beautiful, that, by my troth, I love thee better than any witch's puppet in the world; and I've
made them of all sorts--clay, wax, straw, sticks, night fog, morning mist, sea foam, and
chimney smoke. But thou art the very best. So give heed to what I say."
"Yes, kind mother," said the figure, "with all my heart!"
"With all thy heart!" cried the old witch, setting her hands to her sides and laughing loudly.
"Thou hast such a pretty way of speaking. With all thy heart! And thou didst put thy hand to
the left side of thy waistcoat as if thou really hadst one!"
So now, in high good humor with this fantastic contrivance of hers, Mother Rigby told the
scarecrow that it must go and play its part in the great world, where not one man in a
hundred, she affirmed, was gifted with more real substance than itself. And, that he might
hold up his head with the best of them, she endowed him, on the spot, with an unreckonable
amount of wealth. It consisted partly of a gold mine in Eldorado, and of ten thousand shares
in a broken bubble, and of half a million acres of vineyard at the North Pole, and of a castle
in the air, and a chateau in Spain, together with all the rents and income therefrom accruing.
She further made over to him the cargo of a certain ship, laden with salt of Cadiz, which she
herself, by her necromantic arts, had caused to founder, ten years before, in the deepest part
of mid-ocean. If the salt were not dissolved, and could be brought to market, it would fetch
a pretty penny among the fishermen. That he might not lack ready money, she gave him a
copper farthing of Birmingham manufacture, being all the coin she had about her, and
likewise a great deal of brass, which she applied to his forehead, thus making it yellower
than ever.
"With that brass alone," quoth Mother Rigby, "thou canst pay thy way all over the earth.
Kiss me, pretty darling! I have done my best for thee."
Furthermore, that the adventurer might lack no possible advantage towards a fair start in
life, this excellent old dame gave him a token by which he was to introduce himself to a
certain magistrate, member of the council, merchant, and elder of the church (the four
capacities constituting but one man), who stood at the head of society in the neighboring
metropolis. The token was neither more nor less than a single word, which Mother Rigby
whispered to the scarecrow, and which the scarecrow was to whisper to the merchant.
"Gouty as the old fellow is, he'll run thy errands for thee, when once thou hast given him
that word in his ear," said the old witch. "Mother Rigby knows the worshipful Justice
Gookin, and the worshipful Justice knows Mother Rigby!"
Here the witch thrust her wrinkled face close to the puppet's, chuckling irrepressibly, and
fidgeting all through her system, with delight at the idea which she meant to communicate.
"The worshipful Master Gookin," whispered she, "hath a comely maiden to his daughter.
And hark ye, my pet! Thou hast a fair outside, and a pretty wit enough of thine own. Yea, a
pretty wit enough! Thou wilt think better of it when thou hast seen more of other people's
wits. Now, with thy outside and thy inside, thou art the very man to win a young girl's heart.
Never doubt it! I tell thee it shall be so. Put but a bold face on the matter, sigh, smile,
flourish thy hat, thrust forth thy leg like a dancing-master, put thy right hand to the left side
of thy waistcoat, and pretty Polly Gookin is thine own!"