Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-07-20

pillars, lnrerlaced like n inc gauZy veil
and of the bright hue of the emerald
lowered high in the air. The roof itself
was one large dome of changeable Llue
satin, starred with golden nails. HIS
sleeping room was delicious boudoir,
filled with mystery and fragrance. The
flooring and the walls were hidden under
under soft carpet of an inimitable pat
tern. The alcOve, bored through Il rock
by some giant, had walls of pink marble
and floor of ruby powder. He had also
his bathroom, living fountain of pure
water, crystal bath lost in a bouquet
Of flowers. | will not tell of the thou
sand galleries which crossed each other
in this palace, nor of the wondrous land
scapes, nor of the gardens 1t was one
of those royal habitations that God alone
knows how to fashion. The prince,
therefore, could now be as foolish as he
pleased. His father thought him changed
into wolf. md so sought another heir
more worthy of the throne.
Simplicity was very busy during the
next few days after settling himself in
his new home. He made friends with
his neighbors. the beetles and the butter
flies. They were kind neighbors, with as
much bright intelligence as man. AT
first he had some difficulty in under
standing their language. and he soon
perceived that he would have to educate
himself anew. He learned the concise
language of the insects. A sound indi-
Gated Il hundred different objects. fol-
lowing the infection of the voice and
the length of the note. Soon he lost the
habit of speaking the language of his
race, so poor in spite of its wealth of
words. The way of living of his new
friends charmed him. He felt supreme
ly ignorant compared with them, and
resolved to go and study at their
schools.
He was more reserved in his relations
toward the moses and the pines. AS he
was not yet able to understand the Ian
guage of the blade of grass and of the
flowers, his ignorance caused certain
reserve in his intercourse with them.
But the forest did not eye him coldly.
1t understood that he was simple soul,
and that he held the most alniable inter-
course with the denizens OF the wood.
No one hid from him. It often CHANGED
that he would surprise, at the end of a
glade, butterfly ruffiing the collar of a
daisy Soon the hawthorn overcame
her bashfulness, just enough to give
lessons to the young prince. She loving
ly taught him the language of perfume
and of color. The purple corolla hailed
Simplicity on his awakening. the green
leaves told of their wild midnight
dances, the grasshopper confded to him
in whisper that he was madly in love
with the violet
Simplicity had chosen for his bosom
friend golden dragonfly, with slen-
der waist and quivering wings. This
beauty was dreadful coquctte; she
sported near him, seemed to call to him,
then flew lightly from his hand. The
great trees, who saw these maneuvers,
rebuked her vigorously and solelnnly
whispered that she would come to bad
end.
Simplicity suddenly became restless
The ladybug, who was the first to per-
ceive the sadness of her friend, gently
sought to win his confidence He an
swered sadly that he was as happy as
ever. He rose now with the dawn, and
wandered through the glade until dusk
He softly held back the branches,
searched the thicket and the shadows
formed by the leaves.
"What is our pupil seeking?" de-
manded the hawthorn of the moss.
The dragonfiy. wondering at this de-
sertion of her lover, concluded that he
was mad for love of her. She came and
roguishly fluttercd about him; he did
not perceive her. The big trees had
judged her rightly; she consoled herself
quickly with tho first butterfly at the
crossway.
The leaves were sad as they watched
the young prince, questioning each tuft
of grass and searching with an eager
eye the long avenues. They heard him
complain of the impenetrablc thickness
of the brushwood, and they said, Sim
plicity has seen Flower-o -thc-Water,"
the Undine of the spring.
Flower thew was the child of
sunbeam and dewdrop.
She was so limpidly beautiful that the
kiss of a lover would cause her death.
The perfume of her breath was so sweet
that kiss from her lips would cause
the death of her lover. The forest knew
this, and with jealous care it hid its
adored child. 1t had given her as a
sanctuary spring shaded by thick
cluster Of trees. There, in the silence
and the shadow, Flower-of-the- Water
glittered in the midst of her sisters.
Idly she foated with the tide, her small
feet half hidden by the ripples, her golden
head crowned with liquid pearls. Her
smile was the delight Of the water lilies
and the gladioles. She was the soul Of
the forest. She lived without care,
knowing naught Of earth but her mother,
the dew, nor of the heavens, but the
sunbeam. her father. She knew herself
beloved by the ripple that Graded her,
by the branch that shaded her. She had
a thousand wooers, but not one lover.
Flower the-Water was not ignorant
of the fact that she would die of love;
She was pleased with the thought, and
lived in the hope of such a death.
Smilingly she awaited the well beloved.
One night. by the light of the stars,
implicitly beheld her at the winding of
glade. He sought her during a long
Month. hoping to meet her behind every
tree trunk. Sometimes it seemed to
him that he saw her gliding through the
coppice; but he found only the great
shadows of the poplars, swayed by the
winds of heovan
The forest became silent now; it mis-
trusted Simplicity. 1t pressed low its
leaves, and threw dark shadows of night
on the young princes path. The danger
that threatened Flower f-the- Water
made it melancholy; it gave no more soft
caresses, no more loving prattle.
Undino came again to the glade, ard
once more Simplicity beheld her. Wild
with longing, he pursued her. The
child, mounted on moonbeam, did not
hear the sound Of his footsteps. She flew
onward, light as a feather floating in the
wind. Simplicity ran, but could not
overtake her. He wept bitterly-despair
filled his soul: but still he pressed on