The San Francisco call., 1905-08-20

show of reason The cOn1urer nde
conjured up a demon he could not con-
troll; the demon Of greed.
The only man about the court VINO
seemed to know nothing OF what was
going forward was the King himself
The French ambassador narrowly
watched his actions, but James was
the same free-hearted, jovial. pleasure
seeking monarch he had always BEEN
He hunted and caroused. and was the
life of any party of pleasure which sal
lied forth from the castle. he dlSap-
peared now and then, as was his Gus
tom, and could not be found, althougn
his mobiles winked at one anotner'
while the perturbed French Embassa-
dor looked anxiously for the treasure
ship that never came.
At last the mobiles, who. in spite or
their threatenings. had too much
shrewdness to kill the gold maker.
hoping his lapse of power was only
temporary, forced the question to q
head and made appeal to the aston
ished King himself. Here was a man,
they said. who could make gold ana
wouldn't. They desired a mandate 70
go forth. compelling him to resume the
lucrative occupation he had abandoned
The King expressed his amusement
at what he heard and summoned the
mountebank before him. The gold
maker abandoned his robe Of scarlet
and appeared before James dressed So
berly. He confessed that he knew the
secret of extracting gold from ordinary
soil but submitted that he was not a
Scottish citizen, and therefore could
not properly be coerced by the Scottish
laws so long as he infriaged none OF
the statutes The King held that this
appeal was well founded and disciain-
ed any desire to cOerce a citizen or a
friendly state. At this the charlatan
frightened perceptibly. and proportion
ately the gloom on the brows OF the no.
bles deepened.
but If you can produce gold. as you
say. why do you refuse to do so?" de-
manded the King.
II respectfully submit to your Ma
jesty," replied the mountebank, thai,
/ have now perfected an invention o..
infinitely greater value than the gold
making process; an invention that Will
give Scotland power possessed by no
other nation, and which Will enable IL
to conquer any kingdom. no matter
how remote it may be from this land
/ so much honor. / wish. then, to de-
vote the remaining energies of my life
to the enlarg1ng Of this invention
rather than waste my time in what is,
after all, the lowest pursuit TO which a
man may demean himself. namely, the
mere gathering of money, and the
speaker cast a glance Of triumph at the
disgruntled Barons-
II quite agree with you regarding
said the King cordially, giving no heed
to the murmurs of his followers. In
what does this new invention consists"
1T is simply pair of wings. your
Majesty. made from the finest silk
which I import from France. They
may be fitted to any human being and
they give that human being the power
which birds have long possessed"
We'll" said the King with a laugh,
ST should be the last to teach Scot
tish warrior to fly; still the ability to
do so would have been. on several &C..
casions, advantageous TO US. Have you
your wings at hand?
Yes, your Majesty.
Then you yourself shall test them
in our presence.
But I should like to spend. your
Majesty, some further time on prep.
aration," demurrred the man uneasily-
Il thought you said moment ago
that the invention was perfect"
Nothing human is perfect, your
Majesty, and if i said so / spoke with
the overconfidence OF the inventor. i
have. however, succeeded in sailing.
through the air, but cannot yet make
any way against a wind"
When the Italian was at last equip
ped, looking like a demon in a paint
ing that hung in the chapel. the King
led the way to the edge OF Stirling
cliff.
1QeIe, ne Sdlus lQQlCdllU8 Spot
on the brow OF the preciptce, you,
could not find in all Scotland a better
vantage point for a flight"
The terrified man stood for a moment
on the verge Of the appalling prectpice:
then he gave utterance to a remarkable
was perhaps misunderstood because OF
the chattering Of his teeth.
"Oh, not here, your Majesty! For
give me. and i will confess everything.
The gold which I pretended to"
Fly, you fooll' cried the French
ambassador. pushing the Italian sud
denly between the shoulders and
launching him into space. With a wild
scream Farini endeavored to support
himself with his gauze-like wings, andl
for a moment seemed to hover in mid
air: but the framework cracked and
7the victim. whirling head over heels:
fell like a plummet to the bottom OF the
cliff
II fear you have been too impetuous
with him. said the King severely. al
though as his Majesty glanced at Sir
David LINDSAY the faint suspicion OF a
wink momentarily obscured his eye-al
temporary yelling OF the royal efful-.
gence which passed unnoticed. as every
one else was gazing over the cliff at
the motionless form of the fallen man..
II am to blame, SIRE" replied the
ambassador contritely. but / think
the villain is an 1mpoStor, ana coutu
not bear to see your royal indulgence
trif1ed with However, / am willing 70
make amends for my imprudence. and
If the scoundrel lives I shall. at my
own expense. transport him instantly
to France, where he shall have the at
tendance Of the best surgeons the
country affords"
THAT is very generous OF you." re-
piled the King.
And the ambassador. craving per-
mission to retire, fastened to translate
his benevolence into action
Farini was still unconscious when the
ambassador and his attendants reach
ed him: but the French nobleman
proved as good as his word. for he had
the injured man. whose thigh bone was
broken. conveyed in a litter TO Lelth.
and from there shipped to France But
1t was many a day before the scottish
mobiles ceased TO deplore the untimely
departure OF their gold maker.