 chapter 19 of fantasy fairies and ghosts volume 2 by Various this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the carriage of the minister of foreign relations awaited him all night before the house of Mosh Turpin a storm had come on the rain had fallen in torrents but the faithful footmen of his excellency nailed to his post like a soldier in a breach still waited when the last lights were extinguished not seeing his dear master come he thought that his excellency might have gone back to his hotel in another carriage he went back and called the valet de chambre his excellency said the valet came in at nightfall and is sleeping is sleeping said the footman but in what condition is he ah that must be the devil's own secret there are things like that which are never to be told to living soul yesterday at nightfall rolled up in my cloak i was about slipping into the wine shop to play at batgammon i was descending the staircase i saw something stir and then rolled between my legs that mewed like an enraged cat then grunted our good heaven if his excellency knew it i should be discharged and ruined something that grunted yes alas yes like his excellency when the roast meat is burnt or when he is too much burdened with affairs of state the footman trembled the valet de chambre made a sign to impose silence and continued thus yes yes it was i am sure of it his excellency in person who passed between my legs and the side of the staircase a moment afterwards i heard him tumble about chairs and tables and open and shut with great violence the door that led to his bedchamber i did not dare to follow into so private a place nevertheless two hours afterwards uneasiness and i know not what instinct urging me i overcame my natural timidity so far as to go and listen at the door the minister snored in his bed as he is in the habit of doing when his brain labours in the most important affairs of state i very naturally concluded from that that some serious political event was about to take place and if you will listen to me we will go and post ourselves at the door of the chamber in which his excellency is reposing so as to be near him as soon as he shall be pleased to awake the two servants put this honest project into execution cinnabre slept whistling like the barrel of an organ they listened to him with profound respect saying to each other in a whisper indeed our master is one of the greatest statesmen that ever lived as soon as the following day broke a great noise disturbed the quiet of the hotel an old peasant woman very meanly dressed had addressed herself to the porter to ask immediate admittance into the presence of her dear little zak the porter had replied in a tone which admitted no reply this is the hotel occupied by the great and powerful minister cinnabre commander of the order of the green spotted tiger with 20 diamond buttons and no one here knows among the servants any person of the name of little zak at these words the peasant woman exclaimed with the greatest joy that the minister cinnabre was the same little zak that she took the liberty of claiming at the cries of the woman and the oaths of the porter who wished to oppose her entrance all the inhabitants of the hotel hastened to the scene of action and the disturbance increased every minute when the valet de charme came down to drive away the people who disturbed the slumber that his excellency needed so much they had just driven away the poor woman treating her as if she was mad but she seated herself on a stone bench in front of the minister's hotel and began to weep bitterly the passes by were not long in crowding around her and all were astonished to hear her relate that the minister cinnabre favorite of the prince and first dignitary of state was no other than her own legitimate son the spectators took her for a mad woman as the servants at the hotel had done meanwhile she kept her eyes fixed upon the windows that looked out upon the street suddenly she arose clapped her hands together and exclaimed bursting with laughter but there he is there he is did i not tell you that my cherished little one my only son my beloved little zak was here good morning good morning lovely child wilt thou not recognize the mother who nourished thee the spectators were not a little surprised to see a little dwarf striped with the insignia of the green spotted tiger moving and dancing about at a window on a level with the floor and all began to cry out hold that is little zak oh little zak oh the mandrake the serving people came out to join the gathered crowd and the clamor they raised was not a bad imitation of a revolution good heaven exclaimed the valet de champ what hideous little monster just appeared at the bedchamber window of his excellency what does that mean how did that ugly dwarf get into the hotel he ran leaping four stairs at a time he arrives but the minister's door is locked on the inside he knocks nobody answers what is he to do in this extremity meanwhile the crowd increases in the street the appearance of the dwarf on the balcony of the minister was talked of throughout the neighborhood simple curiosity ended by degenerating into a riot the court and apartments of the hotel were invaded in the twinkling of an eye the faithful valet de champ not being able to allay the storm would have sacrificed himself to save his master he knocked vigorously at the room door he broke it open to save sinabre in spite of the perils that surrounded him no sinabre he ran through the rooms of the hotel he called out he supplicated no voice answered his entreaties what then had become of sinabre whilst waiting for him to be found the tumult had been gradually stilled nothing was heard from without but the ringing and imposing voice of a woman scolding the rabble and by force and energy succeeding in sending each one to his home like schoolboys caught in mischief the valet de champ who still sought sinabre with admirable perseverance finally discovered two long slight and meager legs projecting from a silver vase sky exclaimed he with deplorable lamentations do not those legs belong to my honored master alas excellency what are you doing there sinabre did not answer the valet hastened to assist him but it was too late the favorite minister of prince basanoff had ceased to live at the cries of the disconsolate valet all the people in the house went up into the bed chamber sinabre properly disposed was laid upon his bed and covered up at this moment appeared mademoiselle rosin shown the fairy canoness behind her came the mother of little zack old lyza a sad spectacle was presented to their wondering eyes death seemed to have a face the ugliness of sinabre his face was pale but a slight smile hovered upon his lips and his brown hair flowed about his head in wavy curls the fairy canoness passed her hand softly over his head a line of fire sparkled under her finger like phosphorus alas said she with a deep sigh the learned prosper alpinus prophesied well fatality has had its course and poor sinabre has sorrowfully expiated his ridiculous greatness the mother of little zack would no longer recognize him in this pitiful state only when the fairy had affirmed to her that the little body extended on the bed was really all that remained of sinabre she had a fit of covetousness and walking about the chamber of death her eyes sparkling with avidity she began to say i ought then to inherit immediately all these fine things that belong to my son no replied mademoiselle de rosin showing all is ended your destiny was not to become rich you must console yourself and leave but continued the old peasant woman let me at least carry off in my bag the body of my son the pastor of our village has in his cabinet many singular animals he will have little zack properly stuffed and i will place him in my room with that broad green ribbon and that sparkling plate which covers his chest that cannot be interrupt the fairy go from here my good woman and wait for me in the courtyard i will soon join you and i will leave you at parting a sure means of providing yourself against misery for the remainder of your days when ol' lyza had obeyed this injunction the fairy approached the bed upon which sinabre was laid poor little zack said she in a low voice nature has shown herself unjust towards thee for thou didst not deserve more than another to be brought into this world stupid and ugly as i found thee i gave thee a precious gift i inconsiderately thought that provided by my enchantments with the faculty of being taken for the handsomest the most intelligent and witty of men thou wouldst apply thyself to justify this favour by trying to deserve it by labour but thy narrow mind did not understand the duties imposed upon thee by my protection thou couldst only descend to the bottom of the scale of beings by all the acts of thy life thy ignoble death is the fatal expiation would that i could resuscitate thee in the form of some graceful insect some wandering mouse or greedy and playful squirrel i should like still to protect thee but thou art subject to the power of the severe alpinus and there is no means of bringing thee back to life fair well then little zack fair well sinabre may earth rest lightly on thee on ending this funeral oration the fairy rosa belverde disappeared like a dream now after a few moments after her departure prince basana notified of the death of his minister came pale and trembling followed by seven chamberlains more pale and trembling than himself he looked at the little body and said sobbingly oh sinabre the seven chamberlains repeated in a single voice oh sinabre everybody wept the prince asked his physician how sinabre could have died so suddenly my lord gravely answered the remedy giver his excellency owes his death to the cessation of the faculty of respiration this accident is the result of suffocation produced by the element into which your illustrious minister allowed himself to fall but the prime cause of his death is the order of the green spotted tiger with 20 diamond buttons how exclaimed basana of measuring the physician with a look in which anger was fulminating yes my lord i repeated continued the physician the plate of the order has affected the chest and the strain of the ribbon produced by the 20 buttons has injured the vertebral column the vital organs thus attacked have been subjected to inflammation which has reacted upon the brain he has had a sudden fever accompanied by unequivocal symptoms of alienation since the gracious minister losing his head lost his equilibrium to such a point as to voluntarily precipitate himself or fall by irreparable misfortune into that silver vase which your highness had given him as a mark of your high satisfaction physician said the prince you are an accursed babbler congratulate yourself that i do not deign to understand the unbecomingness of your language as for you gentlemen added he turning towards the seven chamberlains it is to you that i confide the care of ordering the obsequies of my minister let us give a few tears to his sad fate and let us go to dinner if you please for i am dying of hunger at these words the prince gave utterance to several groans and covered his face with his pocket handkerchief the chamberlains chorus the sobs and also drew out their handkerchiefs then they left in order not to give their respective dinners time to cool before the door of the hotel they met ol lisa who bore upon a flat basket a bunch of golden yellow onions of extraordinary size good prince said she to his highness by my onions they are my support honey is not sweeter than my onions bass enough admired lisa's onions chamberlains said he to the gentleman that escorted him lend me a knife for i have an outrageous desire to taste the flesh of that vegetable oh gentleman that is a delicious dish continued he his eyes sparkling with pleasure it seems to me whilst munching this good woman's onions that i see the ghost of my faithful sinabre rise from the tomb to say to me dear prince buy and eat these onions the safety of the state depends upon your appetite old lisa immediately received an order for the general furnishing of onions for consumption in the palace the prince added to this a gratuity of several pieces of gold thus was accomplished the promise that the fairy rosa belverde had made to the mother of little zak the poor peasant woman saw herself sheltered from misery for the remainder of her days the internment of the defunct minister took place with a splendid pomp worthy of his rank the prince led the mourners and the members of the order of the green spotted tiger followed the procession in full uniform all the bells were set in motion and as there was no cannon in the country the commencement and close of the ceremony was announced by the explosion of two pieces of firework the people wept that day and everybody agreed in saying that the prince and the state had met with an irreparable loss this dear readers and you my beautiful ladies this is the time for mutual separation at this thought alone the author of these tales feels moved to deep sadness he would had many other things worthy of remembrance without doubt to relate to you concerning the adventures of the minister sinabre for it is in his eyes the drollist story that he has ever kept in his memory if nevertheless he excuses himself from going on it is that he fears before all exhausting the patience or the goodwill of those who hold this book in hand nothing is more disagreeable than to trace the words last chapter so that before writing it the author earnestly begs you not to judge too severely the capricious wanderings of his imagination if at times you have smiled or if you have been strongly moved the end which he had in view has been realized the story which closes this book might well have ended at the death of the little sinabre but is it not a thousand times more agreeable to terminate it by a happy marriage let us return back then toward our friend balthazar and his betrothed the pretty candida the professor mosh turpin whom the deep study of the mysteries of nature must have prepared against all surprise could not recover from his stupa in thinking of the strange events which had brought him into disgrace with prince barnesaf and his deprivation of the sublime office of director general of phenomena his imagination was so disturbed by it that at times he seriously doubted his own existence he was at first singularly astonished when the student balthazar presented as his uncle dr. prosper alpinus who verbally confirmed before him the deed of gift that he had signed of his domain balthazar become rich appeared to him a young man endowed with the most brilliant qualities and he put no bounds to his esteem when he found himself led by his future son-in-law on visiting the country house of alpinus into the cellar filled with the most exquisite wines the enjoyment of which was assured to him by balthazar for continuing his experiments on the contrary properties of wine and water the union of balthazar and candida was immediately fixed for an early day all those who obtained the favor of being invited to it admired the extreme beauty of mosh turpin's daughter the fairy rosa belverde who assisted in the costume of a canoness had herself dressed the bride whose most seductive ornament was a crown of hundred leaf roses dr. prosper alpinus illustrated this family festival by the most delicious marvels of his art never had the bowers in his park resounded with more harmonious concerts when night came trains of magic fire were lighted above the great trees myriads of luminous insects sparkled amid the foliage like movable stars and the perfume of the earth enameled with flowery meadows filled the air with barmy breezes balthazar candida and their friends acknowledged the power of alpinus mosh turpin who had become nobly exhilarated laughed wept sung danced about suddenly a sound of bells vibrated in the air a butterfly transparent as flame came and lit on the shoulder of prosper alpinus prosper alpinus arose dear balthazar and you good candida my friends said he in a grave voice whose accent penetrated all hearts with a soft melancholy this is the moment for us to separate forever he approached the new couple and murmured several words in their ears balthazar and candida threw themselves into his arms and wept the crystal shell drawn by two white unicorns and driven by the silver pheasant slowly descended from the sky on an azure cloud farewell farewell exclaimed prosper alpinus seating himself in the marvellous chariot which gradually arose and was lost high up in the air like a shooting star balthazar and candida lived happy days together in the bosom of peaceful obscurity solitude with love is a divine gift faithful love triumphs over misfortune and death and what is death to him who is awaited by another soul beyond this life for him the tomb is the cradle of heaven end of chapter 19