"Give it to me. Oh, John! John! where can it have come from? The dear
little creature! And see what lovely things it has? Only look at this
satin quilt in which it is wrapped, and, see, John, a toy of coral with
gold bells! My pretty one, hush! hush! hush!" And Mrs. Shelley rocked
the child in her arms; but her astonishment and admiration got the
better of her motherly instinct for a moment, and she proceeded with her
examination of its clothes. "Its nightdress is the finest cambric and
trimmed with real lace, and see this exquisite handkerchief tucked in
for a feeder; look! there is a coronet on it, John. I verily believe the
'Pharisees,' as the children say, brought it. Do go and see if there is
a fairy ring in the meadow, then I shall be sure they did!"
Now, Sussex peasants--shepherds, especially--were very superstitious in
the days in which this baby was found, and both John Shelley and his
wife half believed that the fungus rings, so often found on the downs,
were made by the fairies, or "Pharisees," as they called them. So,
partly to see if he could find any further clue to the child, partly to
look for the fungus ring, John Shelley took a lantern and went out to
explore the premises.
Pages:
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91