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[Illustration: "I HAVE BROUGHT MY LITTLE DAUGHTER TO YOU, MY
FRIEND."--[PAGE 19.]]




The Princess Idleways

_A FAIRY STORY_


BY
MRS. W. J. HAYS


ILLUSTRATED


NEW YORK AND LONDON
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.




CHAPTER I.


You must not suppose that the Princess Idleways was a great, grand
woman, for she was not: she was only a little lovely girl named Laura.
To be sure, she was of high birth; that is to say, her father and
grandfather and great-grandfather, as well as all the fine lady
grandmothers, were people who, not obliged to labor for themselves or
others, having always had more time and wealth and pleasure than they
knew what to do with, were something like the beautiful roses which grow
more and more beautiful with planting and transplanting, and shielding
from too hot a sun or too sharp a wind; but, for all that, roses, as you
know, have thorns.

Little Laura Idleways was as bright and bewitching in appearance as any
rosebud, but she had a few thorns which could prick. She lived in a
great castle high up in the mountains, from the windows of which she
could see hill after hill stretching far away up to the clouds, and
eagles flapping their great wings over deep ravines, down which tumbled
foaming cascades. The castle was a very ancient building, and part of it
was nearly a ruin; indeed, it was so old that Laura's father--who was a
soldier, and not much at home--had decided not to repair it, but allowed
the stones to fall, and would not have them touched; so the wild vines
grew luxuriantly over them, and made a beautiful drapery. But the part
of the castle in which Laura lived was no ruin. The thick walls kept it
cool in summer and warm in winter, and made nice deep seats for the
windows, which were hung with heavy folds of crimson silk. The walls
were covered with superb paintings, the wide rooms were beautiful with
all manner of comforts and luxuries. Low divans of rich and soft
material, ottomans and rugs of Persian and Turkish wool, statues and
statuettes of marble, graceful forms, filled the corners and the niches.
Birds of many colors sang in golden cages, and curious cuckoo-clocks
chimed the hours. Laura's mamma was a fine musician, and her harp and
piano were always ready to yield sweet tones. The library shelves held
books of all kinds and colors; and the cabinets of richly carved wood,
before the glass doors of which Laura often stood, contained rare
shells, minerals, stuffed birds and insects, and strange foreign things
that a child could only wonder about.

Of all places in which to play "hide-and-seek," this castle was the
best--it had so many nooks and corners, such little cosy turns in the
stairs, such odd cupboards, such doors in strange places, so many quaint
pieces of furniture to hide behind--and yet Laura never played
hide-and-seek.

There was a delicious garden, too, full of fragrant bushes and arbors
and rustic seats, and two fountains rained liquid diamonds into marble
basins. But Laura did not play in the garden.

The truth is, Laura was a petted, spoiled, wayward little creature