VII.
THE GOLDEN CLOAK.
There once lived a King, who had reigned for many years over hiskingdom, and with his Queen was idolized by his subjects. Only one thingwas wanting to make his happiness complete. This was the want of an heirto his crown; and when, after a long period had elapsed, contrary to allexpectations, a son was born to him, you may be sure there was greatrejoicing throughout the land.
In that country, as in many others, it was the custom for all the malechildren born on the same day with the heir-apparent to the crown to bebrought up with him, and devoted to his service. They were educated atthe expense of the State, and the parents thought themselves indeedfortunate in having their children so magnificently provided forwithout exertion on their own part. Amid these youths Prince Anjah, whoin reality was a paragon of beauty, stood pre-eminent. They were allfine looking and noble boys, excepting one, the dwarfish Balzebar, whowas ugly in countenance and deformed in person, and of so weak anintellect that he was almost an idiot. _He was, beside this, both deafand dumb._ The King was going to reject this poor little mischance atfirst, but the Queen, who was a wise and benevolent woman, representedto her husband that this misfortune, in being incapable of providing forhimself, gave him a more especial claim on the protection of hissovereign, and besides that, as everything, however humble and despised,had its use, this unfortunate child might perhaps be destined to exertsome powerful influence on the fortunes of their son. Her words madesuch an impression on the King’s mind, he consented to receive Balzebarwith the rest, to the great joy of his parents, who would not otherwisehave known what to do with him.
As the children grew older, Anjah, who was of a most generous and nobledisposition, took Balzebar under his own particular care andguardianship, and thus prevented poor Balzebar from being harassed as hewould have been by the ridicule of his more unthinking companions, whodelighted in tormenting the poor soul, and in playing their tricks uponhim. Balzebar in return became so attached to Prince Anjah, that hefollowed him about everywhere, as a dog might have done his master whowas kind to him, and was never contented away from him. It was a curioussight to see the tall and finely-formed Anjah followed everywhere bythis little stunted and ugly dwarf.
When the Prince had reached his eighteenth year, in accordance with thecustom of that time, he was sent to a foreign country, where learningand the arts were in an advanced state, to be educated. All the youngmen, his followers, accompanied him, even Balzebar; for though the Kingand his ministers had at first decided that he should remain at home,fearing that the constant appearance of such an inferior personage inhis train might be prejudicial to the dignity of the young Prince, yet,at the earnest solicitation of Anjah (who knew that the faithfulcreature would grieve himself to death if he should forsake him), he waspermitted to depart with them. A fine vessel had been put in order fortheir use, and with a band of music the Prince and his retinue wereescorted to the place where it was in waiting. Great crowds werecollected on the shore, and the loud huzzas of the populace drowned theswelling notes of the trumpet as their Prince, with his white plumesfloating to the wind, stepped on board the ship; but they could scarcelyrestrain a yell of contempt and derisive laughter as the littlehump-backed mute followed after him up the plank with the agility of amonkey. Two and two the others embarked, and the young men stood on theupper deck together as the vessel moved off, and waved their adieus,till at last the helmet with the snowy plumes, which was thedistinguishing mark of the Prince, could no longer be seen.
Anjah felt grieved at parting with his parents, and as his father wasquite an old man, he thought it very probable that he should never seehim again, for he was to remain five long years away from home; and thetears, in spite of his efforts, started forth as he saw the Kingwatching the receding vessel, and knew what a pang his heart wassuffering in thus separating from his child, the pride of his old age.But when distance shut from his sight the land and all familiar objects,the world seemed as it were opening before him, full of bright promise;he forgot his sorrow, and as the bark bounded lightly over the billows,his heart danced within him, buoyant with hope and pleasure. After ashort and prosperous voyage, they came in view of the beautiful landwhich was their destination. They were received by the King of thecountry with distinguished honor, befitting their rank and importance.This King was reputed to be as wise as Solomon, and had collected to hiscourt all the learned men of the world; and hither were sent the youthof high rank from all nations, to learn wisdom of these sages. But theirparents would have done well to have kept them at home out of harm’sway, for the high-spirited young men who flocked to this Temple ofMinerva thought their own wisdom far superior to that of the sages, andheld all their acquirements in very light esteem; and if they learnedanything at all, it was the knowledge which experience gives, which, tobe sure, is the very best sort of lore, but which they might haveacquired just as perfectly anywhere else.
Anjah had not been long there before he became initiated into the secretthat Merea, the King’s daughter, was the most beautiful Princess in theworld, and he pondered much more deeply on this fact than on thephilosophy of the schools, and he strove with much greater assiduity tobe the successful candidate for her heart and hand than for the prizesoffered to the victorious scholar, or the laurel wreath of the poet. Ashe was far handsomer than all her other suitors, he had very littledifficulty in gaining the young maiden’s particular and approvingnotice. His agreeable manners became a certain passport to her favor,and she so honored him above the rest, that Anjah, conscious ofvictory, assumed rather a high and triumphant air among those who were,like himself, captivated with the King’s charming daughter. He spent allhis leisure time in her company, and did not rest easy till he hadobtained her father’s permission to address his daughter, which he foundlittle difficulty in gaining, for the King “as wise as Solomon,” sawvery plainly that no more noble son-in-law would ever be likely topresent himself. After Anjah had conversed with Merea, and found themaiden already won, he sent to seek his father’s consent to hisbetrothal to her, as the fame of her excellence and beauty had reachedhim. The King, his father, could think of no more suitable consort forhis son than a Princess so charming and of such a high rank, so, sendinghis approval and blessing to his son, Anjah and Merea were publiclybetrothed. Then, and not till then, Anjah applied himself sedulously tothe study of the sciences which should fit him for governing a kingdom,and filling with dignity the exalted station to which Providence haddestined him.
Three years passed away, and Anjah’s improvement in mind did honor tohis teachers, and to his own perseverance and capacity; two years more,and the allotted time of his exile, (which owing to the society ofMerea, had been anything but irksome,) would be fulfilled, and he waslooking forward to the time when he should return with his bride to hisnative land, when a hasty summons came, commanding him to speed hisdeparture, as his father was lying at the point of death, and longedonce more to see his son alive. Anjah delayed not a moment to obey thecall, though his heart was full of conflicting emotions--sorrow at beingobliged to leave his betrothed, mingled with anxiety to see his fatheronce more; and bidding adieu to the many friends that his kindness andaffability had won, he went with his followers down to the vessel, whichhad been sent to convey him home, accompanied by the King, the PrincessMerea, and all their retinue. The King, in bidding him farewell,pronounced a blessing, and conferred on him many valuable presents asmarks of his favor; but the Princess, when she parted with him, gavehim only one keepsake, but that was of surpassing richness; it was acloak of beaten gold, curiously wrought, of the purest metal, so elasticand pliable that it fell like a mantle over his shoulders; she claspedit with her own hands about his neck, and then by signs bade Balzebar,who stood beside them, to make it his especial care, so that Anjahshould not lose or be robbed of it.
In the time of their sojourn in this country, Balzebar had attachedhimself more than ever to Anjah; and Merea, who had petted him, onaccount of his attachment to the Prince, w
as looked upon by the dwarf asalmost as great a paragon as his master,--indeed, an angel of goodness.She became so associated in his mind with the Prince Anjah, that he wasever eager to do her bidding, and promised to take care of the cloak,and suffer no one to take it away; then giving Prince Anjah her lastadieu, Merea departed with her father. Anjah assuring her that he wouldreturn as speedily as possible, and make her his wife. When the vesselwas out at sea, Anjah and his companions remained on deck, pacing up anddown, or looking pensively at the receding shore, thinking of the kindand fair ones that they had left behind, and wishing themselves backagain, all but the poor mute, Balzebar, who sat watching Anjah, with hiscloak glittering in the sun, and the white plumes of the golden helmet,which he always wore, fluttering in the breeze. His dull eyes were halfdazzled by the light which was reflected on this shining mantle, and heopened and shut them as if basking in the radiance. When night came, andthe Prince had divested himself of his golden helmet, with the whiteplumes, and the golden cloak, Balzebar put them carefully away, in a boxwhich had been prepared for the purpose, and then placing it under hishead, for a pillow, slept, as he always did, like a great dog at thefeet of Prince Anjah.
About midnight, they were awakened by a terrible noise; it was thunder,mingling with the roaring of the sea. While they had been sleeping, amost terrific storm had arisen, and bidding Balzebar follow him, Anjahrushed on deck. The elements were in a perfect fury, the ship was tossedwildly about on the summit of the waves, and seemed as if going topieces with the strain. Just then there came the cry that the vessel hadsprung a leak, and a boat was hastily let down, into which the Princeand his companions were hurried. Beside the Prince on deck, gazing onall with wonder and dismay, Balzebar had stood, till seeing Anjahdescend into the boat, and beckon to himself, he disappeared. Vainlythey called him; he could not hear their cries nor answer them. Fearfulfor their own safety, none of the crew would venture in search of him,and being all in the boat, they pushed off lest they might be swampedbeneath the vessel, and were far away before Anjah discovered thatBalzebar was not among them. To return for him was beyond all humanpower. When morning light appeared, the storm had calmed, yet no traceof the vessel could be seen. So they concluded that the ship had sunk,and that poor Balzebar had made his grave ere now in the ocean’sdepths. With great exertions, they managed to bend the course of theboat in the same direction whence they came, and after almost incredibletoils and dangers, were driven by the wind so near the shore, as to bepicked up by a vessel bound for the port, and carried safely to land,where they were welcomed by the King and the Princess Merea, and with asgreat rejoicing as if they had been restored again from the dead. Andnow Anjah and Merea seemed doubly dear to each other, and she mournedwith him over the supposed fate of the poor harmless and faithfulBalzebar. But let us leave the Prince in the kind keeping of the Kingand Princess, while we see what was in reality become of the lostBalzebar.
When the Prince descended into the boat, and made signs to Balzebar tofollow him, the first impulse of the dwarf was to obey his master; but,remembering the box which contained the royal helmet, and the goldencloak, he ran below to secure it. It took him a long time to find hisway to the berth, on account of the darkness and the motion of thevessel, and when at last he reached the deck, the boat had gone faraway, out of his sight. Not knowing what to do, he sat down in hisdespair, and fearing every moment that he should be washed overboard bythe waves, made preparations to lash himself on to the masts; but ere hedid this, to prevent the loss of that, which to his poor, weak mind, wasof far more importance than his own life, the golden cloak and the royalhelmet and plumes, he placed the latter upon his head, and bound itfirmly on; and then taking the cloak out of its folds, fastened itsecurely round his own neck; it was intended to cover the shoulders, andfall to the knees of Anjah; but it sufficed to envelop the whole form ofthe dwarf, even to his very feet; and now with this rich shroud abouthim, he lashed himself to the mast, just in time to be saved from animpending death; for very soon the vessel divided asunder, and thedrifting wreck to which Balzebar was attached, was tossed about at themercy of the waves. How long he remained in this position he knew not;he became insensible from hunger and cold, and would no doubt have soonperished had not some sailors on a vessel espied a glittering object ata distance. They came nearer to it, and discovered that it was a humanbeing clinging to the masts of a ship; and rescuing him from hisperilous situation, and seeing the royal garb in which he was arrayed,they conceived that he was some great prince, and treated him in amanner that accorded with such a supposition. He was taken on board theship, and all treated him with the respect and deference to which hisseeming high rank entitled him. When he reached the shore, aproclamation was issued, that a great prince had been found shipwrecked,and had been rescued in his royal robes; his person was also describedas being as imposing and grand as were his habiliments, andnotwithstanding that he was unable to speak one word, or make anyintelligible sound, but kept up a disagreeable sort of muttering, no oneseemed to discover that he was at all wanting in intellect, and theproclamation went on and stated his mind and accomplishments to be equalto his person. It was only necessary for him to make his appearancewith his golden cloak about him, and the helmet with the white plumes onhis head, (and no one could persuade him for one moment to divesthimself of them,) to have a crowd of adorers follow in his pathway withshouts and huzzas.
Indeed, such was their adulation, that they bore him about in a sort oftriumphal car, and he became the people’s idol. The little sense thatBalzebar had ever been blessed with, had nearly all been lost in thehardships and dangers to which he had been exposed, and he allowedhimself to be borne about, pleased as a child might have been with apageant, in which he himself was the principal object.
At last the account of the finding of this wonderful prince in thegolden cloak was read at the court, which had long been awaiting thereturn of Anjah and his suite, and when his fine person, and the helmetwith the snowy plumes, were described, his subjects and friends, ofcourse, felt very sure that it was no other than their own prince, and,as the country was not far distant, a cavalcade was dispatched to makecertain of the truth, and to attend him to his home. The King was notyet dead, but illness had so impaired his intellect that he had becomeperfectly imbecile and unfit to govern, and, in the absence of anyacknowledged head, the affairs of the State were getting into sadconfusion. When the messengers arrived, and were shown into the presenceof Balzebar, although at first surprised to find that he could not speakone word to them, yet the moment he arose and displayed his glitteringcloak before their eyes they felt ready to fall down at his feet, andacknowledge him their prince. Besides, the royal helmet and the whiteplumes, would, of itself, have been sufficient to convince them, ifthere had been no other proof; so, sending a herald before them with thejoyful news that it was indeed the long-absent one, they prepared toescort him to his kingdom. The Queen could not leave the palace, onaccount of the weak state of the King, her husband, but the primeminister and all the courtiers, with crowds of the common people, wentto the very outskirts of the kingdom to meet the Prince, and, sendingher love and kind messages by him, the Queen sat herself down to awaitas patiently as possible the arrival of her son. When the prime ministerwas shown into the presence of Balzebar he started back in astonishment,“Could this be Prince Anjah, this stunted being?” yet here truly was hishelmet and his snowy plumes, and then here, too, was his cloak of goldwith which the rest of the courtiers were so blinded that they neverthought for a moment of doubting that this was their prince indeed, butwere as loud and instant in praise of his fine person and noble mien asall others had been before them. Disgusted with their shortsightedness,the prime minister, who was wiser than the rest, and never for a momentsupposed that a noble youth like Anjah could have become this deformedand withered thing, whose ugliness no cloak of gold could conceal fromhim, turned to address the unconscious cause of so much error; insteadof an answer came a low, indistinct muttering and mystical signs. Th
etruth flashed upon the mind of the prime minister--this was Balzebar,the poor little idiot mute, and, peering beneath the helmet, which, withthe plumes, concealed his countenance, almost as much as the goldencloak did his person, recognised the dull, unmeaning eyes and theexpressionless mouth of the poor dwarf. Keeping his discovery in his ownbreast, and pretending to share in the delusion of the rest, he preparedto join in the procession which was to attend Balzebar to the palace,but, before reaching the gates of the city, under pretence of hasteninghome to prepare for the better reception of the Prince, he obtainedleave to arrive at the palace before the rest, in reality to reveal hisdiscovery to the Queen, and to prepare her mind for the greatdisappointment that she must feel, in not being able to welcome her sonto his home. She wept bitter tears when he told his tale, and shethought of the probable fate of Anjah; but she was a high-souled woman,and bore herself in her misfortunes like a queen. She agreed with theminister that it was far better to encourage the infatuation of thepeople till such time as the fate of Anjah should be decided, than toallow a person of more energy and address to get the present possessionof the throne, from whom it would be impossible to wrest it, if heshould still be alive. But their consultation was interrupted by thenoisy shouts from without, which warned her of the approach of theprocession. She instantly recognised Balzebar, whom she received as ifhe were indeed her son, and he was installed at once in the Prince’sapartments in the palace, where all did him homage; and as, day by day,he used to show himself in his golden cloak on the balconies, hissubjects became more enthusiastic than ever, and would greet him withshouts that rent the very skies. Preparations were immediately made forthe ceremony of the coronation of the Prince (for the King seemed to bepast all hope of recovering his reason), which, owing to the liberalityof the people, who loved to honor their idol, was to be on a largerscale than any ever before known, and the whole kingdom seemed united ina desire to do homage to so great a prince.
About this time one morning a vessel hove in sight, and was spoken, andfrom the replies it was gathered that in it was the Prince Anjah, withhis bride the Princess Merea; that the former had been shipwrecked, andwas now returning, with all his train, to his native land. The newsspread like wild-fire; great crowds came down to see the vessel; but itwas at once determined on all hands that the new comer was an impostor,and that he should not be allowed to land; indeed, so great was theindignation manifested, they fired upon the ship, which hastily withdrewfrom the harbor out of their reach. What must have been the feelings ofAnjah, who, after years of absence and escape from so many dangers, wasthus greeted on coming in sight of his native shore, which he had leftyears before, followed by the blessings of the people. One thing wasvery certain; it was folly to attempt to land while there was such afeeling of opposition abroad, so they removed out of harm’s way, and thevessel was anchored at a distance, but not out of the view of all, forfrom the towers of the palace the mother of Anjah was watching theship, for she, as well as the prime minister, had heard of the arrivalof the stranger, and all day had been maturing their plans to restoreAnjah to his home and his rights, and were only waiting for the night toseek the vessel, and bring him, his bride, and his companions on shore.Accordingly, as soon as it was dark, one or two devoted servants of theQueen, who were entrusted with the secret, went out in boats till theyreached the ship, and there revealed to the Prince the state of thingsat home, and prevailed on him and his followers to return with them.They were landed as secretly as possible, and gained the palace withoutdetection. Here they were met by the Queen and the prime minister; theformer embraced her long-lost son and his bride with the most ferventaffection, and they recounted to each other all the trials and dangersto which both had been subjected. It seems that Anjah had remained inthe kingdom of Merea’s father till a vessel had been fitted up for him,and, fearing to be again parted from Merea, after the shipwreck, whichhad so nearly sundered them for ever, Anjah had determined, ere hisdeparture, to make her his wife, so that she might accompany him to hishome. When the ship was in readiness the nuptials had been celebrated,and they had set sail. Anjah recounted to his mother and the ministerthe history of the shipwreck, of the loss of Balzebar, the royal helmetand plumes, and of the golden cloak. The Queen and the minister, intheir turn, related to Anjah the subsequent history of Balzebar, theinfatuation of the people, and that on the morrow he was to be crownedKing with great pomp. They all tried to devise some plan which, ifadopted, might bring all things to their true and proper position. Atlast Anjah thought of a way of revealing himself to Balzebar, for upon apublic recognition of him by the poor dwarf himself seemed to hang hisonly chance of being acknowledged. The night was spent in revolving thisscheme, which was heartily approved by all.
On the morrow, early in the morning, a great crowd was assembled beforethe palace, each striving to be foremost to get a place where theymight witness so august a ceremony. All things were prepared on the mostmagnificent scale; music resounded in peals to the skies; trains ofcavalry and infantry, with their glittering arms flashing in the sun,were filling in the courts; in the midst was a platform under an awning,on which was placed a throne prepared for Balzebar, and when all was inreadiness he was led forth. As the shouts of admiration went up, thedwarf lolled idly in his seat, and toyed with the golden sceptre thatwas presented to him; his dull eye wandering without expression over theassembly. Anjah, in disguise, placed himself in front of him, andpresently, when directly in his line of vision, raised the cap thatshaded his brow, and gave him a full view of his countenance, at thesame time fixing on him his eye. Balzebar was transfixed withastonishment for an instant; then, with a cry of joy, rushing forward,tore off the royal helmet and the golden cloak, and threw them, withhimself, at the feet of Anjah. A low murmur arose from the crowd as thewell known and despised dwarf, Balzebar, was before them, revealed inall his natural hideousness. At this moment the prime minister, whostood near at hand, threw the cloak of gold over the shoulders of Anjah,and placed the helmet with the white plumes upon his lofty brow, and, asthey knew their true prince, a shout so triumphant arose from theassembled multitude that it seemed like the breaking of thunder.
No farther notice was taken of Balzebar, but the crown was placed on thehead of Anjah, who now brought forward the Princess Merea, and presentedher as his spouse, and their future Queen. The whole procession returnedto the palace, in which Anjah was received as the reigning prince. TheKing, though he recovered sufficiently to recognise his son, remainedstill too weak in mind to admit of his assuming the reins of government,which he quietly resigned to his heir, and passed a quiet and peacefulold age, cheered by the kind attentions of his Queen and hisdaughter-in-law, the Princess Merea, to whom he became tenderlyattached. As for Balzebar, he returned to private life with a muchbetter grace than many others who have been thrown down from a lessexalted position. He was ever an intimate of the palace, and wasappointed by the King as “Keeper of the Royal Helmet and Golden Cloak,”a post for which he had before showed himself particularly fitted, andto which he thenceforth, as before, remained faithful. He lived longenough to follow the son and daughter of the Prince and Princess as hehad done their father and mother before them. As for Anjah and Merea,they ever retained the good opinion and admiration of their subjects,and bequeathed a prosperous and peaceful kingdom to their heirs.
The Yule Log: A Series of Stories for the Young Page 7