The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-01-25
eaaIcs were counting 70 carrI on tllefr mis.

/ eagles were coming 10 carry on tneir mis-
treas clothes. And no doubt they has
soruc reason for their concern, for ancient
ladies had variety Of amiablc little ways
Of producing sympathy in their slaves
when things went wrong; and Rhodops
sweet as she was 10 look et, YVES like The
rest. Eut after all it was not a very
scrious matter for Rosy Cheeks had cup
! boards full Of sandals nj home, and be
sides, her litter was only round the corner.
so, after her first establishment and fright
were over, she thought little more aboui
It. Now, this event was, in reality, the
turning point Of her life, for what did this
mysterious bird do but fly straight away
with his prey over the Delta, far up the
long river to Memphis, and there, as il
his mission ended, he dropped the sandal
before the Judgment seat OF King Psam-
mctichus.
The king was sitting in the open air,
close TO the city gate, dispensing justice
to his subjects. The sun was hot, and the
iuagfnatious Of plaintiff and defendant
equally Inventive and iuexhaustible, so
Psammetichus was bored, his thoughts
wandered far away and be fell to build
ing castles in the mir. Now, no Oriental
could ever bu2d a castle In the air, or
otherwise, without giving 1t a mistress;
SO he pleased himself by imagining for his
ideal palace an ideal beauty. He pict-
ured her with the eyes Of the gazelle, the
voice Of tho nightingale, the litheness OF
the panther, the tread Of goddess; and
as his thoughts dwelt still on the dainty
toes that hardly pressed the ground they
rested on. TIE sandal fell from heaven
plump at his royal feet Astopished- ciGiS
Of ali dignity, he jumped -, Stared up
into the sky and de.1'1 at the slipper, and
then stopped and picked it up, for no
mad dared TO touch IL. Was it
O goddess No; it was a lovely lit
tie shoe, but certainly an earthly one,
with the print of five little toes distinctly
marked On 1.-THE very little toes he had
just been dreaming Of. Then of a sudden
it became plain to him. Ii was an answer
from the gods to the wishes he had Just
been indulging in-he had planned
castle, here was a mistress for 1t. Let
search be made" cried he, ''for her who
owns this sandal, and by these signs shall
YOU know her: Whomsoever the shoe fits,
and who has the fellow shoe, and who can
explain the symbol on the sole, she is the
rightful owner bring her to me, that |
may make her my queen" To hear was
to obey, and the messenger started on his
search. Many days he Travelled down the
Nile, making proclamation Of the will or
Psammetichus as he went, bearing the
sandal on n cushion. And wherever he
came through the whole land of Egypt
there was a routing out of cupboards and
a hunting up of left off shoes, in case by
chance there might be found among them
a match for the wonderful sandal but
none came to light, and the maidens were
left forlorn.
At last he came to Naucratis, and when
the proclamation reached the ears OF
Rhodopis she remembered the rape Of her
sandal, and knew herself the one sought
for by the king The ambassador was
admitted to her presence, and then at last
the shoe fitted "And here" cried Rhod-
ODDS, sis the fellow shoe; and this is why
| wear these symbols on the soles--as
Greece is captive TO my beauty, so shall
Egypt be, and Egypt's master" And
then she went with him to Memphis, and
when the king, whose heart was sick with
waiting, saw her, lie succumbed at once
to the charm Of her loneliness; he did as
he had promised and made her'his queen
And the rosy checked Greek slave sat be-
side psammetichus on the throne of Pha-
raoh. -Harper's Bazaar.