The magic spectacles

Front matter

FT MEADE

GenCol 1

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Chapter I

THE MAGICIAN. THE SPECTACLES.

Two children were sitting one summer’s evening on the piazza of a house in a quiet street in the city of JSTew York. They were brother and sister. George had been trying to do a long sum in his arithmetic lesson, but he had not succeeded very well, for it required more patience than he was disposed to give it. Clara had been reading a story about fairies. As it was now getting too dark to read or study, George threw down his slate, with disappointment at not being able to get the right answer to his sum, and said, with impatience : —

“I do not see what use there is in having such

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long and hard sums. I wish there was no such thing as arithmetic. See there,” he said, showing his slate to his sister; “I have covered the whole of this.side and a part of the other with figures, and I have not got the answer right, after all my care and trouble.”

“ You must get a fairy to help you,” said Clara, in a half-playful, half-musing mood.

“ A fairy ! ” replied George, with much contempt. “You are always talking about fairies, when you know there are no such things. O, yes, I think I will,” he said, his countenance brightening up, while a smile played around his lips, as though some funny idea was about to break out into speech. “ I know a fairy who can help me, though he don’t look very fairy-like. My fairy is Tom Jones.”

“ Tom Jones ! ” exclaimed Clara; “ that big, rough fellow, with heavy boots, and hard, clumsy hands ! Think of him skipping around among the flowers, flying here and there and everywhere, without be-

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ing heard or seen ! It is too absurd ! ” And she laughed outright.

“ It may he that he could not skip about much,” said George, “ but it is not a hopping and skipping and hide-and-go-seek fairy that I want. I want a steady and useful one, if any. Tom Jones is the fairy that can help one in arithmetic, let me tell you. His fingers skip about fast enough when he is doing sums. He knows more about arithmetic than any boy in school. I do believe some real fairy must help him, if there are any such creatures, and I know there are not. He seems to see right through a sum in a minute, and he always gets the right answer. Then he is so good-natured about helping one ; he seems to like to do it. He is not like your fairies, that are always teasing and tormenting and playing tricks upon one. He is a real good substantial fairy. Yes, Tom Jones is my fairy.”

“Well, he is not very fairy-like in appearance, certainly,” said Clara. “ But would n’t it be so nice if

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there were real fairies like those we read about, who could do wonderful things for us ? If you got into difficulty, your fairy would always be at hand to help you out. If you wanted anything, just say some magical word, and she would be present with whatever you wanted. You could go anywhere, or do anything you pleased, without any trouble.”

“ Yes, I think it would be splendid,” said George. “ But do you suppose there ever were any such strange and wonderful beings as we read about in stories ? ”

“ Indeed I do,” replied Clara. “ But it was a great while ago when they lived. They all seem to have gone away from the earth now.”

“Well, I don’t believe there ever were any such beings anywhere,” said George. “All the things that are said about them in the books we read are nothing but stories that somebody made up. Tom Jones is my fairy, after all.”

“ But how could they make up the stories about fairies, if there had never been any ? ” asked Clara.

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“ Why, ” said George, “ you can imagine anything you please. It is as easy to imagine fairies as anything else.”

“ Could you, if you had never heard of any such beings, or any like them \ ” asked Clara.

“ Try to think of something that nobody ever saw or heard of, or that never existed in any form.”

This was something George had never thought of before. He sat a few moments, trying to do the impossible thing, and when he found he could not, he said, “ I cannot ; but some persons may be able to do it, for all that. I cannot do all my sums, but my fairy can.”

So the children went on chatting until the light had nearly faded from the west, and the very time • for fairies to appear, if there were any, had come. The chatting ceased, and they were about to go into the house, when they thought they heard one of the street cries. They both listened. It sounded a little like “ blackberries.”

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“ What is it ? ” asked Clara, in a half whisper, as though she was almost afraid to speak aloud. They had been talking about ghosts and fairies until Clara could almost see them about her.

“ Oh, it is nothing but the old blackberry woman,” replied George. “ She cannot have had as good luck to-day as usual, or she would not be out so late. She usually sells out long before this time. There it is again ! It sounds much clearer now. I am quite sure it is she ; and she is coming this way. Let us wait and buy some, and help the old lady a little. Perhaps she may be 6 a fairy in disguise, J ” he continued, in a jocose way, “ and if we are kind to her she may do some wonderful thing for us, — give me a wishing-hat, and you a magical ring, or some such wonderful talisman.”

“ Who knows,” said Clara, “ but what she may ! ”

Her imagination was so excited by what she had been reading, and by the conversation, that she

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would not have been surprised to see some wonderful being come up and speak to her.

44 If she only brings some good ripe blackberries, I shall be content for the present,” said George.

The cry continued, and seemed to come nearer. The children both listened.

44 The cry is not 4 blackberries,’ after all,” said George, in a doubtful tone ; “I wonder what it can be. It sounds like 4 spectacles.’ That is it, I do believe. Hark ! 4 Spec-ta-cles ! Spec-ta-cles ! ’ that is it, as sure as the world. There it is again.”

44 Spec-ta-cles,” came sounding through the streets in a clear, shrill, and prolonged tone. 44 Spec-ta-cles ! Make old eyes as good as new.”

44 How strange, that any one should be around selling spectacles at this time of the day ! ”

He had hardly said this, before a sprightly old man, with bright black eyes, and a pleasant smile about his mouth, came along with a box in his hand, and seeing George and Clara on the piazza, he

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opened the gate, and came directly up to them, at the same time addressing them in a pleasant tone.

“ Good evening, children ! Would you like to buy a pair of spectacles? They will make old eyes as good as new.”

George and Clara both laughed at the idea of wearing spectacles.

“ Our eyes are very good,” said Clara. “We are not quite so old as you seem to think. I am afraid we could not see as well with your spectacles as without them.”

“O, yes, you can. You can see much better,” said the old man. “ I can lit young eyes and old, blue eyes and brown, black eyes and gray. Will you try a pair ? ” And he set down his box, which the children noticed was very much like a book in shape, as if he intended to open it.

“We will not trouble you to open it,” said George, “ for I am quite sure we shall not buy any, unless you have a pair that will help me to see through my

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sums in arithmetic. If you have, perhaps we might make a trade.”

u Just the thing, exactly,” said the old man. “ I have a plenty of them that will fit all eyes, and help everybody to understand everything that it will be useful for them to know. A boy by the name of Jones got a pair of me a few years ago, and he is said to be a first-rate scholar now.”

“What Jones?” inquired George, with great eagerness. “ Was it Thomas Jones ? ”

“ Yes, that was his name. Do you know him ? ”

“ O, yes ! ” said George. “ And he often shows me how to get my sums.”

George now began to take a deep interest in the spectacles. Perhaps there might be something in what the old man said, after all. It did seem perfectly wonderful how easily Tom Jones could do sums that it was impossible for him to do. If he could get something that would help him to do as

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well as Tom did, lie would be perfectly delighted, and he began to think seriously of buying a pair of the old man’s spectacles. But, then, he thought they must be very dear, and he might not be able to buy them after all. Still there would be no harm in asking the price. While he was thinking a moment what it would be best to do, the old man turned to Clara, and said : —

“ I have a pair for you, too, Miss Clara.”

“No, I thank you. I have no sums to trouble now,” she replied. “ But how did you know that my name is Clara ? I think you never saw me before.”

“ No, I never did,” replied the mysterious man. “ But I have a pair of spectacles which enables me to see the names of everybody I wish to know. Your name, my little man, is George Field, I perceive. The spectacles are very wonderful and very useful. Will you buy a pair ? ”

The children looked at each other with much surprise, and Clara became a little frightened. She

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began to fear that he might be some wizard who had come to harm them. But when she looked up to his face, he smiled as if he knew her thoughts, and he appeared to be so pleasant and kind, that she felt quite sure he did not intend to do them any injury. Her fears being quieted, she was disposed to talk more with him.

“Those must be very strange spectacles,” she said. “ Have you any that will help little girls to get any lesson, to sew, and to do any kind of work? ”

“Yes, indeed,” said he. “ Put on a pair, and you can see perfectly how to do everything that it is your duty to do.”

“ In the dark, too ? ” said George, in an incredulous tone.

“Yes, you can see somethings as well, and a little better, in the dark than in the light.”

The interest of both George and Clara was now much excited. What the old man told them about the quality of his spectacles seemed absurd and im-

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possible ; and yet there was something so kind and gentle in his manner; he was so bright and earnest, and apparently sincere, that they could not resist the conviction that there must be some truth in what he said. Clara, who was impulsive, and somewhat credulous and imaginative, was ready to believe that a real fairy had appeared to her, and in her quick and ardent fancy she was already beginning to picture the splendid results that would flow from it. She was willing to give everything in her possession for a pair of spectacles that would work such wonderful effects. But George was naturally skeptical "and cautious; and though he was almost convinced of the truth of what the magician told him, and eagerly alive to the great value of such a pair of spectacles, yet he wanted to be sure that it was not all a delusion, before he purchased a pair. He thought if he could try on a pair, and see for himself, he would be certain not to be deceived. So he said : —

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“ Perhaps you will let me put on a pair of your magical glasses, and try them.”

“ Certainly, my little man, with all my heart ; you may try them as long as you please ; and if you do not like them, and if they do not help you to see all I have promised, you will be the first person who has ever found them to fail.”

But still George had some misgivings about trying them. How strange he would look with spectacles on ! What would his father and mother and his companions at school say to him \ Besides, they might have some bad effect upon his eyes, so that he would have to wear them all the time or he could not see anything.

While these doubts were passing in his mind, the old man was feeling in his pockets for the key to his little box. As soon as he found it, he unlocked the box and raised the lid. A strange and bright light flashed from it, which seemed to make the space around them bright. The children both 2

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started, and looked into the box with the most intense curiosity. But they could see nothing like spectacles. The old man seemed to be busily engaged in examining the different apartments of the box, and acted as though he was turning over various things, though the children could see nothing but a bright glare of light. At last the old man cried out, briskly : —

“ Here they are ! here is a pair that will fit you exactly. Just the thing for you ! They will suit the color and form of your eyes, and, what is much better and more important, they will suit your mind.” And he went through all the motions of opening a pair of spectacles, and wiping the glasses with a piece of cloth. Then, stretching out his hand to George, he said : —

“ Here, my little fellow, try these ; I think they will make everything look bright and clear.”

But George could see nothing in his hand ; and after looking at it a moment, he said : —

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“ I cannot see any spectacles in your hand.”

“ Can’t you ? Can’t you see anything in my hand ? Look sharp, now ! ”

“No,” replied George; “I can’t see anything. There is not anything in your hand.”

“ There,” said the little man, “ they will fit you exactly. They are perfectly transparent, and you can see through them, and not see them. Now I will put them on.”

The old man approached him, and rubbed his forehead, and passed his hands several times over his eyes, and then passed them around to his ears. At first, George thought he was putting something into them, and then the feeling changed into a sound, which seemed to penetrate to his brain, and down to his very heart.

“ There,” said the man, “ they are safely and securely on.”

“But I don’t see any spectacles, nor can I feel any,” said George, putting his hand up to his eyes.

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“ No, I tliink not ; the spectacles are not on your nose. They are worn inside of your eyes, and of course no one can see them, nor can you feel them. There was no way of getting them into their proper place but through your ears. They are magical spectacles, and you will find them so, I assure you.”

George opened and shut his eyes, and put his hand to them, and to his ears, and looked at this thing and that. He thought everything looked some brighter, though he.wasnot quite sure. Indeed, the whole affair had turned out so different from what he expected, that he hardly knew whether he was awake or in a dream. He must be under the influence of some magical power.

The magician now turned to Clara, and said, very pleasantly : —

“ Now let us get a pair for you.”

lie examined her eyes very carefully, and asked her some questions about what she liked and disliked to

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do ; and then went to his box, and hunted it over as before. In a little while he turned round before her, and holding out his open hand, he asked her “ how she liked the looks of those ? ”

“ I cannot see anything at all,” she replied, “ but your hand. There is not anything in it.”

“ Then they will fit you exactly,” he said ; “ for if you could see the spectacles, you could not see anything else clearly. They would not fit you.”

He then proceeded to put them on, in the same way as he had done to George. Clara rather shrank from the operation at first. But his voice was so pleasant, and his manner was so kind and gentle, that her fears were soon quieted, and she stood quite still while he was putting the spectacles in their place. When this was accomplished,

“ There they are,” he said. “ How you are all right, and you can see as well as the keenestsighted.”

“But I do not see anything wonderful,” said

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Clara, looking around. “I cannot see any better than I could before.”

“Neither can I,” said George, with some disappointment in his tone.

“ No,” replied the little magician, “ I know you cannot, and you do not need any aid from the spectacles now. You can see well enough without them. They were not made to help those who wear them, when they do not need any help, but only when they do need it. This is one of their excellent and wonderful qualities. You do%not want any one to assist you in doing those sums that you can easily work out yourself, do you, George ? ”

“No, indeed,” he replied. “There are a great many sums that 1 can do easily enough, and there is real fun in doing them when the answer comes out right ; and there are many other things that I would not thank any fairy to help me to do.”

“■Which do you like to do best, easy or hard things ? ” asked the spectacle man.

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“ O, when I can do hard things, I like to do them a great deal better than I do easy tilings,” replied George. “ But when you try, and try, and then can’t succeed, it is real discouraging.”

“ So it is, so it is,” said the old man, in a kind, sympathizing tone; “and the magical spectacles are made to help you in seeing how to do hard things ; how to get hard lessons, and do unpleasant things.”

“ That will be splendid,” said Clara.

The old man now stood looking at George and Clara, with a pleasant smile upon his homely face, as if he was trying to penetrate into their inmost hearts, or waiting for them to say or do something more.

George recollected now, that nothing had. been said about the price of the spectacles. He had been so absorbed in the process of putting them on, and in the expectation of their magical effects, that he had forgotten to ask the price. Perhaps the old man might be waiting for his pay. So he said : —

“You have not told us the price of the spectacles

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yet ; perhaps we can’t buy them, after all, and you will have to take them back.”

“ I can’t take them back,” said the old man, with more seriousness than he had shown before. u I can’t take them back ; when they are put on, and fit as I see yours do, they can never be taken off. You must always wear them.”

George and Clara were both quite terrified at this. The old man might have done something to gain a magical power over them, and make them his slaves, or do them some great harm.

He seemed to read their thoughts, for he said : — “ Ho, you cannot take them off. But don’t be afraid, they will not hurt you, and I see plainly that you will some time regard them as of priceless value.” His manner was so earnest and sincere and kind that the fears of the children were quieted, and George said : — “Well, what is the price? How much do you ask for these spectacles ? I am afraid we cannot pay for them if they are so valuable.”

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“ I ask a great price, a very great price ! ” said the old man. “ But they are worth it, and a thousand times more.”

George and Clara both became satisfied now, that they had done a very foolish thing in permitting him to put the spectacles on. It might take all their father was worth, and more too, to pay for them ; but there was no help for it now, and they might as well put a bold face upon the matter.

“ Well, how much is it? ” asked George.

“ A great price ! a very great price ! and I am afraid you will not always be willing to give it.”

“ I will give you all I can,” said George.

“ Will you ? will you ? ” asked the old man, quickly. “That is all I want. That is enough. ‘ All you can ! 5 That is all I ask. Give me your life. I ask your life.” And he spoke it with a sternness he had not shown before.

The children were both terribly frightened at this demand. They could not run nor cry out, but stood

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pale and silent before the old man, who drew himself up erect, and looked at them for a moment with a keen and piercing glance. Then his face relaxed into a gentle and winning smile, as he said : —

“ Don’t be alarmed, children ; I would not hurt you for the world. You must give me your life. But I do not mean by that to kill you. I only mean that you must use the spectacles as I tell you ; and, if you do, it will be more for your advantage than for mine. All I ask is, that you remember what I am going to tell you now, and obey it.”

The children drew a long breath of relief, and in the same earnest voice, said : — •

“ What is it, sir ? ”

“ You must not forget,” he said, “ that the spectacles will never help you to see anything that you can see well enough without them. Nor will they help you in anything, unless you try to help yourselves. That would do you more harm than good. When you find anything hard to understand, or any duty

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hard to do, remember to look at one thing at a time. One thing at a time, is the first rule. If you try to see too many things at once, the glasses will get blurred, and the images will be confused. Then you must look closely and steadily at the one thing, until you see through it. Be patient and persevere. Remember that. Even with the aid of magical spectacles, no one can at once see through everything that is worth knowing. Look sharp, be patient, and persevere, and every lesson and every duty will become easier and more pleasant. Row, remember. One thing at a time. Look sharp. Be patient, and persevere, and you will find that the glasses will work wonders. That is all I ask. Give your life to these rules, and you will pay me a thousand times. You will never see me again ; but I shall see you, and help you all I can.”

Bo saying, he bid the children good evening with a pleasant smile, ran down the steps in a very sprightly m anner, and soon George and Clara heard the cry again.

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“ Spec-ta-cles ! Spec-ta-cles ! Buy my spec-ta-cles ! Make old eyes as good as new ! ” The sounds grew fainter and fainter until they finally died away, and they could hear them no more.

Just at this time, their mother came out and said : —

“ O, here you are ; I have been hunting all around for you. The hell rang for tea long ago. Did you not hear it ? ”

George and Clara both rubbed their eyes, and yawned, as though they had been asleep. They got up immediately, and followed their mother into the house. They were both silent and abstracted during tea, and looked at each other, and at everything around them, in a rather singular manner. Their mother thought their silence and rather wild appearance was owing to their having fallen asleep on the piazza, and they were not yet fully awake. She supposed they had become very tired, as children often do at school, and she advised them to go to bed and

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sleep it off, and they would wake in the morning as bright as ever.

They did as their mother told them, each one thinking about what had happened, and hardly knowing whether it was a reality or a dream. Everything was so clear and vivid in their minds, they thought it must be a reality, and yet they were not quite sure. Each one looked in the mirror to see if there was any appearance of spectacles about their eyes; but they could discover none. They opened and shut them, but they could perceive no difference from their ordinary state, either in appearance or feeling, or in their ability to see, and they both concluded it must have been a dream. They resolved, however, to talk it over with each other in the morning, and see whether it Was a dream or not. For it would not be possible for both to dream exactly the same thing ; and with this resolution they both went to bed, and slept soundly until morning.

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Chapter II

WAS IT A DREAM OR REALITY ? DETERMINATION TO

TEST IT. TOM JONES. THE FIRST TRIAL. ITS

RESULTS. — SECOND TRIAL. DOUBTS. FINAL SUCCESS.

As soon as they saw each other in the morning, George said to Clara : —

“ Did I go to sleep last night on the piazza \ ” “ I don’t know,” replied Clara. “Did I?”

“ I don’t know,” said George. “ Either you did, or I did, or we both did, or we did not.”

“ That is very evident,” replied Clara. “ I think you must have been looking through magical glasses, to see anything so clearly.”

“ Magical glasses ! ” said George. “ What do you know about magical glasses ? ”

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“ Know ? ” said Clara. “ Didn’t tlie old blackberry woman change into an old man, who was a great magician, or a beantifnl fairy ; and didn’t the blackberries become magical spectacles ; and didn’t the great magician, or beantifnl fairy, put the spectacles into onr eyes, instead of giving us the blackberries to put into onr mouths ? Didn’t he tell ns that they would help us to see everything, and do everything ? Either he did, or he didn’t, or 1 dreamed it.”

“ Did you dream it, or was it really so ? ” asked George, with much earnestness.

“ Yes,” replied Clara.

“ You provoking girl,” said George ; “ now tell me truly.”

“ Did you see the old man, or did you not ? Did he give you a pair of magical spectacles, or did he not ? ” asked Clara.

“Yes,” said George; and they both laughed aloud at their mutual ignorance and confusion.

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“ But honestly,” said George, “ either an old man did give, or pretend to give, me a pair of magical spectacles, or I dreamed it.”

And Clara replied : “ Honestly, either an old man. did give, or pretend to give, me a pair of magical spectacles, or I dreamed it ; but which I cannot tell.”

After much mutual explanation and discussion, they found that they had both dreamed exactly the same dream, or that an old man had really appeared to them, and pretended to give each one of them a pair of magical glasses. But which it was, they could not exactly tell.

“ There is one way,” said George, “ by which we can tell whether it wTas a dream or not, and I propose we try it.”