The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-05-05

nary occurred. Seeing his expectancy
, the aged man continues:
The followers of the good man Jesus,
whom the Christians believe, and the
worshipers of the stars and moon and
the elements, and other works and do
ings of the one and only God-for there
is but one God, and Mohammed is his
prophet-have images beautiful to be-
hold, yet far from the handiwork of the
creator. To us is forbidden such i'm
ages. Would you fill, the structure you
have built with more wonderful images,
beyond the construction or understand
ing of mankind?''
81 would! 1 wouldr' exclaimed the
prince, delighted with the expectation
THE power is in your hand" an
swered the strange visitor, and vanished.
For several minutes the prince stood
as if awakened from dream. But not
long, for just at that moment a young
girl, a favorite with the prince, came on
tiptoe behind him. Noiselessly, as the
soft breeze that scarce moved the dark
hair that fell uncontrolled over her white
shoulders, she crept up, and was about to
clasp her small hands over his eyes,
when the prince, seeing the shadow, and
excited by the strange visitor who had
just left him. wheeled suddenly around,
and in doing so touched the laughing
girl with his staff.
AS statue of the whitest marble, she
stood before him.
AS the prince stood wondering at the
magic power of the apparently common
place stair, a courier approached in all
haste with a message from distant
province governed by very dear friend
of PRINCE Ali.
The breathless messenger fell on his
face before the prince, and after salam-
ing after the manner of the day and re-
covering breath enough to speak, he
begged the pardon of the prince for first
exacting promise of secrecy in regard
to the matter upon which he had been
sent, it being his masters special order.
In his anxiety the prince raised the
hand that held the staff and placed it on
the shoulder of the exhausted messenger,
and he, too, was marble.
AS the days went by the palace filled
with strange images, and the possessor
of the wonderful staff began to long for
the supernatural donor. The possession
of his gift began to be weight, and
each image added to the palace was a
weight added to the burden of its ruler
Still the louged for visitor came not
At last, when the prince was almost
driven to madness, his strange visitor
again appeared. Before he could ask a
question of the descendant of the great
Mahmoud the staff was thrust into his
hands and he was prayed by the memory
of the great leader to restore to life the
silent images that, instead of adjoining,
caaf gloom 0uov- tho no1aoa
SIS that not beautiful asked the
strange visitor, pointing to the figure of
the mischievous girl favorite. ssLook
into laughter"
swered the prince, ''but her laugh would
be to me more beautiful than ALL
"And THAR exclaimed the aged man.
to relate his message"
Most natural. most natural" sighed
the prince, ''but the unspoken message
is locked in that marble breast
To several others the strange visitor
drew the shrinking prince, and com
mented on the peculiar beauty of each.
But the prince could not be diverted
from the melancholy that possessed him.
Take them awayi Take them awayr
exclaimed the prince. Leave my pal
ace as it was and will be happy. per-
fectly happyr'
''Be it as you say" answered the aged
man, land profit by the lesson
There was slight rustic in the courts
Of the palace, and when it passed all
was as it had been; even the strange Wis
itor himself was gone.
The palace of Prince Ali of Bagdad
stood for ages as it was erected, except
this inscription over the main entrance:
ALI, SON OF ABULFEDA, TO THE
PRINCES OF THE WORLD.
There is no pleasure where the happiness of
a fellow creature is endangered; nor is there
loveliness in anything where there is either
adding to or taking from the handiwork of the
Most High God.
Donald R. MacGregor in New York
News.