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THE
BANBURY CROSS
SERIES

PREPARED FOR CHILDREN By Grace Ruys

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
AND

DICK WHITTINGTON
AND HIS CAT
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THE SLEEPING BEAUTY AND
DICK WHITTINGTON
AND HIS CAT
ILLUSTRATED BY
R. ANNING
BELL

 

LONDON
PUBLISHED BY
J. M. DENT & CO.
AT ALDINE HOUSE IN
GREAT EASTERN STREET. 1894
 

To Bunny.

——wW\ww—-—

O the Banbury Cross of fairy-tale and
nursery rhyme come many pretty
folk and queer monsters. Enchanted
princes, beautiful damsels, two-headed
giants, and brave giant-killers, will be
found gathered there in the pages of
these little books. But of all these
famous folk, none are more famous
than Dick Whittington, and the Beauty
who fell asleep for a hundred years,
and only woke up in time not to be
forgotten.
8 TO BUNNY.

Dear Sleeping Beauty! Many of the
things that she had,—apples and cherries,
roses and honey, you still have to-day.
But what, you may wonder, was the
Hungary Water that they rubbed her
temples with when first she fell into
her deep sleep? In those days people
used to take the herb rosemary, and
make ?from it a pleasant water. This
they called Hungary Water, because it
was Saint Elizabeth, the good Queen
of Hungary, who first made it.

As for Dick Whittington, some stupid
people said lately, that his cat was not
really a live cat at all. As well say that
fairies are not fairies. ‘There is the cat,
plainly to be seen in Mr Bell’s pictures.
There is Dick Whittington, too, setting
out for London once again ; and as long
as London stands, no doubt English
children will listen to the church bells
and think of him.

Grace Rays.
The Sleeping Beauty.

HERE was formerly, in a distant
country, a king and a queen, the
most beautiful and happy in the world ,
having nothing to cloud their delight,
but the want of children to share in
their happiness. This was their whole
concern: physicians, waters, vows and
offerings were tried, but all to no
purpose. At last, however, after long
waiting, a daughter was born. At the
christening the princess had seven fairies
for her godmothers, who were all they
could find in the whole kingdom, that
every one might give her a gift.

The christening being over, a grand
feast was prepared to entertain and thank
the fairies: before each of them was
placed a magnificent cover, with a spoon,
a knife, and a fork, of pure gold and
exquisite workmanship, set with divers
Io THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

 

precious stones; but as they were all
sitting down at the table, they saw come
into the hall a very old fairy, whom they
had not invited, because it was near fifty
years since she had been out of a certain
tower, and was thought to have been
either dead or enchanted.

‘The king ordered her a cover, but could
not furnish her with such a case of gold
as the others had, because he had only
seven made for the seven fairies. The
old fairy, thinking she was slighted by
not being treated in the same manner as
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. II

   
  
 

   
 
 

  

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the rest, murmured out some threats
between her teeth.

One of the young fairies who sat by
her, overheard how she grumbled, and
judging that she might give the little
princess some unlucky gift, she went, as
soon as she rose from the table, and hid
herself behind the hangings, that she
might speak last, and repair, as much as
she possibly could, the evil which the old
fairy might intend.

In the meantime all the fairies began
to give their gifts to the princess in the
following manner :—
12 THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

The youngest gave her a gift that she
should be the most beautiful person in
the world.

The second, that she should have wit
like an angel.

The third, that she should have a won-
derful grace in everything that she did.

The fourth, that she should sing like
a nightingale.

The fifth, that she should dance like a
flower in the wind.

And the sixth, that she would play on
all kinds of musical instruments to the
utmost degree of perfection.

The old fairy’s turn coming next, she
advanced forward, and, with a shaking
head, that seemed to shew more spite
than age, she said,—That the princess,
when she was fifteen years old, would
have her hand pierced with a spindle,
and die of the wound.

This terrible gift made the whole
company tremble, and every one of them
fell a-crying.

At this very instant the young fairy
came out from behind the curtains and
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. 13

 

spoke these words aloud : ‘‘ Assure your-
selves, O King and Queen, that your
daughter shall not die of this disaster.
It is true, I have not the power to undo
what my elder has done. The princess
shall indeed .pierce her hand with a
spindle ; but, instead of dying, she shall
only fall into a profound sleep, which
shall last a hundred years, at the end of
which time a king’s son shall come, and
awake her from it.”

The king, to avoid this misfortune told
by the old malicious fairy, caused at once
his royal command to be issued forth,
whereby every person was forbidden,
upon pain of death, to spin with a distaff
4 THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

 

or spindle ; nay, even so much as to have
a spindle in any of their houses.

About fifteen or sixteen years after,
the king and queen being gone to one of
their houses of pleasure, the young prin-
cess happened one day to divert herself
by wandering up and down the palace,
when, going up from one apartment to
another, she at length came into a little
room at the top of the tower, where
an old woman, all alone, was spinning
with her spindle.

Now either she had not heard of the
king’s command issued forth against
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. 15

spindles, or else it was the wicked fairy
who had taken this disguise.

“What are you doing there, Goody ?”
said the princess. ‘I am spinning, my
pretty child,” said the old woman.
“Ha!” said the princess, “that is very
amusing : how do you do it? give it to
me that I may see if I can do so too.”
The old woman gave it her. She had
no sooner taken it into her hand than,
whether being very hasty at. it, and
somewhat awkward, or that the decree
of the spiteful fairy had caused it, is not to
be certainly known; but, however, sure
itis that the spindle immediately ran into
her hand, and she directly fell down upon
the ground in a swoon. Thereupon the
old woman cried out for help, and people
came in from every quarter in great
numbers: some threw water upon the
princess’s face, unlaced her, struck her
on the palm of her hands, and rubbed
her temples with Hungary water; but
all they could do did not bring her to
herself.

The good fairy who had saved her
 
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. 17

 

life, by condemning her to sleep one
hundred years, was in the kingdom of
Matakin, twelve thousand leagues off,
when this accident befell the princess ,
but she was instantly informed of it by
a little dwarf, who had boots of seven
leagues, that is, boots with which he
could tread over seven leagues of ground
at one stride. The fairy left the kingdom
immediately, and arrived at the palace
about an hour after, in a fairy chariot
drawn by dragons.

The king handed her out of the chariot
and she approved of everything he
had done; but as she had a very great

B
18 THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

 

foresight, she thought that when the
princess should awake, she might not
know what to do with herself, being all
alone in the old palace; therefore she
touched with her wand everything in
the palace, except the king and the queen
—governesses, maids of honour, ladies
of the bed-chamber, gentlemen, officers,
stewards, cooks, under-cooks, scullions,
guards, with their beef-eaters, pages,
and footmen; she likewise touched all
the horses that were in the stables, as
well pads as others, the great dog in the
outer court, and the little spaniel that
lay by her on the bed.
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. 19

 

Immediately on her touching them
they all fell asleep, that they might
not wake before their mistress, and that
they might be ready to wait upon her
when she wanted them. The very spits
at the fire, as full as they could be of
partridges and pheasants, and everything
in the place, whether alive or not,
fell asleep also.

All this was done in a moment, for
fairies are not long in doing their busi-
ness.

And now the king and queen, having
kissed their child without waking her,
went very sorrowfully forth from the
 
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. 21

palace, and issued a command that no
one should come near it. This, how-
ever, was not needed; for in less than
a quarter of an hour, there got up all
around the park such a vast number
of trees, great and small bushes, and
brambles, twined one within the other,
that neither man nor beast could pass
through, so that nothing could be seen
but the very tops of the towers, and not
that even, unless it were a good way
off. Nobody doubted but that here was
an extraordinary example of the fairies’
art, that the princess, while she remained
sleeping, might have nothing to fear
from any curious people.

When a hundred years were gone and
past, the son of a king then reigning,
who was of another family from that of
the sleeping princess, being out a-hunting
on that side of the country, asked what
these towers were which he saw in the
midst of a great thick wood. Every one
answered according as they had heard ;
some said it was an old ruinous castle
haunted by spirits; others, that all the
22 THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

 

sorcerers and witches kept their sabbath
or weekly meeting in that place.

The most common opinion was, that
. an ogre lived there, and that he carried
thither all the little children he could
catch, that he might eat them up at his
leisure, without anybody being able to
follow him, as having himself only power
to pass through the wood.

The prince was at a stand, not knowing
what to believe, when an aged man spoke
to him thus :

“‘May it please your highness, it is
about fifty years since I heard from my
father, who heard my grandfather say,
that there was then in that castle a prin-
cess, the most beautiful that was ever
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. 23

 

seen ; that she must sleep there for a hun-
dred years, and would be wakened by
a king’s son, whom she was a-waiting.”

The young prince was all on fire at
these words, believing without con-
sidering the matter, that he could put
an end to this rare adventure; and
pushed on by love and ambition, resolved
that moment to attempt it.

Scarce had he advanced towards the
wood, when all the great trees, the
bushes, the brambles, gave way of their
own accord, and let him pass through.
He went up to the castle, which he
saw at the end of a large avenue, and
24 THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

 

entered into it ; what not a little surprised
him was, he saw none of his people could
follow him, because the trees closed again,
as soon as he passed through them.
However, he did not cease from
valiantly pursuing his way. He came
into a spacious outward court, where
everything he saw might have frozen
up the most hardy person with horror.
There reigned all over a most frightful
silence, the image of death everywhere
shewing itself, and there was nothing to
be seen but stretched out bodies of men
and animals, seeming to be dead. He,
however, very well knew by the rosy
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. 25

 

faces and red noses of the beef-eaters that
they were only asleep ; and their goblets,
wherein still remained some few drops of
wine, plainly shewed that they had fallen
asleep while drinking.

He then, crossing a court paved with
marble, went upstairs, and came into the
guard-chamber, where the guards were
standing in their ranks, with their
halbards on their shoulders, and snoring
as loud as they could. After that he
went through several rooms full of
gentlemen and ladies all asleep, some
sitting and some standing.

At last he came into a chamber all gilt
26 THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

 

with gold; here he saw, upon a bed,
the curtains of which were all open, the
fairest sight that ever he beheld—a prin-
cess who appeared to be about fifteen or
sixteen years of age, and whose resplen-
dent beauty had in it something divine.
He approached with trembling and ad-
miration, and fell down before her on
his knees. And now the enchantment
was at an end ; the princess awaked, and
looking at him kindly, said, ‘‘Is it you,
my prince? I have waited for you a
long time ?”

The prince, charmed with these words,
and much more with the manner in which
 
28 THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.

 

they were spoken, answered that he
loved her better than the whole world.
Then they talked for four hours together
and yet said not half of what they had
got to say.

In the meantime all the palace awaked,
every one thinking on his particular
business. The chief lady of honour,
being ready to die of hunger, grew very
impatient, and told the princess aloud,
that supper was served up. ‘The prince
then gave her his hand ; though her attire
was very magnificent, his royal highness
did not forget to tell her that she was
dressed like his great-grandmother ; but
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY. 29

however, she looked not the less beautiful
and charming for all that. They went
into the great hall of looking-glasses,
where they held the wedding supper,
and were served by the officers of the
princess ; the violins and hautboys played
all old tunes, but very excellent, though
it was now about a hundred years since
they had any practice. After supper the
lord almoner married them in the Chapel
of the castle, and they lived happily ever
afterwards.

 
 
Dick Whittington
and his Cat.

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Dick Whittington
and his Cat.

—-w-

1 the reign of the famous King Edward

III. there was a little boy called Dick
Whittington, whose father and mother
died when he was very young, so that
he remembered nothing at all about
them, and was left a ragged little fellow,
running about a country village. As
poor Dick was not old enough to work,
he was very badly off; he got but little
for his dinner, and sometimes nothing at
all for his breakfast ; for the people who
lived in the village were very poor in-
deed, and could not spare him much
more than the parings of potatoes, and
now and then a hard crust of bread.

For all this Dick Whittington was a
very sharp boy, and was always listening
to what everybody talked about. On
Sunday he was sure to get near the
farmers, as they sat talking on the tomb-

c
34 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

 

stones in the churchyard, before the
parson was come; and once a week you
might see little Dick leaning against the
sign-post of the village alehouse, where
people stopped to drink as they came
from the next market town; and when
the barber’s shop door was open, Dick
listened to all the news that his customers
told one another.

In this manner Dick heard a great many
very strange things about the great city
called London; for the foolish country
people at that time thought that folks
in London were all fine gentlemen and
ladies ; and that there was singing and
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 35

 

music there all day long; and that the
streets were all paved with gold.

One day a large waggon and eight
horses, all with bells at their heads,
drove through the village while Dick
was standing by the sign-post. He
‘ thought that this waggon must be going
to the fine town of London; so he took
courage, and asked the waggoner to let
him walk with him by the side of the
waggon. As soon as the waggoner
heard that poor Dick had no father or
mother, and saw by his ragged clothes
that he could not be worse off than he
was, he told him he might go if he would,
so they set off together.
36 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

I could never find out how little Dick
contrived to get meat and drink on the
road; nor how he could walk so far,
for it was a long way; nor what he did
at night for a place to lie down to sleep
in. Perhaps some good-natured people
in the towns that he passed through,
when they saw he was a poor little
ragged boy, gave him something to eat ;
and perhaps the waggoner let him get
into the waggon at night, and take a
nap upon one of the boxes or large
parcels in the waggon.

Dick, however, got safe to London,
and was in such a hurry to see the fine
streets paved all over with gold, that
I am afraid he did not even stay to thank
the kind waggoner ; but ran off as fast
as his legs would carry him, through
many of the streets, thinking every
moment to come to those that were
paved with gold; for Dick had seen
a guinea three times in his own little
village, and remembered what a deal of
money it brought in change; so he
thought he had nothing to do but to
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 37

take up some little bits of the pavement,
and should then have
as much money as he
could wish for.

Poor Dick ran till
he was tired, and had
quite forgot his friend
the waggoner ; but at
last, finding it grow
dark, and that every
way he turned he saw
nothing but dirt in-
stead of gold, he sat
down in a dark corner
and cried himself to sleep.

Little Dick was all night in the streets ,
and next morning, being very hungry, he
got up and walked about, and asked
everybody he met to give him a half
penny to keep him from starving ; but
nobody stayed to answer him, and only
two or three gave him a halfpenny ; so
that the poor boy was soon quite weak
and faint for the want of victuals.

At last a good-natured looking gentle-
man saw how hungry he looked. ‘ Why

 
38 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

a

  
  
 

  

ORS
U i RS

  
 

don’t you go to work, my lad?” said he
to Dick. ‘“ That I would, but I do not
know how to get any,” answered Dick.
«If you are willing, come along with
me,” said the gentleman, and took him
to a hay-field, where Dick worked
briskly, and lived merrily till the hay
was made.

After this he found himself as badly
off as before; and being almost starved
again, he laid himself down at the door
of Mr Fitzwarren, a rich merchant.
Here he was soon seen by the cook-
maid, who was an ill-tempered creature,
and happened just then to be very busy
dressing dinner for her master and mis-
tress; so she called out to poor Dick:
«What business have you there, you
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 39

 

lazy rogue? there is nothing else but
beggars; if you do not take yourself
away, we will see how you will like a
sousing of some dish-water ; I have some
here hot enough to make you jump.”
Just at that time Mr Fitzwarren him-
self came home to dinner; and when he
saw a dirty ragged boy lying at the
door, he said to him: ‘‘ Why do you
lie there, my boy? You seem old
40 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

  

CI CULT A
enough to work; I am afraid you are
inclined to be lazy.”

“No, indeed, sir,” said Dick to him,
“that is not the case, for I would work
with all my heart, but I do not know
anybody, and I believe I am very sick
for the want of food.” ‘‘ Poor fellow,
get up; let me see what ails you.”

Dick now tried to rise, but was obliged
to lie down again, being too weak to
stand, for he had not eaten any food for
three days, and was no longer able to
run about and beg a halfpenny of people
in the street. So the kind merchant
ordered him to be taken into the house,
and have a good dinner given him, and

 
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 41

be kept to do what dirty work he was
able for the cook.

Little Dick would have lived very
happy in this good family if it had not
been for the ill-natured cook, who was
finding fault and scolding him from
morning to night, and besides, she was
so fond of basting, that when she had
no meat to baste, she would baste poor
Dick’s head and shoulders with a broom,
or anything else that happened to fall in
her way. At last her ill-usage of him
was told to Alice, Mr Fitzwarren’s
daughter, who told the cook she should
be turned away if she did not treat him
kinder.

The ill-humour of the cook was now
a little amended ; but besides this Dick
had another hardship to get over. His
bed stood in a garret, where there were
so many holes in the floor and the walls
that every night he was tormented with
rats and mice. A gentleman having
given Dick a penny for cleaning his shoes,
he thought he would buy a cat with it.
The next day he saw a girl with a cat,
 
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 43

and asked her if she would let him have
it fora penny. ‘The girl said she would,
and at the same time told him the cat
was an excellent mouser.

Dick hid his cat in the garret, and always
took care to carry

a part of his din- Py ane =
Ho Ro

    

ner to her ; and
in a short time
he had no more
trouble with the
rats and mice,
but slept quite
sound every
night.

Soon after
this, his master had a ship ready to
sail; and as he thought it right that all
his servants should have some chance
for good fortune as well as himself, he
called them all into the parlour and asked
them what they would send out.

They all had something that they were
willing to venture except poor Dick,
who had neither money nor goods, and
therefore could send nothing.

 
44 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

For this reason he did not come into
the parlour with the rest ; but Miss Alice
guessed what was the matter, and ordered
him to be called in. She then said she
would lay down some money for him,
from her own purse; but the father told
her this would not do, for it must be
something of his own.

When poor Dick heard this, he said
he had nothing but a cat which he bought
for a penny some time since of a little
girl.

“Fetch your cat then, my good boy,”
said Mr Fitzwarren, ‘“and-let her go.”

Dick went upstairs and brought down
poor puss, with tears in his eyes, and
gave her to the captain; for he said he
should now be kept awake again all night
by the rats and mice.

All the company laughed at Dick’s odd
venture; and Miss Alice, who felt pity
for the poor boy, gave him some money
to buy another cat.

This, and many other marks of kind-
ness shown him by Miss Alice, made
the ill-tempered cook jealous of poor
 
46 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

 

Dick, and she began to use him more
cruelly than ever, and always made game
of him for sending his cat to sea. She
asked him if he thought his cat would
sell for as much money as would buy a
stick to beat him.

At last poor Dick could not bear this
usage any longer, and he thought he
would run away from his place; so he
packed up his few things, and started
very early in the morning, on All-hallows
Day, which is the first of November.
He walked as far as Holloway; and
there sat down on a stone, which to this
day is called Whittington’s stone, and
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 47

began to think to himself which road
he should take as he went onwards.

While he was thinking what he should
do, the Bells of Bow Church, which at
that time had only six, began to ring,
and he fancied their sound seemed to say
to him :

“Turn again, Whittington,
Lord Mayor of London.”

“‘Lord Mayor of London!” said he to
himself. ‘‘Why, to be sure, I would
put up with almost anything now, to be
Lord Mayor of London, and ride in a
fine coach, when I grow to be a man!
Well, I will go back, and think nothing
of the cuffing and scolding of the old
cook, if I am to be Lord Mayor of
London at last.”

Dick went back, and was lucky enough
to get into the house, and set about his
work, before the old cook came down-
stairs.

The ship, with the cat on board, was a
long time at sea; and was at last driven
by the winds on a part of the coast of
Barbary, where the only people were the
48 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

Moors, that the English had never known
before.

The people then came in great numbers
to see the sailors, who were of different
colour to themselves, and treated them
very civilly; and, when they became
better acquainted, were very eager to
buy the fine things that the ship was
loaded with.

When the captain saw this, he sent
patterns of the best things he had to the
king of the country ; who was so much
pleased with them, that he sent for the
captain to =
the palace.
Here they
were placed,
as it is the
custom of
the country,
on rich car-
pets marked
with gold
and silver
flowers. The king and queen were
seated at the upper end of the room;

 
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 49

and a number of dishes were brought
in for dinner. They had not sat
long, when a vast number of rats and
mice rushed in, helping themselves from
almost every dish. The captain won-
dered at this, and asked if these vermin
were not very unpleasant.

‘*Oh yes,” said they, “‘very destructive ;
and the king would give half his treasure
to be freed of them, for they not only
destroy his dinner, as you see, but they
assault him in his chamber, and even in
bed, so that he is obliged to be watched
while he is sleeping for fear of them.”

The captain jumped for joy; he re-
membered poor Whittington and his cat,
and told the king he had a creature on
board the ship that would despatch all
these vermin immediately. The king’s
heart heaved so high at the joy which
this news gave him that his turban
dropped off his head. “Bring this
creature to me,” says he; ‘vermin are
dreadful in a court, and if she will per-
form what you say, I will load your ship
with gold and jewels, in exchange for her.”

D
50 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

 

took this opportunity to set forth the
merits of Miss Puss. He told his
majesty that it would be inconvenient
to part with her, as, when she was gone,
the rats and mice might destroy the
goods in the ship—but to oblige his
majesty he would fetch her. “Run,
run!” said the queen; ‘¢I am impatient
to see the dear creature.”

Away went the captain to the ship,
while another dinner was got ready.
He put puss under his arm, and arrived
at the place soon enough to see the table
full of rats.

When the cat saw them, she did not
wait for bidding, but jumped out of the
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 51

captain’s arms, and in a few minutes laid
almost all the rats and mice dead at her
feet. The rest of them in their fright
scampered away to their holes.

The king and queen were quite
charmed to get so easily rid of such
plagues, and desired that the creature
who had done them so great a kindness
might be brought to them for inspection.
Upon which the captain called : “ Pussy,
pussy, pussy!” and she came to him.
He then presented her to the queen,
who started back, and was afraid to
touch a creature who had made such a
havoc among the rats and mice. How-
ever, when the captain stroked the cat
and called: ‘Pussy, pussy,” the queen
also touched her and cried: “Putty,
putty,” for she had not learned English.
He then put her down on the queen’s lap,
where she, purring, played with her
majesty’s hand, and then sung herself to
sleep.

The king, having seen the exploits of
Mrs Puss, and being informed that her
kittens would stock the whole country,
 
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 53

 

bargained with the captain for the whole
ship’s cargo, and then gave him ten times
as much for the cat as all the rest
amounted to.

The captain then took leave of the
royal party, and set sail with a fair wind
for England, and after a happy voyage
arrived safe in London.

One morning Mr Fitzwarren had just
come to his counting-house and seated
himself at the desk, when somebody
came tap, tap, at the door. ‘‘ Who's
there?” says Mr Fitzwarren. “A
friend,” answered the other; ‘‘I come
to bring you good news of your ship
Unicorn.” The merchant, bustling up

| instantly, opened the door, and who

should be seen waiting but the captain
54 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT'

and factor, with a cabinet of jewels, and
a bill of lading, for which the merchant
lifted up his eyes and thanked heaven for
sending him such a prosperous voyage.

They then told the story of the cat,
and showed the rich present that the king
and queen had sent for her to poor Dick.
As soon as the merchant heard this, he
called out to his servants :

** Go fetch him—we will tell him of the same ;
Pray call him Mr Whittington by name.”

Mr Fitzwarren now showed himself
to be a good man; for when some of
his servants said so great a treasure was
too much for Dick, he answered : ‘* God
forbid I should deprive him of the value
of a single penny.”

He then sent for Dick, who at that
time was scouring pots for the cook, and
was quite dirty.

Mr Fitzwarren ordered a chair to be
set for him, and so he began to think
they were making game of him, at the
same time begging them not to play
tricks with a poor simple boy, but to let
 
56 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

him go down again, if they pleased, to
his work.

“Indeed, Mr Whittington,” said the
merchant, ‘‘ we are all quite in earnest
with you, and I most heartily rejoice in
the news these gentlemen have brought
you ; for the captain has sold your cat to

the King of Barbary, and brought you ©

in return for her more riches than I
possess in the whole world ; and I wish
you may long enjoy them |”

Mr Fitzwarren then told the men to |

open the great treasure they had brought
with them ; and said: “‘ Mr Whittington

has nothing to do but to put it in some

place of safety.”

Poor Dick hardly knew how to behave |

himself for joy. He begged his master
to take what part of it he pleased, since
he owed it all to his kindness. <‘‘ No,
no,” answered Mr Fitzwarren, “this is
all your own; and I have no doubt but
you will use it well.”

Dick next asked his mistress, and then
Miss Alice, to accept a part of his good
fortune ; but they would not, and at the

 
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 57

os a a

GN oR
Seals

ia

a

same time told him they felt great joy at
his good success. But this poor fellow
was too kind-hearted to keep it all to
himself; so he made a present to the
captain, the mate, and the rest of Mr
Fitzwarren’s servants; and even to the
ill-natured old cook.

After this Mr Fitzwarren advised him
to send for a proper tradesman and get
himself dressed like a gentleman ; and
told him he was welcome to live in his
house till he could provide himself with
a better.

When Whittington’s face was washed,
his hair curled, his hat cocked, and he

E

 
 
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT. 59

was dressed in a nice suit of clothes, he
was as handsome and genteel as any
young man who visited at Mr Fitz-
warren’s; so that Miss Alice, who had
once been so kind to him, and thought
of him with pity, now looked upon him
as fit to be her sweetheart; and the
more so, no doubt, because Whittington’
was now always thinking what he could
do to oblige her, and making her the
prettiest presents that could be.

Mr Fitzwarren soon saw their love
for each other, and proposed to join
them in marriage ; and to this they both
readily agreed. A day for the wedding
was soon fixed; and they were attended
to church by the Lord Mayor, the court
of aldermen, the sheriffs, and a great
number of the richest merchants in
London, whom they afterwards treated
with a very rich feast.

History tells us that Mr Whittington
and his lady lived in great splendour,
and were very happy. They had several
children. He was Sheriff of London,
also Mayor, and received the honour of
knighthood by Henry V.
60 WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.

The figure of Sir Richard Whittington
with his cat in his arms, carved in stone,
was to be seen till the year 1780 over
the archway of the old prison of New-
gate, that stood across Newgate Street.

 

TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
 
ISh703,

  
 
CERN Nhe

WN

ALI LEAD EN Lae

FUGA Ae

 

Dipilitun li aii ia snl Na