The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1881-08-17
to consider them burden and care.

' upon his grief, there came suldenl
before him little old lady with
.wand in her hand and so absorbe,
was the King with his thoughts tina
ne came very near walking over her
Perceiying her presence, however, i,
time, he apologized, as all real King
always do, for his apparent rudeness
and was thus drawn into converse
ton with Purple Robe, tue mos
powerful fairy Of the East. a"Wha,
would you have, 0, King! more thar
you already have? What is wanting
to fill the measure Of your happi
ness9 Has not Isis and Isoris al
ready given you blessings enough
for one mortal2' ie2e-
"For what they have given me
Purple Robe, / would not have YOU
consider me ungrateful, if 1 tell you
| III y
| that without one more blessing, all
| that 1 have is worthless to me, and
that without it I am miserable p
"What then, o, King! is this one
|gift more for which you SO long and
for which you are pining?"
ut is, Purple Robe, a son.. .
"That, King Rupert, I cannot give
lyou. The power over sons I once
had but lost through the ingratitude
OF a Prince to whom I gave son
upon conditions which he violated.
and, though dire shall be the fate of
himself and son, lost the power
over male children.''
| "Then woe is me! Purple Robe, if
you cannot help me in my distressr',
| - 81 have not said, King, that can
not help you. / cannot give you a.
son, but upon certain conditions I
can give you daughter, and may.
hap yoa will find her more Of a com
fort than a son, when old age has
whitened your hairs and when YOU
will prize her gentle ministrations
more than yon would the pride Of a.
son." s. - .a
r. name the conditions, Purple
Robe, and | swear by the glory Of
my knightly title that they shall be
faithfully kept, if you will give me a
daughter s1a a2 bs.6
"Take heed, 0, King! and be warn
ed in time. The conditions will SEEM
to be easy but will not be easily
fulfilled" raw e
5. - $50 that they be possible, l swear
to keep them" 5aa
E. Chen listen, King Rupert! will
give you q daughter who shall be
more beautiful than the morning STAR
in its glory and as good as she is. |
beautiful. A daughter who shall be
to you a source of never-ending joy;I
whose smiler shall light your palace
with its gladness, and whose pres
ence shall make your heart drunk
with joy, if only you will give her an
appropriate name. AS she shall be
the most enchanting princess in the
world, she must have Che most bean.
|Sul name known among men. Fail
q IBIS, all that is asked of you, and
.oessersthat yon had found grave in
the Eapf~ates or that wild beasts
Ie e'' So. eaten w at Ephesus. The
promised JOY Of ye.s gift shall turn
to sorrov-sorrow as bl4er as hys- +
sop and gall wood. What say you?L
Wll you taketor refuse the gift2 Ii
Little thinking Of the trouble IL ],
store forshim, and considering it to h
t oe small ana matter TO name a girlbaby, I
the King answered:
Give me, Purple Robe, thachild, /,
and yourconditions shall be fulfilled. /,
But WHIT am I to do to obtain this |
gift?" ,
"sobe it, then, King! the daagh-
ter slhll be yours. Take you of
yon Ttch hazel bush, a bough Law /,
ing oily buds and no blossoms, and
tonight when Queen Eva sleeps, ,
make with it three times three cir !
cle around her head, and when the
.htzel bush buds again she will bear h
you a daughter. Seventeen years
rom to dag, at this place, I will.
come. Bring her with you that al
may see how you have kept your.
promise. Until then, farewell / Re
The fairy was gone, and King Ru-
pert was alone. He gathered
bough from the hazel bush and went
into s'palace.
CHAPTER II.
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