The Tapestry Room: A Child's Romance

ere on th

re and not die, b

Ing

?" said Hugh, resting on his oars half-way to the isl

ey, Jeanne?" he said. "First Dudu, then Houpet and the

don't need them any more," said Jea

es them?"

The fairies, I su

meant when you kept sa

ream-spirits, or something like that. Never mind who they are if they giv

o afraid of them now

Ours aren't so bright green, and their eyes aren't red, and they can't talk. Oh no, o

said Hugh. "Certainly this is a funny country. But h

slightly rippling its surface as it passed. The strange, even light which had shone over all the scene ever since the children had stepped out at the hillside door had now grown paler: it was not now bright enough to distinguish more t

" said Jeanne. "It makes me s

"But I don't mind this sort of sad feeling. I think it's rather nice

t times monotonous, and yet inspiriting, like the beating of a drum; and the children listened to it with actual enjoyment. It went on for a good while, and then stopped as suddenly as it had begun; and then again, after some minutes of perfect silence, it recommenced in a low and regular chant-if such a word can be used for croaking-a steady, regular croak, croak, as if an immense number of harsh-sounding

icy winds from the snow-clad hills, and days of dreariness and solitude. Each and all came in their turn; but, at the last, all melted, all grew rather, into one magnificent song of bliss and triumph, of joyful tenderness and brilliant hope, too pure and perfect to be imagined but in a dream. And as the last clear mellow notes

an was resting there, again to return to earth. But it was not so. Slowly, like the light of a dying star, the brightness faded; there was no longer a trace of the swa

e!" sa

" said

it not an angel,

er little head

"It was wonderful. Did you

could ever tell it again, Je

e frogs," a

he frogs,"

ught the swan was going to

children," he repeated, with a strange solemnity, "for such as the swan that is dying. And now once mor

nds in adieu, a

old-and take a tiny sleep? You might go to sleep too, if you like. I should think there will be time before we row back to the shore, only I do not kno

her sleepy, Jeanne, but still I think I had better not go quite asleep. You lie down, and I'll just paddle

d not feel troubled as to how they were to get back again; he had great faith in Dudu, and felt sure it would all come right. But gradually he too began to feel very sleepy; the dip of the oars and the sound of little J

uriosity grew so great that it half overcame his drowsiness. He opened his eyes just enough to look up. Yes, he was right, the boat was gliding steadily along, the oars were doing their work, and who do you think were the rowers? Dudu on one side,

he said to himself: and tha

ht," was the next thing he h

t up and rub

e wa

ght; and as for where he was, he was lying on the floor of the tapestry room close to the part of the wall where stood, or hung, the castle with the long flight of steps, which Jeanne and he h

aid, "good-night. I have

Wait!" cried Hugh, starting to h

down in the chickens' house, in the corner of the yard, Houpet and his friends were calmly roosting; fat little Nibble soundly sleeping in his cage, cuddled up in the hay; poor, placid Grignan reposing in his usual corner under the laurel bush. All these things Hugh would have seen, a

all, bed is very nice, even though that little carriage was awfully jolly, and the boat

r that had wakened him, and she told him it was rather later than usual. Hugh, however, was so eager to see Jeanne and talk over with her their wonderful adventures that he needed no hurrying. But, to his surprise, when he got to Jeanne's room, where as usual their "little br

ly, "you are rather late this

e; she simply meant what she said. In his astonishme

said, quite

the matter? How funny you look!" and

; old Marcelline

to see you just the same as usual

d Jeanne, seemingly m

oachman, and the stair down to the frog's country, and the frogs

ened wide

ou've been dreaming a

disappointed that h

unkind to say that," and he turne

im and threw her a

"I didn't mean to vex yo

r dark eyes with hi

n't you remember the trees changing their colours s

m so earnestly that

re and part not; can there be two of me, I wonder? But please, Chéri, don't ask me any more. It puzzles me so, and then perhaps I may say something to vex you. Let us play at our da

emed perfectly content with her every-day world, delighted with a new and beautiful china dinner-service which her godmother had sent her, and absorbed in cooking all manner of wonderful dishes for a grand dolls' feast, for which she was sending invitations to a

didn't mind the cooking; he had even submitted to a paper cap which Jeanne had constructed for him on the model of that of the "chef" downstairs; he found great consolation in the beating up an egg which Marcelline had got for them as a great tre

uld be ever so much nicer to have all the animals at our feast. We c

ink of such a thing, Chéri! Of course it would be fun if they would, but fa

ghed so heartily that Hugh could not help laug

funny of Jeanne to forget about all the clever things they did! But it is no use saying any more to her. It woul

The dolls behaved irreproachably, with which their owner was rather inclined to twit Hugh, when, just at the end of the banquet, greatly to his satisfaction, a certain Mademoisel

e worse for wear, overcome by the distressing spectacle, or by the sleeve of Jeanne's dress as she leant across them, fell off their chairs too-one, like Zéphyrine, on to the table, the other on to t

ed-up egg is mixed with the orange-juice soup. Oh dear! oh dear! and I thought we s

ing stupid sticks of dolls at your feasts.

r entertainment, he left off teasing her, and having succeeded in rescuing some remain

nds terribly-don't you, Chéri?") she added, as a parenthesis. "No, I don't care for dolls. You are quite right about them; they are stupid, and you can't make fancies about them, because their faces always

me tell him a story?" asked Marc

h. "Why do you look at me

perhaps Monsieur finds so many stories in the tapestry th

eant; whether she knew of the wonders concealed behind the tapestry, or w

suddenly at last, "I

said Marcelline. "Do any of us understand oursel

we don't. It is very puzzl

I was a little girl," began Marce

n there since, Marc

iled again he

. I should not have been near so happy as I

re for a great many years any way, Marcelline. I heard mamma telling a lady the other day

ose nearest us do. I might have gone to that country without your mamma know

ing up suddenly, "that

e night before, that she was far, far away, and he began to f

y. She jumped on to Marcelline's

o puzzle me-just what you know I don't like. Go back to your own country, naughty old Marcelline; go ba

emoiselle?" Mar

ple to go on about things I don't understand. Now you'

ain. She seemed as if she was going to speak, when just then a servant came upstairs to say that Jeanne's moth

nother day, Marcelline," she s

line, half to herself, half to Hugh, who was follow

d?" he

thoughts do not come so quickly as they once did, and

would never, I mean, be too old to visit that cou

ht not be able to tell them. Go and look for them for yourself,

d and shook her head. So the boy went slowly downstairs after Jeanne, w

o the castle, Jeanne really must come wit