The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of the White Mouse, by Unknown
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Title: The Story of the White Mouse
Author: Unknown
Release Date: October 3, 2009 [EBook #30169]
Language: English
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[Illustration: Page 5.
{Husband and wife in bed looking at white mouse}]
_NEW JUVENILE LIBRARY._
The
STORY
of the
WHITE MOUSE.
Embellished With
_Four Elegant Copperplates._
A New and Correct Edition.
LONDON:
Printed for the Booksellers.
1816.
The
STORY
of the
WHITE MOUSE.
In the kingdom of Bonbobbin, which, by the Chinese annals, appears
to have flourished twenty thousand years ago, there reigned a prince,
endowed with every accomplishment which generally distinguishes the sons
of kings. His beauty was brighter than the sun. The sun, to which he was
nearly related, would sometimes stop his course, in order to look down
and admire him.
His mind was not less perfect than his body; he knew all things without
having ever read; philosophers, poets, and historians, submitted their
works to his decision; and so penetrating was he, that he could tell the
merit of a book by looking on the cover. He made epic poems, tragedies,
and pastorals, with surprising facility; song, epigram, or rebus,
was all one to him; though, it is observed, he could never finish an
acrostick. In short, the fairy who presided at his birth had endowed him
with almost every perfection; or, what was just the same, his subjects
were ready to acknowledge he possessed them all; and, for his own
part, he knew nothing to the contrary. A prince so accomplished,
received a name suitable to his merit; and he was called
_Bonbenin-bonbobbin-bonbobbinet_, which signifies Enlightener
of the Sun.
As he was very powerful, and yet unmarried, all the neighbouring kings
earnestly sought his alliance. Each sent his daughter, dressed out in
the most magnificent manner, and with the most sumptuous retinue
imaginable, in order to allure the prince; so that, at one time, there
were seen at his court, not less than seven hundred foreign princesses,
of exquisite sentiment and beauty, each alone sufficient to make seven
hundred ordinary men happy.
Distracted in such a variety, the generous Bonbenin, had he not been
obliged by the laws of the empire to make choice of one, would very
willingly have married them all, for none understood gallantry better.
He spent numberless hours of solicitude, in endeavouring to determine
whom he should choose. One lady was possessed of every perfection, but
he disliked her eye-brows; another was brighter than the morning-star,
but he disapproved her fong-whang; a third did not lay enough of white
on her cheek; and a fourth did not sufficiently blacken her nails. At
last, after numberless disappointments on the one side and the other, he
made choice of the incomparable Nanhoa, queen of the Scarlet Dragons.
The preparations for the royal nuptials, or the envy of the disappointed
ladies, needs no description; both the one and the other were as great
as they could be. The beautiful princess was conducted, amidst admiring
multitudes, to the royal couch, where, after being divested of every
encumbering ornament, he came more chearful than the morning; and
printing on her lips a burning kiss, the attendants took this as a
proper signal to withdraw.
Perhaps I ought to have mentioned in the beginning, that, among several
other qualifications, the prince was fond of collecting and breeding
mice, which being an harmless pastime, none of his counsellors thought
proper to dissuade him from; he therefore kept a great variety of
these pretty little animals in the most beautiful cages, enriched with
diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and other precious stones. Thus he
innocently spent four hours each day in contemplating their innocent
little pastimes.
But, to proceed, the prince and princess now retired to repose; and
though night and secrecy had drawn the curtain, yet delicacy retarded
those enjoyments which passion presented to their view. The prince
happening to look towards the outside of the bed, perceived one of the
most beautiful animals in the world, a white mouse with green eyes,
playing about the floor, and performing an hundred pretty tricks. He was
already master of blue mice, red mice, and even white mice with yellow
eyes; but a white mouse with green eyes, was what he long endeavoured
to possess: whereupon, leaping from bed, with the utmost impatience and
agility, the youthful prince attempted to seize the little charmer; but
it was fled in a moment; for, alas! the mouse was sent by a discontented
princess, and was itself a fairy.
It is impossible to describe the agony of the prince upon this occasion.
He sought round and round every part of the room, even the bed where the
princess lay was not exempt from the inquiry; he turned the princess on
one side and the other, stripped her quite naked, but no mouse was to be
found; the princess herself was kind enough to assist, but still to no
purpose.
"Alas!" cried the young prince in an agony, "how unhappy am I to be thus
disappointed! never sure was so beautiful an animal seen; I would give
half my kingdom and my princess to him that would find it." The
princess, though not much pleased with the latter part of his offer,
endeavoured to comfort him as well as she could; she let him know he
had an hundred mice already, which ought to be at least sufficient to
satisfy any philosopher like him. Though none of them had green eyes,
yet he should learn to thank Heaven that they had eyes. She told him
(for she was a profound moralist,) that incurable evils must be borne,
and that useless lamentations were vain, and that man was born to
misfortunes; she even intreated him to return to bed, and she would
endeavour to lull him on her bosom to repose; but still the prince
continued inconsolable; and, regarding her with a stern air, for which
his family was remarkable, he vowed never to sleep in a royal palace,
or indulge himself in the innocent pleasures of matrimony, till he had
found the white mouse with green eyes.
When morning came, he published an edict, offering half his kingdom, and
his princess, to that person who should catch and bring him the white
mouse with green eyes.
The edict was scarce published, when all the traps in the kingdom were
baited with cheese; numberless mice were taken and destroyed, but still
the much-wished-for mouse was not among the number. The privy council
were assembled more than once to give their advice; but all their
deliberations came to nothing, even though there were two complete
vermin-killers, and three professed rat-catchers, of the number.
Frequent addresses, as is usual on extraordinary occasions, were sent
from all parts of the empire; but, though these promised well, though in
them he received an assurance that his faithful subjects would assist in
his search with their lives and fortunes, yet, with all their loyalty,
they failed, when the time came that the mouse was to be caught.
The prince, therefore, was resolved to go himself in search, determined
never to lie two nights in one place, till he had found what he sought
for. Thus, quitting his palace without attendants, he set out upon his
journey, and travelled through many a desert, and crossed many a river,
high over hills, and down along vales, still restless, still inquiring
wherever he came, but no white mouse was to be found.
[Illustration: Page 10.
{Man kneeling before young witch}]
As one day, fatigued with his journey, he was shading himself from the
heat of the mid-day sun, under the arching branches of a Banana tree,
meditating on the object of his pursuit, he perceived an old woman
hideously deformed approaching him; by her stoop, and the wrinkles
of her visage, she seemed at least five hundred years old; and the
spotted toad was not more freckled than was her skin. "Ah! Prince
Bonbenin-bonbobbin-bonbobbinet," cried the creature, "what has led you
so many thousand miles from your own kingdom? What is it you look for,
and what induces you to travel into the kingdom of the Emmets?" The
prince, who was excessively complaisant, told her the whole story three
times over, for she was hard of hearing. "Well," says the old fairy,
for such she was, "I promise to put you in possession of the white mouse
with green eyes, and that immediately too, upon one condition." "One
condition," replied the prince in a rapture, "name a thousand; I shall
undergo them all with pleasure." "Nay," interrupted the old fairy,
"I ask but one, and that not very mortifying neither; it is only that
you instantly consent to marry me."
It is impossible to express the prince's confusion at this demand; he
loved the mouse, but he detested the bride; he hesitated; he desired
time to think upon the proposal. He would have been glad to consult his
friends on such an occasion. "Nay, nay," cried the odious fairy, "if you
demur, I retract my promise; I do not desire to force my favours on any
man. Here, you my attendants, (cried she, stamping with her foot,) let
my machine be driven up; Barbacela, queen of Emmets, is not used to
contemptuous treatment." She had no sooner spoken than her fiery chariot
appeared in the air, drawn by two snails; and she was just going to step
in, when the prince reflected that now or never was the time to be in
possession of the white mouse; and, quite forgetting his lawful princess
Nanhoa, falling on his knees, he implored forgiveness for having rashly
rejected so much beauty. This well-timed compliment instantly appeased
the angry fairy. She affected an hideous leer of approbation, and taking
the young prince by the hand, conducted him to a neighbouring church,
where they were married together in a moment. As soon as the ceremony
was performed, the prince, who was to the last degree desirous of seeing
his favourite mouse, reminded the bride of her promise. "To confess a
truth, my prince," cried she, "I myself am that very white mouse you saw
on your wedding night in the royal apartment. I now therefore give you
your choice, whether you would have me a mouse by day, and a woman by
night, or a mouse by night, and a woman by day." Though the prince was
an excellent casuist, he was quite at a loss how to determine; but at
last thought it most prudent to have recourse to a blue cat, that had
followed him from his own dominions, and frequently amused him with its
conversation, and assisted him with its advice; in fact this cat was no
other than the faithful Princess Nanhoa herself, who had shared with him
all his hardships in this disguise.
By her instructions he was determined in his choice; and returning to
the old fairy, prudently observed, that, as she must have been sensible
he had married her only for the sake of what she had, and not for her
personal qualifications, he thought it would, for several reasons, be
most convenient if she continued a woman by day, and appeared a mouse by
night.
The old fairy was a good deal mortified at her husband's want of
gallantry, though she was reluctantly obliged to comply; the day was
therefore spent in the most polite amusement, the gentlemen talked, the
ladies laughed, and were angry. At last the happy night drew near; the
blue cat still stuck by the side of its master, and even followed him
to the bridal apartment. Barbacela entered the chamber, wearing a train
fifteen yards long, supported by porcupines, and all over beset with
jewels, which served to render her more detestable. She was just
stepping into bed to the prince, forgetting her promise, when he
insisted on seeing her in the shape of a mouse. She had promised, and
no fairy can break her word; wherefore, assuming the figure of the most
beautiful mouse in the world, she skipped and played about with an
infinity of amusement. The prince, in an agony of rapture, was desirous
of seeing his pretty play-fellow move a slow dance about the floor to
his own singing; he began to sing, and the mouse immediately to perform
with the most perfect knowledge of time, and the finest grace, and
greatest gravity imaginable; it only began, for Nanhoa, who had long
waited for the opportunity, in the shape of a cat, flew upon it
instantly without remorse, and eating it up in the hundredth part of
a moment, broke the charm, and then resumed her natural figure.
[Illustration: Page 12.
{Husband in bed, wife with two porcupines holding her train}]
[Illustration: Page 13.
{Man and woman on arcaded terrace}]
The prince now found that he had all along been under the power of
enchantment; that his passion for the white mouse was entirely
fictitious, and not the genuine complexion of his soul; he now saw, that
his earnestness after mice was an illiberal amusement, and much more
becoming a rat-catcher than a prince. All his meannesses now stared
him in the face; he begged the princess's pardon an hundred times. The
princess very readily forgave him; and both returning to their palace at
Bonbobbin, lived very happily together, and reigned many years, with all
that wisdom, which, by the story, they appear to have been possessed of;
perfectly convinced by their former adventures, that they who place
their affections on trifles at first for amusement, will find these
trifles at last become their most serious concern.
The
STORY
of the
ENVIOUS MAN,
and
HIM THAT HE ENVIED.
In a considerable town, two persons dwelt next door to one another; one
of them conceived such a violent hatred against the other, that he who
was hated resolved to remove his dwelling farther off, being persuaded
that their being neighbours was the only cause from whence his animosity
did arise; for though he had done him several pieces of service, he
found, nevertheless, that his hatred was nothing diminished; therefore
he sold his house, with what goods he had left, and retired to the
capital city of that kingdom, which was not far distant. He bought a
little spot of ground which lay about half a league from the city; he
had a house convenient enough, with a fine garden, and a pretty spacious
court, wherein was a deep well, which was not in use.
The honest man, having made this purchase, put on a dervise's or monk's
habit, to lead a retired life, and caused several cells to be made in
the house, where, in a short time, he established a numerous society of
dervises; he came soon to be publicly known by his virtue, through
which he acquired the esteem of a great many people, as well of the
commonalty, as of the chief of the city. In short, he was extremely
honoured and cherished by every one. People came from afar to recommend
themselves to his prayers; and all those who came to live with him
published what blessings they received through his means.
The great reputation of this honest man having spread to the town from
whence he came, it touched the envious man so much to the quick, that he
left his house and affairs, with a resolution to go and ruin him. With
this intent he went to the new convent of dervises, of which his former
neighbour was the head, who received him with all imaginable tokens of
friendship. The envious man told him that he was come on purpose to
communicate a business of importance to him, which he could not do but
in private; and in order that nobody may hear us, let us, says he, take
a walk in your court, and seeing night begins to draw on, command your
dervises to retire to their cells. The head of the dervises did as he
required.
When the envious man saw that he was alone with this good man, he began
to tell him his errand, walking side by side in the court, until he saw
his opportunity; and getting the good man near the brink of the well,
he gave him a thrust, and pushed him into it, without any body being
witness to so wicked an action. Having done this, he marched off
immediately, got out at the gate of the convent, without being known
to any one, and came home to his own house, well satisfied with his
journey; being fully persuaded that the object of his hatred was no
more in this world; but he found himself highly mistaken.
This old well was inhabited by fairies and genies, which happened very
luckily for the relief of the head of the convent; for they received and
supported him, and carried him to the bottom, so that he got no hurt.
He perceived well enough that there was something extraordinary in his
fall, which must otherwise have cost him his life; whereas he neither
saw nor felt any thing. But he soon heard a voice, which said, "Do you
know what honest man this is to whom we have done this piece of
service?" Another voice answered, "No." To which the first replied,
"Then I will tell you. This man, out of charity, the greatest that ever
was known, left the town he lived in, and has established himself in
this place, in hopes to cure one of his neighbours of the envy he had
conceived against him; he has acquired such general esteem, that the
envious man, not able to endure it, came hither on purpose to ruin him,
which he had performed, had it not been for the assistance which we have
given this honest man, whose reputation is so great, that the sultan,
who keeps his residence in the neighbouring city, was to pay him a visit
tomorrow, and to recommend the princess, his daughter, to his prayers."
Another voice asked, "What need had the princess of the dervise's
prayers?" To which the first answered, "You do not know, it seems, that
she is possessed by Genie Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, who is fallen in
love with her. But I know well how this good head of the dervises may
cure her; the thing is very easy, and I will tell it you. He has a black
cat in his convent, with a white spot at the end of her tail, about the
bigness of a small piece of English money; let him only pull seven hairs
out of this white spot, burn them, and smoke the princess's head with
the fume, she will not only be presently cured, but be so safely
delivered from Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, that he will never dare
to come near her a second time."
The head of the dervises remembered every word of the discourse between
the fairies and the genies, who were very silent all the night after.
The next morning, by break of day, when he could discern one thing from
another, the well being broken down in several places, he saw a hole,
by which he crept out with ease.
The other dervises, who had been seeking for him, were rejoiced to see
him. He gave them a brief account of the wickedness of that man to whom
he had given so kind a reception the day before, and retired to his
cell. It was not long till the black cat, of which the fairies and the
genies had made mention in their discourses the night before, came to
fawn upon her master, as she was accustomed to do: he took her up, and
pulled seven hairs out of the white spot that was upon her tail, and
laid them aside for his use, when occasion should serve.
The sun was not high, when the sultan, who would leave no means untried
that he thought could restore the princess to her perfect health,
arrived at the gate of the convent. He commanded his guards to halt,
whilst he, with his principal officers, went in. The dervises received
him with profound respect.
The sultan called their head aside, and said, "Good Scheich, it may be,
you know already the cause of my coming hither." "Yes, sir," replies he,
very gravely, "if I do not mistake it, it is the disease of the princess
which procures this honour that I have not deserved." "That is the very
thing," replied the sultan. "You will give me new life, if your prayers,
as I hope they will, can procure my daughter's health." "Sir," said the
good man, "if your majesty will be pleased to let her come hither, I am
in hopes, through God's assistance and favour, she shall return in
perfect health."
The prince, transported with joy, sent immediately to fetch his
daughter, who very soon appeared with a numerous train of ladies and
eunuchs, but masked, so that her face was not seen. The chief of the
dervises caused a pall to be held over her head, and he had no sooner
thrown the seven tufts of hair upon the burning coals, but the genie
Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, gave a great cry, without any thing being
seen, and left the princess at liberty; upon which she took the veil
from off her face, and rose up to see where she was, saying, "Where am
I, and who brought me hither?" At these words the sultan, overcome with
excess of joy, embraced his daughter, and kissed her eyes; he also
kissed the chief of the dervises' hands, and said to his officers,
"Tell me your opinion, what reward does he deserve who has thus cured my
daughter?" They all cried, "He deserves her in marriage." "That is what
I had in my thoughts," said the sultan, "and I make him my son-in-law
from this moment." Some time after, the prime visier died, and the
sultan conferred the place on the dervise. The sultan himself died
without heirs-male; upon which the religious orders and the militia
gathered together, and the honest man was declared and acknowledged
sultan by general consent.
The honest dervise being mounted on the throne of his father-in-law, as
he was one day in the midst of his courtiers upon a march, he espied the
envious man among the crowd of people that stood as he passed along, and
calling one of his visiers that attended him, whispered him in the ear
thus: "Go, bring me that man you see there, but take care you do not
frighten him." The visier obeyed; and when the envious man was brought
into his presence, the sultan said, "Friend, I am extremely glad to see
you." Upon which he called an officer, "Go immediately," says he, "and
cause to be paid this man out of my treasury one hundred pieces of
gold; let him have also twenty load of the richest merchandise in my
store-houses, and a sufficient guard to conduct him to his house."
After he had given this charge to the officer, he bid the envious man
farewell, and proceeded on his march.
The
STORY
of the
GOLDEN HEAD.
It is generally known, that Tom Two-Shoes went to sea when he was a very
little boy, and very poor; and that he returned a very great man, and
very rich; but no one knows how he acquired so much wealth but himself
and a few friends.
After Tom had been at sea some years, he was unfortunately cast away
on that part of Africa inhabited by the Hottentots. Here he met with a
strange book, which the Hottentots did not understand, and which gave
him some account of Prester John's country; and being a lad of great
curiosity and resolution, he determined to see it; accordingly he set
out on the pursuit, attended by a young lion, which he had tamed, and
made so fond of him, that he followed him like a dog, and obeyed all his
commands; and indeed it was happy for him that he had such a companion;
for, as his road lay through large woods and forests, that were full of
wild beasts, and without inhabitants, he must have been soon starved or
torn in pieces, had he not been both fed and protected by this noble
animal.
Tom had provided himself with two guns, a sword, and as much powder and
ball as he could carry: with these arms, and such a companion, it was
mighty easy for him to get food; for the animals in these wild and
extensive forests, having never seen the effects of a gun, readily ran
from the lion, who hunted on one side, to Tom, who hunted on the other,
so that they were either caught by the lion, or shot by his master; and
it was pleasant enough, after a hunting-match, and the meat was dressed,
to see how cheek by jowl they sat down to dinner.
When they came to the land of Utopia, he discovered the statue of a man
erected on an open plain, which had this inscription on the pedestal:
"On May-day in the morning, when the sun rises, I shall have a _Head of
Gold_." As it was now the latter end of April, he staid to see this
wonderful change; and, in the mean time, inquiring of a poor shepherd
what was the reason of the statue being erected there, and with that
inscription, he was informed, that it was set up many years ago by an
Arabian philosopher, who travelled all the world over in search of a
real friend, that he lived with, and was extremely fond of, a great
man who inhabited the next mountain; but that on some occasion they
quarrelled, and the philosopher, leaving the mountain, retired into the
plain, where he erected this statue with his own hands, and soon after
died. To this he added, that all the people for many leagues round came
there every May morning, expecting to see the stone head turned to gold.
Tom got up very early on the first of May to behold this amazing change,
and when he came near the statue, he saw a number of people, who all ran
away from him in the utmost consternation, having never before seen a
lion follow a man like a lap-dog. Being thus left alone, he fixed his
eyes on the sun, then rising with resplendent majesty, and afterwards
turned to the statue, but could see no change in the stone.--"Surely,"
says he to himself, "there is some mystical meaning in this! This
inscription must be an ænigma, the hidden meaning of which I will
endeavour to find; for a philosopher never would expect a stone to be
turned to gold." Accordingly he measured the length of the shadow, which
the statue gave on the ground by the sun shining on it, and marked that
particular part where the head fell; then getting a chopness, a thing
like a spade, and digging, he discovered a copper chest, full of gold,
with this inscription engraved on the lid of it, "Thy _wit_, oh man!
whoever thou art, hath disclosed the ænigma, and discovered the _Golden
Head_. Take it and use it: but use it with wisdom; for know, that
_Gold_, properly employed, may dispense blessings, and promote the
happiness of mortals; but when hoarded up, or misapplied, is but trash,
that makes mankind miserable. Remember the unprofitable servant, who hid
his _talent_ in a napkin; and the profligate son who squandered away his
substance, and fed with the swine. As thou hast got the _Golden Head_,
observe the _Golden Mean_; be _good_, and be happy."
This lesson, coming as it were from the dead, struck him with such an
awe and reverence for piety and virtue, that before he removed the
treasure, he kneeled down, and earnestly and fervently prayed that he
might make a prudent, just and proper use of it. He then conveyed the
chest away; but how he got it to England is not known. It may not be
improper, however, in this place, to give the reader some account of the
philosopher who hid this treasure, and took so much pains to find a true
and real friend to enjoy it. As Tom had reason to venerate his memory,
he was very particular in his inquiry, and had this character of him:
That he was a man well acquainted with nature and with trade; that he
was pious, friendly, and of a sweet and affable disposition; that he had
acquired a fortune by commerce, and having no relation to leave it to,
he travelled through Arabia, Persia, India, Lybia, and Utopia, in search
of a real friend. In this pursuit he found several, with whom he had
exchanged good offices, and who were polite and obliging; but they often
flew off for trifles, or as soon as he pretended to be in distress,
and requested their assistance, had left him to struggle with his own
difficulties. So true is that copy in our books, which says, "Adversity
is the touchstone of friendship."
At last, however, he met in with the Utopian Philosopher, or the Wise
Man of the Mountain, as he is called, and thought in him he had found
the friend he wanted; for though he had often pretended to be in
distress, and abandoned to the frowns of fortune, this man always
relieved him, and with such chearfulness and sincerity, that concluding
he had found out the only man to whom he ought to open both his purse
and his heart, he let him so far into his secrets, as to desire his
assistance in hiding a large sum of money, which he wanted to conceal,
lest the prince of the country, who was absolute, should, by the
advice of his wicked minister, put him to death for his gold. The two
philosophers met and hid the money, which the stranger, after some days,
went to see, but found it gone. How was he struck to the heart, when he
found that his friend, whom he had often tried, and who had relieved him
in his distress, could not withstand this temptation, but broke through
the sacred bonds of friendship, and turned even a thief for gold which
he did not want, as he was already very rich! "Oh!" said he, "what is
the heart of man made of? Why am I condemned to live among people who
have no sincerity, and barter the most sacred ties of friendship and
humanity for the dirt that we tread on? Had I lost my gold, and found a
real friend, I should have been happy with the exchange, but now I am
most miserable." After some time he wiped off his tears, and being
determined not to be so imposed on, he had recourse to cunning and
the arts of life. He went to his pretended friend with a chearful
countenance, told him he had more gold to hide, and desired him to
appoint a time when they might go together and open the earth, to put it
into the same pot; the other, in hopes of getting more wealth, appointed
the next evening. They went together upon the ground, and found the
money they had first placed there, for the artful wretch he so much
confided in, had conveyed it again into the pot, in order to obtain
more. Our philosopher immediately took the gold, and putting it into his
pocket, told the other he had now altered his mind, and should bury it
no more, till he found a man more worthy of his confidence. See what
people lose by being dishonest!
Remember this story, and take care whom you trust; but do not be
covetous, sordid, and miserable; for the gold we have, is but lent us to
do good with. We receive all from the hand of God, and every person in
distress hath a just title to a portion of it.
FINIS.
* * * * *
* * * *
* * * * *
Errors and Anomalies (noted by transcriber):
These spellings are standard for the book:
acrostick, chearful
dervise [for dervish], Lybia, Scheich [for sheikh?], Visier
he came more chearful than the morning [_text unchanged_]
but no white mouse was to be found. [_. missing or invisible_]
the arching branches of a Banana tree
[_text unchanged, but author may have intended "Banyan"_]
come near her a second time." [_closing " missing_]
the discourse between the fairies and the genies [faries]
[_the words "fairy" and "fairies" occur many times_]
twenty load of the richest merchandise
[_text unchanged: usage may be normal for 1816_]
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