The sun., 1900-03-15
THE HEARTS MEMORY

stfN|S|oS0|~Sr||rVISS s"N||>NS>rS|NrS~SNSrNrS-
The Kingdom was in desolation. The
young king since he had lost his wife
gave no attention to the affairs OF
state, but spent his days and nights
weeping before a 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 it.
One day he few into a towering rage
and threatened to kill one of his cham
berlains who had dared to hint that it
would be well for him to think of mar
rying.
"Aionster." cried the irconsolable
widower mo woman will ever seat
herself upon my throne unless she is
IL every particular like the wife have
lost"
And well he knew that in saying this
he rislled nothing. As she still lived
In her frame Of gold-dcad, 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
7bony, forehead little high and of
rich ivory tint. eyes deep and black as
night and lips parted in a smile which
displayed all her teeth
Many months slipped away, more
than year, without bringing any
change for the better in the sad state
o. afairg.
Cu@e, however-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
rasserby, song airy and fresh, pretty
and clear as the thrill of lark.
He stepped forward, astonished,
pressed his forehead against the glass
and looked out. A cry Of delight al
most escaped him.
lie had never in his life seen any
thing so charming as that little shep-
herdess leading her flock to the
meadow.
She was Il blond, her hair so golden
that it seemed to lend new brightness
to the sunshine rather than to borrow
iGster from it.
She had q forehead 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 five
or six little pearls.
The next day, in admiring the por-
trait, the king received painful sur
prise.
He thought Il moment and said to
himself: '"rhis 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
m I,;ocl's hair was not so dark as it
loa.a now. No. surely, it was not
black, like liquid ebony. 1t shone here
and there with the tints of the morn
iig. not OF the night"
lie called for his brushes and pal
cite and huriedly corrected the por-
trait, which lad been so injured by the
dampness. There. Behold now tho
golden hair which | loved so desper.
ately, which | will always loyew
Three days later he was compelled to
acknowledge that the picture had
again suffered great deterioration.
Why was that forehead, like amber
ivory, so high. He had good mem
| ory, thanks to God He was sure that
| the queen had low brow, rosy and
! fresh as the wild rose. Wi q few
strokes of his brush he bro yht the
golden hair lower and tinted tt brown
a clear pink, and his heart was full OF
an infinite tenderness as he ga7ed upon
the picture thus restored.
But the day following matters were
still worse. 1t was evident that the
! eyes and mouth of the pictured face
had been changed by some accident OF
some mysterious power.
His darling had never had those dark
eyes, black as the night, nor that
mouth. which opened so as to show
nearly all of her teeth. No. On the con,
| trary, the blue of the morning sky
could not equal theJazure of the eyes
which sweetly looked upon her love
and. as to her mouth, it was so small
that even when opened to sing or for q
kiss it disclosed only few little pearls