 Chapter sixteen of fantasy fairies and ghosts, volume two, by Various. This Librivox recording is in the public domain. During all this time the Professor Mosch Turpin calculated the magnificent advantages of the union of his daughter with the privy counsellor Sinarbrey. Whatever little attractions there may be in his appearance, said he to himself, he is not the least desirable as a son-in-law, and it decidedly appears that Candida would die of grief if this Chinese dwarf were refused her as a husband. As for the rest, what matters the appearance? Sinarbrey is the prince's favourite, and heaven only knows to what high honours this favour may lead him. Anyone in my place would be jealous of such a match for his daughter. And Mosch Turpin was right, Candida was in the highest degree in love with her Sinarbrey. Nothing could be more curious than to hear her boast of the perfections of her betrothed. The referendary Pulcher laughed in his sleeve more heartily than all others, and in concert with the young secretary Adrian, who had regained the favour of Prince Barsenov, by bringing him a cake of grease-extracting soap to clean his britches. He resolved to attach himself day and night to the least movements of Sinarbrey, in order to seize the first opportunity to lay a snare for him, in which he would have a chance to break his neck. Sinarbrey had obtained of the prince the enjoyment of a superb country house in the neighbourhood of the palace. In the middle of the garden which surrounded this habitation was a parterre filled with hundred-leaf rose-trees. Every nine days Sinarbrey arose at daybreak, went alone into the garden, and disappeared among the thick branches of the rose-trees. Pulcher and Adrian, who were watching him, scaled the garden wall the night before one of the days that Sinarbrey was to visit it. Hidden behind a hawthorn hedge they saw the dwarf reach the lawn before the parterre. At the same time the perfume of roses became more penetratingly soft. A mild breeze agitated the foliage, sparkling with morning dew, and a beautiful veiled woman descended on a golden cloud into the midst of the rose-trees. She took Sinarbrey into her lap, caressed him, and began to comb with a golden comb the thick hair of the little monster, who seemed to take a very sensual pleasure in this operation. When Sinarbrey's toilet was finished, and the fairy, for it was one, had parted the hair on each side of his head, Pulcher and Adrian remarked a flame-coloured line which sparkled on the top of the little man's head. The fairy took leave of him in a very tender manner, and said to him, Dear child, be good and prudent, so that fortune may remain faithful to thee. Farewell, little mother, answered Sinarbrey, and the fairy, remounting upon her golden cloud, disappeared in the air. Pulcher and Adrian remained long silent and stupefied, but the first care of the referendary was to write to Balthazar, to tell him of the discovery which he had made, and promised him to redouble his watchfulness. Meanwhile the accursed Sinarbrey had perceived his two enemies flying through the avenues of the garden after the departure of the fairy. Trembling with fear that what had passed might be divulged, he had an attack of fever and was carried to bed. Prince Basinath, informed of the sudden indisposition of his special counsellor, sent his physician to him. Master counsellor said the physician, feeling his pulse, your watchfulness in the service of the state is using up your health in a frightful manner, your head is hot, you will have an inflammation of the brain, and— what is that you say, quack? exclaimed in his hoarse nasal voice, the favourite of my lord Basinath. Go to the devil, quack! I will not be sick! I am in better health than thou, and I will get up and go to the council, which is held today at the minister's house. The poor physician, completely frightened, received a good cuff in addition to this speech and fled to the prince, who impatiently waited for the bulletin of health of his dear Sinarbre. Basinath laughed heartily at the cuff and exclaimed, My special counsellor is an incomparable man I defy you to find in the whole of Europe a functionary morseless for the public interests. When Sinarbre entered the council chamber, the minister, protextatus, congratulated him warmly on his indefatigable activity, and begged him to read to the prince a protocol, which he said he had drawn up for an important negotiation between the principality of Basinath and the court of Kakatuk. This memorial is my own, said the minister, and I will give notice of that fact to his lordship, but your oratorical delivery will add enormous value to it. Now the pretended work of his excellency protextatus was nothing but a plagiarism. The true author of this composition was the poor secretary, Adrian. Sinarbre took the paper and went to the palace with the minister. But he had hardly commenced his reading when he began to stammer, in a manner to render it entirely unintelligible. Nevertheless, the prince appeared to be delighted and incessantly repeated, it is perfect, that is finished diplomacy, it is inimitable. Then advancing towards Sinarbre, he raised him in his arms and pressed him to his heart, near where shone the grand decoration of the green spotted tiger, and he untiringly eulogised emphatically the political and other talents of Sinarbre. My dear friend, said he to him after this, giving the most solemn intonation to his voice. I make you my prime minister, and I wish all my subjects to honour you equally with myself. As for you, added he, turning towards his excellency protextatus. For you, Sir Baron, I beg you will retire to your estate, you are used up, very much so. The disgraced minister in great wrath, throwing a furious glance towards his successor, who saw him depart with the most disdainful air, his head erect, and his body thrown back, was leaning on his little cane surmounted by a raven's beak. Meanwhile Prince Barsanov, continuing the investiture of his great dignitary, ordered his valet to bring the insignia of the decoration of the green spotted tiger, and covered Sinarbre with it, who this time appeared more ridiculous than he had ever been before. As the ministerial ugliness was so deformed that it was impossible to hang upon him in a decent manner the plate and cord of the eminent order which was conferred upon him, they called in a costumer from the theatre to invent some expedient. This tailor, whose name was Keyes, and who was distinguished by remarkable intelligence in the functions of his office, very judiciously decided to sew upon the back and chest of the minister a score of dueled buttons, to which the insignia of the green spotted tiger could be perfectly adapted. The prince immediately invented on his part several degrees of the order. He declared, and had it recorded, that there should be for the future knights of two, three, four, and five buttons and so on. The minister alone had the right to wear twenty, rendered necessary by his deformity, but thus turned into a privilege. The tailor Keyes received the decoration of two buttons, and the prince added to this favour that of making him grandmaster of his wardrobe. Now whilst these trifling actions were taking place, Dr Prosper Alpinus, leaning on the margin of his window, cast a long and melancholy look through his garden. He had spent a night in casting the horoscope of Balthazar, and this operation had revealed to him certain particulars concerning Sennabre. As he was thinking of this, and above all of the flame-coloured line noticed by Pulture and Adrian, and of which Balthazar had spoken to him, he heard a carriage stop at the park gate. It was Mademoiselle Rosen-Showan who came to pay him a visit. She was dressed in black and wore a long veil. Seized with strange inquiritude at the sight of her, Prosper Alpinus took his cane, and directed on the canoness the diamond-like reflections of the car-bunkle. Immediately through the disguise of the fairy, he recognised the white and transparent tunic, the variegated blue wings, and crown of roses, which formed the mysterious attributes of the seductive Rosa Belverde. Not less tricky than his visitor, the doctor gave her a most gracious welcome, and offered her a cup of coffee which she accepted. But when the coffee pot was upon the table, and Alpinus wished to fill the cups, he in vain tried to pour it out. The coffee ran, but the cups remained empty. Oh! oh! said he. Can it be that my coffee is worthless? Would you, my dear lady, take the trouble to serve yourself? Willingly, said the canoness, and she took the coffee pot, but this time the liquid did not run at all. Whilst the cups filled so quickly that the coffee ran over in the twinkling of an eye, a madmousel de Rosenchon's dress was drenched with coffee. This was prodigy against prodigy. As soon as the canoness placed the coffee pot upon the table, the coffee all disappeared, without leaving the slightest trace, and the cups appeared perfectly dry. Prosper Alpinus and the fairy looked at each other for a moment, with an air of defiance. Finally the latter spoke. Doctor, said she, when I arrived you were reading, I think a very interesting book. Yes, beautiful lady replied Alpinus, that volume contains truly surprising things. Saying these words he tried to open the volume, but the leaves immediately shut together again with a clip-clap, clip-clap. Hold! exclaimed the doctor. That is singular. Could you not, my dear lady, open this volume yourself? The fairy took it and opened it without effort, but the leaves immediately detached themselves and flew about the room growing to monstrous dimensions. The fairy now started back in a fright. The doctor smiled, noisily shut the volume, and all the flying leaves disappeared. Come, my dear lady, continued Alpinus, let us lay aside these little allurements of our wisdom, and let us pass, if such is your pleasure, to more important experiments. No, exclaimed the fairy, I wish to go. Ho-ho! said the mischievous doctor. That may depend a little upon my good will. For it is time for me to announce that you are in my power. Indeed, said mademoiselle de Rosenchern, with an accent of ironical anger. Do you think so? And at these words her black dress extended like the wings of a bat, and she began to fly about near the ceiling. Prosper Alpinus immediately took the form of a big kite, and pursued the bat. The latter, exhausted by fatigue, fell to the ground and changed into a mouse. The kite immediately became a gray cat, who gave chase to the mouse. The mouse changed into a hummingbird to escape from the cat, but immediately a myriad of strange birds and dangerous insects filled the room, and a net with golden meshes extended itself before the window, to deprive the hummingbird of all chance of flight. Then the fairy, Rosa Belverde, took her natural form, and appeared in all the brilliancy of her beauty to the dazzled eyes of the wise Alpinus, who started up before her armed with his car-bunkle cane. Rosa Belverde advanced towards the magician, but this sudden movement caused her golden comb to drop and break on the floor. Oh, misfortune, misfortune, exclaimed she. And thus the charm vanished. There remained only the canoness and the doctor Prosper. Quietly seated opposite each other at table, with china-cups before them, in which sparkled the smoking and perfumed mocha. By my faith, said Alpinus, this coffee is divine. I am only sorry that your beautiful gold comb was broken on this floor. Oh, I'm quite resigned to it, answered the fairy. After all, it was my own fault. For I ought to have remarked that the squares of this floor are stones marked with magical signs. We have both signalized our science, and we are of nearly equal force. But how does it happen, dear doctor, that we have only become acquainted today? It is, replied Prosper Alpinus. Because at the time that you were one of the most bewitching fairies of dis-chinistan, I was then myself nothing but a poor student in the deepest pyramid of Egypt. Under the feral of old Zoroaster, the most famous magician that the world has ever produced. It was during the reign of Prince Demetrius that I came to establish myself in this country. What then, replied the canoness, you were not exiled at the glorious ascension of Prince Paphnutius, who created light in the bosom of his states? No, said Alpinus, for I showed myself one of the most zealous partisans of the new system. I proved by learned treatises that it ought neither to reign nor thunder, except by the supreme will of the reigning prince, and that it was to the especial protection of the nobility that we should render thanks for the ripening of the harvests. Since they passed the time in deliberating in their palaces, that the labourers waste in planting their fields. The Prince Paphnutius out of gratitude created for me the office of inspector general of civilization. I have done in this position all the good in my power, and I am very happy to tell you that you owe to my interest the notice that you received of the crusade of the police against the fairies. You owe thanks to me that you live tranquilly in the midst of the progress of enlightenment. But hold, my dear canoness, look through this window at the splendid avenues of that park, peopled by benevolent spirits subject to my rule. It has required some skill, I assure you, to keep off the spies and foresters of the crown. At present I lead a peaceful existence. Prince Barsenov cares but little about the fairies. All around him act their own pleasure, and no one is disturbed, provided he pays his taxes. But, interrupted the canoness, how can you, dear doctor, filled with kindness as you are, persecute with such animosity my poor friend Cinnabre. It is to repair your want of consideration which has lavished gifts upon an unworthy object. Your Cinnabre will never be anything but an ugly dwarf, and since your golden comb is broken he falls into my power forever. Pity, pity for him, doctor, exclaimed the canoness supplicatingly. What do you ask of me? said Prosper Alpinus. Do you wish to see a sample of the exploits of your friend? Take this, and read. And he held out a parchment on which was traced the horoscope of Balthazar. When the fairy had read this work she was obliged to acknowledge the error that she had committed. You must really, said she, yield to the power of destiny. Poor Cinnabre. Yes, replied Alpinus, his destiny must be fulfilled, but he has still the chance of acquiring and possessing, for a short time, honors and dignities. I grant him this favour, out of regard for you, whom I should not wish to disoblige. Oh, you are an admirable man, said the fairy. Keep me still in your friendship. You can always count upon it, said Alpinus, and come whenever you please to taste of my mocha that you found so delicious. The doctor accompanied the fairy canoness to the park gate, and along the road the invisible inhabitants of these bowers gave utterance to a melodious concert. Before taking leave of her, Alpinus begged the beautiful visitor to make use of his crystal shell for her return, which was stationed at the gate, and to which were harnessed the two white unicorns, with the great beetle who spread behind the shell his azure wings, and the silver pheasant who held in his beak the golden reins. The fairy, charmed by the gallantry of the old doctor, smiled upon him, on leaving, most bewitchingly.