The Fairy Godmothers and Other Tales Read online

Giants yourself! Thereis something very suspicious to me in the glance of your eye."Ridiculous!" murmurs the fair damsel in question.

  Not at all so: only you travel too fast; by which I mean you speak toohastily. You learn Italian, I dare say? Oh yes, of course, for yousing. Well then, _Ombra adorata_ that is "beloved shadow;" _aspetta_that is, "wait"--"wait, my beloved shadow" (of a charming young lady),give me breathing time, and I will explain myself. As you are anItalian student, I presume you have heard of the great Italian poetDante. Now Dante in his _Convito_ or "Banquet" tells his readers thatwritings may be understood, and therefore ought to be explained infour different senses or meanings. There is first the literal sense;secondly, the allegorical; thirdly, the moral; and fourthly, the_anagorical_. Now I know you can't explain this last word to me, for Iwould wager a large sum that you never tasted of Dante's Banquet--no,not so much as the smallest crumb from it; and therefore how _should_you know what he means by the anagorical sense? Give me leave to havethe honour of enlightening you, then. The anagorical is what thedictionaries call the _anagogical_ sense. A sense beyond this world; asense above the senses; a spiritual sense making common things divine.It is hard to be arrived at and difficult of comprehension. Now in thematter of the nice little boy's question about the Giant and thecarraway seed, (for none but a nice little boy could have excogitatedany thing so comical), I have set my heart upon talking to you aboutit in the four above mentioned senses. And having already descanted onthe _literal_ sense, I had just made an assertion which appertained tothe _allegorical_ sense, when you so inopportunely interrupted me, MyOmbra Adorata, with your sharp observation about _non_sense: so now wewill go on in peace and quietness, if you please.

  In an allegorical sense the world is full of giants who cannot seecarraway seeds.

  For what are Giants but great men and great women? and the worldabounds with people who consider themselves as belonging to thatclass. And a great many of them--Giants of Cleverness, Giants ofRiches, Giants of Rank--Giants of I know not how many things besides,who are walking about the world every day, very often feel themselvesto be quite raised above the point of attending to trifles; so thatyou see I may (in an allegorical sense) say strictly of them that theycannot see carraway seeds. Oh my dears, however elevated you may be,or may become; however great or rich or learned, beware, I pray you,of being a Giant who cannot see a carraway seed!

  For, as my explanation of the _moral_ sense now goes on to show you;it is so far from being, as these Giants suppose, a proof of their_superiority_ that they cannot see or notice things they considerbeneath them--that it is, in fact, an evidence of some imperfection ordefect in either their moral or intellectual structure. Just as it isa proof of our eyes being imperfect, that we cannot see the littlewater insects as well as a great big elephant. I am sure you willallow there is nothing _to boast of_ in this, and so if thecontemplation of great things makes you incapable of attending tosmall ones, do remember that _'tis nothing to boast about or be proudof_. And take very great care you make no mistakes as to what is greatand what is insignificant. With which warning I close my remarks onthe moral lesson, and proceed to that _anagogical_ or spiritualmeaning, which will I hope be my justification for dwelling so long onthe subject, and my best introduction to a story of a serious thoughnot of a melancholy character. But first, my dear little readers, letme call upon you in the words which you hear in church:

  "Lift up your hearts!"

  and I would have you answer,

  "We lift them up unto the Lord."

  For it is indeed of Him--the Lord of all Lords, that I now wish tospeak to you. He made the Sun and Stars and the great mountains of ourearth; but He made also the smallest insects that crowd the air andwater, and which are invisible to our imperfect eyes.

  He rules the nations by His word, and "binds kings in chains, andnobles with links of iron," as the psalm expresses it; but also not asparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge and consent. Angelsand Archangels worship around His throne, but His ears are equallyopen to the prayer of the youngest child who lifts up its little heartto Him!

  The universe is at His feet, but the smallest events of our lives areunder His especial superintendence and care. Yes! nothing, howeversmall and insignificant, that is connected with the present or futurewelfare of the smallest and most insignificant of his creatures, is_beneath the notice of God_!

  Ah! here is indeed a lesson for the fancied Giants of the world!--For,in this picture of Almighty greatness combined with infinitecondescension, we see that real Perfection requires no Pride toelevate it.

  But I said this anagogical sense was hard to be attained to anddifficult of comprehension.

  And is it not so? Is it not very difficult to believe thoroughly thatthe great God whom we hear about, really and truly cares how we behaveand what we do--really and truly listens to our prayers--really andtruly takes as much interest in us as our earthly Fathers and Mothersdo?

  Ah, I am sure it must be very difficult, because so few people do it,although we should all be both better and happier if we did. We shouldsay our prayers so much more earnestly, try to keep out of sin andnaughtiness so much more heartily, and, above all, always be contentedwith whatever happened; for who could be anxious, and discontentedabout their condition or circumstances, if they _quite_ believed thatevery thing that happened to them was watched over and arranged fortheir good, by the wisest, kindest, and most powerful of Beings? Ifyou, my dear children, who have been reading the fairy tales in thisbook, were to be told that a most wise, most kind, and most powerfulFairy had suddenly taken you for life under her particular care, andthat she would never lose sight of you by night or by day, howdelighted you would be!

  Yet just so are you under the particular care and watchful concern ofAlmighty God!

  But now, say you, you begin to feel the difficulty of believing itpossible that the great God of the Universe takes this tender interestin such insignificant and sinful creatures as men and women.

  Consider, then, that we are told that "God is Love;" and if He lovesus, there is no difficulty in believing that He feels all thisinterest in us. Do not judge Him by earthly Kings and Potentates.These are Giants who cannot see carraway seeds. We do not blame them,for it is impossible they should be interested for every body. Butvery very different is both the power and the feeling of the King ofKings!

  Still we have not got over the difficulty yet, for of all thewonderful truths we are commanded to believe, no one is so wonderfuland so incomprehensible as _the Love of God_ to the sinful human race.

  And yet it is a truth, and of all truths the most important and mostcomfortable; and therefore it is much to be desired that we shouldthoroughly believe it: and _I think_ I can make you understand that itis possible, _by something which you feel in your own hearts_. I thinkGod has placed even in our own hearts a witness of the possibility ofthis great Truth.

  My idea is this. We _know_ that God has been merciful to us--(His verycreation of man was an act of mercy), and _therefore_ we know that Heloves us. _He loves us because He has been merciful to us_. If youcannot see why this should be, I refer you to the following story, andadvise you to _try for yourselves_. Only be kind to any livingcreature, whether a human being, or an irrational animal, and see ifyou can keep your heart from _loving_ it! Certainly it does not becomeus to try to search out the unsearchable mind of God, but I think itis permitted us to hope, that the remarkable fast of _Kindnessengendering Love_, which we experience in our own hearts, is intendedto lead us upwards as by a holy guiding thread, to some comprehensionof the Love of that God, who in Christ Jesus actually _gave Himselffor us_.

  THE TALE.

  Lift up the curtain!

  In a baronial hall, not of the size and grandeur of that at WarwickCastle, which those who have never seen should try to see before theydie: but still in a hall as antique and interesting in style, fits ayoung man reading.

  It is evening, though the sun has not yet set, but it is evening, andthe youn
g man is sitting at a small oak table in a recess in one ofthe ancient windows, and before him lies open a book, and on the book,which he touches not with his hands, but on which his eyes, blinded bytears, are fixed, there lies a faded primrose.

  The book is the Bible, and the faded primrose lies on that verse inthe Psalm, "Oh that men would therefore praise the Lord for hisgoodness, and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children ofmen!" and some hand had placed a slight pencil mark before thesewords.

  This scene brings before you a story of distress, and yet this youngman is the possessor of a large estate;--the baronial hall and houseare his own, and he is young and amiable, and till within the last fewmonths had led a life of almost uninterrupted comfort and prosperityfrom his cradle upwards. Two years ago he became the betrothed loverof a young lady no less interesting than himself, and as no obstacleprevented their union, both had for these two years looked forward toit,