The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1872-12-21
THE PRINoE AND ms RING.

THE PRINCE AND Ms RING. |
The King was dead, .Ae Prince,
young and Inexperienced. came 10
The throne But, because he fear
"a God and loved justice, he
oArank from exercising authority.
and care sat heavy at his heart t
Greatly he desired to associate /
with him In the government good
and wise men; while he doubted
and feared, the days went by and
the vacant Offices we're still until !.
ed. Judgment WAS not executed, |
for there we're no judge; the
wrongs Of the innocent were not
redrsssed, nor we're the guilty pun
ished The people murmured; but
still the Prince hesitated and fear
Cd to act. At length he sent for
Anciris, the magician, and said:
Fashion me . talisman that shall
reveal the hearts OF men. Let no
evil In word or deed o: thought
exist that shall not be revealed by
the talisman which thou shalt Gre
ate" 30, mighty Prince" said
Americas, ito hear IL to obey, and
tho thing which thou hast comnan-
ded shall surely be DONE" Again
the days went by, and the people
marveled that still the Prince de-
layed to organize his Cabinet and
name his Prime Minister. And
many evil things were done on &C
count of the unsettled state OF the
empire; but the Prince said moth
ing, thinking, "OnIy few days
more and al will be made right"
At length Anciris appeared. and
showed the PENCE q marvellous
ring, It was inscribed within and
without with sacred symbols
and was not with rare gems.>,
Il had, moreover, the double power
Of rendering ito wearer invisible
and revealing TO him all the evil
that dwelt in the hearts Of those
upon whom he CHANGED to look.
ssNow shall be able to choose
my officers with wisdom" said the
Prince, ssand to administer the
laws Justly, never confounding the
innocent with the guilty. ] shall
know the Utmost thoughts OF my
mobiles. and who are truly attached
to my person. No disguise will
avail anything, for I shall read
mems motives % one reads the
pages Of an open Look.
So the Prince put the ring upon
his finger, and went ont to test the
virtues Of his tailsm6n and see
what was done in the city. Al
hrst he could hardly repress the
feeling Of indignation that no one
rose at his coming, that heads re-
manned covered, and the talk went
on regardless Of Ills presence.
Then remembering that be WAS nm
eeen he addressed himself to the
study Of character % il was pre-
sented to him under this new as
pect. He listened to the &C nversa-
ton Of the mobiles who had been his
fathers counsellers. and was shock
ed to see the discrepancy between
their thoughts and words. Sart-
ling revelations met him at every
turn. Men who had expressed the
utmost devotion to his person re-
Rarded his character with secre,
contempt. and studied how they
would turn his weakness to theil
own advantage. Those who had
protested the love OF virtue were
self-seeking and unprincipled. One
WAS dishonest, another covetous
this one lustful, that one ambitious
and even the sanity Prime Minis
ter-his fathers friend-spoke hal
truths and had other motives thar
those he avowed. "These are tn,
vices Of the rich" said the Prince
Among the lowly I shall ind tn,
virtue that dies the palace and tn
court" :.
So he wandered from street Il
street, looking into homes Of peo'
pie In various conditions. He hat
aeked that the evils Of men Nigh
be disclosed 20 him; but Il SCENE,
to him that he found nothing bu
evil. All lives we're black with il
Evil propensities darkened Al
characters. Even the little chill
dren were wanting in innocence
already putting forth the symtom
Of terrible depravity.
At length, overwhelmed Wit
what he saw, the Prince retrace'
his steps to the palace, and seek
ing bis private apartment, sent 70
the Magician.
Take back thy evil gift," sal
be. plucking the ring from his lin
ger. "Cast it into the depth Of Il,
sea; nay hide it at the centre {
the world. Let no man hent efort
behold what ] have this day seer
would that % easily as I put b
thy gift / might put by the remem
brance Of what It has disclosed
Win back from the grave of yes
terday the faith / have lost !"
"If your majesty" said the ms
gacian, twill put the ring on th
other hand, you may End
counter charm for the know
edge which you deplorc; for the
shall you see the good in other
and the evil that dwells in you
own hoert
Again the Prince put the rim
upon his finger, and sat silent an
with closed eyes, while all evil b
had ever done, and oil that, unde
favoring circumstances he migt
have done, was revealed to hin
Raising, at length, his streamin
eyes to heaven, he said: .'God,