Produced by Anne Storer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) Transcriber's Note: Each paragraph is contained within a full-page illustration, so the illustration tags within the text have been removed to avoid congestion. * * * * * A MASQUE OF DAYS [Illustration] A MASQUE OF DAYS CASSELL & COMPANY LIMITED: LONDON: [Illustration] FROM THE LAST ESSAYS OF ELIA: NEWLY DRESSED & DECORATED BY WALTER CRANE PARIS, NEW YORK & MELBOURNE. 1901. [Illustration] * * * * * THE OLD YEAR being dead, and the NEW YEAR coming of age, wh: he does by Calendar Law, as soon as the breath is out of the old gentleman's body, nothing would serve the young spark but he must give a dinner upon the occasion, to wh: all the Days in the year were invited. The Festivals, whom he deputed as his stewards, were mightily taken with the notion. They had been engaged time out of mind, they said, in providing mirth and good cheer for mortals below; and it was time they should have a taste of their own bounty. It was stiffly debated among them whether the Fasts should be admitted. Some said, that the appearance of such lean, starved guests, with their mortified faces, would pervert the ends of the meeting. But the objection was overruled by Christmas Day who had a design upon Ash Wednesday (as you shall hear), and a mighty desire to see how the old Domine would behave himself in his cups. Only the VIGILS were requested to come with their lanterns to light the gentlefolks home at night. All the Days came to their day. Covers were provided for three hundred and sixty-five guests at the principal table; with an occasional knife and fork at the side-board for the Twenty-Ninth of February. I should have told you that cards of invitation had been issued. The carriers were THE HOURS twelve little, merry whirligig foot-pages as you should desire to see, that went all round, and found out the persons invited well enough, with the exception of Easter Day, Shrove Tuesday, and a few such Moveables, who had lately shifted their quarters.