ow thy cloud, and tell the
people, if any question be made, that it is for thy health and that so
the physician orders thee to do. And, sweet one, when thou shalt find
thy pipe getting low, go apart into some corner, and--first filling
thyself with smoke--cry sharply, 'Dickon, a fresh pipe of tobacco!' and
'Dickon, another coal for my pipe!' and have it into thy pretty mouth
as speedily as may be, else instead of a gallant gentleman in a
gold-laced coat, thou wilt be but a jumble of sticks, and tattered
clothes, and a bag of straw, and a withered pumpkin. Now depart, my
treasure, and good luck go with thee!"

"Never fear, mother," said the figure, in a stout voice, and sending
forth a courageous whiff of smoke. "I will thrive if an honest man and
a gentleman may."

"Oh, thou wilt be the death of me!" cried the old witch, convulsed with
laughter. "That was well said! If an honest man and a gentleman may!
Thou playest thy part to perfection. Get along with thee for a smart
fellow and I will wager on thy head, as a man of pith and substance,
with a brain and what they call a heart, and all else that a man should
have against any other thing on two legs. I hold myself a better witch
than yesterday for thy sake. Did I not make thee? And I defy any witch
in New England to make such another! Here! take my staff along with
thee."

The staff, though it was but a plain oaken stick, immediately took the
aspect of a gold-headed cane.

"That gold head has as much sense in it as thine own," said Mother
Rigby, "and it will guide thee straight to worshipful Master Gookin's
door. Get thee gone, my pretty pet, my darling, my precious one, my
treasure; and if any ask thy name, it is 'Feathertop,' for thou hast a
feather in thy hat and I have thrust a handful of feathers into the
hollow of thy head. And thy wig, too, is of the fashion they call
'feathertop'; so be 'Feathertop' thy name."

And issuing from the cottage, Feathertop strode manfully towards town.
Mother Rigby stood at the threshold, well pleased to see how the
sunbeams glistened on him, as if all his magnificence were real, and
how diligently and lovingly he smoked his pipe, and how handsomely he
walked in spite of a little stiffness of his legs. She watched him
until out of sight and threw a witch-benediction after her darling when
a turn of the road snatched him from her view.

Betimes in the forenoon, when the principal street of the neighboring
town was just at its