The sun., 1900-03-14
THE HEARTS MEMORY

NoSs
gave no attention to the affairs of
state, but spent his days and nights
weeping before portrait of the dear
one. This portrait was the work Of
his own hand. He had learned to paint
for the express purpose of executing 1t.
One day he few into a towering rage
and threatened to kill one of his cham
berlains who had dared to hint that 1t
would be well for him to think Of mar
rying.
"Monster!" cried the inconsolable
widower. mo woman will ever seat
herself upon my throne unless she is
.n every particular like the wife have
lost"
And well he knew that in saying this
he risked nothing. As she still lived
in her frame Of gold-dead, alas!-the
queen was so perfectly beautiful that,
search the world over, her equal could
not be found.
She was a brunette, with long, glis-
tening hair, flowing down like liquid
ebony, forehead a little high and of
rich ivory tint, eyes deep and black as
night and lips parted in smile which
displayed all her teeth.
Many months slipped away, more
than year, without bringing any
change for the better in the sad state
os i,Sairg.
Cace, nowever-it was at the hour
when the dawn paints the windows
with rose and blue-he turned toward
the window, listening to the song of
passerby, song airy and fresh, pretty
and clear as the thrill of a lark.
He stepped forward, astonished,
pressed his forehead against the glass
| and looked out. A cry Of delight al
most escaped him.
He had never in his life seen any
thing SO charming as that little shep-
herdess leading her flock to the
| meadow.
She was q blond, her hair so golden
| that it seemed to lend new brightness
| to the sunshine rather than to borrow
| hster from 1t.
She had g forehead a little low and
| pink as a rose, luminous eyes. bright
as the morning, and smiling mouth
so small that even when her lips part
| ed as she sang they revealed only Ave
or six little pearls.
The next day. in admiring the por-
trait. the king received painful sur
prise. .ssw
lFtHes thought a moment and said to
himself. "This is very strange. 1t must
be that the hall is damp and that the
air we breathe is not good for paint
ings, for remember perfectly that
my queens hair was not so dark as II
looks now. No. surely, it was not
black, like liquid ebony. 1t shone here
and there with the tints of the morn
ing, not of the night"
He called for his brushes and pal.
cite and hurriedly corrected the por
trait, which had been SO injured by the
dampness. "There! Behold now the
golden hair which l loved so desper
ately, which / will always love"
Three days later he was compelled to
acknowledge that the picture hat
again suffered great deterioration.
Why was that forehead, like amber
ivory, SO high? He had good mem
ory, thanks to God. He was sure tina
. the queen had a low brow, rosy ant
fresh as the wild rose. Wi a few
strokes Of his brush he bro ght thu
golden hair lower and tinted th brown
clear pink, and his heart was full oi
an infinite tenderness as he gazed upoI
the picture thus restored.
But the day following matters wer'
still worse. 1t was evident that tn,
eyes and mouth of the pictured fac
had been changed by some accident o.
some mysterious power.
His darling had never had those darl
eyes, black as the night, nor tha
mouth. which opened SO as to SHOW
nearly all of her teeth. No! On the con
: trary, the blue of the morning SIX.
could not equal the azure of the eye,
which sweetly looked upon her love
: and, as TO her mouth, 1t was so small
that even when opened to sing or for
kiss it disclosed only few little pearls
For an instant he could have de
. stroyed and cast at his feet the lyin
image, but second thought controile
him, and he grew calm again as he re
fiected that the injury could be re
paired.
Instantly he set himself earnestly a
his task. His brush was guided by hi
faithful memories, and few hour
later there smiled from the canvas
: young girl with eyes as blue as the dis
tant sky and mouth so small that
1t had been flower 1t would hardl
e have held three drops of dew.
e The king looked upon his work in
n painful ecstasy. "It is she! All. 1t
e really shew he breathed.
e And, quite naturally, he had no ob1ec
n tion to offer when one day the chan
e berlain, who had taken observation
II through the keyhole, advised him
n take for his wife little shepherdes
If who passed the palace every mornin
If singing song.
o. Surely, why not? For she resemble
lie In every particular-except that sh
X was perhaps a little prettier-the po
trait of the beautiful queen.-Corne
Magazine.
Move forward, there"
: 1t was the hoarse voice of the col
:. ductor.
- I'VE can't move forward any ia
ie +I,a,s, ,rosna1 c,1ffonatinp paSSpn0