The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-07-30
OTTUMWA, IOWA, THURSDAY JULY 80 1863.

should be delivered from my ailments.
You must be happy. Why
did you Withhold from me your
shirt.
"Alas sire'' replied the statesman,
"How can l be happy with the fear
Of your sublime displeasure ever be-
fore me ? The most 1 can now hope
is to keep my head where Nature has
placed it, from day to day. The
humblest of your Msiestys subjects
is happier than I. The scorching sun
blazes upon the hill.top, and there the
tempest roars, but the. zephyr and
the shadow love the valley. not
among such as I can your majesty
hope to find bliss. I have upon my
estate farmer however, who is the
happiest OF makind. Ifyour majesty
will but suffer me to 60 in search of
him, the tailsman will be
found.
So the King resolved to allow the
Prime Minister to get still richer be.
fore he was bow-strung, commended
him to bring the farmer.
The farmer came. He was sour,
sturdy fellow from the ne;ghborhood
of Khol, the garden of Persia. He
Immediately took off his shirt at royal
command. I. was coarse, rough
garment, and appears to be thickly in
habited.
The king, though he put it on, was
obliged to take it off again in less
than half an hour, in state of intol-
erable irritation /; for, reasoned his
majesty, it is impossible that any one
can be happy who wears such shirt
as that.
The farmer, who was recalled to
the royal presence, confirmed the
opinion, and told long and dreary
story about droughts and locusts and
taxes so that the king would have
ordered his head to be cut off at once
to get rid of him but the farmer, see
ing himself in such imminent peril,
assured the king that the merchant to
whom he sold his corn was a happy
man without doubt and begged to be
allowed to fetch him, and so got out
of danger in the same manner as the
prime minister had.
The merchant cane. The King,
now warned by experience, determin-
ed to interrogate him before putting
on his shirt. The merchant com
planned as much as the farmer had o.
taxes, and had, besides, another class
of grievances peculiar to his own. He
was peculiarly eloquent about Custom
houses, and extortions of officials, and
variety of other things, which made
the King 80 angry that he determin-
ed at least to comfort his disappoint-
ment.by ordering the merchant to be
executed, This ceremony over, the
King felt somewhat better; but still
the tailsmanic shirt was not
found.
For a long time the King sought
the shirt of happiness through every
class of society, and sought it in vain.
Although innumerable persons were
beheaded, bow strung, and tortured
every day, yet surprised to relate,
happiness could not be found among
his subjects.
One day, howevee, when his maj :
esty, being encamped in his summer
quarters near Sultanich, was out for
an afternoons ride, he saw a careless, red
nosed fellow sitting on post, and every
now and then taking bottle from under
his sash, and applying his lips with intense
satisfaction to its contents. Still there was
sturdy air about the man and merry
light in his eye which did not point him out
as an habitual wine- bibbcr. He seemed
rather to be keeping festival or enjoying him
self upon such occasion of good for
tune.
"Dog of TOPPER asked the king abrupt
", struck with . sudden thought, "are you
happy?"
"Thy servant is happy, o, King" said tht
man.
The King then ordered the royal ferrosh-
es to seize him, and give him five hundred
lashes, to cause him to relate the rerson oi
his happiness. The red nosed man linped
little, when subsequently brought to the
Kings tent, in the evening, but he still per
sisted in saying that he was happy; for sait
he:
"My wife has only been dead three weeks.
Meerza Snooza, the magician, who, sinc'
he had been consulted, always accompa
MED the king in his search, and dined al
the royal table, on being appealed to, deci.
ded that the red-nosed man had good rea
sons for his happiness, for that he nigh
have been hen-pecked, and was, perhaps
lust then, under the first impression Of JOY
- h;c da1;raropro