The San Francisco call., 1897-12-19

the sum- have called my daughter
Clytie, that her heart may ever turn
toward him.
King Sigmund was very much
pleased with this arrangement, which
at once secured quiet to his own reign
and glory to that of his son, so there
was great rejoicing throughout both
Kingdoms
The young Princess grew in stature
and in years, and her beauty became
so wonderful that not only did all the
Kings subjects adore her but her fame
spread far and wide. Her eyes were
brighter than the most beautiful stars
and as tender as those of fawn.
When she rode beside her father
through the forest the wild animals
gathered beside her path to watch her
and the birds came from the trees and
Gil cled round her head, singing their
sweetest songs.
But her father and mother were not
quite happy, for in spite of all the care
they took it was soon plainly to be
seen that the Princess was a prey TO all
| sorts of imaginary terrOrS and su-
perstitions, and as she grew older they
grew with her growth and strength
ened with her years, until she had an
Il
sign for every hour of the day. If she
spilled the salt at breakfast she seized
some of it and threw it over her sIoul-
der, and in spite of having performed
this counter-charm shut herself in her
chamber and wept all day. If she
sneezed on Sunday she was plunged in
to the deepest despair, for she said,
''Sneeze on Sunday, your safety seek,
for the devil will be with you the rest
of the week. If she were very gay
and lighthearted she suddenly broke eff
in the midst of her mirth, eXclaimin2
that such high spirits were the pre-
cursor of death, and at once became so
melancholy that she would not speak
to any one. Once a beautiful bird few
in at her window. Instead of receiving
the charming visitor with joy SHE
thought it a sign of disaster and gave
loud shrek, which frightened the
bird so that it flew out into the open
air and was instantly seized by a hawk.
She filled her room with charms against
evil spirits and fastened them into the
folds of her gowns. The King and
| Queen were afraid that she would
ALLEVIATE the affection of their subjects,
and they also feared that King Sig
mund and Helios would hear of her
/
a beautiful mirror set in a frame of
wonderful glass flowers. When the
present arrived the Princess was great
Iy excited and delighted, and insisted
| upon undoing the wrappings herself
| When the last one was removed she
bent eagerly forward, expecting to see
| the reflection of her own lovely face
| The mirror was shivered as if from a
blow in the center The Princess threw
| it from her with a Shrek, which
brought the King from his cabinet and
soon her room was filled with attend
ants She threw herself upon the floor,
| exclaiming now that the Prince was
dead now that he was false, relating
| through her sobs that she had dreamed
| of dancing at her own wedding and
| that the day before a little brown hare
| had crossed her path three times. At
| last they carried her to her bed and the
court physician gave her such vari-
| ETY. of medicines that she became very
| i'll indeed, and her father was equally
| troubled by the fear that she might
die and by dismay as to her future if
| she lived. When she recovered he
talked to her very seriously and tried
to convince her that the breaking of
| the mirror was an accident of little
| Importance, while all the real trouble
was the result of her fears which had
caused her illness and plunged the
whole country into sorrow. He told her,
too, how much he feared that so brave
and dauntless a Prince as Helios would
hesitate to take for his wife one who
showed such craven spirit. Princess
es." he said, have need of courage not
| alone that they may meet the vicissi-
tudes of their own lives in a becoming
manner but also that their example
NAV teach their people how to bear
themselves.
The Princess wept bitterly and prom
ised her father that she would try to
| conquer her fears. She had always
known that on her eighteenth birthday
she was TO make one wish, which would
| surely be granted. When her father
left her she remembered that her
birthday was very near, and she decid-
| ed to wish for charm more potent
than all other spells which would for
ever preserve her from harm.
About this time Prince Helios re-
turned from his travels, and Sigmund
determined to celebrate the event by a
great festival, and since the time of the
gayeties would include the birthday of
the Princess he begged that it might be
observed at MS court. King OSrlc and
his Queen accepted King Sigmund's in
vitation, and early one morning, Just
as the sun came up over the level
meadows, making the grass and flowers
sparkle as if they were decked with
diamonds, the long train drew out from
the castle. The Princess was more
beautiful than ever. Her golden hair
was braided with pearls and her riding
dress was embroidered with costly
gems. She was a little pale; she had
heard dog howl under her window in
the night, but she was determined not
to give way to her terrors. The train
passed over the drawbridge and halted
for moment. Clytie bent forward tc
pat her horse, when, to her horror, a
black cat passed in front of her
stepped for an instant and gazed at
her with his mysterious green eyes
Her slight form swayed in the saddle
but she did not fall, ana when the train
moved forward her horse followed with
The rest with 'ut direction from her.
All the morning she rode in semi