m others peering through crack and crevice at us .

The size of m y head inspired t h e nr with a na m eless d r ead

and even the h alf a dozen of the younger and m ore coura geous
- -

drew a side instinctively to le t m e pa ss .

F or the fi r st ti m e in m y life I was an obje ct of horror to m y

fellow creature s but I had n o h a rd thoughts a gainst the m !
-
,

Ti m id c h ildren of nature that they were to the m I was a s t e r ,

rible an object a s the torch ar m ed de m on of destruction would -

be to us were h e let loose in o n e of our fa i r cities of the upper

World .

A n d now t h e gu a rd of H a ppy F orget t e r s h a d halted in front

23 0 A M A R VE LL O U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

of what seeme d to m e to be a huge cask fashioned of solid

marble and set one half within the white wall of the cavern t o
,
-

which they had led m e B ut on se cond glance I s a w that there

.

was a row of s quare holes around its bulge like those in the ,

top of a capstan .

The Happy F orgetters n o w di sappeared for a moment and ,

when they joined me again eac h bore in hand a metal bar the ,

end of which he set in one of these holes a n d then at a signal ,

fro m the leader the huge half circle of marble began to turn -

noiseles s ly around exactly like a c a pstan A s eac h man s lever

, .
’

c a me to the wall he shifted it to the front again S u ddenly to

, .
,

m y a maze m ent I saw that the gre a t marble cask was hollow
,

like a sentry box and you may j udge of m y feelings dear ,

friends upon being politely re que s ted to step inside

, .

D id I refuse to obey ?

Not I It would have been useless for was n o t the whole

.
,

tribe of Rattle brains there to lay hands upon m e and thrust me

in
S o taking o ff my hat and m aki n g a low bow to the little
group of H a ppy F orgetters I stepped within the hollow c a sk and
,

B ulger did the same but not with so good a grace as his master ,

for casting an angry glance a t the inhospitable dwellers in these

,

ch ambers of white m a rble he growled and l a id bare his teeth to

,

S ho w his conte m pt for them .

No w the great m arble cask began to revolve the other way

and in a mo m ent it was back in place again .

I heard several sh a rp clicks as if a number of huge Spring

l a tches had sn a pped into place and then all was silent as the
,

tomb and I had a l m ost said as dark too ; but no I could not
, ,

say that for I looked out into a low tunnel which ran past t h e
,

niche in which B ulger and I were standi n g and to my more ,

than wonder it was di m ly lighted .

I stepped out into it ; it was as round as a cannon bore and

j ust h igh e n ough for m e to stand erect ; and n o w I discovered
whence the light proceeded In the cracks and crevices of its
.
H U R LE I) O U T IN T H E S U H
NS IN E .
 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

walls grew v a st m asses of tho s e delic a te light grv rn g fungous -

rootlets the glow of which was so strong th a t I h a d no di ffi culty

,

in reading the writing on my tablets ; in fact I stood there fo r ,

severa l m inutes making entries by the light of these bunches o f

glowi n g rootlets .

Then the thought flashed through m y m ind ,

Which w ay sh a ll I turn to the right o r to the left ?

,

B ulge r comprehended the c a use of my vacillation and m a de

h a ste to come to my rescue A fter sni ffing the air first in one
.
,

direction and then in the other he chose the right hand and I, ,

followed without a thought of questioning h is wisdo m Strange .

t o s ay he h a d not advanced m ore than a few hundred rods before

,

I noticed that t he r e was a strong current of air blowing through

the tunnel in the direction Bulge r had t aken .

Every m oment it increased in violence fairly lifting us fro m ,

o u r feet and bea r i n g us along through this narrow bore made by

n a ture s own h a nd s a n d lighted too by la m ps of h e r o w n fashion

’

ing The motion of the a ir through this vast pipe caused bursts
.

o f mighty tones as if peele d forth by so m e gigantic organ playe d

by giant ha n ds It w as strange but yet I felt no terror as I

.
,

listened to this unearthly music although its depth of tone jar r ed

,

p a infully upon m y ear dru m s -

.

By the dim light of the luminous rootlets I could see Bul ge r ,

j u s t ahead of m e and I was content No shiver of fear ran dow n

, .

my back or robbed m y limbs of their full power to resist the

,

e v er increasing pre s sure of the air B ut as it grew stro n ge r and

-
.

stronger half of my own accord a n d half because Bulger set the

,

exa m ple I broke into a run O ur pace once quickene d it w a s

, .

i m possible fo r m e to slow up again O n on in a mad race my .

, , ,

feet s carcely touching the botto m of the tunnel I sped a long , ,

while the great pipe thro u gh which I was borne on the very
wi n gs of the gale sent forth its deep and m ajestic pe a l .

The re was something strangely a n d m ysteriously e x citing in

this race and all th a t kept me from enjoying it to my full ben t
,

was the thought that a sudden increase in t he violence of the

 A M A R VE LL O US UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

bla s t m ight toss me Violently 0 1 1 my face and possibly b r eak an

a r m for m e or I n ure me in so m e serious way
j .

A l l at once the deep pealing forth of the organ like tone ceased -
,

and in its stead ca m e the awful sound of rushi n g water Before .

I had ti m e t o think it w a s upon me s triking m e like a te r rific

, ,

blow fro m s o m e gigantic fist we a ring a boxing glove The next -

.

instant I was caught up like a cork on a mountain torrent ,

s w ayed from Side to side twisted tu r ned sucked down and cast
, , ,

up a ga in whirled over a n d over tossed and tu m bled rolled along

, , ,

like a wheel m y ar m s and legs the spokes !

,

Wonderful to relate I did n o t lose conscious n ess as this

,

terrible current shot m e like a stick of t imber th r ough a fl u m e ,

w hither I knew not only that the spe ed a n d volu m e went ever
,

on increasing un t il a t l ast the tu m ultuous torrent filled the

tunnel and robbed m e of light of breath of life of every
, , , ,

thi n g includi n g m y faithful and lovi n g B ulger !

,

H o w long i t lasted — this fea r ful ride in the a rms of these

mad w a ters rushing a s if for life or death through thi s n a rrow
,

bore — I know n o t ; I o n ly know th a t m y ears were suddenly

assailed with a mighty w hizz and rush of w a ter a s through the
nozzle of some gig a ntic hose and th a t I was shot out into the ,

glorious sunshine out into the grand free open a ir o f the upper
, , ,
'

world a n d sent flyi n g up toward the dea r blue sky w it h it s

, ,

fle cks of fl e e c y cloudlets and B ulger some twenty feet a he a d o f

,

m e and that t hen with a gracefully cu r ved flight through the

, ,

soft and bal m y air of harvest ti m e we both were ge n tly droppe d ,

into a quiet little lake nestled at the foot of a hillside yellow

with ripened corn In a mo m ent or so we h a d swu m a shore
.
.

B ulger w a nted to halt and shake the water f r o m his thick

co a t but I couldn t w a it for th a t Wet as he was I cl a s ped
,
’
. ,

h im to my he a rt while he showered c a resses on m e B ut not a .

wo r d was s a id not a s ound w a s uttered We were both of us

,
.

t o o happy to speak and if you h a ve ever been in that state

-

, ,

de a r fr iends you kno w h o w it feels

,
.

’
I can t describe it to yo u .
 A III A R V ELLO U S UN D E R G R O UN D JO UR N E Y

A t this m o m ent so m e m e n and boys cl a d in the g a r b of the

Russian peasant c a m e raci n g a cros s the fiel ds to see wh a t I w a s
about no doubt for I h a d stripped o ff m y he a vy outside cloth
, ,

ing a n d was Spre a ding it out i n t h e sun to dry

,
.

U pon sight of these red checked childr en of the upper world -

I w a s so overco m e with j oy th a t for a m inute or so I couldn t ’

get a syllable across my lips but maki n g a great effort I crie d ,

out
F athers ! B r others ! Where a m I ? Speak dear souls
“
In north e aste r n Siberia little soul replie d the eldest o f
-
, ,

the party not fa r from the b a nks of the O bi ; but whence

,
“

co m est thou ? By S a int Nicholas I believe thou wast spit out ,

”
o f the spouting well ! What art thou doing here a lone ?
I paid no attention to the que s tion I was thinking of so m e .

thing else o f m o r e i m po r ta nce to me to wit : my splendid ,

a chieve m ent the m a rvellous underground jour n ey I had just

,

co m pleted fully five h u nd r e d m iles in length p a ssing c o m

, ,

p le t e l y under the U ral Mount a ins ! A fter a s hort stay at the

nearest vill a ge I engaged the be s t guide th a t w a s to be h a d and
, ,

crossi ng the U rals by the pass in the mo s t direct line r e entered ,

-

Ru ss ia a n d made h a ste to joi n th e first gove r n m ent train o n its

w a y to St P etersburg . .

H aving desp a tched an a v a n t co u r ie r with letters to m y be

lo v ed p a r ents info r ming the m of my good he a lth a n d where
,

abouts I p as sed s eve r al weeks very pleasantly in the Russi a n

,

c a pital and then by easy stages set out for home

, .

The elder baron came a s far a s Riga to meet m e and br o ught ,

me the best of news fro m Castle Tru m p that m y dear mother ,

w a s in perfect health and that she and every man wo m a n a n d

, , ,

child in and abo u t the ca s tle were anxiously waiting to give me

a real German welcome back ho m e again A n d here dear .
,

friends m it he r z lzche n Gr it sse Bulger and I take our leave of

’

, ,

ou
y .
L
llllflB llllllll fillll HIS
illllll T
‘ ’
W lllll D
UIlllB 02; B
llll fll
‘ ‘

P R ES S N O T IC ES

B O ST O N T IM E S g ll L ck w d i th i g i f t igi l . dh M r . In e r so o oo s no n no or na an e

i igi l T h m t p ti l c itic w ul d t d t d y h im th t d i bl e
s or na . e os ar a r o no are o en a e s ra

gift ft gl c t h i Littl B
a er a T u m p L ik t h g t M u nch u
an e a s e ar o n r .
’
e e re a a se n ,

t h littl B
e h p i f t v l lu t f dv tu
e aron f v f i m gi
as a a ss o n or ra e , a s o a en re , a e er o a na

ti on H . y dd qu thi g ; ccid t v h d f ut id t h
e s e e s, s a s, an oes e er n s a en s n e er ear o o s e e

lu tic ylu m d M L ck w d p g t t h i
na as u c t v y h d; t
s an r . o oo
’
s a es es s r e so r es a e er an o
‘
g ppl
ra w ith m g cy
e i b th h i m — h i m ply w lk v it W
an e er en s en e a e S a s o er . e

o w Me L ck w d th k t f th t h h
r . o gl ct d t w p m l
oo an s, oo, or a e as n e e e o ra a ora

a ro u d hi t l n dh gi v i m p l y d lightful x m p l f t h
s a e s, a n t f as en us s a e e a e o e ar o

Su t i d f li g
s a ne oo n .
”

U T I C A H E R A LD A b k w h ich m ight ily b t d . f t h p thu m u oo e as e ra e one o e os o s

ch pt a f th
‘
A bi N ight
e rs o f it tyl g
e dp i g th
ra an s,
’
so ar as s s e o e s, an o s se ss n , as e

l ittl B b v ‘ lm t O i t l f f cy T h p i t ’
e a ro n o b se r es, an a os r en a exu e I an c e o an . e c uI es

th y h dly w d ful
e ar e d i g f th y u g B
ar as d hi m on er as th e o n s o e o n aro n an s o re

w d ful c fi d t B u lg
on er S u ly v w uch
on an th e d g h , er . re ne er as s an o r o as e .
”

NA T I O NA L T R I B U N E Th t v l d dv t u f B T um p dt he . e ra e s an a en re s o aro n r an

b ulld g i d d x t di y v m
o a re n th th
ee f Si b d t h
‘
e rao r nar , e en o re so an o se o n a e

S il a Th b
or k i f u ll f qu i t hu m
.
’
e id p l itti g t ti m
oo Th B
s o a n or, s e-S n a es . e ar o n

is an t m ly p c ci u y u g t
ex r e d Bu lg
e th u gh h c re t t lk i
o o s o n s e r , an er, o e an n o a , s

gift d w it h t h w l dly w i d m d cut

e f e P im Mi i t
or s o an a e n e ss o a r e n s er .
”

WO M A N S C YC L E P Mu ch u w h i p t t i i t h ick f ti m
’
. oor n a se n on s Ie
'
u a on n e n o e .

A f w g e ti l t d h w uld h v h d
enera ch c t ll H i i v tiv
ons a e r an e o a e a no an e a a . s n en e

g iu w u l d h v f ll b l w th t f
en s o p t f a g t d ily I m gi
e a en e o a o a re or er or a rea
’
a . a

na ti i ccu t m d w d y t
on s a t u di g fl ight I t p f m
s o e i f no a a s o as o n n s . er or s a se r e s o

th m i thi b k w h ich i l illu t t d c m ic lly t m k t h m ll

e n s oo , s a so s ra e so o a as o a e e s a

b y it
o S th fl d w iggl w ith d light w hil h i
on e oor ld guff w b i t an r e e , e s e er s a o s er

ous ly It i i f ct
. fu y b k s, n a a nn oo .

NE W Y O R K SU N A v y w hi m ic l d i g i u t l i th t titl d . er s a an n en o s a e s a en e
L ittl B T u m p d H i W d f u l D g B u lg
e aro n r Y u g ld d an s on er o er .
’
o n or o re a ers

w ill pp ci t t h hu m
a re f th u th T h ill u t ti
a e b y G g Wh t
e or o e a or . e s ra ons eor e ar o n
Ed w d d m i b l y u ppl m t t h t x t
ar s a ra s e en e e .

A LT A C A LI F O R N I A N H th m yth l gy T h A bi N ight dth . ea en o o , e ra an s,

’
an e
m d o f i yt l
e rn b ught t m i d by t h w d f u l é
a r a e a re but th i ro o n e on er s en e s, e re s no
e v i d c f pl gi i m t tli g igi lity b i ng f m i t h uth
en e o a ar s li , s ar n or na e ar o re n e a or s
’
ne

th u ptiti u i m it ti
an s rre M y f th m v l o i g i u ly f u d d
s a on . an o e ar e s are n en o s o n e on
th ci ti fi c th i
e s enf c t y d ti p pul
eor es h tc m i g o re en e ar s, an sa res on o ar s or o n s
or d lu i e c v y d i t h g u i f m p il u p i c T h uth
s o n s ar e on e e n e se o so e er o s ex er en e . e a or
h as ev id tly gi v f ll but h m len i t igi l d p li fi c i m gi
en u ar e ss r e n o an or na an ro a
na ti on .

P O R T L A N D T E LE G R A M O f th m t i t ti g t i es f y u g . ne o e os n eres n s or or o n

p pl v i u d b y A m ic p u bl i h
eo e e er I t hu m
ss e i c t gi u it f an er an s er . s or s on a o s, s un
ro llicki g w h il t h v i ty d t i hi g tu f t h
n , e p i c f th
e ar e an as o n s n na re o e ex er en es o e

p i h ld t h
a r d c pti v u til t h
o s d T h illu t ti n b y Wh t
e rea er Ed a e n e en . e s ra o s ar o n
w ard l d s dd d ch m t t h w k
en ah a e ar o e or .
”
 L
llllflB
fl lll Tllllllll flllll HIS
l
‘ ‘
W
flllllfllllll llflll B
lllllfll
‘ ‘

P R ES S N O T IC ES

N Y
. . T R I B U NE ck w d cl v b k th u gh m d ll d
. M r d ub t
. Lo oo
’
s e er oo , o o e e , no o , on

M u ch u n ti v h
a w hi m ic l
se n s n a r r a
’
igi lity f i v ti w hich t h e, as a s a or na o n en on e

fi t B rs m ight h v aro n v i d I t i qu ti w h th t h v y y uth f ul a e en e . s a es on e er e er o

d w ill f ully pp ci t l l t h f w hich

rea er lda d fi d th i ; b u t
re a e a e un an o e r re a er n s e re n

it i c t i th t t h b k w ill t b d pp d u til t h l t p digi u d

s er a n a e oo no e ro e n e as ro o s a v en

tu i b b d A re s a b k f f t tic i m p i b iliti g v ly t f th i t i
so r e . s a oo o an as o ss e s, ra e se or , s

th m t tt cti v d vi d i m y
e os a ra e e se n an a se a so n .
”

P U B LI C O P I N I O N O f th j lli t d m t llick i g t i .
“
f the ne o e o es an os ro n s or es o

y It i
e ar .l d ti m child s t
s an o y f ull f m v l m y t y d d v tu e
-
e re n
’
s or , o ar e , s er , an a en r .

Th uth I g ll L ck w d h
e a o r, cc d d i w iti g c pit l b y b k
n e r so o oo , as s u ee e n r n a a a o
’
s oo

th g i‘ t a c f ci ti g d w h l m
s a on e w ll as b i g g d lit tu
na n an o e so e , as e as e n oo era re .

Th b u d t illu t ti
e a n d w b y G g Wh t E d w d
an s ra d m i bly
o ns, ra n eor e ar o n ar s, a r e a ra

ut d
e xe c d f m e st , gan f c m t t t h i t t s w ll t h
or a ron re -e n o r e en o e n e re s a e as e

b uty f t h w k
ea o e or .
”

S A C R A M E NT O B E E A cl w ll w itt i t ti g ch ild . b k b t “
e an , e r en, n ere s n ren s
’
oo , u

it dv tu s a wen d f l d qu i tly t l d th t m y p
r e s ar e s o t wh
on er u an so a n o a an a ar e n o

w l d buy t h b k
ou C h i tm p e t f h is chil d
oo w ul d b b guil d
as a r s as r e se n or ren o e e e

i t d i g it f h i w m u m t
n o rea n or s o n a se en .
”

S T P A U L D I SP A T C H
. It i f ci ful t l w ith h lt h y t th ugh ut . s a an a e a ea on e ro o .

M v it i put i o re o er , tt cti v f m t h c v b i g u iqu c m bi ti

s n an a ra e or , e o er e n an n e o na on

f g y b l ck
o ra db w , w hil t h p i t i cl
a an d t h ill u t ti
ro v y t n, e e r n s e ar an e s ra ons er a

t ctiv ra
‘
B lg w e .L ittl B T u m p s c m p i f m h i bi th ; t h
u er
’
as e ar o n r
’
o an o n ro s r e

l ti f h i tt c h m t f h i m t
re a on o s a d th i dv tu
a m g t ge
en or s as e r an e r a en res a on s ran

p pl eo di w c u t i
e s an i v y n ne t t i i g T h b k w ill b h tily
o n r es s er en er a n n . e oo e e ar

w lc m d b y b th b y
e o e d gi l d it i o f b k t pl c i th i h d
o s an r s, a n s a sa e oo o a e n e r an s.

B R O O K L Y N E A G LE A d light fully b u d d c tic b y t y i ’

. e a s r an sa r as o s s or s

Littl B T u m p d H is W d f ul D g B u lg w ith qu lly b u d d

e ar o n r an on er o e r,
’
e a a s r an

w d e ful illu t ti
on r It i m k bl f s ra it p w f b u dity s
ons . s as re ar a e or s o ers o a s r a
‘G ulli v s T v l ‘A lic i W d l d if t c ti fi t
’ ’ ’
er ra e s or th e n on e r an , no so sa r as c as e rs ,

d t h illu t ti
an e t m ly b u d t v ti but w k f t ch c
s ra on s are no ere a s r ra es e s, or s o ar ar a

m i tic lly d i d w i g B ulg i t uly w d ful d g b ut

er s a an n ra m w n . er s r a on er o , no ore on

d f l th er u h i ph m an lly b i y y u g m t s d th g
en o t v i ty f ena ra n o n as e r an e rea ar e o

p p t re u p p l h
o s e ro f l l i w ith
s eo e e a s n .
”

C H R I ST I A N S T A N D A R D
r O f th t g w h i m ic l j l i h .
“
ne o o se s r an e, s a , u e sv e r n s

m ro c w hic h w hil t h y h v
an es ith m i i ,
m l pl t pu p
e e a e ne er ss o n n or o ra , o or r o se ,

t g ly f ci ti g t chil d
a r e s r an e T hi qu i t d cu i u v lu m f v
as na n o ren . s a n an r o s o e o ne er

t b f g tto- l
e- o r i d d th m
o en tt ctiv b y u m u g t qu
ore s r en ere e o re a ra e n e ro s ro e s e,

giggl b e g tti g illu t ti e s- b y G g Wh t E d w d

e n s ra o n s, e or e ar o n ar s .
”

H E A LT H A N D H O M E T hi w k w ill d l igh t b th y u g d l d I t . s or e o o n an o .

giv i f ludic u d v tu
e s a se r e s o f th L ittl B d hi f m u d g
ro s a en re s o e e ar o n an s a o s o

th t at ly m u i g but i m y c
ar e n o on p i t u ful m l I t c t i
a s n , , n an a se s , o n se ora s . on a ns

v 300 p g s l l f w hich b i m v w ith g ui hu m

o er a e , a o d i ju t t h b k r o er en ne o r , an s s e oo

f b y wh or o w si g th i fi t p t o ar e v f l g g w th
e ar n e r rs an s, o r e en o a ar er ro .

M I N NE A P O LI S T R I B U N E A m c f w d l d f ld d y u g .
“
ro an e o on e r an , or o an o n .

I t w ul d b d i ffi cult t fi d v lu m
o e f dv t w hich w ul d u p o M n a o e o a e n u re s o s r a ss r.

L ck w d p
o t ti
oo f th
’
s w d f t v l
r e se n d f th d d
a f th
ons o e on ers o ra e ,
an o e ee s o e

v li t h a wh
an t u m p t th i b v y d d i g ft l u gh b l
e ro e s o r d e e r ra er an ar n a er a a e an

m u i g tyl
a s n s e .

LE E A N D S H E P A R D P ub l is h e r s Bo st o n
 ‘
ittleCaptainD
L litilflStiB
oppelkop!til theS uttlelanfl
P RES S N O T IC E S

C LE V E LA N D P L A I ND E A L E R I g ll L ck w d w h d light d d b . n e r so o oo ,
o e e an e

w ild d d y u g d ldw it h th q u
e re re a ers xt v g o L ittl B
n T um p
an o o se eer e ra a a n z as , e ar o n r

d Littl Gi t B b h p p t t d th j k f t h m ki d i h i Ext ’
an e an oa ,
as er e ra e a no er o e o e sa e n n s ra

or di y Exp i c f Litt l C pt i D pp lk p t h Sh
n ar er en f B bbl l
es o d Th e a a n o e o on e o re s o u e an .
’
e

b y wh w
o ,
t w i i hi m lf
o t f j v il D J kyll d M H yd h
as ns n l t se ,
a so r o u en e r. e an r . e, as a o

of u p i i g
s r d c m ic l dv t u
r s n th t an t d by hi m l f
o p h p w
a a en re s a ar e n ar r a e se or er a s e

ought t y m t u thfu lly th ugh u g m m t ic lly th m l f — w ith d lightful

o sa ore r ,
o n ra a a , e se e

si m plicity .
”

B O ST O N H O M E J O U R NA L F it q u i t c c pti it h v b . or s a n on e o ns as n e er e e n su r

p d if q u ll d by ythi g f t h ki d T h id f c ti g ch ct lik
a sse ,
e a e ,
an n o e n . e ea o rea n a ar a er e

th t f Lit t l C pt i D pp l k p w
a o e g t t k f g i u T h dv tu
a a n o fe o as a rea s ro e o en s. e a en res o

t h L ittl C pt i i B bbl l
e e d a f t h m t m v ll u ch
a n n ct dc
u t tly e an ar e o e os ar e o s ar a e r , an o ns an

l df m
ea upi t
ro th till m
o ne s p i i g d th y
r r se l t d w ith
o a no er s o r e su r r s n ,
an e ar e re a e a

p k l d tu l
s ar e an th t k p t h na d hi g h i t t c ti u lly t h t p
r a n e ss a ee e rea er s
’
n eres on n a on e o

m t os u d f xp ct cy I f M L ck w d
ro n o e b t h i w c d thi
e an . r . o oo c an ea s o n re or on s ex

t r av a g th h w ill i d d t d t h ch m pi i m gi t f t h w ld
an z a , en e n ee s an e a on a na o r o e or .

N O R T H WE ST E R N M A G A Z I N E I g ll L ckw d h qu it u td him . n e r so o oo as e o o ne

se l f thi tim T h t u bl i th
s e .2 87 l g p g f pu
e j y m t df
ro e s ere ar e ar e a es o re en o en an un

f ory u p m uth d b y
o r O d th en m ll -
wo t l t y t p til l y u v
e o ds, an e s a o ne s on
’
e ou s e o
’
e r ea

th m v y e e t ter p k f l tti g th m t k t h b k t v y p g
o ne , no o s tw eat o e n e a e e oo a e er a e or o o

l k t t h d l l pict u w hich Clift J h

oo a e ro h fi tt d t t t xt L ittl
h res
‘ on o n so n a s so e o e e . e

C pt ia D pp lk p w
a n tw child
o ll d i t
e O d th i dv tu ias o re n ro e n o o ne , an e r a en re s n

Gl u c u Gl u p t B bbl l d t h C tl fI d l c d l wh ll k pt v
’
a s e o , u e an , e as e o n o en e , an e se er e a e e en

p ldm i t
oor o t d T h b k i b u d p ttily i g y g
e n er es e t u ch d up w ith
. e oo s o n re n ra - r e e n, o e

d k d g ld ; j u t t h b k f y u b y Xm t ’ ”
ar er an o s e oo or o r o s as ree .

T H E H O U S EK E E P E R ‘L ittl C pt i D pp lk p b i g t h xt di y ’
. e a a n o e o e n e e r ao r n ar
xp i c f t h dd t d m t m u i g littl f ll w th t v m d f u d hi
,

e er en es o e o es an os a s n e e o a e er a e or o n s
w y f m wa d fu l b byh d d it m y t i
ro on er t i t th big c y w ld
a oo an s s e r es ou n o e r az or
I g ll L ck w d t h u th f thi b k m k it h i b u i t w w y
.
,

n e r so o oo t e a or o s oo a es s s n e ss o s o a a a
i t h u d d m ll p ck t f th t t h b y gi l w h
, ,

l t fo o se n se n o a n re s a a e s o n o n s e n se , s o a e o or r o
rea d t h th h u d d p g t h t t ll ll b u t t h i m p ibl b u diti f t h
s e re e n re a es a e a a o e o ss e a s r es o e
littl C pt i w ill b t h h ppi
e a a n d th w i e e a er an e se r .

B O ST O N C O U R I E R Thi w c f t fi di g f th m t m u i g
. di s e o n e ss o n n one o e os a s n an n

g i b k f it ki d th t h b w itt i
e n o us oo s o ti m I t i p t
s n u d a as een r en n o ur e s s on aneo s an
p kli g d th i t h u gh u t u f ili g u cc i f v l u p i u ch
.

s ar n an ere s ro o an n a n s e ss o n o no e s r r se s s as
ly t h m t f t tic lly f til f cy c u ld h v d vi d T h c t l id th t f
,

on e os an a s a er e an o a e e se e en ra e a, a o
lly t w p c pit l g d gh t m k t h f tu
.

th b y w h w
e o oi as r e a o e r so n s , s a a a o ne , oo e no u o a e e or ne
of y b k
an d it i c pit lly c
oo i d t,
an s a a ar r e ou .

N E W LO N D O N T E L E G R A P H ‘ L ittl C pt i D pp lk p i t . e a a n o e o s an e x r av a
g c u i u w v c c iv d d d pict d i p
an z a as r o s as d pictu as e I g ll
er on e e an e e n r o se a n re n e r so
L ck w d h w d i Littl B T u m p h w p ibl it w t b d lightf l y t
.

o oo s o e n e ar o n r o o ss e as o e a e u e
p f ctly u bj cti bl Mu ch u
er e no Litt l C pt i D pp lk p f m b gi
e o na e i g n a se n e a a n o e o
’
ro e nn n
d i fi ll d w ith t ci g d b bi g dv t u nd t h f cil p cil fu lly
.
,

t o en s e e n r an n an a so r n a en r e s, a e a e en
u ppl m t th p u ch w k h b tt m pt d by A m ic w it
,

s e N
en s e en o s d or as een a e e er an r e r s, an
t u cc w hich t t d d M I g ll i h i f m chi v m t c
.

th g e rea s e ss a t f il en e r n e r so n s or er a e e en a nn o a
p t d w T h pi it gy d i m pl w y i w hich t h tiv
.

t b o e re ea e no . e s m r ener an s e a n e n ar r a e se e s
t hug t h p ibl d it ff ctiv th t w h v t k it p fi d hi m lf tu i g
, ,

o e o ss e ren er so e e e a oe er a es u n s se rn n
p g ft p g u til h u w illi gly c m t t h l t
a e a er a e n e n n o es o e as .
”

B O ST O N G LO B E Littl C pt i D pp lk p w h y D pp lk p it i
. c y e a a n o e o o e o s ne e ssar
t o read i b u d t b t m d u u cc s o dd
n v pl c o child cl ic
e a re en o s s e ss , a n e se r es a a e as a
’
s ass
w ith th w hich d light d b yh d ”
o se e e o ur o oo .

LE E A ND S H EP A R D P ub l is h e r s B o s t o n