The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-12-17
The Needle, the Spindle, and the Shuttle.

OF their needle, shuttle and spindle Here
under the kind care of the old woman,
Jeanette learned to work, and was brought
up in the fear and love of God.
Now, my dear children, | dare say some
of you think it must be very hard thing
to have to earn youI own living by work /;
but you are quite mistaken Labor is not
curse, but blessing, and none are 50
truly miserable as the idle and the unem-
ployed. Ii you want to judge of the truly,
only look at the laborious ease of those who
have to live without work what pains they
take to give themselves something to do,
which they call pleasure how they are
always travelling about, and calling from
house to house to help one another out of
their nothing tO-do-ishness And how they
toll after something to stir up their minds
and bodies, with never-ending care, until
they declare at last that they are worn out
and tired to death Now those who have
10 work have no feelings of this kind labor
is their duty and their pleasure; and wages,
and honest, hearty enjoyment, good appe-
titles, merry minds, and shining faces their
reward.
When the young girl had reached the
year of her age, her godmother fell
ill, and, calling her to her bedside, said to
her:
"My dear child, feel my end approach
to you-it will serve you as a shelter from
the wind and rain. l give you, also, my
shuttle, my spindle, and my needle, which
will serve you to keep you in food" Then,
laying her hand on the young girls head,
she blessed her, saying, as she did so,
q Never forget your prayers; keep God al
ways in your heart, and happiness will be
sure to reach you at last, however long de-
layed." Then she closed her eyes in death,
and the poor young girl followed her to the
grave, and rendered the last duties with
many tears
After this she dwelt quite alone, modest
and retired, yet sweet and pretty, like a
violet under a hedge, bravely working at her
spinning, weaving and sewing; and the
blessing of the old woman seemed to follow
her in all things. One would have said that
her supply of fax was inhaustible, and that
no sooner had she woven piece OF linen, or
made shirt, than a purchaser presented
himself for it, who paid her for it generous
ly so that, in this fashion, not only had she
enough to supply all her wants, but could
afford to give something to the poor.
Now, it happens about the same time, that
the son of the King of that country set out
on his travels all over his fathers kingdom
in search of Il wife Princes in these fairy
lands are not, like English princes, compelled
to marry their cousins or foreign relations,
and 50 this prince had no restriction on his
choice of the partner of his happiness and
future throne, except that he might not
choose a poor girl for his wife, and had made
up his mind not to have a rich one. So he
said to himself that he would take that lass
if he could find her, who should be, at ono
and the same time, the richest and the poor
est.
On arriving at the village where dwelt
our young maiden, he requested, after his
usual fashion, the first person he met to
direct him to the abode of the poorest and
richest young woman in that neighborhood.
The peasant, withoutAany hesitation, point
ed out the latter; "and as to the first"
said he, "that must be the young girl who
dwells in the lonely hut, right at the further
end of the village"
As the prince passed by, the rich young
woman of the village was sitting at her door,
in all the gorgeous array of full dress. She
rose up and came forward to meet so ele-
gantly dressed and handsome a young man,
riding such fine horse with grand cour-
tesy but he only gave one look at her, and
kept on his way, without saying a word
until he arrived at the hut of our poor
young girl. Now she was not seated by the
door, but close within her chamber.
The Prince stopped his horse, and looked
at the little howell with some compassion
50 neat withal and the garden was trim,
and the windows were clean and tidy, and
everywhere there was signs of a cheerful,
industrious, cOntented disposition, willing
to make the best of every thing. So he got
off his white horse, and laid the silver
mounted bride on the neck of the beauti
full steed, as he went to take peep into the
apartment, which was just lighted up by
golden ray from the setting SUM- She was
seated at her wheel, and spinning away as
if she liked it and had her heart in
her work. The Prince stood for a
moment enraptured at the fair vision
before him. On her side, too, she gave
furtive glance at the Prince, who kept his
eyes fixed on her; but she instantly became
all rosy with bushes, and, lowering her eyes
to the ground, went on with her spinning,
though could not undertake to say that
all her threads that moment were quite
even and regular. Thus she continued
spinning away until the Prince had gone
When she saw him no longer, she ran to
open the window, saying to herself as if in
excuse, GLOW warm it is to-dayp' and then
she followed the handsome young gentle
man with her eyes, until she could no lon
ger perceive the white plume in his hat
Then she heaved gentle sigh, and sat down
again by her wheel, and began to spin once
more.
But there are some thoughts that won't be
got rid of, try all we can; and, somehow or
other, that white plume, and that handsome
face, and that beautiful white horse, kept
before her gaze, whichever way she turned
her eyes At last there came to her memo
ry some lines of little song that she had
often had to repeat to her old godmother,
and she sang as follows:
Hasten, spindle, and don't delay;
Run, and show my love the way"
What do you think happened? The spin
die leaped that very moment from her hands
and rushed out of the cottage door. She
followed it, in mute astouishment, with her
eyes, and saw it running and dancing across
the fields. and trailing along behind it a
bright thread of gold. Having no longer a
spindle, the took up her shuttle, aud applied
herself to weaving.
The spindle continued its course, and,
just as its thread was at the end, it came up
with a prince.
'What do | seeq'' he exclaimed. "Surely
this spindle has wish to lead me to some
adventure" So he turned his horse round
and followed the golden thread at a gallop.
The young girl still kept on at her work,
singing, as she did so:
Hurry, shuttle, bring for me,
My betrothed one to my knee"
The shuttle directly slipped out of her
handssand darted quickly toward the door;
but as soon as it had got over the sill it be-
gan busily weaving the handsomest carpet
you ever set eyes upon. The two sideswere
all Towering with garlands of roses and lilies,
and in the center green vine sprang up
ward from golden bed; hares and rabbits
leaped and played among the foliage; stays
and does pushed their heads through them,
and on their branches perched birds of a
thousand colors, who did everything but
sing. The shuttle kept on spinning, and the
work advanced maryelously. But the poor
young lass, having now lost both her spindle
and her shuttle, was abliged TO have recourse
TO her needle, for she could not afford to sit
idle; nevertheless, all the while she merrily
sang,
"Needle, dear, he's coming here;
Take care all things neat appear"
At the word the Dimble needle lightly