Now, this was very bad conduct on the part of the vicious old nuisance, and she ought to have been strangled, even if she had stopped here; but, she didn’t stop here, as you shall learn. For, a number of the Prince’s subjects, being very fond of the Prince’s army who were the bravest of men, assembled together and provided all manner of eatables and drinkables, and books to read, and clothes to wear, and tobacco to smoke, and candies to burn, and nailed them up in great packing-cases, and put them aboard a great many ships, to be carried out to that brave army in the cold and inclement country where they were fighting Prince Bear. Then, up comes this wicked Fairy as the ships were weighing anchor, and says, ‘How do you do, my children? What are you doing here?’—‘We are going with all these comforts to the army, godmother.’—‘Oho!’ says she. ‘A pleasant voyage, my darlings.—Tape!’ And from that time forth, those enchanting ships went sailing, against wind and tide and rhyme and reason, round and round the world, and whenever they touched at any port were ordered off immediately, and could never deliver their cargoes anywhere. This, again, was very bad conduct on the part of the vicious old nuisance, and she ought to have been strangled for it if she had done nothing worse; but, she did something worse still, as you shall learn. For, she got astride of an official broomstick, and muttered as a spell these two sentences, ‘On Her Majesty’s service,’ and ‘I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant,’ and presently alighted in the cold and inclement country where the army of Prince Bull were encamped to fight the army of Prince Bear. On the sea-shore of that country, she found piled together, a number of houses for the army to live in, and a quantity of provisions for the army to live upon, and a quantity of clothes for the army to wear: while, sitting in the mud gazing at them, were a group of officers as red to look at as the wicked old woman herself. So, she said to one of them, ‘Who are _you_, my darling, and how do _you_ do?’—‘I am the Quartermaster General’s Department, godmother, and _I_ am pretty well.’ Then she said to another, ‘Who are you, my darling, and how do you do?’—‘I am the Commissariat Department, godmother, and I am pretty well! Then she said to another, ‘Who are you, my darling, and how do you do?’—‘I am the Head of the Medical Department, godmother, and _I_ am pretty well.’ Then, she said to some gentlemen scented with lavender, who kept themselves at a great distance from the rest, ‘And who are _you_, my pretty pets, and how do _you_ do?’ And they answered, ‘We-aw-are-the-aw-Staff-aw-Department, godmother, and we are very well indeed.’—‘I am delighted to see you all, my beauties,’ says this wicked old Fairy, ‘—Tape!’ Upon that, the houses, clothes, and provisions, all mouldered away; and the soldiers who were sound, fell sick; and the soldiers who were sick, died miserably: and the noble army