The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-02-06

| ~ 'CIy p9flX< e
! to watch hirn as he SleDt and OH =.
! princes and high dignitaries of M
| Kingdom would be alert to wait N.
! him and to do his bidding when ~
aWoke. Then Ell the servants and = ~.
/ Gals would appear before him onL
bending low, beg him to :ssue ~
| commands. At this the captured no -
| gar would be quite lost in wond ~
ana Amusement, and would ask hi, r
sell: Who am |, a beggar or a kim =
| How do | come hither in his he,r
ful bed, all of gold, and how is =
| lhal am surrounded on every sid
ny countless slaves and servants. WI
are anxious to do as command
Surely l was a penniless man VIII
begged his bread from door to doo
ana now am really a king? Tho
II was only bad dream after al
ana am mighty monarch and WI
remain So" IL
NO" II was the custom Of the -eouI
Try 10 elect new king at the term&u
atlon OF every year, and they woul
then give the old king a sleeping N
ton, take Off his roval robes and nj
Oh the rags he had worn before
became king Then they would led Il
him back to the same spot where
year ago they had found him begginE
There they would let him lie and ~
rWay. When he awoke he would iodkn
around him, all dazed, and aslER
Where am /? Was | not a king l&
and then he would say, well, | sd
pose | was a beggar, and am stiHI
beggar, and that l ever was a Kill
was only dream."
1t happened once that king vi
chosen who was wiser than thoH
preceding him. He was mindful of III
humble origin, and knew that, thou \.
he was all-powerful now, his term
Once would be brief. He thought
himself: Il was beggar, and now
am king; surely this is not dread
it is the truth"
When he awoke from his first sle n
of three days and saw the numeso
retinue around him, he understood Il
once what had befallcn him. but ].
Trained from questioning any one 4
long time. One day he determine !,
to learn the truth; he retired into hE
private chamber, called for his prinE
minister, and said: Behold l ami
mighty king with countless treasurI ma
OF nd. 7 t,h 70 1yrAf
how it is that l am here. have bel Il
beggar all my life, and l bid w.
under penalty of death, to reveal l.
me the secret of my present good ID
tune. If you swear to tell me
whole truth, l shall make you grd q
and powerful in the land; if you hi
anything from me, be it ever so II R
iai. you will have to pay for your NJ
take with your life!"
Seeing that the king was in earnd
and that it would be useless to
ceive him, the prime minister swo&
TO tell him all. And now" said
after relating to the king the MANN y
of his election, the year will SOD
be over, and then thou wilt be
posed. A sleeping draught will
given thee, and during thy sleep o..
costly garments which thou weare
will be taken from thee, and, dress$
in the old rags thou didst wear whe
beggar, thou wilt be taken to n
very place whence thou vast H.
away a year ago, without penny G
remind thee of thy former exalt4
station To prove the ',ruth of what
am saying, open the rooms of
palace, and look in all the treasurS
chambers for the rags thou once did
wear; they are carefully preserved
a room to which thou hast no acce1
To all the other rooms thou hast u -,
lock and key. but there is one roo
known only to me, and the key is
my possession" En
The prime minister then led ~.
king to the secret chamber, and whd 4,
the king saw his CORNER clothes
tattered and torn, he Immediately RI
ogniZed them, and knew that 1t VI
no dream-his having been beggarf
The monarch said not a word,
made up his mind to use the renal
ing term of his Office to advantaa
he rewarded his faithful minister
giving him many valuable lands a
countless treasure. and appointed h1
Overseer of his kingdom. For himse ~
he purchased large estates in
land whence he came, and sent -
his property and valuables gradua
thither, knowing that very soon
would be dispossessed. He bought
large number of slaves, and comma a
ed them to be at the exact ps
where he was to be left alone Wn1
the year had expired. Thus he ma
every possible provision for the
A