Milford chronicle., 1889-04-05
DIAMOND AND PEARL.

there reigned a king who, by his kind and
just administration, had gained for his sub
iects happiness and success and for thewhole
kingdom peace and prosperity. This king,
who was called "The Wise,n reigned over a
vast dominion, which, on account of its great
size, and, therefore, diversity Of people, had
ever been in a troublesome condition.
So constantly in trouble and at war was
this eOuutry-which with peace would have
been a most productive one-that even the
gods and fairies were concerned for it.
There had been many legends handed down
from parent to child telling Of contracts
made between the gods and different kings Of
the country whereby, in "A specified future
time, the welcome and long delayed peace
and prosperity were to come But the peace
came not and the people still looked in vain
/ for it. Finally all the legends vanished and
| gave place TO one universal tradition, doubted
/ by many yet believed in by more.
This tradition said that a good fairy had
| once appeared to one of the kings and told
I him that the country would continue in its
/ deplorable condition until a king succeeded
/ Who could by kindness and Justice command
l the love and admiration of his subjects to
/ such an extent that his word would rule as
/ supreme law among them, even in the most
distant portions of his domain. When he
had kept his kingdom free from war and
dissension for ten years. it said fairy
would visit him in the night and give him a
present, the possession Of which would per-
petuate his race Of kings in happiness and
fame, and so, by rulers like himself, make
the kingdom paradise forever.
The king called "The WISE was a master
whose rod never fell, and whose simple word
Of command bore with it feeling of love
that went to the hearts of even the most de
graded
He was truly wise king and plainly saw
the effec5 he bad upon his subjects. so when
his father had been dead sufficient time to
allow it with respect, he gave orders that all
his palaces be opened upon certain davs of
each week, and that his people be invited to
come on those days and receive the hospi-
tality and blessing Of their new king. Diff
ferent provinces were called on different
days until every person in the land had seen
his king and had been elevated by his beue-
diction and his love. Such a good effect had
this wise action of the monarch that there
after not a soul would quarrel with another |
or do any wrong action lest it should offend |
his majesty the beloved king.
So it went in this country for nearly ten |
years-peace bringing prosperity to the peo- 1
pie and praise to the good king The king /
seldom thought upon the tradition of what /
continued peace was to bring him, and his |
people rarely spoke of it until finally, the /
story was forgotten by nearly all The king, |
however, never remembered it so forcibly as
when nine years of his peaceful reign had |
gone and the tenth was almost past Then,
lying upon his royal bed, he would often say
to himself
80 many nights must pass in this couch
asss,f l,s.. ,,.1 Got, l..
the priceless gift. But what could this gift
be, even should it comet The tradition goes
that my line Of kings shall descend in pros
perity, and yet l have no son to follow me.
My precious daughter, although she soon will
be Of an age to marry, declares that she will
never do so, because she can love no one as
she does her sire Her mother is dead. and
there can be no son to succeed me, unless
these mysterious fairies can make it sou
At last the final night of the tenth year
came and the king retired to his rest He
fell asleep and slept soundly
until the midnight had come when be softly
awoke and saw standing beside his bed, clad
in radiance, and with halo of pleasing light
about her, fairy Of greater beauty than he
had ever before seen. Even his daughter,
the princess, whose spotless beauty was world
renowned, could in no way be compared with
the loveliness of this vision. When the king
had sufficiently recovered from his amaze
ment to understand her, the spirit spoke
thus:
Thou are great and illustrious king; and
thy good deeds shall be rewarded, even to
Thy farthest posterity. Thou hast made a
paradise of a pandemonium; thou hast
brought by peace the prosperity the gods
could not bestOw, for thou hast reached the
lnnrsfg Gf fltv~
Receive then, thy due For thyself thou
leedest no reward, for thy happiness is
thine; but for thy children and all who
shall come after thee, l bestow upon thy
laughter through thee, this priceless PEARL
The fairy put into the kings hand a pearl
# wondrous beauty and rare size, telling
lim its virtues and the happiness it must iii
,vitably bring upon sll his descendants and
heir country for all time. She told him that
he pearl was the companion TO q rich dia- [
nond and that both stones had many years {
'efore been given to a mighty prince for a S
good deed he had done for the fairy world. /
These gems had the rare charm of always |
,aing in the possession of the two persons i
most worthy Of favor in the world, and no i
natter into whose hands they came, their q
wners would surely be brought together in L
marriage. The diamond could never be- (
ong to any one but a male, while the pearl 1
would always be the reward Of a females /
gorth f
With this the fairy disappeared and the n
ing at once returned to sleep. In the morn a
ng he awoEe and looked quickly about him o
OF the mysterious pearl, but he could not p
nd it; and, thinking his experience Of the n
light had been no more than IA passing [
reaIn, he resolved TO proclaim to his people o
hat the tradition had come false, and that Il
o one should ever again believe in such o
hing. But ere he could do so his daughter n
anne to him and said she had had a vision
uring the night, and in it n fairy had given
er wonderful pearl that was to keep her
nd her descendants from all unhappiness: P
nd that it would soon bring to her a hus- =
aud possessed Of every virtue man can hold. u
But, father" she Cried II wish for no hus-
and; / can never love a man but thee, dear n
re, and l am very happy as l ann u
MY precious daughter, replied the mon n
rch, 'choOse not your life, lest You choose u
rong. I, also, had a vision last night, and Il
am certain all viii go well with you. I "
link, daughter, if You wed not there will d
3 no king for our country when die, and a
le must be appointed, who may prove bad b
le; but, if you love and marry, you can is
ave naught but gcod fortune, and your hus- O
md will be the king in my place. You can I
we husband my daughter. and yet love j.
ia none the lessn "
The princess left her father, saying: Il st
lall never know love for any one but thee.n c;
ut she knew not what she spoke, as often tC
'curs in this uncertain world. Before the d
onth was out a messenger frGgu the prince ii
a far distant country came to tho king, h
ying his master had had a vision, in which b
was told that in this country there lived t1
most beautiful princess who must become nj
S bride, and that he had Immediately dis h
ltched him to beg permission from the king al
WOO her. OF
The king readily gave his consent. well 81
lowing the fame and great wealth Of the i'd
ller whose son wished to become his success m
r. Accordingly there came in due time a W