Part 1 (1/2)
The Fairy School of Castle Frank.
by Grant Balfour.
CHAPTER I.
ROMANTIC ROBIN.
I've found at last the hiding place Where the fairy people dwell, And to win the secrets of their race I hold the long-sought spell.
_Havergal._
One hundred years ago, in the great land of Canada, there lived a boy whose name was Robin. His home was in the grand old woods, with wapitis, wolves and bears. It was near the edge of a deep ravine that opened out on the east by a slow winding river flowing into one of the great blue lakes. And the name of his home, though built of wood, was Castle Frank.
The castle was well-furnished, for Robin's father was a great man. The best rooms had comfortable carpets and carved oak furniture, while on the walls were interesting pictures, representing people of high rank, and battles on sea and land. In one room there was a fine arrangement of muskets, pistols and swords, together with Indian spears and bows and arrows. In another room there was a library, containing books of religion and science, histories and tales of adventure, and story-books for children. With the weapons and stories the boy beguiled away many a pleasant hour.
But there was something more pleasant than guns and spears and stories.
Outside the castle, in little houses built of wood, with doors and windows of netted wire, were a number of pets, as foxes, rabbits and squirrels. To these Robin was greatly devoted, he fed them regularly with his own hand, and kept their dwellings sweet and clean. In a gra.s.sy enclosure where their little cotes stood, he let them have liberty every day, watching over them carefully, that no harm should come from savage beasts or birds of prey. He had also other pets--a white pony, big dogs and little ones, and beautiful birds--which he loved much and tended faithfully. So that among all these companions Robin pa.s.sed much of his time very happily, even more so than when accompanying friendly Indians shooting game in the wild woods miles away, or fis.h.i.+ng from a canoe in Lake Ontario.
A boy that is truly kind to animals will love men and, of course, boys.
This quality and what was brave and honest shone plainly in his clear, blue eyes, as they s.h.i.+ne in all kinds of eyes that have them.
Unspoiled by city dainties, and clad in the grey shooting suit which he usually wore, he looked strong, active and healthy. Yet Robin had at times a dreamy, meditative look. Away from the stir and hum and engagement of city life, he dwelt in a kind of fairy-land, where flowers and trees and solitary paths called forth quiet questionings and aroused reflection, gilded by mystery and imagination. The tales of Indian life, and the stories of mighty giants and magic-working fairies, told and read in the quaint castle in the evenings, cultivated the growth of his imaginative mind. So that, mingled with his natural brightness and activity, there were moods that occasionally carried him under the shade of some elm or maple tree, to sit and see pictures of wonderful creatures in the beauty and melancholy of nature all around.
For this reason his loving mother called him _Inabandang_, a dreamer of dreams.
CHAPTER II.
FAIRYLAND.
With the woodland fairies I can talk, I can list their silver lays; Oh! pleasant in a lonely walk Is the company of fays.
_Havergal._
The ravine adjoining the castle was a mysterious looking place, dark with dense underwood, the haunt of wild beasts and the home of numberless birds, now sending forth awful cries and inspiring songs, then silent as the grave. A tortuous difficult pathway in the hollow extended along its length, while one or two animal tracks in the neighborhood crossed it from side to side. A few gra.s.sy s.p.a.ces here and there slightly relieved the gloom, while a small stream of water moved slowly along its base, now forming into pools where little fishes leaped, then gradually unwinding itself and stealing softly on under a wealth of branches and green leaves.
Down to that stream Robin wandered alone one beautiful afternoon in June. He followed its course as best he could till he found it turning into a deep, dark, eddying pool beside and partly under the steepest slope of the ravine. The opening underneath the projecting bank, though large, was almost concealed by overhanging branches. Robin crawled out on a strong beech branch, brushed aside the leaves and peered in. It seemed as if it were a water-gateway into the heart of the great ridge, and had a weird misty look. Robin said to himself, ”Wouldn't it be fine if I got a real peep at some of those brownies and fairies I hear so much about! Wouldn't mother stare when I got home and told her!” He therefore waited and imagined and watched, until he got quite excited at the thought of seeing something wonderful. But no, nothing came, and he was disappointed, although he only half believed that anything strange might really appear. His excitement cooled down, and then after a time he yawned, feeling weary; yet, retaining a lingering hope, he stretched himself comfortably across two or three adjoining branches, his face downwards, with one arm and one leg dangling below, and finally fell asleep. It was not a very becoming or a very wise act in that riskful, dismal hollow; yet, are not men themselves but thoughtless boys in bigger shape?
While thus under the blissful spell of Morpheus, Robin heard a noise that made his heart throb with expectation. He pushed aside the leaves and looked in. There, sure enough, something was coming out that was not common. Nearer it came on the surface of the pool. What could it be? A beautiful little s.h.i.+p, with white sails spread, and manned by Mississagua sailors dressed in vivid red. The gallant s.h.i.+p sailed round the pool most gracefully, and Robin's eyes looked down and followed it with intense interest. When this was done three times all sails were taken down, then a silver anchor was thrown out, and the s.h.i.+p stood still. Two Indian sailors stepped forward from the rest, seized something, swung their arms to and fro for a moment, and then flung a long ladder of yellow silken ropes right over an overhanging branch a short distance away from Robin's head.
After a brief pause, a beautiful little lady in white, with a golden crown upon her head, ascended the ladder and stood erect among the leaves of the branch. Then the captain of the s.h.i.+p took off his peaked hat and called for a cheer for their good Queen Celeste of happy and beautiful Fairyland. And the sailors cheered Her Majesty mightily.
Robin thought her the prettiest creature he had ever seen, and when she smiled upon him sweetly, he put his hand to his cap politely and smiled his best in return.
”Art thou the dreamer of dreams?” enquired the Queen with a merry but dignified look.
”I am,” answered Robin with a blush, and wondering what was going to happen.