SUDDENLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM I SAW A TALL MAN DRESSED IN A MOORISH COSTUME. " "He is n't, any more," I said "that is, he 's dead, you know." 66 "Then I'll introduce myself. I am your great-grandfather's Familiar, or assistant spirit. My!" said he; asking, after a moment, I aided him served him, in fact, in his busi"who told you so?" "His lawyer." "Well, well," said my queer visitor, "then I suppose it must be so. But it is very thoughtless of him, and very inconvenient. What am I to do, then, with Grufflebub?" "Who or what is Grufflebub?" I asked. "Grufflebub," said he, "is the Enchanter. I have him here. Grufflebub, appear!" He waved his hand as he spoke, and suddenly in the middle of the room I saw a tall man dressed in a Moorish costume, standing with his hands tied behind him, guarded by a small and ugly Dwarf who carried a battle-ax. Then my visitor went on: "You called the old man your great-grandfather, so I suppose you must be his heir and successor, if he is, as you say, dead." I nodded, and waited further information. ness. You knew that, did n't you?" "Not at all," I answered. "I thought my great-grandfather was a man of letters or a student. I never thought he -" "Was a magician? Why, certainly, and very distinguished. One of the last things he did was to send me after Grufflebub." and I frowned at him; but the Moorish En- great-grandfather glided through one of the chanter simply began to whistle, to show that closed windows and stood on the other side of he did n't care. At this the Familiar said to the table. the Dwarf: "Make him stop that! The Dwarf raised his battle-ax, and cut off the Enchanter's head, whereupon the head flew up to the ceiling and went sailing about like a toy-balloon. I noticed that there was no more blood shed than if a doll's head had been cut off. In fact, the Enchanter seemed to be stuffed with something that looked like pink cottonwool. "You have summoned me," said the figure from the portrait. "Quite by accident," I replied coolly. "But now you are here, I should like to ask you a few questions." "They shall be answered," said he. "Do you mean to stay so?" was my next question. "Can't help myself," replied the portrait, with an unpleasant smile. Very well," I remarked, somewhat relieved. "Now, is there anything you would like me to attend to in winding up your affairs?" "Does n't that hurt him?" I asked. "Not at all," answered the Familiar; "but he does n't like it. "C You see, he can't talk or whistle until we put his head on again. You don't know much about magic, do you?" "Nothing whatever," I replied. "In fact, when I touched the bell here, it was entirely by accident. Do you always appear when the bell sounds?" "Yes," answered the Familiar; "I have to." "And how can one make you disappear? I asked innocently. "By means of a wave of your grandfather's wand," said the Familiar. "It is probably in the drawer of the table there." I opened the drawer, and saw a black stick about as long as my fore-arm. "Is this it?" I asked, showing it. "Yes," the Familiar replied; "that indeed is the very same But I had waved the wand before he could end his sentence, shouting, "Away with you all!" and no sooner were the words pronounced than Familiar, Enchanter, and Dwarf were gone, and I was again alone. "I am well rid of them," I said to myself. "To think of being associated with such creatures! My great-grandfather must have had peculiar tastes. I am surprised to think of his being a magician. What a sly old fellow he must have been! I should like to talk with him about it. I wish his picture was alive, could talk, and would appear here now." There I was with the magic wand in my hand, making a wish without a thought of the consequences! No sooner were the words pronounced than the portrait or image of my "There are a few matters I had to leave unfinished," said the image; "but I'm afraid you will find them rather troublesome. In the first place, there's a giant down in the cellar whom I had meant to finish off the first rainy day. You might slay him." "Slay him!" I exclaimed, greatly shocked. "How can I slay him? Why, I don't know anything against him. anything against him. It would be coldblooded cruelty." "But you can't release him," the figure insisted, but without any emotion, " for he would do an enormous amount of damage." "Bother the giant!" I exclaimed, perplexed by this argument. "Why can't he just die of his own accord ? I wish he would- that would save me a lot of trouble!" "He is dead," said my great-grandfather's likeness. "How do you know?" I asked in surprise. "Because you have wished it," replied he. Anything you wish will happen, while you hold that wand in your hand." 66 I gazed at the little stick, and turned it about in my hands. Then I again addressed the speaking likeness. "What else did you wish to see me about?" I inquired. "About carrying on the business here." "What business ?" "The Magic business. I don't know of any one else to attend to it." "But," I objected, "I have no talent for it, and I don't like it. What good does it do?" "Heaps of good," he answered readily. "Now, for instance, I know of a charming young man who is just starting out to seek his fortune. Soon he will come to a city where there is a beautiful princess, who declares she will never marry. He will fall desperately in love with her at first sight. Then she will tell him she has vowed never to marry any man who does not bring her a feather from the wing of the great golden swan that once a year visits the highest peak of the Calabrian Mountains." "Well?" I asked, as the ghost paused. "Well, you can get it for him, and charge him well for it." "But I don't care to," I answered coolly. "If the princess does n't wish to marry, she prefers to be single, no doubt." "But, my dear boy —" "I wish you'd go back to your frame," I said impatiently; and he did. I was alone again. "What a number of people there are," I reflected, "who like to bother themselves with other people's business! What have I to do with all these creatures? For my part, I wish—" But I stopped myself just in time. I still held the wand in my hand, and I remembered that I must be careful. "It is certainly very pleasant to think that I can have whatever I choose to call for," I said, turning the little wand over in my fingers. "I suppose I might be rich, or beautiful, or accomplished, or learned, good at repartee, or wise. Which shall I choose? " I began to revolve in my mind the various things I had longed for; but I could n't fix my choice on any of them. I desired to be a little cautious, for sometimes we don't like the things we think we shall like. At length, before making trial of the wand's power, I resolved to see a little more of my new castle. I wandered at will through the lofty rooms, examined the queer old furniture and tapestries, opened windows, stood upon balconies, went up long flights of stairs, and poked about in dusty nooks to my heart's content. Gradually I forgot my recent annoyances, and began to take pleasure in the quaintness of this medieval castle. So wandering, I came at length to an octagon room at the top of a lookout tower, projecting from an angle of the walls—one of the highest points of the castle. The view was exquisite. Against the afternoon sky were purple mountain peaks; near at hand were broad fields and gnarled forests; and here and there I saw, as I leaned from the window, broad roads leading far away. "Charming!" I exclaimed, entirely absorbed in my admiration of the scene. "One might be happy here for years. I wish I had a coach and four here, and then I might drive —” I said no more, for I was suddenly jammed against the window-sill with a bang, and a terrible commotion began in the small room behind me. Crash! smash! rickety-slam-whack! There they were the coach and four horses, crammed into the octagon room, and all the frightened team kicking like circus mules, trying to reduce the coach to splinters, and succeeding only too well. I feared every moment that I should be reduced to smithereens, and instantly remembered my wand. "I wish I was out of this room!" I yelled. And I was out of the window, and falling like a stone! If the tower had been lower, that would have been the end of my adventures; but it was very high, and before I had fallen more than five or six stories, I gasped out: "I wish I might stop falling!" I stopped instantly so quickly that the wand dropped from my hand, and I remained hung up in the air, about twenty feet away from the castle wall. It was better than being smashed, but exceedingly inconvenient. There I was, out of reach of everything but thin air. There was n't a creature in the castle, so far as I knew, nor any likelihood of passers-by. I thought of balloons, but dismissed the idea as useless; even a parachute would not have served me, for I could n't fall if I tried. For some minutes I was helpless; but at last, noticing that there was a light breeze blowing, I spread out my coat, and to my joy perceived that I was moving. The wind, however, carried me away from the castle, and toward the open country. I floated along comfortably enough, keeping a sharp lookout below, and after about half an hour perceived, to my delight, a small boy who was flying a kite. I called to him: "I WAS OUT OF THE WINDOW, AND FALLING LIKE A STONE.' "Hi, there, Johnny!" He looked all around, but did n't see me. "Below, there, Bub!" I called. "I will give you ten," I shouted. I explained to him that I wanted a little black stick that I had dropped, and told him about where he would find it; then I added: "But you must let me keep your kite for you while you are gone." I said this for two reasons: I wanted to be sure he would come back, and I meant to make the kite useful when he returned. He hauled in on the string until the kite was nearer the ground, and then brought the line into such a position that I could grasp it. As soon as I had taken hold the boy let go, and started at full speed for the castle. But I had forgotten my strange condition! No sooner did the boy let go, than the kite began to rise in the air, taking me with it. You see, I had no weight - for I could n't fall. Away I went, dragged along through the air, and so scared that for a time I did n't know what to do. Then my common sense returned. I let the cord run through my fingers when the wind blew hard, and held on lightly when the wind slackened. But despite all I could do, I was carried nearly a mile away by the time the boy returned, and would, no doubt, have gone farther but that the end of the string caught in a tree and held fast, just about the time I saw, This time he saw me, and, to my great sur- looking back, that the boy had returned. prise, began to laugh. "What are you laughing at?" I asked. "To see a man flying," was his answer, as he became sobered; for my tone was very He stood for a moment waving his hands in the air, and then, with the swiftness of light, I shot back to my starting-point, and remained hanging in the air above the little fellow's head. I did n't understand this at the time; but now I see that the boy must have wished, with the wand in hand, that I would return. My rapid flight had torn the kite to bits, but luckily I still had the string. "Now," I cried, " tie the stick to the string, and let me haul it up." "Where's my kite?" asked the boy. "It's broken," I answered, "but I will get -" "Well, that 's mean! I wish-" the boy began, angrily. But luckily I stopped him. I gave such a shout that he was frightened into silence. "Don't you say a word!" I yelled. "Here is your money,"- and I threw down the coins,"send me the stick, quick!" He picked up the money, pocketed it, and then tied the wand to the string. I drew it up breathlessly; and, no sooner was it safely in my possession, than I cried, "Now I wish I was safe and sound, and happily and comfortably back in my Roman studio!" And there I was, with nothing to remind me of my strange experience but the little black wand. The wand disappeared. "Good!" I exclaimed; "I am rid of all temptation!" and I went out to dinner. For a few days I walked about as usual, only occasionally reflecting upon my strange experiences; and at the end of the week there came a letter from the same lawyer who had written to me before. His letter informed me that, hearing nothing from me, he had sent one of his clerks to examine the old castle. The clerk had returned with the astonishing intelligence that the whole cliff upon which the castle had stood was gone I found myself seated in my favorite easychair, and quite contented in mind. I looked at the wand, and wondered what it was best-having apparently slipped away into the sea! to do with it. After a while my mind was made up. "I wish the castle was sold, and the money safely in my trunk," I said, quite calmly. Then, never letting go of the wand, I went to the trunk and opened it. There was a large package of banknotes in one corner. "Excellent!" said I, closing the trunk and locking it. Returning to my, easy-chair, I prepared to make my last wish. Taking a long breath, I said, slowly and solemnly: "I wish that hereafter there shall be no magic at all!" 66 'Well, well!" I exclaimed, upon reading of this remarkable occurrence; "so the whole affair was a bit of magic-boy, goat, curlews, castle, and all! It was lucky I sold it!" But just then an idea struck me. I ran to my trunk, unlocked the lid, and threw it open. Alas!-it was empty! The money had been magic, too! Since then I have never longed for anything that comes without effort for whatever is worth having is worth working for; but whenever I hear an Italian curlew or meet a talking goat, I think of my one day as a magician. |