With a loving smile the beautiful elfin fluttered her wings and flew into his breast, where she lay nestling like a little white dove.

Charley tenderly lifted her up, kissed her soft tiny cheek, touched her golden ringlets, and felt her breath, fragrant as the perfume of violets, fanning his face. He was silent with happiness, painting over in his mind Fancy's magic pictures. The beautiful Queen sat watching him, and enjoying his delight, when a far-off sound startled them both--a sound of acclamation. Nearer and nearer it came, till the air rang with tiny shouts and joyful clapping of hands. The voices were respectfully hushed as a crowd of fairies advanced into the Queen's presence; and Charley saw that Slyboots was in their midst, weary and breathless, his wings still hidden in the spider-net, but exultantly dragging the dead wasp by the corn-silk cord. His wee face looked pale; but his eyes shone with the old brightness, as the Queen's glance fell kindly and approvingly upon him.

"Did you arrive in time to save Minnie from the cruel sting?" she said.

"I did, please your gracious Majesty," answered Slyboots.

"And did you waken her?"

"No, my Queen; I struck the wasp, and drew him outside of the window, where I took refuge in a rose, and from thence, with my good sword, I gave him battle. Long and fiercely we fought in the moonlight. The little yellow b.u.t.terflies crept under the leaves affrighted; the midges in the air trembled, and whispered to each other that an earthquake was surely at hand; but at last my enemy bit the dust, and I pounded him till he was as dead as the prime minister's abominable b.u.mble-bee's mem--"

"Silence!" interrupted the Queen; but she really had to laugh, for Slyboots looked at her with such a comical twist of his eye, which changed to a beam of happiness as her Majesty said to him:

"You have done your task aright, and gladly we forgive you; but remember, Slyboots, never let your love of fun carry you so far again; and put this piece of advice in your pocket--keep out of the way of the prime minister the next time you have tight ropes erected for your friends to dance on."

Slyboots' face grew as red as a scarlet poppy at this allusion, and the laugh that followed; and the Queen, seeing his confusion, said: "Quick, Ripple--quick, Firefly--release his wings."

In a moment the fairy knights had cut away the gray network, and Slyboots joyfully shook his wings, now brighter than ever.

Just at that moment a bugle-call sounded from the sentry at the top of Crow Nest, and a faint twittering of a little bird was heard in a tree skirting the hollow. The dawn was coming, lifting the dew-mist from the lap of the earth; a faint light was streaking the east, as the Queen, gathering her shining band, with Charley in the midst, rose in the air, and flitted away to the cottage window. Softly they laid him down, and the Queen touched his eyes. The white lids drooped heavily, then closed, as a grateful balmy sleep wrapped his senses like a mantle.

Then the Queen softly detached the gauzy wings, and handed them to her page, Lightwing, charging him to guard them carefully. The little mother lay with her cheek in her hand, never stirring, and the kitten looked on this time with a friendly purr; and just as the first day glimpse had gilded the hill-tops, the fairy train had vanished into the sweet hazy mist of the MIDSUMMER MORN.

THE CHILDREN'S LIFE.

Midsummer morning broke in gorgeous, glorious brightness. Light fleecy clouds floated swiftly over the blue heaven; a crisp fresh wind curled the waters of the Hudson; and the beautiful little island opposite West Point lay on its bosom like an emerald; its green banks clasped by the loving tide.

With the first drum-beat, the happy Nightcap children were up and dressed; and having, with more grat.i.tude than usual, thanked their Heavenly Father for so many blessings, they went first to inquire how their dear brother Charley had pa.s.sed the night.

"Hush!" said the little mother, as they came to the door, "don't chatter now; Charley is still sleeping; do not make any noise; see how lovely he looks."

The children crept in on tiptoe, and gazed lovingly at the sleeping boy. At that moment a warm glow flashed suddenly into his cheek, and his lips parted in a glad smile.

"Oh! see, see!" whispered the children, "Charley is dreaming; perhaps he is talking to the fairies the doctor told us about; when he awakes we will ask him."

Then they went softly down stairs and out into the fresh delicious air. The birds were chanting their morning hymns; the lawn was golden green with the sun's rays, and spangled with dew. Bees were dreamily humming over the wealth of honeysuckles and roses that covered the cottage-wall, gathering their sweet and fragrant food at their leisure.

The children felt the blessed influences of all these lovely works of the great Creator in an increase (if such a thing were possible) of their happiness and joy.

You would have thought they were made of corks, so lightly did they skip here and there, running round the trees after each other, the boys turning somersets on the gra.s.s, and the girls declaring that they could get to the top of Crow Nest with only a hop, skip, and jump.

"Oh, delightful!" cried George, "to get up a mountain with three steps! you'll have to borrow Jack's seven-leagued boots. I wonder who lives on the top?"

"Why, the crows, to be sure," said Harry, "and they keep up _such_ a talking; it is like a hail-storm all the time; you never heard any thing like the way crows can scold. If one crow is caught stealing, all the rest caw and croak at him, till he very nearly goes into fits, and then they all fly at him till he hasn't a feather left; I read all about it in my Natural History."

"Oh!" cried little Minnie, "how I like to hear stories about fishes!

tell another crow story."

While the children were good-naturedly laughing and explaining to Minnie that a crow was a bird, their mother appeared at the cottage-door and said, "Breakfast, children."

In they all rushed, quite ready for the nice corn-bread, boiled eggs, and _real milk_--not _milkman's_ milk--but they looked round in some surprise for Charley.

"He is still sleeping," said the little mother, "and smiling in his sleep; this quiet rest will do him so much good, I hope. Oh, my precious Charley!" she exclaimed, "if I could only keep you a little longer;" and her eyes filled with tears.

The children looked sad and grave, and two or three went round and kissed their mother, and patted her kind cheek, and said they were sure Charley was better. After breakfast they stole softly up stairs to look again at their darling brother.

Charley was sitting up in bed as they entered: a strange bewildered expression was upon his face, and he had his hands behind him, trying to feel his shoulders.

"Do come here, George," said he, "and see if there are wings upon my back."

"WINGS!!!" shouted the children in amazement, "what _can_ Charley mean?"

"Yes, _wings_," replied Charley; "the fairy Queen fastened them upon my back last night, and I went with her and her beautiful maids of honor to the Midsummer ball. Oh! how delightful it was, and how I longed for you!"

"Goodness!" exclaimed the children, "did you really go? How perfect!

Did you ever? Why didn't they take us, too? Oh, Charley! do begin at the very beginning, and tell us all about it. Won't you? Say! do, come!"

Cl.u.s.tering around the bed, their eyes fastened upon his face, breathless with wonder and delight, and with no end of exclamations, they listened to the enchanting account of Charley's adventures. The little mother came in the room just at the end; upon which they all rushed at her in a body, and told the amazing story over again, all talking at the same time; and the little mother said quite as many "Ahs" and "Ohs" and "did you evers" as they did. But she smiled lovingly at her lame boy, and parting the golden curls on his white forehead, and kissing him tenderly, whispered, "My darling knows that he has been DREAMING."

Was it a dream?

Charley was so much better that day, that the good doctor, when he came, was astonished; and when he heard that the fairies had done him the honor to take him to their Midsummer festival, he was delighted, as well as astonished, and laughingly declared that the elves had robbed him of his patient. "Why, Charley," he continued, "if the fairy Queen can put such a rosy color in your cheeks, and such a sparkle in your eyes in one night, she beats me all to pieces at doctoring. I shall have to give you up to her, and only come here every day to make a social call, so that you and I, two old fellows, can have a talk about the state of the country. But I may as well put my pills and powders into one of the cannons, and fire them off at some of the fine ladies who go about, sweeping the parade-ground with their furbelowed dresses, and think they are dying of dyspepsia, when all they want is some useful occupation. I have lots of them to make bread pills for, and I may as well let the fairies have my dear little friend here."

Just at that instant the drums made a prodigious clatter, and the children started up to see what it meant.

"It is the call for the cavalry drill," said the doctor; "you had better run."

Off scampered the children to the edge of the parade-ground, their eyes dancing with expectation and eagerness.

On their way they pa.s.sed the encampment; they gazed at the snow-white tents of the cadets with the utmost interest, and indeed would rather have lived in these delightful canvas houses, than in a king's palace.

"Oh! Harry!" exclaimed Anna, "I wonder if we mightn't just peep into one of them."

"Certainly," answered Harry, who was always ready for adventures, and he lifted up the opening of the tent nearest.

"Oh! what a perfect place!" he cried; "come! look!" and he disappeared within.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.]

The children all peeped in, their heads looking like a bunch of grapes, all piled one on top of the other; while Harry, inside, pretended he was a showman, and made them a speech.

"Walk in, ladies and gentlemen," he said, "and see the show--all for sixpence; children half price. Here you have one small bed, or humble cot, one camp stool, one very small looking-gla.s.s, on the back of which," he continued, turning it suddenly over, "is a picture of the great Napoleon Bonaparte, running away, with his drawn sword in one hand, and a leg of mutton in the other; while just below is another of an old cadet, poking a young one with his bayonet."

The children were laughing heartily over these specimens of the fine arts, drawn by one of the cadets, when