The Arkansaw traveler., 1886-01-09
RoDoLpH AND HIS KING.
Eugene Field, in Chicago News.l

Tell me, father" said the child at Rodolph's knee tell me of the king"
 "There is no king, my child" said Ro- dolph. "What you have heard are old women's tales. Do not believe them, for there is no king"
 "But why then" queried the child, "do all the people praise and call on him why do the birds sing of the king, and why do the brooks always prattle his name as they dance from the hills to the sea ?"
 "Nay," answered Rodolph, "you im- agine these things-there is no king be- lieve me, child, there is no king"
 So spake Rodolph, but scarcely had he uttered the words when the cricket in the chimney corner chirped loudly, and his shrill notes seemed to say: "The king the king" Rodolph could hardly be- lieve his ears; how had the cricket learned to chirp these words2 It was be- yond all understanding, But still the cricket chirped, and still his musical monotone seemed to say "the king-the king," until, with an angry frown, Ro- dolph strode from his house, leaving the child to hear the cricket's song alone. But there were other voices ts remind Rodolph of the king. The sparrows were huttering under the caves, and they t~it- tered noisily as Rodolph strode along, The king, king, king 1" "The king, king, king" twittered the sparrows, and their little tones were full of gladness and praise.
 A thrush sat in the hedge, and she was singing her morning song. It was a hymn of praise-how beautiful it was " The king-the king-the king," sang the thrush, and she sang, too, of his good ness-it was wondrous song and it was all about the king.
 The doves cooed in the elm trees. "Sing to us p cried their little ones, stretching out their pretty heads from the nests. Then the doves nestled hard by and murnured lullabies, and the lulla- bies were of the king who watched over and protected even the little birds in their nests.
 Rodolph heard these things and they filled him with anger.
 "It is liep muttered Rodolph; and in great petulance he came to the brook.
 How noisy and romping the brook was; how capricious, how playful, how furtive And how it called to the willows and prattled to the listening grass as he scampered on his way. But Rodolph turned aside and his face grew darker. He did not like the voice of the brook, for, lol just as the cricket had chirped and the birds had sung, so did this brook murmur and prattle and sing ever of the king, the king, the king.
 So, always after that, wherever Rodolph went, he heard voices that told him of the king yes, even in their quiet humble way, the flowers seemed to whisper the kings name, and every breeze that famed his brow had tale to tell of the king and his goodness.
 "But there is no king w cried Rodolph. "They all conspire to plague mel There is no king-there is no kingp
 Once he stood by the sea and saw a mighty ship go sailing by. The waves plashed on the shore and told stories to the pebbles and the sands. Rodolph heard their thousand voices and he heard them telling of the king.
 Then great storm came upon the sea "a tempest such as never before had been seen. The waves dashed mountain high and overwhelmed the ship, and the giant voices of the winds and waves cried of the king, the king The sailors strove in agony till all seemed lost. Then, when they could do no more, they stretched out their hands and called upon the king to save them-the king, the king
 Rodolph saw the tempest subside. The angry winds were lulled and the moun- tain waves sank into sleep, and the ship came safely into port. Then the sailors sang hymn of praise, and the hymn was of the king and to the king.
 "But there is no king 1" cried Rodolph. " It is lie-there is no king gW
 Yet everywhere he went he heard all ways of the king-the kings name and the kings praises were on every tongue :; aye, and the things that had no voices seemed to wear the kings name written upon them, until Rodelph neither saw Hor heard anything that did not mind him Of the king.
 Then, in great anger, Rodolph said :: "I will go to the mountain tops; there shall find no birds, nor trees, nor brooks, nor flowers to prate of monarch no one has ever seen. There shall there be no sea to vex me with its murmurings, nor any human voice to dispute me with its superstitions."
 So Rodolph went to the mountains and he scaled the loftiest pinnacle, hoping that there at last hemight hear no more of that king whom none had seen. And, as he stood upon the pinnacle, what a mighty panorama was spread before him, and what mighty anthem swelled upon his earsl The peopled plains, with their songs and murmurings, lay far below {; on every side the mountain peaks loomed up in snowy grandeur, and overhead he saw the sky, blue, cold, and cloudless, from horizon to horizon.
 What voice was that which spoke in Rodolph's bosom then as Rodolph's eyes beheld this revelation
 "There is a kingw said the voice. "The king lives and this is his abiding place."
 And how did Rodolph's heart stand