Sylvie and Bruno Concluded
- Dreams, that elude the Maker’s frenzied grasp—
- Hands, stark and still, on a dead Mother’s breast,
- Which nevermore shall render clasp for clasp,
- Or deftly soothe a weeping Child to rest—
- In suchlike forms me listeth to portray
- My Tale, here ended. Thou delicious Fay—
- The guardian of a Sprite that lives to tease thee—
- Loving in earnest, chiding but in play
- The merry mocking Bruno! Who, that sees thee,
- Can fail to love thee, Darling, even as I?—
- My sweetest Sylvie, we must say “Good-bye!”
- Sylvie and Bruno Concluded preface
- Let me here express my sincere gratitude to the many Reviewers who have noticed, whether favourably or unfavourably, the previous Volume. Their unfavourable remarks were, most probably, well-deserved; the favourable ones less probably so.
- Bruno’s Lessons
- During the next month or two my solitary town-life seemed, by contrast, unusually dull and tedious. I missed the pleasant friends I had left behind at Elveston—the genial interchange of thought—the sympathy which gave to one’s ideas a new and vivid reality: but, perhaps more than all, I missed the companionship of the two Fairies—or Dream-Children, for I had not yet solved the problem as to who or what they were whose…
- Love’s Curfew
- “Fayfield Junction! Change for Elveston!”What subtle memory could there be, linked to these commonplace words, that caused such a flood of happy thoughts to fill my brain? I dismounted from the carriage in a state of joyful excitement for which I could not at first account. True, I had taken this very journey, and at the same hour of the day, six months ago; but many things had happened since then, and an old man’s memory has…
- Streaks of Dawn
- Next day proved warm and sunny, and we started early, to enjoy the luxury of a good long chat before he would be obliged to leave me.
- The Dog-King
- “They shooked hands,” said Bruno, who was trotting at my side, in answer to the unspoken question.
- Matilda Jane
- “Come to me, my little gentleman,” said our hostess, lifting Bruno into her lap,” and tell me everything.”
- Willie’s Wife
- He made for the door of the public-house, but the children intercepted him. Sylvie clung to one arm; while Bruno, on the opposite side, was pushing him with all his strength, and many inarticulate cries of “Gee-up! Gee-back! Woah then!” which he had picked up from the waggoners.
- Mein Herr
- So I went on my lonely way, and, on reaching the Hall, I found Lady Muriel standing at the garden-gate waiting for me.
- In a Shady Place
- The ten days glided swiftly away: and, the day before the great party was to take place, Arthur proposed that we should stroll down to the Hall, in time for afternoon-tea.
- The Farewell-Party
- On the following day, Arthur and I reached the Hall in good time, as only a few of the guests—it was to be a party of eighteen—had as yet arrived; and these were talking with the Earl, leaving us the opportunity of a few words apart with our hostess.
- Jabbering and Jam
- When the last lady had disappeared, and the Earl taking his place at the head of the table, had issued the military order “Gentlemen! Close up the ranks, if you please!” and when, in obedience to his command, we had gathered ourselves compactly round him, the pompous man gave a deep sigh of relief, filled his glass to the brim, pushed on the wine, and began one of his favourite orations. “They are charming, no doubt! Charming,…
- The Man in the Moon
- The children came willingly. With one of them on each side of me, I approached the corner occupied by “Mein Herr”. “You don’t object to children, I hope?” I began.
- Fairy-Music
- The silence that ensued was broken by the voice of the musical young lady, who had seated herself near us, and was conversing with one of the newly-arrived guests.
- What Tottles Meant
- Mein Herr unrolled the manuscript, but, to my great surprise, instead of reading it, he began to sing it, in a rich mellow voice that seemed to ring through the room.
- Bruno’s Picnic
- “As bald as bald,” was the bewildering reply. “Now, Bruno, I’ll tell you a story.”
- The Little Foxes
- “So, when they got to the top of the hill, Bruno opened the hamper: and he took out the Bread, and the Apples and the Milk: and they ate, and they drank. And when they’d finished the Milk, and eaten half the Bread and half the Apples, the Lamb said ‘Oh, my paws is so sticky! I want to wash my paws!’ And the Lion said ‘Well, go down the hill, and wash them in the brook, yonder. We’ll wait for you!’ "
- Beyond These Voices
- “I didn’t quite catch what you said!” were the next words that reached my ear, but certainly not in the voice either of Sylvie or of Bruno, whom I could just see, through the crowd of guests, standing by the piano, and listening to the Count’s song. Mein Herr was the speaker. “I didn’t quite catch what you said!” he repeated. But I’ve no doubt you take my view of it. Thank you very much for your…
- To the Rescue!
- “It isn’t bed-time!” said a sleepy little voice. “The owls hasn’t gone to bed, and I s’a’n’t go to seep wizout oo sings to me!”
- A Newspaper-Cutting
- EXTRACT FROM THE “FAYFIELD CHRONICLE”Our readers will have followed with painful interest, the accounts we have
- A Fairy-Duet
- The year—what an eventful year it had been for me,— was drawing to a close, and the brief wintry day hardly gave light enough to recognize the old familiar objects bound up with so many happy memories, as the train glided round the last bend into the station, and the hoarse cry of “Elveston! Elveston!” resounded along the platform.
- Gammon and Spinach
- My landlady’s welcome had an extra heartiness about it: and though, with a rare delicacy of feeling, she made no direct allusion to the friend whose companionship had done so much to brighten life for me, I felt sure that it was a kindly sympathy with my solitary state that made her so specially anxious to do all she could think of to ensure my comfort, and make me feel at home.
- The Professor’s Lecture
- “In Science—in fact, in most things—it is usually best to begin at the beginning. In some things, of course, it’s better to begin at the other end. For instance, if you wanted to paint a dog green, it might be best to begin with the tail, as it doesn’t bite at that end. And so—”
- The Banquet
- “Heaviness may endure for a night: but joy cometh in the morning.” Thenext day found me quite another being. Even the memories of my lost friend and
- The Pig-Tale
- By this time the appetites of the guests seemed to be nearly satisfied, and even Bruno had the resolution to say, when the Professor offered him a fourth slice of plum-pudding, “I thinks three helpings is enough!”
- The Beggar’s Return
- “Your Imperial Highnesses!” he began. “It’s the old Beggar again! Shall we set the dogs at him?”
- Life Out of Death
- The sound of kicking, or knocking, grew louder every moment: and at last a door opened somewhere near us. “Did you say ‘come in!’ Sir?” my landlady asked timidly.
“Nasty?” said the Professor. “Why of course it is! What would Medicine be, if it wasn’t nasty?”
“Nice,” said Bruno.