PLACE AUX DAMES.
Once more the lovely hand was waved—this time the arm in its graceful curve taking in every part of the palace of gold and flowers—when instantly a thousand fairies stood in one vast circle around, and gracefully bent low before their queen. Then with a bound each took her place opposite one of the trellises of the bower, standing with the right foot pointed, and waited for the signal to begin the dance.
BELLES AND BELLS.
STARRING IT.
The queen, with many a graceful turn, circled round the glittering ring of dazzling fairy brightness, waving one hand outwards to this fairy and the other inwards to that; and though there were a thousand of them, and she thus, in soft floating dance, went round all, yet it seemed to be done almost in the time that the eye could follow her; then with a bound she once more stood in the centre of the great bouquet, and having slowly drooped in a deep long curtsey, acknowledging the reverence of her subjects, sprang to her full height on tiptoe, and threw her hand above her head, holding a rose that she had worn at her breast, which burst out into the form of a star, scintillating with light of most dazzling brilliancy. This was the signal,—and in a moment, ching, ching, ching, ringa, ringa, ring, went the million little silver bells upon the skirts of the fairies, as they floated in graceful measure hand in hand. Then each laying hold on one of the supports of the dome, they raised it up, and danced round, carrying the canopy with all its myriads of flowers with them, faster and ever faster, till the eye could scarce follow the ever-shifting shades of dazzling colour,—the light from the queen’s hand, varying ever and anon, changing the whole scene from dazzling brightness to crimson glow, from green gold of sunset to soft purple of fading twilight.
The boys stood gazing in mute wonder and delight at the graceful motion of the queen and her fairies, having never seen any dancing but at a ball at home, where people rushed about, elbows meeting ribs, and strips of tulle and tarlatan torn and scattered about; or at a spectacle, where a pantomime fairy seemed trying to jerk off her shoes.
GOOD-BYE.
Presently the rapid thrilling ching-a-ring of the bells—through whose chiming a melody not to be described, but wonderful in its sweetness, caught the ear—became slower, the fairies to whom the queen had waved her hand outwards turned round, facing those to whom she had waved inwards; and out and in they glided, ever faster and faster, the trellis-work of the canopy unplaiting as they went, till the last crossing being undone, the fairies ranged themselves on opposite sides, the bars making one long, brilliant, golden-arched bower, the end of which seemed small in the far distance. Then the queen, with a merry smile that had something half-roguish in it, kissed her hand once more to the boys, saying—