American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-09-27

didn't L hear my llttle uaugHteI,
while ago, at her play, saying 4 wish l
had u gold house and gold dress, and gold
doll and everything l had was goldp"
Minnie smiled
"Does my little pet think she would be
any happier if everything she had was
gold9"
90, no; but it would be nice" faltered
Minnie.
"Well, I think will tell you not only
an ambitious"
"Fictltious, papa, remember now,"
| Fictitious, yes, that's it-but elias
steal story, too, you are so fond of long
| names'
| whats classical?" asked Minnie.
All, | expected to hear that question,
so | am ready will, the answer. 1t means
| the best writers and the best literature. 1t
used to apply only to the ancient Greeks
and Romans. Your brothers Salust and
| Virgil, lying on the table there, are CLASH
| cal books. / am going to tell YOU a very
old story by one of these old writers.
| There was once King in Phrysia by the
| name of Midas. Phrygia is an inland
| province of Asia Minor, a part of it is
| high table land, celebrated for its corn
| and wine and fine cattle and sheep. King
| Midas living in such country was, of
course, very rich; but he was not salts
| fed; he was FOND of show and power,
| like most kings, l fear; to have these he
| must have great deal of gold; he was
always wishing for more. One time he
| was entertaining Silenus, who was pu-
| pill of Bacchus. Classic lore tells us Bac-
| chus was god of wine, that he invented it,
and presided over feasts and revelries, and
| liked nothing better than to see his fol-
| lowers drunken and noisy. Silenus must
have believed in Bacchus fully, for it is
said he used to decorate his chariot with
| festoons of grapes, in honor of his teacher.
Silenus had perfected himself in many of
the magic arts employed in these days,
and he amused the King by performing
some of them; in return the King paid
him great honor and attention, which
fiattered him very much. One day he
told the King he had not as yet revealed
to him all his power; that the King might
ask for anything he wished, and he would
grant it. Then, very much excited, Midas
said:
II wish everything 1 touch might turn
to gold"
table'-it turned to gold. "The mat upon
which you are sitting" it turned to gold.
Then the King. wild with excitement,
walked about and rested not until he had
turned every object in the room into gold.
By and by such splendor dazzled and be-
wildered him.
LII us go Out, HC odiu
He ordered groom to bring round his
favorite horse. As the beautiful white
creature was led up to his master, and he,
praising his excellent qualities, put out
his hand to pat the noble animal-he
turned to gold.
.sHow is this?" cried the King, con-
fused, staring at the golden statue. Il
would not have taken his weight in go
three times over for him."
"The King should not have touched the
horse. You have your WISH" Silenus re-
piled, quietly.
Midas became uneasy They walked
around for some time, but he was careful
not to touch anything he valued; then,
returning to the place, he said:
1--WE will have some wine and fruit"
He felt strange and faint They lay on
their couches, and the King filled wine
cup for Silenus; then taking his own cup,
said:
"Ah, no change The charm is brok-
en- and he looked relieved and happy.
1.-THE Kings cup was gold.' Silenus
said respectfully; there could be no
changer
He drained his cup Not so the King.
When his lips touched the wine it turned
to gold He took an apple, and it was
the same He was alarmed, and trem-
blingly cried:
"Dispel the charm! 1 shall starve to
death with all this gold"
Then it was Silenus' time to be alarmed
He tried to break the charm, but could
not. He was quite long journey of.
Midas got very hungry: he despised his
gold and had it removed from his sight.
Bacchus told him he must wash in the
river Pactolus When he did all the sand
turned to gold He turned YEARLY away
from it; he hated it so that he would not
let his people gather it, and it was washed
away. Gold had not satisfied him. He
could not live upon it; it made him very
wretched.
80 papa" exclaimed Minnie, clasping
her hands, "I'll never wish for everything
to be geld again; then | couldn't eat
grandma S doughnuts, or mammals orange
cake, or Bridget's cookies"
Her papa laughed as she went over the
list, ana said:
lone would think that you lived upon
cake. l am not sure hut cake might prove
as fatal as gold, though it would take
some time longer to die from it perhaps
than by starvation"
90, have to be stinted; can have
only Just so much. l have wished, though,
that everything we ate was cake" Min
ME dropped her head. :" 1 must not, see
it is wrong"
well, 1 hope, my dear, you have
learned two lessons from this story, to be
satisfied with what you have, and to be
temperate in all you habits. If all of our
wishes were gratif1ed, we should undoubt-
edly find many of them as hateful to us as
did King Midas his gold."-New York
Evangelist.
A Bad Ailment.